Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A Unitarian Universalist voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
More than 75 New Jersey based organizations have signed on to a statement declaring their support for the Reproductive Freedom Act urging lawmakers to take action and pass the bill in its entirety before the close of the current legislative session. Introduced in October 2020, the Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848) is a proactive bill that both ensures the right to abortion in New Jersey and removes barriers to access, especially for our most vulnerable and marginalized populations.
150 souls attended the “Say The Word: Reparations” Rally in the churchyard of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on October 30th, 2021. Clergy and laypeople representing diverse faith traditions gathered to call on Speaker Craig Coughlin to bring A711/S233 to the Assembly Floor.
Major rally sponsors included: NJ Episcopal Diocese, Peoples Organization for Progress, local NAACP chapters (state level, Perth Amboy City/Woodbridge/Sayreville, Camden County), Trenton’s historic Shiloh Baptist Church, NJ Institute for Social Justice, and UU Faith Action NJ’s Reparations Task Force.
Say The Word—REPARATIONS!
The New Jersey legislative cycle is a two-year process. This year is an election year, which means that the current legislative cycle will come to an end in early January. Any pending legislation that is not passed and signed into law within the current cycle must start over from the very beginning in the new legislature.
FAIR (FaithAction Inclusivity Representatives) youth leaders and members are preparing for in-school assemblies featuring FAIR youth discussing a history of racism and antiracism activism in NJ, and we want to extend our invite more widely. Please share our invitation with the youth (grades 8-12) in your congregation!
If you are interested in participating in FAIR, we meet on Thursday nights at 7:30pm on Zoom. Sign up here!
FAIR will be presenting a pilot of their assembly at the Fall Issues Conference (Oct. 16), and FAIR Co-Leaders look forward to meeting new youth during their breakout session. Register to attend the Fall Issues Conference.
If you have questions about FAIR, please contact FAIR Co-Leaders at fair@uufaithaction.org or advisor Liandra Pires at gvprevention@uufaithaction.org. You can follow FAIR on Instagram @faithactionyouth_
It is our privilege and joy to welcome our new ministerial intern, Laura Kushner!
While I am excited for my new life adventure to begin in San Miguel de Allende, and to see what it will be like to more purposefully create my own old-age “story,” there are many people and many qualities about my interactions with so many of you that I will deeply miss.
The Fall Issues Conference is at the heart of our ministry together as UU social justice advocates in the state of NJ. Register today to let us know that you will be there!
Today, Texas’s draconian six-week abortion ban S.B. 8 goes into effect during the most hostile legislative year for reproductive health and rights since Roe v. Wade was decided nearly 50 years ago. Across the nation, nearly 600 abortion restrictions were introduced this year alone — 90 of which have been enacted. In response to today’s news and in anticipation of the Mississippi case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Thrive NJ releases the following statement.
August 2021 issue of the Environmental Justice Task Force July Newsletter, available now.
