As the battering winds of hurricane Helene tear across the Southeast, we know that we can only make it through if we redouble our commitment to communal care. Holding those directly impacted, we share words of solidarity from Rachel Myslivy and Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, two key staff members of our Side with Love Organizing Strategy Team and leaders in this weekend’s Climate Justice Revival. Essential information about how to give to the UUA Disaster Relief Fund is linked below.
“We know that as Helene makes landfall in Florida and continues through the south, the most impacted among us will be the ones who have consistently been the least supported by our broader communities and institutions. People whose identities and experiences leave them with little or no option to seek safety from the storm, who are at risk of losing livelihoods and even lives, because the supports for their survival in moments of climate disaster do not exist We know this will happen because it has happened before, especially to our kin in the south.
As you gather this weekend, if you are gathering this weekend, we invite you to hold those who are in the path of Hurricane Helene in your hearts and minds. As you reimagine together, we encourage you to explore how our work to create a world with genuine safety from climate disasters will require much more than mitigation, but real, systemic, cultural, and spiritual change. Hold our siblings in Helene's path, and the communities most impacted by climate disasters in your location, at the center of why we must recommit ourselves to this work. Imagine what a flourishing world could look like for them first. What would it look like for people who have been historically denied their humanity and dignity to finally have the supports that are needed to thrive? Then, expand that sense of care and generosity towards those among us who have historically been given the resources to do more than survive. Centering the people who have never been centered and building towards THAT world in your revivals will bring us to a place we have never fully reimagined together...yet.
And if you are in a community or location that is facing a disaster this weekend, whether it is because of Hurricane Helene, a nearby wildfire, an emergent heatwave, or some other form of ever-growing climate change, know that you are encouraged to reschedule your revival. Taking care of yourselves and each other is a critical, if not the foundational, work of climate justice.”
Now is the time to help. Our UUA Disaster Relief Fund can provide the funds UU congregations need for repairs after natural disasters, but we rely on donors like you to build up that fund. Last year, the DRF made grants totaling more than $275,000, the highest amount in a single year for the last five years. We try to keep at least $100,000 on hand for emergency use, but right now, the fund balance is down to $30,000. We request your help to replenish this important fund now.
https://www.uua.org/giving/areas-support/funds/disaster-response
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