Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A UU voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
Ninety-four percent of Black voters cast their ballots for Governor Phil Murphy in 2017. Without this support from the Black community, it is unlikely that Phil Murphy would be New Jersey’s governor: Fifty-three percent of white voters supported his opponent. But nine months into his administration, Governor Murphy has not focused on critical issues facing the 94%.
Register Here!UU FaithAction’s Fall Issues Conference takes place on Saturday Oct. 20 from 10:00 am until 4:00 p.m. Hosted this year by our member congregation, Beacon UU Congregation of Summit in Summit summitbeacon.org, the conference features Senator Raymond Lesniak as our keynote speaker, issues-related break out groups and a working lunch. The Summit congregation is active in antiracism and immigration justice work and we are very pleased to partner together in support of a more just and hopeful New Jersey.
“The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the denial of the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” But New Jersey’s law that denies the right to vote to people with criminal convictions undermines the Fifteenth Amendment’s prohibition on explicit racial discrimination by linking the right to vote to a racially discriminatory criminal justice system.
New Jersey leads the nation in having the highest racial disparities in having the highest Black/white incarceration rates for both adults and youth, making the laws racially discriminatory impact particularly acute.” – New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Please join fellow UUs on Monday, September 24 at the Rutger’s-New Brunswick Student Center to partake it what is sure to be a riveting and informative discussion!
For those UUs and our friends who live in the 7th and 11th congressional districts an interfaith nonpartisan candidates forum on October 14, 2018 might be of interest. (If you aren’t sure in which district you live, District 7 covers Hunterdon, most of Somerset, and a portion of Morris counties; Leonard Lance (R) is the current congressman for the 7th. District 11 touches on District 7 to the east and represents the bulk of Morris Co. and includes parts of Essex, Passaic and Warren counties. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R) is the retiring representative from the 11th.
The October forum is a collaborative interfaith effort to introduce voters to the major candidates running for the 7th and 11th congressional districts and for the US Senate seat from NJ. Attached is a draft of the plan for the event which we hope will gather a broad range of faith communities. Our intention is to be heard by the candidates, as well as to be heard by them. We are looking to highlight the issues of gun violence prevention, immigration, and environmental responsibility.
Please join UU FaithAction, colleagues, friends and peers from around New Jersey for our Annual Fall Issues Conference! This year’s conference will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at Beacon Congregational Fellowship in Summit, NJ. The address is 4 Waldron Avenue, Summit, NJ. 07901. Registration will open soon!!
Come Grow Your Voice! Come Grow the Voice & Visibility of FaithAction!
UU FaithAction NJ is sponsoring a workshop to help lay folks learn the art of sermon writing and how to lead worship. Our goal:
Workshop in Two Parts
Part I focuses on generating written texts and will take place immediately prior to this year’s Fall Issues Conference at Beacon in Summit, NJ, Saturday, October 20 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. This session will be led by Rev. Karen G. Johnston. Registration is required so please email admin@uufaithaction.org to secure your spot!
Part II folks come together from all NJ on Saturday, November 10, 10 -4 at The Unitarian Society in East Brunswick. The second builds on the first, so attendance at the first is required in order to take part in the second.
When, in mid June 2018, we learned that the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) was–on top of everything else–separating children from their parents at the U.S. border, UU FaithAction NJ stepped up our efforts to speak out. 12 UU protestors and our friends marched at the June 30th “Keep Families Together” rally in Newark NJ.
Come Grow Your Voice! Come Grow the Voice & Visibility of FaithAction!
UU FaithAction NJ is sponsoring a workshop to help lay folks learn the art of sermon writing and how to lead worship. Our goal:
Workshop in Two Parts
Part I focuses on generating written texts, takes place at any UU congregation that accepts the invitation to schedule it. Curriculum is provided for the 2.5 hour workshop.
Part II folks come together from all NJ on Saturday, November 10, 10 -4 at The Unitarian Society in East Brunswick. The second builds on the first, so attendance at the first is required in order to take part in the second.
Has your minister scheduled one of the workshops to take place before the statewide one in November? Check in with them to find out if it will be on your congregation’s schedule. Maybe you can help make it happen.
We hope you will scan through the article titles and short descriptions, following the links to go deeper on a subject that catches your eye.
“It is the official position of UU FaithAction and all our member congregations that the taking of money from ICE by any NJ county has become morally untenable.”
