Across the U.S., we’re witnessing mounting threats to healthcare, reproductive rights, and trans communities. The recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress slashes access to care—cutting Medicaid, defunding Planned Parenthood, and funneling benefits to the wealthiest—deepening inequity at the very moment our communities need more support, not less.

At the state and judicial levels, trans rights are under intensified attack. Laws like those in Texas restrict restroom and changing-facility access based on sex assigned at birth and invite civilian enforcement, while recent court rulings have opened the door for states to ban gender-affirming care for minors. The impact is chilling and immediate.

As people of faith, we remember: every body is sacred. We affirm that trans people are divine, that abortion is a blessing, and that no one is disposable. These attacks are designed to divide and distract us; our response is steadfast solidarity—moral, strategic, and grounded in love.

Bookmark our Action Center and check each Tuesday for updates. You’ll find clear assessments of the political and movement landscape, timely resources and trainings, and concrete opportunities to take faithful action with us.

In solidarity,
Side With Love

UUA Joins Amicus Brief to Protect LGBTQ+ Children from Conversion Therapy

The UUA has joined an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Colorado’s ban on the harmful and discredited practice of conversion therapy for minors. Conversion therapy is abuse—not care.

Our faith compels us to affirm the worth and dignity of all people. We want LGBTQ+ youth to know: you are whole, and you are loved—just as you are.

We’re Hiring:  Clara Barton Reproductive Justice Organizing Intern

This is a part-time (19 hours) position for someone currently enrolled in a seminary or graduate program, preparing for a career in Unitarian Universalist (UU) social justice ministry or other professional faith-based justice leadership. This position is funded by the UU Women's Federation, and will work with the UUA's Organizing Strategy Team on the Side With Love and UPLIFT Action campaign in the creation and implementation of an intersectional organizing strategy that engages Unitarian Universalists in advocating and acting for Reproductive Justice in partnership with frontline and faith organizations and coalitions.

Webinar Series: Faithful Futures: Empowering Action for Reproductive Justice

So many of us are called (by faith, by our values, by Spirit) to join in the collaborative building of justice, but sometimes we don’t know where to start. 

Tues, Sept 16: SACReD Congregations for Reproductive Justice

Are you ready to take action in your community to support Reproductive Justice? Join SACReD for a conversation about building a strong religious movement supporting abortion access and Reproductive Justice. We will discuss who SACReD is, what we do, and the frameworks of reproductive health, rights, justice, freedom, and dignity. After learning about A SACReD Journey curriculum for communities and congregations, you will have the opportunity to build your own personal, local, and societal action plans to support Reproductive Justice right where you are.

Tues, Sept 30: Grounded, Resilient, Responsible: Risk Discernment for Repro Justice Action

In a time when reproductive justice organizing carries both profound moral clarity and real political risk, how do we move forward with courage, care, and collective strength? This training is designed to help individuals and communities assess and navigate risk in today’s climate. Together, we’ll explore spiritual, embodied, and practical tools to support wise action; deepen our ability to discern what’s needed and what’s possible; and share resources for communicating clearly and showing up responsibly with others in shared struggle. Come ready to root in your values, reflect on your context, and rise in community. Register to join.

The Woodlands

A new all-ages virtual pastoral care program for trans people and their families

The Woodlands is a monthly online gathering hosted on the first Sunday of each month, designed for trans children, youth, and adults—as well as the parents and caregivers of trans people. Each session will begin with a shared message and grounding ritual, followed by breakout rooms tailored to different communities within our circle, and we come back together for a release. Sessions will be about an hour and a half.

Each breakout room—co-facilitated by two chaplains—will offer space for meaningful check-ins where we can honor our grief, celebrate our joy, and support one another. The spirit of each room will reflect the people within it.

For example:

• The Sequoias Room: for parents and caregivers of trans people

• The Saplings Room: for trans children and youth

• The Sycamores Room: for trans adults

The Woodlands meets the first Sunday of each month at 10am HT / 12pm AT / 1pm PT / 4pm ET

Upcoming dates:

• October 5

• November 2

• December 7

• January 4 

• February 1

• March 1

• April 5

• May 3

We are living through a period of rapidly escalating criminalization and repression. From the armed military occupation of Washington, DC, to the proposed “Crime” bill in Congress, to yet another tragic school shooting, to the renewed detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to the rushed deportations of children in the night, and to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the pattern is unmistakable and deeply alarming.

A new report from Civicus has placed the U.S. on its civil society watchlist, pointing to the deployment of military forces to quell protests, increasing restrictions on journalists and civil society, and the aggressive targeting of anti-war advocates speaking out on Palestine. The UUA has joined the chorus condemning the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, DC- an escalation of federal force against civilians that echoes last month’s actions in Los Angeles. These moves disproportionately target communities already marginalized by systemic oppression, eroding public trust and weakening democracy.

As people of faith committed to equity, dignity, and the common good, we refuse to remain silent. We will continue to resist state overreach and organize for justice.

The organizers at FreeDC remind us of what works in times like these: do not obey in advance, prioritize joy, take up space, stand in solidarity, and keep organizing. They emphasize that no single protest or event will solve this crisis, but that disciplined, connected organizing can and will transform our reality. Our congregations know how to build community so find the local organizations to join because being in solidarity matters and every small step builds toward liberation.

We also encourage you to read the helpful analysis from Protect Democracy, which explains why the administration is turning to these intimidation tactics and offers strategies to stop further National Guard deployments in U.S. cities. And don’t forget to check our Action Center weekly updates every Tuesday for movement updates, resources, trainings, and opportunities to take action.

Together, we can resist repression and nurture a democracy rooted in justice and love.

In solidarity,

The Side With Love Team

Trainings & Webinars

Mon, Sept 8: The Gathering

featuring Deepa Iyer

Throughout history, people of faith and conscience have come together to resist injustice and build a better world. Now, it’s our time. Join us at The Gathering on Monday, September 8th at 8pm ET/5pm PT/2pm HT! We kick off the church year with live music from Parker Woodland and a conversation about Solidarity with Side With Love’s Nicole Pressley and Deepa Iyer, author of this year’s UUA Common Read Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.

The Gathering is Side With Love's monthly virtual event to equip UUs and justice-seekers with the spiritual grounding, political analysis, and collective action needed to rise to the challenges of this moment. Come find inspiration, forge connections, and move together toward justice!

Tuesday, Sept 9: Supporting Abortion Seekers with Info & Compassion

Join the Renewed Clergy Consultation Service on 9/9 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET for this training with West Virginia Free as part of the Faithful Futures Training series this fall.  Participants will understand resources available to abortion seekers, from self-managed abortion with pills, to funding, and spiritual support. While this workshop is particularly useful for those living in states with abortion bans, it’s relevant for all, as more people are self-managing at home safely with medication abortion.

Wednesday, Sept 10: Hope in a Time of Peril - Interfaith Immigration Coalition

Join us on Wednesday, September 10 at 3pm PT/6pm ET for this important webinar. Across the nation and within our cities, immigrant families and allies are overcoming aggressive immigration raids, fear and uncertainty, and the real impacts of family separation with care and compassion.  Join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition for a webinar to learn about the latest federal updates, to understand how immigrant families are navigating the first six months into the Trump Administration and how people of faith are mobilizing boldly, to stand for welcome in a sea of change.  There will be a Spanish interpreter.

Resources

• 12 Things to Do Instead of Calling the Cops (Guide from the May Day Collective and Washtenaw Solidarity & Defense)  As our bodies and identities continue to face further criminalization and erasure, it is critical for us to lean into practices of community care that embrace an abolitionist ethic.  This guide offers simple, concrete alternatives to calling the police in moments of crisis, disruption, or uncertainty so that everyone involved is cared for and safe. 

• Learn how to raise money for families impacted by ICE and other mutual aid with this great report by Community Justice Exchange: Fundraising for Direct Aid is NOT Illegal.  But there is paperwork.    It isn’t illegal to fundraise for our collective needs, but there are learnings we wanted to share about raising direct aid money through payment platforms like venmo, cashapp, & paypal.

As Unitarian Universalists, our commitments to justice, equity, interdependence, and collective liberation call us to bold, transformative climate actions - as demonstrated by the ways our congregations are reimaging together in the many ways.  The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, UUA President, urges all of us to weigh in against the EPA’s attempts to rescind the foundational 2009 Endangerment finding.

Alongside our Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team, I call on all people of faith and conscience to register your opposition to rescinding the foundation for federal climate action. The public comment process is open now and the need is both immediate and urgent.  Together, we can halt this destructive rule before it takes effect. The stakes could not be higher: the lives of our neighbors, the health of our planet, and the possibility of a livable future all depend on our collective action today.

Due to the public interest in testifying, the EPA had to add additional public hearings and extend the public comment period.  Our efforts are working, AND we must continue to take action to protect our communities.  There is so much we can do to fight these attacks on climate actions while building resilience in our communities so we can hold together when disaster strikes:

• Share Pres. Sofía’s statement on the Endangerment Finding via your congregation’s newsletter and through community networks.

• Prepare your remarks: review the Climate Action Toolkit for guidance (here is my testimony).  

• Submit a public comment urging the EPA to protect the Endangerment Finding. The EPA is accepting public comments through September 22.  

• In addition to the message guidance in the Toolkit above, review the Federal Register guidance for public comments.

• Rally your fellow UUs, interfaith colleagues, friends, and family to submit a public comment.

• Write a letter to the editor in support of protecting the Endangerment Finding

• Distribute a press release stating that your congregation supports protecting the Endangerment Finding

• Share the UUA’s Facebook post on social media or review the toolkit for sample social media posts. 

• Renew your congregation’s commitment to climate justice through the revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice process.

• Find community with other UUs working to transform our communities through climate justice by joining a Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting.  

In solidarity,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy

Climate Justice Strategist, UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team

Join the Green Sanctuary Revitalization

The NEW Green Sanctuary offers a flexible, manageable, and impactful process for UU congregations answering the moral call to address climate disruption and transform our communities through climate justice.  For years, UUs have undertaken extensive efforts to reduce energy usage and preserve natural areas.  Now, we need to expand our climate actions to respond to climate injustice while building community resilience, and we need to do the work together. 

Green Sanctuary’s FOUR ESSENTIALS FOR CLIMATE ACTION support congregations to rise to the challenges of our times and fulfill our moral commitments.  Taking action on Congregational Transformation, Community Resilience, Justice, and Mitigation ensures that our climate work is balanced, responsive, and comprehensive.

Yearly Recognition encourages ongoing actions that deepen over time - which is exactly what we need to consistently advance our climate justice goals.  With just ONE REQUIREMENT for recognition, the new program encourages more action, less paperwork. You can apply for annual recognition once your congregation engages in at least one action per Essential. 

This September, every U.S. congregation will receive a poster to help you celebrate your good work.  The poster provides a way to visually represent the progress on your climate justice ministry while also educating the congregation on the Four Essentials.

When you achieve yearly recognition, we’ll mail you stickers for the Essential(s) you’ve completed. Because the work of climate justice is intersectional by nature, much of the work your congregation is already doing can build towards Recognition!

For 35 years, UUs have led the way on faith-filled climate actions.  Let us recommit to climate justice so we can lead the way for the next 35 years!

Questions? Email ClimateJustice@UUA.org.

Join the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community!

The Green Sanctuary 2030 Community comes together for shared learning and mutual supports on the third Wednesday of the month, except December and over the summer.  This year, we miraculously scheduled the whole season before the first meeting, so you can RSVP for them all now! 

This fall, we’ll have conversations on UUA strategies for climate justice as well as presentations by congregations creating hubs of community resilience, fighting for a clean energy future at the public utility commission, and working towards carbon neutrality by 2050.  We’ll kick off the spring meetings with everyone’s favorite the Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration, followed by discussions on ways to expand our GS work to include our kids and by creating a Friends of Green Sanctuary group.  We’ll end the season just like we started: with a focus on building a resiliency hub - but this one’s on wheels! 

Hosting watch parties for GS meetings is a great way to bring your congregation into greater understanding and engagement.   

You can RSVP for any (or all!) of these meeting and watch the recordings at SideWithLove.org/ClimateJustice

Join the Sun Day National Mobilization!

Sept. 19-21, 2025

Shine your light. Rise for justice.

On September 19-21, people around the United States will join together to launch a bold new chapter in the fight for climate justice. Sun Day is a day to sound the call to solar and renewable energy. As people of faith, we know that fossil fuels are no longer the way to go.

Here’s how to get started:

• Sign up, take action

  • Fill out this Sign-Up Form to tell us how you plan to participate. This unlocks access to our GreenFaith Soular Power Leaders Calls—a supportive space to share ideas, get inspired, and grow this movement together.

• Explore the Action Toolkit & Sermon Resources

  • The Toolkit has everything you need—event ideas, how-to guides, and instructions for setting up your event on the map through ControlShift. Use it to plan GreenLight actions, host a community event, or start something brand new!

• Download sermon resources and help your community rise for climate justice.

• Put Your Event on the GreenFaith Map

• Check out the Upcoming Sun Day Events on the GreenFaith US Calendar.

As we turn toward fall, the air shifts: cooler mornings, earlier sunsets, and the invitation to gather closer together. Autumn is always a season of change, of letting go and beginning again. This year, that truth feels especially sharp. And yet, in times of change, we’re reminded of the power of solidarity-how drawing close to one another, widening the circle, and moving in step with our shared values of justice, compassion, and dignity can turn endings into beginnings, and uncertainty into hope.

We are living in a time of disorientation and disruption. Authoritarian forces seek to divide us, to tell us we are powerless, to make us forget the sacred worth of our lives and our communities. Yet even in these unsettled days, we know another truth: we are not helpless, and we are not alone.

Fall is also a season of anchoring. Of remembering what grounds us. For Unitarian Universalists, our anchors are found in love, in relationships, and in the communities we dare to build together. We are called to be bridges between grief and healing, between isolation and belonging, between the world as it is and the world as it might yet be.

And as hurricane season intensifies, we are reminded in visceral ways of how deeply we depend on one another. Disasters-whether storms, fires, or floods-underscore the need for solidarity and mutual aid. Our calling is not only to respond in times of crisis, but to nurture the kind of resilient communities where no one is left alone in the storm.

This month, Side With Love is offering resources to help you and your congregation live into that calling. From public witness to spiritual practices to collective action, we hope these offerings give you courage to keep rising in faith, in love, and in resilience.

May this season of turning remind us that change is not only loss, but possibility. Like the hymn calls us-“return again, return to who you are”-may we return to one another, to the wisdom of our ancestors, and to the work of repair that makes life whole. May we rise together, with fierce love and steady hope, to meet the world as it is and to remake it toward justice and joy.

With love and gratitude,
The Side With Love Team

PS: Side With Love is hiring!

The Gathering on Sept 8: featuring Deepa Iyer

Throughout history, people of faith and conscience have come together to resist injustice and build a better world. Now, it’s our time.

Join us at The Gathering on Monday, September 8th at 8pm ET/5pm PT/2pm HT! We kick off the church year with live music from Parker Woodland and a conversation about Solidarity with Side With Love’s Nicole Pressley and Deepa Iyer, author of this year’s UUA Common Read Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.

The Gathering is Side With Love's monthly virtual event to equip UUs and justice-seekers with the spiritual grounding, political analysis, and collective action needed to rise to the challenges of this moment.

Come find inspiration, forge connections, and move together toward justice!

Access & Accessibility

• Live Zoom event (no participant mics or breakout rooms)

• CART captioning provided

• Optional Zoom chat available

Recording (without chat), slides, and links shared afterward at sidewithlove.org/the-gathering

The Woodlands: a Monthly Trans/Nonbinary Pastoral Care Space

The Woodlands is a monthly online gathering designed for trans children, youth, and adults—as well as the parents and caregivers of trans people. Each session will begin with a shared message and grounding ritual, followed by breakout rooms tailored to different communities within our circle, and we come back together for a release. Sessions will be about an hour and a half.

Each breakout room—co-facilitated by two chaplains—will offer space for meaningful check-ins where we can honor our grief, celebrate our joy, and support one another. The spirit of each room will reflect the people within it.

For example:

• The Sequoias Room: for parents and caregivers of trans people

• The Saplings Room: for trans children and youth

• The Sycamores Room: for trans adults
  

Our first gathering will be on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 4pm ET / 1pm PT / 12pm AT / 10am HT

UUA Strategies to Advance Climate Justice

September 17 @ 7pm ET / 4pm PT / 1pm HT

President Sofía’s UU Climate Justice Working Group was established to identify where our faith calls us to lead, beyond narrowly defined “net zero” goals towards equitable decarbonization, community resilience, and a just transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future.

On September 17th, join Mathew Jensen, UUA Senior Investment Officer, and Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist, to learn about the Working Group’s Draft Commitments for Culture and Resources. Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. 

Grounded, Resilient, Responsible: Risk Discernment for Repro Justice Action

Tuesday, September 30 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT / 1pm HT (note: registration closes 9/28)!

In a time when reproductive justice organizing carries both profound moral clarity and real political risk, how do we move forward with courage, care, and collective strength? This training is designed to help individuals and communities assess and navigate risk in today’s climate. Together, we’ll explore spiritual, embodied, and practical tools to support wise action; deepen our ability to discern what’s needed and what’s possible; and share resources for communicating clearly and showing up responsibly with others in shared struggle. Come ready to root in your values, reflect on your context, and rise in community.

Featuring Nicole Pressley, Director of Organizing Strategy, UUA Side With Love

Part of the Faithful Futures: Empowering Action for Reproductive Justice webinar series.

It takes just a quick glance at the news to realize that climate disasters are getting worse and more frequent.  From the fires in Canada, Colorado, and California to the historic flooding in Texas to the extreme heat and air quality alerts pretty much everywhere, we’re experiencing some of the worst impacts of climate change.  It’s no longer a matter of “if disaster strikes our community”, it’s a matter of when it will happen and how bad it will be.  To add to the troubles, the U.S. Government is cutting funding for NOAA, the National Weather Service, and FEMA. 

What can we do when the services that are supposed to protect our communities are rapidly disappearing?  We take care of each other.  UUs have always been on the leading edge of climate action, and now it’s time for us to double down on disaster preparedness and response efforts to build community resilience in the face of devastating climate disasters.  

How do we go about creating a hub of resilience?  An easy first move is to join the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting: Creating A Hub of Community Resilience in Clemson, SC on August 20 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT / 3pm AT / 1pm HT.

Turning our congregations into Hubs of Community Resilience is an opportunity to steward our resources for the good of our broader community. Learn how the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson is exploring the possibilities of installing solar with battery backup to turn their congregation into a Hub of Community Resilience when the power goes out, as recently happened with hurricane Helene. 

This is the first of our fall Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meetings, which will also include:

• an update on the ways the UUA is prioritizing comprehensive strategies to Advance Climate Justice, 

• How Georgia UUs are fighting for a just and moral energy future at the Public Utility Commission

• Real-life strategies to be carbon neutral by 2050 at the Boise UU Fellowship

Sign up for all of the fall meetings today, and bring your friends!

In community,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy

Climate Justice Strategist, UUA Side with Love

First, deep gratitude. Your courageous, consistent, and faithful organizing has transformed UU the Vote into a vibrant, distributed movement rooted in justice and collective action. Across the country, you’re resisting authoritarianism and building a multiracial democracy—whether you're marching in the streets, fighting book bans, defending immigrant neighbors, becoming poll workers, or turning out voters in critical local elections. You are the movement.

As we prepare for the next phase of this work and the launch of UU the Vote 2026, I want to share some important updates.

Let’s start with bittersweet news: Our brilliant Democracy Strategist, Nora Rasman, began parental leave in March and has now made the powerful decision to follow her calling to become a full-time doula and focus on school and new motherhood. At the same time, Josie Mitz, who supported the work during Nora’s leave, will soon wrap up her contract and is moving into a new role as Campaigns Manager at PFLAG National. We celebrate their extraordinary contributions to this movement and cheer them on as they step into these new chapters.

And now for the exciting part…

Thanks to Nora and Josie’s leadership and your organizing, we are ready to take UU the Vote 2026 to the next level. We’re not just gearing up for another election. We’re building a bold, faithful campaign that meets this political moment with power, strategy, and spirit.

To do that, we’re hiring not one, but three new roles to lead our expanded vision for UU the Vote 2026. These positions are designed to deepen your capacity and strengthen our collective response to the threats and possibilities ahead. 

Here’s what’s coming:

🔸 Voter Contact: Scaling our impact to reach millions of voters, combat suppression, win critical ballot measures, and fortify state and local partnerships.
🔸 Safety & Security (NEW!): Equipping our communities with tools, training, and strategies to stay safe—at the polls, in the streets, and wherever democracy is under threat.
🔸 Community Mobilization (BIGGER & BETTER!): Sparking large-scale actions, building relational power, and creating hubs of democratic activity that last far beyond Election Day.

Spread the word and share these job postings widely. Check out the roles and application processes!

This past year made the stakes clear. It has also demonstrated the power and resilience faith has in this moment. Here are a few things we’ve done together:

1. Nourishing our spirits and refining our strategies:

1. The Gathering is a monthly virtual event from Side With Love designed to equip you with the spiritual grounding, political analysis, and collective action we need to rise to the challenges of this moment. ​​Join us every Second Monday of the month at 8pm ET / 5pm PT / 4pm AT / 2pm HST.

2. Supporting the newly launched TUUCAN (Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Community Action Network) as they hold monthly community gatherings and skill-ups to deepen their organizing capacity—mapping out assets, engaging in shared risk discernment, and uplifting core digital security practices—in service to its mission to support each other and share resources as they work to live our UU values into practice across the state.

3. Mobilizing with “Claiming Our Power,” which connects UUs across the state of Georgia in a targeted campaign that weaves together the skills and community partnerships that congregations have built in their UU the Vote and UU Climate Justice Revival programs.  You can learn more about how a campaign like this can create cross-team collaborations and strategic local wins at The Gathering on Monday, August 11.

2. A Faithful Voice for our Values:

1. Our Sacred Duty is to Protect Democracy and Religious Pluralism: UUA Responds to IRS Ruling Allowing Political Endorsements

2. Earlier this spring, UUA President  Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt joined a multi-faith vigil, calling on Congress to exercise greater moral courage in upholding its Article 1 powers and preventing executive overreach.

3. Join Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ and their ongoing campaigns: End ICE's violation of Sensitive and Protected Areas, Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025, and Due Process for All!

3. Working in Coalition 

1. Faithful Futures Reproductive Justice Fall Training Series 

2. Joined the National Farmer Workers Ministry  

What’s Next?

Get ready for National Poll Work Recruitment Day!

August 12, 2025

Poll Worker Recruitment Day is a national day of action established by the Election Assistance Commission to recruit new potential poll workers who are committed to ensuring safe, fair, and free elections for all voters. There are no off years for elections—or for poll worker recruitment. Important elections are happening across the country in 2025, and many election administrators are already recruiting poll workers for the 2026 midterms. In every election, election administrators need poll workers to keep polling places open, help their neighbors vote, and ensure every voter has access to the ballot box. 

Take Action on Labor Day with MAYDAY STRONG!

The billionaires continue to wage a war on working people, with their cronies in the administration, ICE and law enforcement backing up their attacks. This Labor Day we will continue to stand strong, fighting for public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, shared prosperity over billionaire-bought politics. 

Working people built this nation, and we know how to take care of each other. We won’t back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that ensure access to opportunity and a better life for all Americans. The billionaire's time is up.

On September 1st, we will continue the movement we launched together on May 1st, standing in solidarity with all our communities under attack and fighting for real wins for all our people. 

In thousands of communities around the country, we encourage you to take a stand on Labor Day. On the streets, outside the offices of the corporate criminals who are behind the attacks on our freedoms, and at congressional offices. Together, we will demand a world that works for all of us.

OUR DEMANDS TO BUILD THE SOCIETY WE ALL DESERVE:

1. Stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.

2. Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people.

3. Fully funded schools, healthcare, and housing for all. 

4. Stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities.

5. Invest in people not wars. 

Sign up for an action near you! More actions will be added. 

One Million Rising: Strategic Non-Cooperation to Fight Authoritarianism

Across the country, authoritarian forces are getting bolder and more dangerous. Trump and his allies are not hiding their agenda: mass deportations, rollbacks of civil rights, weaponized courts, and full-scale attacks on our democracy. We don’t have to wait until it’s too late. We can stop this. But it’ll take all of us—not just on single days of mass action, but through sustained organizing in our communities.

That’s why this summer, we’re launching One Million Rising—a national effort to train one million people in the strategic logic and practice of non-cooperation, as well as the basics of community organizing and campaign design. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.

Let’s build a force bigger than fear and louder than hate. Let’s get ready. Let’s get organized.

Sign up TODAY!

This fall, UPLIFT Action invites you into a season of deep care, courageous action, and collective resilience. Whether you are seeking sacred space for trans and non-binary individuals and their families through The Woodlands, organizing for Reproductive Justice with Faithful Futures and Faithful Majority, building climate resilience with your congregation through Green Sanctuary, or showing up in solidarity with movement leaders like Deepa Iyer at The Gathering—there is a place for you here.

Each of these offerings is rooted in the belief that spiritual care and justice work are inseparable—that none of us are meant to navigate this world, or tend to its deep needs, alone. Join us this season as we connect, learn, grieve, celebrate, and co-create the world we know is possible.

With care,
Rev. Jami Yandle (Transgender Support Specialist)
on behalf of your UUA Side With Love Team

The Woodlands

A new all-ages virtual pastoral care program for trans people and their families

We are honored to announce the official launch of The Woodlands, a new all-ages virtual pastoral care program for trans people and their families, beginning this Fall. We recognize that threats to trans and non-binary people have risen; as such, we do not want you to feel isolated or alone in these times. The Woodlands was created with trans and non-binary UU's in mind, and their families.

We will meet monthly online; our 90-minute session will begin with a shared message and grounding ritual, followed by breakout rooms tailored to different communities within our grove. We’ll then come back together for a collective release.

Each breakout room—co-facilitated by two experienced chaplains—offers space for meaningful check-ins, where we can honor our grief, celebrate our joy, and support one another. The spirit of each room will reflect the people within it.

🌿 Breakout Rooms Include:

• Saplings – Trans Youth Room (ages 13–18, or currently in high school)

• Sycamores – Trans Adults Room (ages 18+)

• Sequoias – Adult Caregivers/Parents (trans or not trans) of trans children and youth, attending without their children

• Sequoias Jr. – Adult Caregivers/Parents (trans or not trans) attending with trans children

📅 Our first gathering will be on Sunday, September 7 at 4 PM ET / 3 PM CT / 2 PM MT / 1 PM PT / 12 PM AT / 10 AM HT

🔁 Sessions will continue on the first Sunday of each month.

We are so excited to welcome you into this new space of care, connection, resistance, and community. Learn more and register to join.

Faithful Futures: Empowering Action for Reproductive Justice

Eager to translate your faith into action to support Reproductive Justice, but not sure where to start? Curious about how faith has and can serve as a crucial resource in building a world of justice, liberation, and possibility? Ready to directly support people seeking and providing abortion access in your community?

The Faithful Futures series is for you! Join us to learn from several organizations, including Side With Love, that are at the front lines of supporting Reproductive Justice as a matter of faith. This multifaith series is designed to help you develop new tools and skills to organize and take action, joining in the work for bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom that is already happening where you live.

So many of us are called (by faith, by our values, by Spirit) to join in the collaborative building of justice, but sometimes we don’t know where to start.

Through this series you’ll learn:

• About the long history of Reproductive Justice work and how you can join in by building trusting relationships, mutuality, accountability, and amplifying local resources.

• Firsthand lessons from people supporting those seeking abortion care in vulnerable contexts

• Skills for providing informed, culturally-aware spiritual support for folks on their reproductive journeys

• How and why the fight for bodily autonomy connects to all justice frameworks and requires that we work for racial & gender justice and disrupt Christian Nationalism.

• Some participants may be invited to join geographically-based cohorts to deepen local relationships in their RJ ecosystems, grow leadership through group coaching, and develop concrete strategies for meeting local needs

Join one or more of these sessions, including September 30th’s session, offered by Side With Love on risk discernment!

Webinar: Creating a Hub of Community Resilience

📅 Wednesday, August 20

7 PM ET / 6 PM CT / 5 PM MT / 4 PM PT / 3 PM AT / 1 PM HT

Turning our congregations into Hubs of Community Resilience is an opportunity to steward our resources for the good of our broader community. Learn more about one congregation’s work to do so by joining the August Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting. While this is focused on actions taken by the congregation for climate justice, the tips and tactics for becoming a hub of community resilience can be applied to any crisis or emergency situation. Register to join.

PS: curious about the intersection of climate justice and gender justice? Check out our video with Side With Love Climate Justice Organizer Rachel Myslivy and UU Women's Federation National Organizer Antoinette Scully as they discuss how climate is a gender justice issue! (We have a whole series on climate at the intersections!)

The Gathering: Fortifying Ourselves for the Long Road Ahead

Solidarity with Deepa Iyer 

📅 Monday, September 8 at 7 PM ET / 6 PM CT / 5 PM MT / 4 PM PT / 3 PM AT / 1 PM HT

Live music from Parker Woodland and a conversation about Solidarity with Side With Love’s Nicole Pressley and Deepa Iyer, author of this year’s UUA Common Read Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.  As Nicole said after a conversation at General Assembly, “Deepa’s work at the intersections of solidarity, social change ecosystems, and movement building has been an important roadmap for so many of us navigating the complexity and urgency of this moment.  Her reflections on grief, solidarity, and sustainable activism are brilliant and grounding.”  Join us to continue the conversation!

Settle in with a beverage, as this is a long update! 

I’m sharing information about the UU Climate Justice Working Group, our fall Green Sanctuary programming schedule, and curated resources and events for our shared climate justice ministry.

You can find this update on the Side With Love blog if you want to come back to it again or share with your congregation. – Rachel

Rachel Myslivy

UUA Climate Justice Strategist

Introducing the UU Climate Justice Working Group

At General Assembly, the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt celebrated the work of the UU Climate Justice Working Group, which was established to identify where our faith calls us to lead beyond narrowly defined “net zero” goals towards equitable decarbonization, community resilience, and a just transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future.  The Working Group celebrates and builds upon the existing UUA commitments to climate justice in the Draft Commitments, briefly outlined below. 

Culture

The Draft Commitments recommend that the UUA strategize and support a culture shift from historical environmentalism to intersectional Climate Justice aligned with Green Sanctuary 2030’s Four Essentials of Climate Justice: Congregational Transformation, Community Resilience, Justice, and Mitigation.

Resources

The Working Group recommends advancing real zero-aligned investment policies, resource strategies, and ongoing collaborations through community investments, transparency in reporting, and supports for UUs and our congregations to align our finances with our values. 

Next Moves

The Working Group will continue to bring our UU organizations and leaders together in collaboration with our UUA Staff and Board to strategize, sequence, and implement the best ways to turn these draft commitments into bold climate justice actions that we can undertake together as a faith.  In the spirit of the UU Climate Justice Revival, we invite all UUs to reimagine together how we do this critical work with love at the center.  Sign up to learn more at the September 17 Green Sanctuary Community Meeting.  For more info, go to UUA.org/ClimateJustice or email climatejustice@uua.org.

Draft Commitments, Green Sanctuary, and YOU!

The announcement of the UU Climate Justice Working Group and the Draft Commitments comes at a perfect time.  Our Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice process and materials have been completely revitalized to better support our congregations.  The Draft Commitments are aligned with our Four Essentials for Climate Action that Green Sanctuary Teams organize around to advance balanced climate actions that are responsive to the needs of our communities.  Now the best time to renew your congregation’s commitments to climate justice through the Green Sanctuary 2030 process.  

Green Sanctuary 2030 encourages ongoing, incremental change over time instead of monumental projects that tend to burn out our teams.  Congregations receive yearly recognition for their actions on the Four Essentials.  If you can’t do everything, you can still be recognized for the work you have done on specific Essentials.  Even better, much of the work your congregation is already doing can count towards recognition.  

In August, every US-based congregation will receive a poster to track your Green Sanctuary 2030 actions from 2025-2029. 

When you launch or complete climate actions, you will receive a sticker for the Essential that has been fulfilled.  It’s a great way to celebrate your climate justice ministries and empower your congregation to commit to bold climate actions.  With just one requirement for yearly recognition, there has never been a better time to renew your congregation’s commitment to climate justice!

Watch for your Green Sanctuary 2030 poster in the coming months! (And let the staff/volunteers who process mail for your congregation know to expect it!)

Green Sanctuary 2030 Meetings

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary!  Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice provides a flexible, manageable, and impactful process to support UUs in transforming their congregations through climate justice.  

The Green Sanctuary 2030 community is here to support your congregation’s climate ministry.  Join our monthly Orientations on the first Wednesday of each month and our Community Meetings on the third Wednesday of the month, both take place at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET.  Come together for shared learning and mutual supports for UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice!

The fall schedule includes: 

August 20: Creating A Hub of Community Resilience in Clemson, South Carolina

Turning our congregations into Hubs of Community Resilience is an opportunity to steward our resources for the good of our broader community. Learn how the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson is exploring the possibilities of installing solar with battery backup to turn their congregation into a Hub of Community Resilience when the power goes out, as recently happened with hurricane Helene. 

September 17: UUA Strategies to Advance Climate Justice

President Sofía’s UU Climate Justice Working Group was established to identify where our faith calls us to lead, beyond narrowly defined “net zero” goals towards equitable decarbonization, community resilience, and a just transition from fossil fuels to a clean energy future.  Join Mathew Jensen, UUA Senior Investment Officer, and Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist, to learn about the Working Group’s Draft Commitments for Culture and Resources.

October 15:  Claiming Our Power to Fight for a Clean Energy Future

Advocating at Public Utility Commissions is an incredibly impactful way to shape our energy future.  It's also a hugely overlooked opportunity!  Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulate utility prices, resource planning and acquisition, reliability and quality of service regulation.  If you’re not sure what that all means, you’re not alone!  Advocating for fair utility regulations can be intimidating to outsiders, which benefits those who are more concerned with profit than people.  PUCs wield significant power and their decisions affect clean energy and air quality, impacting both greenhouse gas mitigation and climate resilience.  Learn how the UU Georgia Legislative Action Network is making good trouble for climate justice as they remind the Georgia Utility Commissioners and Elected Officials that people have the power to choose a just and moral path for our energy future. 

November 19: Carbon Neutral by 2050

The Boise UU Fellowship has committed to become Carbon Neutral by 2050 as part of their Green Sanctuary 2030 commitments.  Engaging the entire congregation in a 2023 special appeal “Imagining A Carbon Neutral World,” BUUF launched their carbon neutral campaign which will focus on reducing the BUUF carbon footprint and supporting members to reduce their individual emissions while also building strong relations with community groups doing mitigation work.

Phew, that was a long update!  Stick with me for just a few other important reports!  

From our Campaign Partners

Banking on Climate Chaos

The world’s 65 biggest banks committed 😱 $7,900,000,000,000 😱 over 9 years to the fossil fuel industry, driving climate chaos & deadly health impacts. Check out the new Banking on Climate Chaos report for Frontline Stories, Data Overview, Bank & Client Profiles, and ways to Take Action!

Keeping Everyone's Lights On: How to Build an Equitable, Climate-Resilient Power Grid

The Union of Concerned Scientists outline the impacts of climate change on power grids, how power outages exacerbate energy inequity, the ways Current planning efforts fall short and how inclusive planning for climate impacts is the way forward.  

Energy Equity State Factsheets

The Energy Equity Project recently released their brand new fact sheets which provide a broad overview of the energy landscape in each state, with facts about unaffordability, rate increases, pathways to affordability, and shutoffs.

Decades of Deceit: The Case Against Major Fossil Fuel Companies for Climate Fraud and Damages

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a report that draws on dozens of internal fossil fuel industry documents to provide a decades-long review of what fossil fuel companies knew about climate change and the extreme steps they took to deceive the public to protect their profits at the expense of people and the planet.  Decades of Deceit ends with a call to action for elected officials, investors, financiers, experts, and the public to increase pressure on the fossil fuel industry to meet updated and strengthened campaign demands for corporate climate accountability.

Defending and Advancing Climate Justice Policies

The Just Solutions Collective published this comprehensive and deep analysis by state and national policy experts of potential threats to environmental and climate justice under the second Trump Administration as well as pathways for action.

This July, as we honor Disability Pride Month, we lift up the beauty, resilience, and power of disabled people in our movements. We celebrate the creativity and tenacity of those who have long pushed toward a world where every body—every body—is treated as sacred. We recommit ourselves to dismantling the barriers that harm and isolate the systems that criminalize and erase.

At Side With Love, we see that these assaults are interconnected. They form part of a broader strategy to devalue and target marginalized identities through surveillance, conversion therapy, and detainment.

That’s why UPLIFT Action exists. Together, we will grow our skills, deepen our spiritual grounding, sharpen our analysis, and organize for a world where every body is free, whole, and sacred.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skrmetti—upholding states’ ability to ban gender-affirming care for youth—is a devastating blow. In response, the UUA issued a powerful statement condemning the ruling and affirming that “denying healthcare to the trans community is a moral violation.” They pledged to continue standing with transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender-diverse people in defense of their dignity and rights.

This moment reminds us that the attack on trans bodies is an attack on all our bodies—and it must be met with fierce love and unwavering action.

Let us hold fast to our sacred interdependence. Let us organize like our bodies and beloveds depend on it—because they do.

In faith and fierce love,

The Side With Love Team

PS: Don’t forget to check out our Action Center Weekly alerts, which always have a section on Gender & LGBTQ justice with curated articles and actions to educate and ground. See this week’s alert.

Announcing The Woodlands: A Monthly Trans/Nonbinary Monthly Pastoral Care Space

The Woodlands is a monthly online gathering designed for trans children, youth, and adults—as well as the parents and caregivers of trans people. Each session will begin with a shared message and grounding ritual, followed by breakout rooms tailored to different communities within our circle, and we come back together for a release. Sessions will be about an hour and a half.

Each breakout room—co-facilitated by two chaplains—will offer space for meaningful check-ins where we can honor our grief, celebrate our joy, and support one another. The spirit of each room will reflect the people within it.

• The Sequoias Room: for parents and caregivers of trans people

• The Saplings Room: for trans children and youth

• The Sycamores Room: for trans adults

Our first gathering will be on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at 4:00 PM Eastern /1:00 PM Pacific. The sessions will be on the first Sunday of the month thereafter. Register to join.

This pilot season will run from September 2025 through May 2026—a time for grace, growth, and connection. All of us on the UUA staff who helped bring The Woodlands to life hope you’ll find meaningful community and support in this shared space.

The Unitarian Universalist Association Joins the Faithful Majority

Together with over a dozen partners, we’re excited to announce the launch of Faithful Majority for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of faithful people coming together to support abortion access.

Religious freedom and the freedom to make decisions about our reproductive healthcare and decide what’s best for us go hand in hand. We reject the misuse of religion to justify abortion bans. 

Anti-abortion politicians and extremists have weaponized religion to push their harmful agenda, threatening our religious freedom and our healthcare. Your healthcare decisions should be guided by your beliefs—not a politician’s. Learn more about this coalition at https://faithfulmajority.org/.

Congregational Leaders: have your congregation sign the Faith Partner Pledge!

Faithful Futures: Empowering Action for Reproductive Justice

Training Series from Renewed Clergy Consultation Service

The Renewed Clergy Consultation Service is excited to announce the Faithful Futures Training Series, starting August 2025. 

Eager to translate your faith into action to support Reproductive Justice, but not sure where to start?

Curious about how faith has and can serve as a crucial resource in building a world of justice, liberation, and possibility?

Ready to directly support people seeking and providing abortion access in your community?

The Faithful Futures series is for you! Faithful Futures is a multifaith training series for people of faith committed to Reproductive Justice. This series is designed to build skills and tools to organize faith communities to take action for bodily autonomy & reproductive freedom.

• Tuesdays in August and September at 7-8 pm Eastern on Zoom

• Participants can attend any number of workshops in the series

• Registration is FREE and required for EACH workshop. Zoom details will be sent out closer to each workshop

REGISTER HERE

New Resource: Identity Document Guidance for Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender-Nonconforming, and Intersex People from Lambda Legal

Transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex people (TGNCNBI) may have questions about how recent federal actions affect their identity documents. On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration issued a discriminatory Executive Order (“the Gender Order”) aimed at restricting sex and gender recognition in federal records. As federal agencies implement this Order, we have compiled this resource to share essential information, highlight actions to consider, and offer additional support for the TGNCNBI community.

This resource is regularly updated as new information becomes available, or court decisions are issued. View Identity Document Guidance for Transgender, Nonbinary, Gender-Nonconforming, and Intersex People.

Just a few weeks ago, Unitarian Universalists from across the country gathered for General Assembly to reaffirm our deepest values—justice, democracy, and human dignity. Together, we envisioned the world we are building: one rooted in fierce love, bold resistance, and collective liberation. 

Now, we return to a sobering reality. 

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Skrmetti strips transgender youth of life-affirming care. Efforts to dismantle birthright citizenship threaten the very promise of equality under the law. And now, a disturbing signal from the IRS threatens to undermine the long-standing separation of church and state by suggesting clergy may endorse political candidates from the pulpit. 

These are not isolated events—they are part of a broader movement to entrench white Christian nationalism and roll back fundamental rights. 

But here’s what we know: our faith was made for moments like this. 

At GA, we recommitted ourselves to sacred, liberating work—defending LGBTQIA+ freedom, demanding immigrant justice, and affirming that our congregations can be prophetic without becoming partisan. We left not in despair, but with renewed fire. 

Side With Love continues to walk with you—offering spiritual grounding, tools for action, and communities of care. Together, we are building a future where everyone belongs—no exceptions. 

Keep showing up. Keep loving boldly. 

In hope and solidarity, 
The Side With Love Team 

Side With Love Denounces IRS Undermining of the Johnson Amendment 

In a time when the line between church and state is under attack, the IRS has signaled a dangerous shift—suggesting clergy should be allowed to endorse political candidates from the pulpit. Though no official policy has changed yet, the implications are serious. 

The UUA has long held a clear position: faith leaders must remain prophetic, not partisan. Side With Love and UU the Vote continue to provide guidance and resources to help congregations speak boldly on the moral issues of our time while staying within the bounds of 501(c)(3) law. 

We call on all people of faith and conscience to defend the separation of church and state—an essential safeguard against rising authoritarianism and white Christian nationalism. 

Read the full statement and access resources » 

The Gathering: Fortifying Ourselves for the Long Read Ahead

June Recording + Resources Now Available 

Amidst the escalating crises from Los Angeles to DC to Gaza, Side with Love offers The Gathering to collectively rededicate ourselves to love, joy, and justice.  Last night, we gathered to stoke that fierce love and rekindle our collective hope and dream of a world of beauty, love, peace, and respect. We gathered to remind each other that what each of us – each of YOU– does matters. 

We gathered to make sure you are grounded in our faith and in specific actions YOU can do.  From Shana’s music to Nicole’s teachings about strategy and power to Rev. Kentina’s presentation about the incredible faith rooted reproductive justice work SACReD, what will carry you through this week and motivate you in rooted, strategic action? 

Missed it or want to revisit it? 
Watch + Access Resources » 

August The Gathering: Register Now!

This month, we followup on June's conversation about power with deeper teaching from Side with Love's Nicole Pressley and we'll spotlight a campaign by UUs in Georgia, as their state is facing a critical moment in its climate future - move towards cleaner & renewable forms of energy, or double down on the use of toxic coal and fossil fuels that will come with a hefty financial and environmental price tag. Georgia Power is trying to pursue the latter, and make Georgia families pay the costs. Learn how the UU Georgia Legislative Action Network, Side With Love, and Georgia Interfaith Power & Light have been organizing together to Claim Our Power in this critical moment. Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones, minister in Gwinnett Georgia, will ground us with music and prayer.  

Register now to join us! »

“Good Trouble Lives On” National Day of Action — July 17 

We proudly endorse Good Trouble Lives On, a national day of protest and community organizing in honor of Rep. John Lewis. With over 300 events planned, there are many ways to get involved. 

Join the movement » 

Side With Love Action Center 

The Action Center is your one-stop hub for powerful engagement across our justice priorities: climate justice, democracy, decriminalization, and LGBTQIA+ and gender justice. 

New resources, events, and spiritual practices are posted weekly to help you grow, connect, and act.

Visit the Action Center » 

Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible Toolkit 

As threats rise, so must our resilience.

The Ground, Resilient, and Responsible Toolkit offers guidance for spiritually grounded, sustainable, and safe activism. 

Explore the toolkit » 

In times like these, our faith does not retreat. It rises.

Unitarian Universalism is not a tradition that turns away from the world’s pain. It is a living faith rooted in covenant and shaped by generations of activists and prophets—people who believed that revelation is ongoing, that every person carries a spark of the divine, and that “giving life the shape of justice” is the work of our hands and hearts. We do not affirm the worth and dignity of every person as a slogan—we live it as a mandate. Our theology insists that love must be embodied in systems, structures, and policies that protect and uplift. In the face of suffering and oppression, our faith responds with courage, not retreat.

We write to you in a week of grief, outrage, and moral clarity.

In Los Angeles and Minneapolis, our neighbors are rising up as ICE raids tear families apart and target immigrant communities with cruelty and impunity. A new travel ban has gone into effect, once again targeting Muslims and immigrants from Black and Brown nations under the guise of national security. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court continues to tilt the scales of justice—expanding privileges for the powerful while narrowing the reach of vital civil protections.

At the same time, bold efforts are emerging to challenge U.S. complicity in global violence. The Block the Bombs Act was introduced by Representatives Delia Ramirez, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, and Mark Pocan, alongside 18 other members of Congress. The bill seeks to prohibit the transfer of specific U.S. weapons to Israel that have been used in operations resulting in civilian harm—an effort grounded in both international law and our shared moral responsibility.

This special edition of the Action Center is here to help equip you, provoke reflection, and inspire faithful action in the face of escalating injustice, systemic cruelty, and sustained assaults on human dignity. The road ahead may be challenging—but we won’t face it alone. We will move forward together, guided by fierce love and unwavering hope.

Read on for tools, opportunities, and ways to rise in faith and solidarity this week.

In community and courage,
The Side With Love Team

Beloveds,

Pride 2025 arrives at a time of deep reckoning and urgent resistance.

Across the country, we are witnessing a coordinated escalation of political attacks on LGBTQIA+ people—particularly targeting trans and nonbinary youth, families, and communities. These attacks are not isolated; they are deeply connected to intersecting systems of oppression—white supremacy, Christian nationalism, anti-Blackness, misogyny, and ableism—that threaten all of us. (See our curated resource list Preparing for Pride for workshops, toolkits, and resources on how to offer solidarity and support this Pride season).

This moment demands more than celebration—it calls us into bold solidarity. Pride was born from protest, from defiance, from the sacred truth that LGBTQIA+ lives are worthy, joyful, and powerful. Today, we carry that legacy forward—not just in words, but in our actions, relationships, and commitments.

As Unitarian Universalists, our faith calls us to keep love at the center. And love, in this moment, moves like this:

• Join The Gathering: A virtual event celebrating LGBTQIA+ pride and preparing for upcoming Supreme Court decisions. Nicole Pressley from Side With Love will discuss building power through campaigns. Rev. Kentina Washington-Leapheart from SACReD will address challenges to reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. UU trans/non-binary musician Shana Aisenberg will also perform. Connect, find inspiration, and take action.

• RSVP for The Gathering on June 9th at 8 ET: Register here

• Congregational staff and board members, join Now What: The Gathering on June 11th at 1pm ET: Register here

• Join UPLIFT Action: a Side With Love campaign advocating for bodily autonomy, Because Every Body is Sacred. Subscribe to the UPLIFT Action Newsletter to receive advocacy updates, educational tools, and actions to support LGBTQIA+ rights all year, not just during Pride. We offer guidance to help congregations and communities stay safe during Pride and year-round while showing up as public witnesses for LGBTQIA+ dignity and liberation. Subscribe today.

• Renew Your Welcome: We invite congregations to participate in the Five Practices of Welcome Renewal, a powerful path to recommit to LGBTQIA+ inclusion and become ever more spiritually nourishing spaces for all.

• Supporting UU Trans Religious Professionals: We encourage you to support TRUUsT — an organization of trans Unitarian Universalists who are living out a call to ministry within Unitarian Universalism. Email truust@transuu.org to learn how you might support their work.

• LGBTQIA+ Resources: Visit www.uua.org/lgbtq/resources for a growing library of resources to support LGBTQIA+ people in your congregation, community, and beyond.

Dear friends, let me be honest—for me, Pride is complicated. All throughout June, I vacillate from rolling my eyes and sissying that walk. I release a sigh of frustration when I see rainbow flags go up in storefronts while legislation strips away our rights. I feel exhausted by the commercialization of a movement that was born in the streets—by transwomen of color, by Black and brown queer people, and by people dying of AIDS who dared to fight back. It’s hard to know where the celebration ends and the co-optation begins. And still, I feel joy.

There’s a deep, abiding joy in being Black and queer. It’s in our music, our style, our stories, our survival. It’s in our capacity to love expansively, to grieve collectively, to laugh even when the world tells us not to exist. That joy is not naive—it’s a refusal to be diminished.

So this Pride, I’m holding space for contradiction. For fatigue and celebration. For grief and resistance. For the love that lives in chosen family, in congregational care, and in each courageous act of showing up for one another.

Wherever you are this month—angry, joyful, numb, overwhelmed—you are beautiful, you belong, and you are welcome here. 

Much Love,

Michael

Rev. Michael J. Crumpler

UUA LGBTQ and Multicultural Programs Director

I’m a weather dork.  I check my multiple weather apps like most folks check their social media.   From two decades of organic farming where *everything* revolved around the weather to a lifetime working on climate and environmental issues, me and weather systems are tight.  So I mean it when I say that predictions for the next several months are worrisome.

Summer 2025 will be a scorcher with hotter than normal temperatures across the US.  This means higher electricity bills, more wildfires, worse air quality, and a greater chance of heat-related illness and death.  We can also expect a more extreme hurricane season.  NOAA predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season. 

All of this spells doubly bad news when we think about the agencies that keep us safe in extreme weather.  The National Weather Service and NOAA are operating with severe staffing gaps with leaders warning of potentially catastrophic consequences ahead, including “needless loss of life” if the agency enters its busiest period short staffed.  FEMA has lost roughly one-third of their staff and cut disaster resilience programs that help communities prepare for climate disasters.  

So what do we do?  We take care of each other.  If your congregation doesn’t already have plans in place for disaster preparedness and response, make it a priority this summer.  We have created a Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care Toolkit for UUs to think through the challenges facing our communities, options for building resilience, and ways to partner with those most impacted.  

Building community resilience through disaster preparedness and response is a crucial aspect of our work.  Community Resilience is one of our Four Essentials of the Green Sanctuary 2030 program, which has been completely revitalized to support congregations with more action, less paperwork.  Even if your congregation has been a Green Sanctuary congregation for twenty years, now is the time to renew your commitment to Climate Justice.  

In community,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy, UUA Side With Love Climate Justice Strategist

UU Climate Justice Revival at GA!

June 18-22, 2025

The UU Climate Justice Revival is coming to GA!   We’re hosting a mini-Revival on Friday, a Revival meditation space, and a deep dive into the ways the UUA is moving climate justice forward.  We’ll share more in the coming weeks, but for now, mark your calendars for:

• Wear your Create Climate Justice t-shirt on Friday! Order from inSpirit Books or purchase at their booth in the Exhibit Hall

• UU Climate Justice Revival at GA

  • Friday, June 20, 1-2:30 PM (Hybrid)

  • Baltimore Convention Center -- Ballroom III & IV

• UUA Strategies to Address Climate Justice  

  • Saturday, June 21, 1-2:30 PM

  • Virtual on Whova app

• UU Climate Justice Revival Meditation Space: 

  • Wednesday, June 18 - Sunday, June 22, 8AM-5PM

  • Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor -- Stone Room

Please note: all General Assembly programming is for registered General Assembly attendees only unless otherwise noted.

Pride Month is a powerful reminder of the beauty, resilience, and sacred worth of LGBTQ+ people. It’s a time for joy, for celebration, and for remembering that our lives and loves are nothing less than holy.

In a world that too often tries to dim that light, Pride shines all the brighter. It calls us to live our Unitarian Universalist values out loud—to embody love, to protect one another, and to build communities where everyone is free to thrive.

This month, Side With Love is sharing resources to help you celebrate and sustain that spirit—not just for Pride, but for the many ways we show up for justice and joy. From worship to public witness, spiritual care to bold action, we hope these offerings help you and your congregation feel more connected, grounded, and inspired.

May this be a season of deepening faith, fierce love, and renewed courage. We are in this together, and our collective light is unstoppable.

With love and gratitude,
The Side With Love Team

The Gathering– June

Monday, June 9, 2025 at 8pm–9:15pm ET | 5pm - 6:15pm PT

Join The Gathering, Side With Love’s monthly event to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others!

In this month when we celebrate GLBTQIA pride and brace ourselves for Supreme Court decisions, we gather with music from UU trans/non-binary musician, writer, and activist Shana Aisenberg. Side with Love’s Nicole Pressley will invite us into learning about how we build the power to intervene through campaigns (including an update on the Avelo “Abduction Airlines” campaign we talked about in May).

Rev. Kentina Washington-Leapheart from SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity) will overview the challenging landscape of reproductive justice and abortion access and ways that folks on the ground are making pathways for bodily autonomy to flourish despite the obstacles. Come find inspiration, forge connections, and take action together!

Access & Accessibility:

• Live Zoom event (no participant mics or breakout rooms)

• CART captioning provided

• Optional Zoom chat available

• Recording (without chat) + slides + links shared afterward at sidewithlove.org/the-gathering

No Kings: A Nationwide Day of Action for Democracy
Saturday, June 14, 2025 | Flag Day

This Flag Day, authoritarianism wants a parade. We want a democracy.

On June 14, communities across the country will gather for a powerful day of action to reject authoritarianism and affirm our deepest values: equity, dignity, and real democracy for all. With over 600 events already planned in every state, the No Kings mobilization is a chance to show that power doesn’t come from thrones or crowns—it comes from the people, organized in love.

As Unitarian Universalists, we know that defending democracy is a moral act. Whether you show up in person or amplify online, your voice matters.

Find an event and learn more at nokings.org
Let your congregation know: Our faith accepts no kings.

Let’s show the country—and the world—that we are a people of principle, ready to rise for freedom, fairness, and a future rooted in justice.

Offer your feedback on the 2025 Proposed Actions of Immediate Witness!

An Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) is a statement about a significant action, event, or development in the world that necessitates immediate engagement and action among UU member congregations and groups. This year, the Commission on Social Witness received five proposed AIWs and will be holding feedback sessions for each one during the first week of June. Delegates and congregations and invited to join these sessions to learn about the proposed AIWs and provide feedback to the proposers. Learn more about the process, read the proposed AIWs, and register to join the feedback sessions at uua.org/socialwitness.

Is your congregation or community celebrating Pride this year?

Solidarity is the moral and strategic mandate of our time, and we must rise to challenge attacks on identity and these divide-and-conquer tactics that rely on the belief that one group’s safety comes at the expense of another group’s safety.

Side With Love @ General Assembly

Join Side With Love at General Assembly 2025 in Baltimore, MD or virtually on Whova!

Catch Up on Our Past Events

Together, We Will Resist ICE – Resources and Links from The Gathering on May 12, 2025

Recording and Resources: Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials

For people who work on climate change, we are accustomed to thinking long-term.  When we strategize, we aren’t just addressing what’s happening right now or planning for the next election cycle. We think about what our communities will be like in ten or twenty years.  We work on plans with timelines spanning the next 25 years.  When we make changes - winning a solar campaign, creating a disaster preparedness plan, building partnerships in our communities -  we know that the impacts of our actions may not be fully realized for years or even decades to come.  

I think about the Martin Luther quote, “Even if I knew the world was to end tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree today.”  Many of us are planting trees - literally and figuratively - under whose shade we will never sit.  

When it feels like everything is going the absolute wrong direction for the climate, I take comfort in the reality that we are conditioned for the long haul.  Climate advocates are made for these times.  When everything feels overwhelming - and it is pretty easy to feel like that now - we know that there is still - always - so much that we can do to work toward a better future. 

If we ground in our faith and commit our hearts to realizing a world where all communities thrive, we can weather any storm.  It’s so much easier to do these things if we’re connected to each other.  In the next two months,  we have opportunities for UUs to strategize what’s next after your Revival during our Revival Community of Practice.  You can learn about the completely revitalized Green Sanctuary process in an orientation or at the May Community Meeting.  If you’re going to GA, you can join the Revival at GA, find comfort in the Revival Meditation Space, and learn about the ways the UUA is rising to the call of climate justice.  I’ll end with one of my favorite adrienne maree brown quotes, 

“HUMBLE yourself to what is.  

ACCEPT that this is what has unfolded so far.  

NOTICE that you have your whole life to 

SHAPE what comes next.”  

In community,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist

May’s Revival Community of Practice

May 14, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

In May we’ll learn how Liesl Dees came for just one coaching call on the SAME DAY as her Revival follow up meeting and identified several ways to approach the meeting.  Bonus, the team agreed on actions to move the work forward in a way that is both transformational and manageable for their small congregation in New Mexico. Learn more & register.

Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials

May 21, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

Learn how one of our Green Sanctuary teams is working through the new Green Sanctuary materials! Released in February 2024, the new materials are designed to be more manageable, accessible, and impactful for our congregations. Join us on May 21 to learn how the materials are being used by your fellow UUs! --- Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary community meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes. Learn more and register.

UU Climate Justice Revival at GA!

June 18-22, 2025

The UU Climate Justice Revival is coming to GA!   We’re hosting a mini-Revival on Friday, a Revival meditation space, and a deep dive into the ways the UUA is moving climate justice forward.  We’ll share more in the coming weeks, but for now, mark your calendars for:

• UU Climate Justice Revival at GA

  • Friday, June 20, 1-2:30 PM ET (Hybrid)

  • in person at Baltimore Convention Center -- Ballroom III & IV

  • virtually on Whova

• UUA Strategies to Address Climate Justice  

  • Saturday, June 21, 1-2:30 PM ET (Virtual via Whova)

• UU Climate Justice Revival Meditation Space: 

  • open Wednesday, June 18 - Sunday, June 22, 8AM-5PM ET (in person: Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor -- Stone Room)

Please note: all General Assembly programming is for registered General Assembly attendees only unless otherwise noted. Bookmark our page for detailed information and links later in June!

We believe in a world where everyone is free and thriving.
Where democracy is realized.
Where bodies, our identities, and our Earth are honored and sacred.
Where love is not just a feeling—but a force for liberation.

At Side With Love, we act on that belief every single day.

As we mark the first 100 days of this administration, we do so with full hearts. We lament the cruelty on display—from political repression to attacks on our rights and communities—but we also rejoice in the rising: the awakening of thousands to action, resistance, and the power of community.

Some days it feels like we’re walking through a storm with no map—moving through brutal winds of injustice and thick fogs of fear. But even in the storm, we carry something precious: a fire we refuse to let go out.

And that fire? You’ve helped tend it.

You’ve helped build a movement that doesn’t just react to the world as it is—but insists on the world as it could be.

Since the start of this year, we’ve:

🔥 Lit the path toward justice by planning our next big push with UU the Vote, launching a national survey and asset map to collectively and faithfully leverage our people power to meet this moment.
➡️ Take the Asset Map Survey and help grow our collective power. (Email love at uua.org to get the link.)

🌱 Strengthened our roots with the Grounded, Resilient, Responsible toolkit and support for the UUA Community Resilience Hub—offering tools for navigating this moment with clarity, skill, and deep commitment.

🌊 Risen with the tide by organizing across the country for reproductive freedom, trans liberation, climate action, and immigrant justice—through the Side With Love Action Center, your weekly hub for faithful action and political courage.
➡️ Visit the Action Center.

🌿 Transformed leadership into momentum by reimagining the Green Sanctuary program and nurturing networks of lay leaders through Trending SOIL, our spiritually grounded and strategically rich leadership development intensive.
➡️ Learn more about Tending SOIL and our leadership tools.

🌻 Expanded our circle by growing our canopy of collaboration—supporting UU coalitions on immigrant justice, deepening our commitment to reproductive justice through SACReD, resourcing Pink Haven, partnering with UUSJ on federal advocacy, and preparing a powerful Fall 2025 Reproductive Justice training series.

This is what Side With Love is about: not following one playbook, but listening deeply, shifting boldly, and responding with courage to what love demands—right now.

And I truly believe we are building something beautiful.

Not in spite of the struggle—but because of our fierce, faithful commitment to meet it with love, strategy, and imagination.

If this work speaks to your values, help us sustain and expand it.
➡️ Support our collective work with a gift today.

Thank you for everything you’ve poured into this movement. Thank you for tending the flame.

Let’s keep it burning—together.

With deep gratitude and fierce hope,
Nicole Pressley, UUA Director of Organizing Strategy Team
on behalf of the Side With Love Team

In a world that often feels heavy with injustice, we return to our spiritual roots for renewal, courage, and clarity. This May, Side With Love invites you to act in alignment with our deepest values—from marching for workers’ and immigrant rights on May Day, to gathering in community for reflection and strategy, to recommitting to climate justice and prophetic resistance. We invite you to connect, reflect, and take action—grounded in love, guided by faith, and held by community.

May 1st: May National Day of Action

On Thursday, May 1, join a local May Day National Day of Action! Find an event near you at maydaystrong.org. Join thousands of others who are resisting the defunding of our schools, the targeting of immigrant families, and the dismantling of public services. On May Day, we are fighting for our families, our rights, and our freedoms and for a future that works for working families.

In Support of Mohsen Mahdawi and All Imprisoned Student Activists

We join our beloveds in Vermont and beyond in supporting Mohsen Mahdawi, the latest university student to be imprisoned for his courageous opposition to the war in Gaza. These escalating attempts to criminalize peaceful protest and silence dissent—especially among young, immigrant, and marginalized voices—undermine the very foundation of our democracy.

Mahdawi’s story is deeply rooted in his Vermont community, including his relationship with the First Universalist Society of Hartland. This piece from Vermont Public offers a moving glimpse into his life and the love that surrounds him: Read the story.

We hold Mohsen and all imprisoned students in our hearts and prayers. Our commitment to the values of pluralism, justice, and equity compels us to speak out, show up, and remain steadfast in the face of repression. We echo the call to release all student activists.

The Gathering: Fortifying Ourselves for the Long Road Ahead

Join The Gathering, Side With Love’s monthly virtual event to strengthen your spirit, make sense of the threats to democracy, and take meaningful action alongside others.

This month at The Gathering, we will be anchored in the poetry of Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto and Side with Love’s Nicole Pressley will invite us into learning about strategy and what makes economic strategies like boycotts successful (or not!).  

Join The Gathering: 

📅  RSVP for The Gathering Monday, May 12th 

8 ET, 7 CT, 6 MT, 5 PT  

 Or if you are a board member or on staff at a congregation,

join Now What: The Gathering for Congregational staff and board members:

📅 RSVP for Now What: The Gathering Wednesday, May 14th 

1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am PT 

See past Gathering recordings and resources.

Congregational Sign-on: An Open Letter Rejecting Presidential Attacks on Nonprofit Organizations

The UUA has signed onto this open letter rejecting presidential attacks on nonprofit organizations, started by the ACLU. 

From the letter: “This attack on nonprofits is not happening in a vacuum, but as a part of a wholesale offensive against organizations and individuals that advocate for ideas or serve communities that the president finds objectionable, and that seek to enforce the rule of law against the federal government. Whether the target is a church, an environmental or good government group, a refugee assistance organization, university, a law firm, or a former or current government official, weaponizing the executive branch to punish their speech or their views is illegal and wrong. It is also an attack on the very notion that government power must serve the people, not those in office.”

Congregations are invited to sign on as well.

May 12th Deadline to Submit Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW)

An Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) is a statement about a significant action, event, or development in the world that necessitates immediate engagement and action among UU member congregations and groups. 

The AIW process allows Unitarian Universalists to respond quickly to social issues deemed urgent. Adopted AIWs are used by congregations in local efforts and empower them to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other Unitarian Universalist groups.

Congregations may submit an AIW for consideration at General Assembly 2025. Deadline to submit is May 12th. Learn more.

Learn about the new Green Sanctuary Process & Materials

The Green Sanctuary: Mobilizing for Climate Justice materials and process have been completely revitalized to encourage:

• More action, less paperwork

• More congregational support, less UUA approval

• More manageable processes, less burden—and so much more!

All congregations are invited to recommit to their climate justice commitments by engaging with the newly revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030 process, which includes only one requirement for annual recognition.

🔗Join us on May 21 to learn about the new materials and how congregations are using the new process.

We are moving away from the “one and done” accreditation model to an annual renewal process that celebrates incremental change and ongoing commitments. The goal is no longer accreditation—the goal is creating climate justice in our communities.

📅  RSVP for Green Sanctuary New Materials Convo

7 ET, 6 CT, 5 MT, 4 PT  

As Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt reminds us, “I am convinced that we are called to be a people of fierce love, committed to the work of justice, and grounded in the spiritual practices that sustain us.” May these events be fuel for your spirit and fire for your justice work. We’re grateful to be in this movement with you.​

The Side With Love Team 

Spring is celebrated in many spiritual traditions as a season of renewal—a time to awaken, to begin again. But renewal can feel elusive in moments like this, when each day seems to bring fresh attacks on the communities we love and belong to. In times of anxiety and fear, tending to our spirits can feel like a luxury. And yet, it’s more essential than ever.

We must care for ourselves and one another—not just to survive, but to sustain this work for the long haul. This, too, is sacred work.

At Side With Love, we believe that spiritual renewal and courageous action must walk hand in hand. That’s why each month we offer programming, resources, and opportunities designed to nourish your spirit and equip your community for bold, justice-rooted action.

April’s updates are full of invitations—to gather, to grow, to ground yourself. I hope you’ll take time to explore what’s offered, connect with what resonates, and stay rooted in this beloved movement for justice, love, and collective liberation.

Celebrate 35 Years of Green Sanctuary

For 35 years, Unitarian Universalists have been imagining renewal through the Green Sanctuary Program, a bold commitment to climate justice launched in 1989. Today, nearly 340 congregations are engaged in the revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030, focusing on continuous renewal and meaningful climate action.

Join us as we celebrate this legacy and look ahead with hope. On Wednesday, April 16 at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, gather with President Sofia Betancourt for the Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal—a time to honor our movement’s past, reaffirm our shared commitments, and envision the future we long for.

🔗 RSVP today! 

Take Action with Us

The work we do together to build a world where all of us are free and thriving is deeply interconnected. When we ground our spirits, grow our skills, and act strategically for justice, we Side With Love.

That’s why every Tuesday, we update the Action Center Weekly Update—your go-to place for:
✅ Timely actions you can take
✅ Upcoming events to connect and mobilize
✅ Spiritual reflections to sustain our work

🔗 Check out this week’s update and take action with us here. 

Join The Gathering – A Monthly Space for Grounding, Analysis, and Action

The Gathering is a new monthly virtual event from Side With Love, created to ground, inform, and mobilize UUs and partners in this critical moment. Each month, we come together for:

• Spiritual Grounding – Strengthening our hearts and spirits for the work ahead

• Political Analysis – Understanding the threats to democracy and justice

• Collective Action – Organizing with others to counter anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world

Join us every Second Monday of the month at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT. Our next gathering is April 14, 2025.

🔗 Register now and be part of the movement here.

A Statement of Fierce, Unshakable Love: UUA Responds to Anti-Trans Proclamation

In these challenging times, when trans and nonbinary people are once again being targeted by political attacks disguised as policy, our Unitarian Universalist values call us to respond with clarity and courage.

Last week, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation that shamefully labeled gender identity as a threat to children—perpetuating harmful, baseless rhetoric that endangers trans lives and undermines families. In response, the Unitarian Universalist Association issued a powerful public statement rejecting this hateful framing and reaffirming our unwavering commitment to the safety, dignity, and sacred worth of trans and nonbinary people.

“Affirming the inherent worthiness and belovedness of transgender people is an expression of our Unitarian Universalist faith,” the statement reads. “You were not made wrong—you were made sacred, and through you we are all made more whole.”

This is a moment to deepen our solidarity and take action. Read the full statement, share it with your networks, and consider supporting trans-led and affirming organizations named in the response. Our faith compels us to protect one another fiercely and to show up with love that cannot be shaken.

🔗 Read the full UUA statement here

Upcoming SACReD Curriculum Facilitator Training – May 5–6 in New Orleans

Join the Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity (SACReD) for their upcoming Curriculum Facilitator Training on May 5–6 in New Orleans. This two-day training is designed for individuals looking to engage more deeply at the intersection of faith and reproductive dignity through SACReD’s powerful curriculum.

🔗 Learn more and register here. 

As always, thank you for being part of this movement to build a more just and equal world for us all. I look forward to seeing many of you at this months events as we embrace the call of this moment to both renewal and resistance. 

These are trying times. And yet, in the midst of uncertainty, I find deep inspiration in the collective action of people of faith—especially Unitarian Universalists—across the nation. The poet and activist Audre Lorde reminds us:

"When we speak, we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."

This is our call—to take action, protect those being targeted, and resist the rising tide of injustice with all that we have. And the truth is, we’re already doing it. Even when the impact isn’t always visible at the national level, people are showing up, organizing, and making a difference in communities across the country. That is something to hold onto. That is reason for hope.

At Side With Love, we are committed to supporting, organizing, and equipping UUs for this work. This month’s email highlights events, resources, and opportunities to sustain us as we move forward together. I hope you’ll take time to explore, find what resonates, and continue being part of this movement for justice, love, and collective liberation.

Celebrate 35 Years of Green Sanctuary

For 35 years, Unitarian Universalists have been imagining renewal through the Green Sanctuary Program, a bold commitment to climate justice launched in 1989. Today, nearly 340 congregations are engaged in the revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030, focusing on continuous renewal and meaningful climate action.

Join us as we celebrate this legacy and look ahead with hope. On Wednesday, April 16 at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, gather with President Sofia Betancourt for the Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal—a time to honor our movement’s past, reaffirm our shared commitments, and envision the future we long for.
🔗 RSVP today! 

Growing Leaders, Growing Justice: Tending SOIL in UU Communities

How do we cultivate stronger, more effective justice leaders in our UU congregations? Tending SOIL is Side With Love’s leadership development program, equipping UUs with the skills, organizing strategies, and spiritual grounding needed to advance justice.

In our latest blog post, we explore the impact of Tending SOIL through the experiences of congregations across 13 states. Plus, Rev. Brandan Robertson sits down with Rev. Cathy Rion Starr and Rev. Ranwa Hammamy for an inspiring conversation about grassroots organizing and the future of UU justice leadership.
🔗 Read the blog & watch the interview here. 

Take Action with Us

The work we do together to build a world where all of us are free and thriving is deeply interconnected. When we ground our spirits, grow our skills, and act strategically for justice, we Side With Love.

That’s why every Tuesday, we update the Action Center Weekly Update—your go-to place for:
✅ Timely actions you can take
✅ Upcoming events to connect and mobilize
✅ Spiritual reflections to sustain our work

🔗 Check out this week’s update and take action with us here. 

Join The Gathering – A Monthly Space for Grounding, Analysis, and Action

The Gathering is a new monthly virtual event from Side With Love, created to ground, inform, and mobilize UUs and partners in this critical moment. Each month, we come together for:

• Spiritual Grounding – Strengthening our hearts and spirits for the work ahead

• Political Analysis – Understanding the threats to democracy and justice

• Collective Action – Organizing with others to counter anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world

Join us every Second Monday of the month at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT. Our next gathering is April 14, 2025.

🔗 Register now and be part of the movement here.

Join President Sofía Betancourt in Washington DC on Wednesday, March 26

Join UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt and national faith leaders for a powerful, nonpartisan vigil calling on Congressional leaders to uphold their responsibility as a check and balance and to advance the common good.

Our nation faces a growing constitutional crisis impacting communities nationwide. Faith leaders from diverse traditions will unite to offer prayers and compelling calls for courageous action from our elected officials.

When: Wednesday, 12:00 PM Where: Upper Senate Park, Area 8 (virtual option available)
Register here: Sojo.net/Witness Join us as we raise our collective voices and speak truth to power. Together, we can make a difference.

📍 Faithful Witness Wednesday
📅 March 26, 12 PM ET
📍 U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Side With Love & UUSJ Condemn FY 25 Continuing Resolution

On March 15, Side With Love and Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) issued a joint statement condemning the passage of H.R. 1968, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025. This budget is a moral failure—gutting public services, enabling mass deportations, and prioritizing billionaires over everyday Americans.

As people of faith, we refuse to remain silent while our communities suffer and our democracy is eroded. We call on our leaders to demonstrate the same courage that everyday people are showing in the fight for justice.

Read the full statement here: https://bit.ly/Stmt-FY25-CR

Closing Prayer

From UUA Minister Christian Schmidt:

"Spirit of Life and Love,
Be with us in this time, as people suffer, as parents grieve, as violence rages.
Be with us who feel the pain of loss, who feel anger at injustice.
Be with the oppressed and change the heart of the oppressor, for we know that both are joined in their humanity, no matter how often we forget it.
Help us remember the hope we had, the hope we have, and the hope we will have; help us remember joy in the midst of sadness, success in the midst of challenge, and good things in the midst of bad.
Help us to be better people, to work for better things, and to create a better world.
Amen."

As always, thank you for being part of this movement. Together, we organize, resist, and build a world rooted in love and justice. I look forward to seeing many of you at these upcoming events.

In last week’s Action Center Update, I shared a quote from Ruha Benjamin, who encourages us to:

"Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within."

As the world increasingly feels like one we cannot live within, reimagining a world where all communities thrive is an act of joyful resistance—and it’s strategic. If we don’t know where we want to go, we’ll be derailed by all sorts of distractions.

The UU Climate Justice Revival, Reimagine Together: From an Extractive Age to a New Era, offers a clear call to all UUs to reimagine our communities thriving, and we do that reimagining together. Even though every blip on the news ratchets up my anxiety, every minute spent in community nourishes my spirit and refreshes my soul for the critical work of climate justice.

Community is both a balm and a buoy in these troubling times. Fortunately, there are several opportunities for you to come together for shared learning and mutual support with UUs committed to transforming our communities through climate justice.

The monthly Green Sanctuary 2030 meetings, the Climate Justice Revival Community of Practice, and The Gathering are all great ways to connect, ground in our faith, and mobilize for action.

Be well, friends,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy, UUA Climate Justice Strategist

More Action, Less Paperwork: the new Green Sanctuary 2030 materials!

The Green Sanctuary: Mobilizing for Climate Justice materials and process have been completely revitalized to encourage:

• More action, less paperwork

• More congregational support, less UUA approval

• More manageable processes, less burden—and so much more!

All congregations are invited to recommit to their climate justice commitments by engaging with the newly revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030 process, which includes only one requirement for annual recognition.

🔗 Watch the New Materials Release to learn about the updated GS2030 process.

We are moving away from the “one and done” accreditation model to an annual renewal process that celebrates incremental change and ongoing commitments. The goal is no longer accreditation—the goal is creating climate justice in our communities.

Upcoming Green Sanctuary 2030 Events

📅 Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials
March 19, 2025 | 4 PT / 5 MT / 6 CT / 7 ET (90 minutes)

📅 Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary & Call for Renewal

April 16, 2025 | 4 PT / 5 MT / 6 CT / 7 ET (90 minutes)

This year, we are celebrating 35 years of Green Sanctuary, starting with the revitalization of the process.

 Whether your congregation was previously accredited or has never engaged, this event will celebrate and honor the work of the many organizations, individuals, and congregations that have shaped our denomination’s response to climate justice.

It will also include a healthy dose of hope, optimism, and faith—which we could all use right now!

What’s Next After the Revival? Join the Community of Practice!

Thousands of UUs in over 380 congregations have hosted or are planning to host the UU Climate Justice Revival. Reports of its transformational impact continue to roll in, and congregations are working together to carry this momentum forward into justice ministries.

🔗 Watch a short video featuring real-life Revivaling congregations!

If you’ve done your Revival and aren’t sure where to go next, check out this handy document and sign up to join the March Community of Practice.

Revival Community of Practice

📅 March 12, 2025 | 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET

This is a great way to connect with other Revivaling congregations for shared learning and mutual support.

Last month, Sheila Tarbet shared how she used mapping tools to turn community care ideas into tangible actions aligned with our four Essentials for Climate Action.

This month, Andrew Batcher will share how he organized a Revival across multiple UU congregations—a great option for expanding your Revival’s impact. A clear next move from the Revival is to bring more folks into the dialogs!  Learn how Andrew facilitated multiple congregations’ engagement in one Revival, then think about how you might host a Revival with interfaith partners or other UUs in your city, state, or region!  

After the initial presentation, we’ll break into small groups based on whatever you want to talk about—this is your space, so you decide what needs discussion!

🔗 Register for the What’s Next After the Revival? Revival Community of Practice.

UUMFE Earth Day Celebration (Virtual)

📅 April 22, 2025 | 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM CT

This year’s UUMFE Earth Day Service will feature Courtney Fishback, one of the UU Climate Justice Revival Art Contest winners. Together, we will imagine a world bright with kindness, joy, and climate justice for all.

Written worship materials will be available by March 1, 2025, for congregational or group use. A donation is requested for those materials.

🔗 Register for the online service and/or worship materials here.

The Gathering: A New Monthly Virtual Event

Side With Love is launching The Gathering, a new monthly virtual event designed to provide:

• Spiritual grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.

• Political analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.

• Collective action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.

📅 Monday, March 10, 2025
⏰ 8:00 PM - 9:15 PM ET

This month’s gathering will be led by Side With Love staff Nicole Pressley and Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, featuring:

• Katia Hansen on the current immigration landscape

• Rev. Lane-Mairead Campbell & Rev. Eileen Casey-Campbell on showing up for trans justice in Western New York

• Live music from bēheld to offer grounding and reflection

Join us to deepen your understanding, strengthen your spirit, and take meaningful action in community.

🔗 Register today to be part of this important conversation.

Since we were last in touch, we celebrated the incredible work of UU congregations in 2024 and how our congregations are shifting and growing to attend to the shifting political terrain. Like so many, we are at an inflection point, discerning our collective pathway moving forward. Since our launch in late 2019, UU the Vote has been a vehicle for UUs to take collective action to strengthen the promise, the practice, and the process of democracy. We built meaningful relationships with partner organizations and contacted millions of potential voters. Now, we are in the process of reflecting on and evaluating our shared work ahead.

We want to hear from you – the people who have supported, participated and led UU democracy organizing and actions. 

Our work has always been shaped by conversations with organizers, congregational groups, and individuals committed to expanding democracy to work for the many, not the few, while confronting the rise of authoritarianism.

In this critical moment, we want to hear from you! Please take our brief survey about the future of UU the Vote.

Leadership Update

Our Democracy Strategist, Nora Rasman, who joined the team in December 2023 is having a baby and will be going on parental leave this Spring. In her absence, we are thrilled to be joined by Josie Mitz who will be working with us over the next few months to offer strategic support and engagement on our democracy work. You can read more about Josie below and expect to see her at UU the Vote events and in the UUTV Facebook page soon.

Josie Mitz (she/her) joins the UUA team as the new UUTV Strategy Support. Since 2018, Josie has been involved in electoral campaigns, working on every aspect of races, from volunteering and organizing to managing two campaigns.

Recently, she managed two special election races to fill vacancies in the Delaware State Senate and led the statewide field program to elect the first trans member of Congress, Sarah McBride.

Outside of work, Josie is a passionate supporter of the WNBA and other professional women’s sports. She and her fiancée, Casey, live in Tempe, Arizona, with their dog, Panda. 

Onwards together,
UU the Vote

P.S. Looking for a place to gather with other UUs to make sense of this moment? Please join us for The Gathering, Side with Love’s new monthly virtual space for inspiration, connection and action. This is a space for UUs to learn, grow, and work for justice together. We’ll talk about the challenges we face, find strength for the work ahead, and take steps toward a better world. Register here.

Throughout history, people of faith and conscience have come together to resist injustice and build a better world. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the mass movements that brought down apartheid, collective action fueled by courage, love, and resilience has changed the course of history.

Now, it’s our time.

The Gathering is a new monthly virtual event from Side With Love, designed to offer:

• Spiritual Grounding – Strengthen your heart and spirit for the work ahead.

• Political Analysis – Understand the threats to democracy and justice.

• Collective Action – Organize with others to block anti-democratic forces and build a just and loving world.

Like those who came before us, we must be ready—ready to resist injustice, protect democracy, and create a future where love and dignity prevail. The Gathering is a space to find inspiration, connect with others, and take action that matters.

📅 First Gathering: March 10
📍 Online – Register Now

The political terrain has shifted, but our North Star remains the same. Join us as we root ourselves in love and harness our power to rise together for justice.

In faith and solidarity,
Side With Love

P.S. Side With Love has created a practical toolkit to support organizers, congregations, and individuals in their justice work. Download the Grounded, Resilient, and Responsible toolkit here.

When it seems like bad news is everywhere, what do you do?  How do you move through the overwhelm to start something, anything, that matters to you?

Being together with kindred spirits, sharing stories, and focusing on the good and useful things soothes my soul and fortifies my heart for the long work ahead.  I firmly believe that together, we can reimagine thriving communities and realize a flourishing world…even if it’s hard to believe at times.  I remind myself: there are so many of us doing this good work.  When it’s tempting to withdraw, let’s stay connected.  Togetherness is a balm and a buoy!  

That’s why I want to invite you all to join the Annual Green Sanctuary Team Celebration.  This celebration is fun and fast and celebrates our wins and honors the work that was challenging, disappointing, or unfulfilled.  Most of all, it is soul-nurturing to see the range of actions - from huge efforts to everyday changes  - that our congregations are doing to advance faith-filled climate justice in our communities.  

Here are some good things that are helping my spirit right now. 

1) Thousands of UUs are reimagining thriving futures through UU Climate Justice Revivals! They’re reckoning with the challenging realities in their communities, overwhelming those challenges with community care, and figuring out how we, as individuals, fit into the larger work of UU climate justice in our congregations.  And, they’re having fun while they’re at it!  They’re weaving connections across teams, understanding multiple perspectives, and putting their hearts into the transformative work that we need to realize a world with love at the center.  When I’m down, I flip through the photos that y’all have shared of your Revivals - check some of them out now!  Read on to learn about the upcoming UU Climate Justice Revival Community of Practice Gatherings!

2) While the Revival has taken center stage, we can’t forget the longstanding commitment of our Green Sanctuary Teams!  These faithful UUs are bringing life to the Green Sanctuary process: from individual to team, from learning to action - all while nourishing their spirits. There are so many positive stories that come out of the Green Sanctuary teams - come hear some at the Green Sanctuary Celebration on January 29!

3) Whew, that’s a lot, but are we resting on our laurels and patting ourselves on the back?  Of course not! (We’re celebrating and plotting!)  As soon as the Revival materials were sent out into the world, we turned to revitalizing the Green Sanctuary process to better respond to the changing realities in congregations and the pressing needs of our times.   Join the Green Sanctuary New Materials Release on February 19 to learn more!  In March and May, we’ll hear from UUs who are using these new materials so we can learn together!

4) And that’s not all! The Green Sanctuary program has inspired UUs and friends to take action on climate and environmental issues for 35 years. We’re planning to celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary with President Sofía and friends in April.  While the next four years will challenge so much that we hold sacred, no one can take away the good work we are doing in our communities.  

5) Finally, my dog is super cute.  Seriously.  My cats, too!  And I have about a hundred beautiful plants that make my house feel like a garden.  These things that bring us joy in our lives are just as important to remember

There’s always so much to be grateful for and good work to celebrate. Side With Love’s annual 30 Days of Love has begun with offerings for families, practices for journaling, art, and body, and opportunities for taking action. The week three theme is “Water is Life”.

I hope to see you all next week for the Green Sanctuary Celebration, at an upcoming UU Climate Justice Revival Community of Practice gathering, or any one of the wonderful events we have planned this spring.  I promise you’ll feel so much better if you do!

Be well,

Rachel

Rachel Myslivy

Climate Justice Strategist, UUA Side With Love

PS: We’re gathering nominations for two awards: Skinner Sermon Award for the sermon that best speaks to our UU justice values and the Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action, recognizing a congregation that has done exemplary social justice work. Nominate yourself and/or your congregation!

Green Sanctuary Team Celebration

Come together to celebrate the good work our congregations are doing to create Green Sanctuary in our communities!  

This is one of the most beloved Green Sanctuary Community meetings of the year!  You’ll hear so many stories of congregations doing the faithful ministry of climate justice all wrapped up together, plus it’s fun and exciting and inspirational!  You’ll leave with a smile on your face and gratitude for the many UUs committed to this important work.  Register now.

⭐ Green Sanctuary Teams!  Fill out this short form to sign up to share what you’ve been up to. This can be celebrating a win or sharing how you’re reframing your work when things went sideways. We just want to hear from you!  Presentations need to be no more than 3 minutes long so we can make room for everyone!

Be sure to invite your team and congregation to join us at the event to celebrate you and others!

Green Sanctuary Community Meetings

Mark your calendars for this year’s Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meetings!  We’re balancing our time with celebration and a deep dive into the new materials.  

Green Sanctuary New Materials Release February 19, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT

The Green Sanctuary 2030 materials have been revised and updated to better serve the needs of our dynamic congregations.

Join the February Green Sanctuary Community meeting to learn all about it and how these materials can help you advance climate justice and cultivate thriving communities.

Working with the new Green Sanctuary materials

March 19, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT and May 21, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT

In February, we released the new Green Sanctuary materials which are designed to be more manageable, accessible, and impactful for all congregations! During our March and May meetings, we'll feature one of the Green Sanctuary teams working through the materials. Learn from each other and build community! 

Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Call for Renewal with President Sofía Betancourt

April 16, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

Celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary and renew your congregation's commitment! Join President Sofía and friends to celebrate this impactful and transformative program that has organized UUs to take action on climate for 35 years, and learn about the new Green Sanctuary process that will carry our faith through the coming years. All are welcome! Renew your commitment to faith based actions that advance climate justice in our communities.

What’s next for the Revival?  

If you’ve held your congregation's first Climate Justice Revival, you may be wondering what’s next? How do we go from this to that?  We shared a doc to help you frame you next moves, starting with REST and CELEBRATION!  If you did both of those well enough, you’re probably starting to REFLECT and making moves to SYNTHESIZE and ORGANIZE!  

Yes, you can do this!  And we’re here to help!  

We’re hosting several Revival Community of Practice groups for Revivaling congregations.  These informal gatherings will be a way for you to connect with other congregations who are asking the same questions as you are or maybe thinking about things htat haven’t yet crossed your mind.  We do the work better together!  So join your fellow Revivaling UUs for…

What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice

Come together with other UUs who are also moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. Learn together! Make Connections! Move Climate Justice forward together. These informal gatherings will provide ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

Register:

• February 12  

• March 12 

• April 9

In January 2021, immigrant communities, organizers, and their allies met the change in the US Presidential Administration with determination and courage, focused on ending the cruel, xenophobic policies from the Trump administration.

Envisioning a pathway toward healing, over 20 immigrant-led coalitions came together to launch the “We Are Home” campaign, delivering a clear message rooted in their undeniable humanity and worth.  With three concrete demands and an intersectional organizing strategy shaped by youth, worker, and multi-racial coalitions, the “We Are Home” campaign not only called out the dehumanizing policies that have long criminalized immigrants and immigrant families, but centered the essentially transformative role that immigrant communities have in a free and fair society.  “We Are Home” was, and is, a message of invitation - to become a country that truly welcomes, cares for, and celebrates all. 

Today, the current Presidential Administration threatens to enact even crueler policies than previous administrations. As exclusion and brutality become further codified in our nation’s practices and policies, “We Are Home” invites us to reflect honestly. Can any of us feel at home in a society that continues to deny the basic rights of millions of our friends, family members, and neighbors?

Check out Week One’s offerings for 30 Days of Love 2025! We have ways to take action, something to watch, three activities for families, a body practice, journaling practice, and a creative practice.

Today, we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose vision calls us to keep the dream alive through daily practice. Dr. King taught us that justice is not inevitable—it is built through continuous struggle, unwavering faith, and collective action. His dream lives on in every act of courage and compassion as we work to create a world rooted in equity, dignity, and love.

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as we begin 30 Days of Love, we celebrate the progress made by communities committed to justice and recognize the work still ahead. Together, we can build the Beloved Community by grounding ourselves in our shared values and collective action.

As Dr. King reminds us: “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.”

Justice requires intentional action. Yet, hope grows when we unite in community, using our shared values to challenge injustice and build a more loving, equitable world.

Inhabiting Our Freedom Dreams: 30 Days of Love
As we honor Dr. King’s vision of a just and compassionate world, we are proud to launch this year’s 30 Days of Love with the theme "Inhabiting Our Freedom Dreams."

This year, 30 Days of Love will share practices we can take together to bring dreams of justice and liberation into being. New resources will be released every Tuesday, offering a variety of ways to engage with the weekly themes, including:

• A Side With Love message provides political education and context for each weekly theme with lessons and inspiration to move through these times. 

• A journal practice to reflect and dream to chart a course with clarity and care.

• A creative/art practice to ground in the beauty and abundance of imagination.   

• A body practice to ground us in resilience and renewal.

• A family-friendly, multigenerational activity that builds community as we take action for justice.

Together, we can pace ourselves, grow our relationships, and build the spiritual discipline to sustain this work for the long haul. However you choose to engage with these offerings, we are honored to share the love and wisdom of some of our most inspiring UU voices.

A Blessing for MLK Day

We offer these words from Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson, a Unitarian Universalist minister, as a blessing for this day:

“The dream of justice and equality—the Beloved Community—is a dream worth living, worth giving our all. Let us continue to move forward, hand in hand, heart to heart, ever faithful, ever committed, ever courageous.”

May we honor Dr. King not only in our words but in our deeds. Together, we carry his vision forward, bending the arc toward justice and creating a world filled with compassion and hope.

In faith and solidarity,

The Side With Love Team 

Resource Round-Up

Take Action

• Take Action on LA Wildfire

• Tell Your Reps to Vote “No” on the Laken Riley Act (UUSJ)

• Our Work in the Days Ahead: A Conversation for Antiracist White People with Angela Davis

• Take the UUA Asset Map Survey to Build Our Collective Resilience (email love at uua.org to get the link to the survey)

Trainings

• SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity) Facilitator Training

Educational Resources

• UUA Community Resilience HUB

• Anti-Authoritarian Podcast

• Digital Security

• Community Safety for All: Congregational Action Toolkit 

Now is the time to practice that which we seek to grow in our world—deeply, compassionately, and at the scale of relationships in our communities. As the governing and power structures of our world rely more and more on domination, exploitation, and disposability to consolidate power, we must hold onto and grow ours. Our power is grounded in our values that proclaim the transformative power of love and harness the enduring power of community. We are the antidote to our fear. Our collective work is to practice the new world we seek to build, drawing inspiration from abolitionist and emergent strategies for liberation, as explored in Andrea Ritchie’s Practicing New Worlds: Abolition and Emergent Strategies. Liberation is our North Star guiding us through these times.

Last year’s 30 Days of Love theme was Imagining an Interdependent Future. We shared resources on growing our capacities to (re)imagine our world and our relationships. This year, 30 Days of Love will share practices we can take together to bring those dreams of justice and liberation into being. This year’s theme, Inhabiting Our Freedom Dreams, draws inspiration from Robin D.G. Kelley’s Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, tracing the prophetic affirmations and spiritual work of justice movements as guides to how each of us can call new worlds into being. Each week, you will receive several offerings related to the weekly themes.

“We are home”
From the the immigrant justice coalition lead by United We Dream 

“Trans people are divine”
From the creators of the Black Trans Prayer Book

“Water Is Life”
From the Standing Rock protests  against the Dakota Access Pipeline

“There are Black People in the Future”
From artist Alisha B. Wormsley

 Each week’s resources will be published on Tuesdays and include the following. 

•  A Side With Love message provides political education and context for each weekly theme with lessons and inspiration to move through these times. 

• A journal practice to reflect and dream to chart a course with clarity and care.

• A creative/art practice to ground in the beauty and abundance of imagination.   

• A body practice to ground us in resilience and renewal.

• A family friendly, multigenerational activity that builds community as we take action for justice.

We share these resources hoping that you and your communities will use them in a variety of ways. The work ahead is great and we must do it intentionally. Let’s pace ourselves, grow our relationships, and build the spiritual discipline to hold ourselves and one another for the long haul. 

However you choose to engage with these offerings, we are honored to share the love and wisdom of some of our most inspiring UU voices. We are deeply grateful for this annual opportunity to collectively nurture our spirits and sustain our commitment to love. Let us journey together to inhabit our freedom dreams together. 

In faith,

Nicole Pressley

Director of Organizing Strategy, Side With Love

Take Action

• Take Action on LA Wildfire

• Tell Your Reps to Vote “No” on the Laken Riley Act (UUSJ)

• Our Work in the Days Ahead: A Conversation for Antiracist White People with Angela Davis

• Take the UUA Asset Map Survey to Build Our Collective Resilience (email love at uua.org to request link to the survey)

Trainings

• SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity) Facilitator Training

Educational Resources

• UUA Community Resilience HUB

• Anti-Authoritarian Podcast

• Digital Security

• Community Safety for All: Congregational Action Toolkit 

As this year draws to a close, we pause to reflect on the love, justice, and care you have brought into the world. Your dedication and compassion have been a beacon of hope, and we are deeply grateful to be on this journey with you.

During this holiday season, may you find moments of rest and renewal. Whether you gather with loved ones, reflect in solitude, or engage in acts of kindness, may this time bring peace to your spirit and strength to your heart.

As we look ahead to 2025, we are excited to continue building a world rooted in love and justice. To grow our capacity for this work, we are thrilled to announce that Side With Love is searching for a Climate Justice Fellow! This temporary, part-time role (19 hours per week at $22-$26 per hour with benefits) will help deepen our Unitarian Universalist climate justice efforts through June 2025. If you or someone you know is passionate about faith-centered environmental stewardship, we encourage you to apply today.

While we continue this sacred work together, we invite you to take advantage of the resources we’ve created to support your journey. Our Community Resilience Hub offers tools to empower and equip your congregation or community in meaningful ways. Please also consider filling out our Community Skill and Asset Survey to help us map our collective strengths as the UUA community (email love@uua.org with your congregational affiliation to get the link to the survey.)

We’re also happy to offer two small gifts from the Side With Love Team to help you center yourself as we come to the end of a turbulent year. First, we invite you to listen to this Solstice Playlist cultivated by the SWL team, filled with songs to help you reflect and find inspiration in this season. We also have crafted this small Solstice Reflection Guide, offering you a few questions to sit with and reflect upon as we come to the end of 2024. 

May this blessing from Rev. Kathleen McTigue, former minister of the Unitarian Society of New Haven, guide you in your walk and work in the days to come: 

     “May you be blessed with good companions on the journey
Kindred spirits to uphold you in the face of challenges
And to share in your joy.
May you find in yourself the strength to rise above fear,
A commitment to do justice,
And the willingness to be enlarged by love.”

Let us carry this spirit into the year ahead, as we continue the sacred work of building the Beloved Community.

With gratitude and hope,

Side With Love Team 

As we enter the season of reflection and intention, I’d like to share some exciting news and deep gratitude for this community. This year was a stretch! Together we reached towards the highest aspirations of  our faith; modeling commitment, grace, partnership and adaptation to answer the call of love and justice. 

Side With Love’s power comes from our collective commitment to rise to the challenge and beauty of building Beloved Community.  Today, as the world around us continues to grapple with crises fueled by hatred and indifference, we have a moral mandate to embody the principles of justice and compassion in all that we do. Together, we can be the architects of a more just and equitable future. By rooting in our faith--embodying our values through care, political action, and deep learning--we can imagine a new world and call it into being. 

Like you, the Side With Love team at the UUA is growing our capacities to support the work for this long haul and that means growing our team. I am overjoyed to announce two new additions to our team. 

Welcome Rev. Brandan Robertson as the new Sr. Communications Manager!  This role is designed to help us keep our communities connected and informed, tell the powerful stories of our work, and build faithful and libertory narratives of the world we are building. I am overjoyed that Rev. Brandan Robertson has joined the Side With Love team at the UUA as our new Sr.Communications Manager. Rev. Brandan brings a wealth of strategic communications and advocacy experience from United Methodist Church, Faith in Public Life, and his award-wining work and ministry of LGBTQ inclusion. We are excited for all that he brings to our team in helping us articulate and connect with our values in the world. 

From Rev. Brandan:

As a progressive Christian pastor, activist, and organizer, I have long admired the work of Side With Love and the broader Unitarian Universalist Association. It is a true honor to now get the chance to partner with this incredible team to help share our vital work and message with the world in the days ahead. I look forward to all of the good work we will do together as we trouble the waters to bring healing, liberation, and justice to our world.

Welcome G Williams as the Special Projects Administrator. 

This is a part-time role that helps us respond to the emergent needs and opportunities of this moment. G will play a key role in supporting internal infrastructure building as well as rapid response work. G brings a variety of  technical skills and organizing experience from their work at The Trevor Project and justice work in Unitarian Universalism. Most recently they have co-founded Camp Ground, a multi-religious adult summer camp that provides a retreat for folks who do the work of justice in their day to day lives. G Is a seminarian at Starr King School for the Ministry and a member of the Trans Seminarian Cohort with The National LGBTQ Task Force. They are currently working on our asset map survey which will serve to mobilize resources and activate leaders to support bodily autonomy, and immigrant and gender justice work in the coming months.  If you haven’t completed it yet, please email love@uua.org to request the link.

From G: 

I have spent my life in service to the communities that nourished me into being, working not just towards the absence of oppression but for the presence of justice and the hope for peace. It is both an honor and a blessing to continue that work with the incredible Side With Love team and the broader UUA. At a moment when I am certain what awaits us will bring many challenges, I take heart in knowing that we are a people whose faith calls us to action, and that when I wade into the deep to meet each challenge, I will not be alone in the water.

At the heart of our work lies the profound power of love. Love serves as both a catalyst for action and a source of solace for our communities in times of need. In these times where we are told the lie that our individual thriving requires someone else's suffering, love is the promise of Beloved Community, where all of us are whole and worthy. 

Thank you for your support in the ever-evolving work and staffing of Side With Love. 

Love and courage,

Nicole Pressley 

Resources for continuing the work. 

Partnership is critical to work. I want to lift up some opportunities and resources to help our communities remain resilient and get ready for the work ahead.  

1. Watch: UUA President Sofía Betancourt’s Holiday Message 

2. Listen: Anti-authoritarian Playbook Podcast 

3. Join: Mijente Deportation Defense webinars 

4. Faith ERSN Digital Security 101 

5. Give: Donate to Pink Haven, National Network of Abortion funds, Side With Love

6. Complete: Community Care and Resilience Survey (email love@uua.org to get the link)

7. Take action: AFSC ceasefire action hour, 10 thing to do that are not voting or protesting  

8. Check out the new UUA Community Resilience Hub 

In these turbulent times, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary efforts of UUs across the country who contributed to our UU the Vote work during this election season. No matter the results of the election, your commitment to justice and strengthening our democracy has made a real difference. Together, we mobilized, educated, and inspired thousands of people across key states, demonstrating the transformative power of our faith in action.

A few highlights from UU democracy organizing across the US: 

Arizona: UU the Vote volunteers canvassed tirelessly, focusing on pivotal ballot initiatives, including Proposition 139 (expanding abortion care) and Proposition 314 (an anti-immigrant measure). Alongside local partners and out-of-state volunteers, we knocked on doors, educated voters, and grew relationships with grassroots partner organizations.

North Carolina: With legislative and judicial races on the line, UU volunteers and partners connected with over 12,000 voters, with a chorus that uplifted spirits at early voting sites, demonstrating that resilience and hope are powerful antidotes to intimidation and fear.

National Efforts: Phone-banking efforts in collaboration with State Action Networks in MI, NC, PA, and TX ensured voters were informed and empowered to make their voices heard. In Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Wisconsin, UU volunteers canvassed the weekend before Election Day.

Through every conversation, song, and step, you embodied our faith’s commitment to justice, love, and equity. Thank you.

As we reflect on these efforts, we also invite you to consider an essential question posed by UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt during a recent fireside chat with UUSC President Rev. Mary Katherine Morn: How do we make our interdependence faithful and value-driven? These two theologians and leaders discussed the UU theological grounding for climate justice, highlighting that interdependence is not always positive—someone upstream polluting has an interdependent relationship with those downstream. This question challenges us to align our interconnectedness with values of justice, compassion, and care.

You are invited to explore this conversation further by watching the UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice Fireside Chat, a 32-minute recording that includes reporting from small group discussions across the UUA. 

3 Resources to Empower Your Community as We Move Forward

While the election is behind us, there is still much work left to be done. The challenges ahead demand that we remain resilient, adaptable, and deeply connected to one another. In response, we have three resources to empower your community as we move forward.

1) Tap into the Community Resilience Hub
The election may be over, but the work continues! The Community Resilience Hub is your go-to destination for tools, resources, and inspiration to help your congregation and community stay organized, advocate for justice, and heal together. Dive into everything it offers to stay grounded and connected as you move forward.

2) Contribute to the Congregational Asset Map Survey
Your congregation’s unique strengths matter! By filling out the Congregational Asset Map Survey, you’ll help us build a comprehensive view of our collective resources. Together, we can ensure that our movement remains strong and impactful in the years to come. (Email socialjustice at uua.org with your congregational affiliation to receive the link.)

3) Share Your Insights in the UUA Community Care and Resilience Survey
Let your voice shape the future! The UUA Community Care and Resilience Survey is an opportunity to share your perspectives and help us strategically address challenges and opportunities ahead. Don’t miss your chance to contribute before the end of the year! (Email socialjustice at uua.org with your congregational affiliation to receive the link.)

As we move forward, we will continue to provide you with information, updates, and resources to empower you to be a witness for love and justice in your communities and beyond. But until then, may this blessing ignite a spark within your soul that empowers you to press onward with faith and hope:

May the love that binds us together bring the healing we seek.

May the hope that ignites our souls keep our eyes fixed on the prize of collective liberation.

May the peace that comes from knowing we are each other's strengthen our resolve.

May the joy inspired by the vision of a more just world propel us into the work ahead.

May the faith that sustains us guide our path with courage and grace.

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our collective liberation. Your efforts are a testament to the transformative power of our faith and the boundless possibilities of what we can achieve together.

In gratitude and solidarity,

your Side With Love team

2024 UUA Social Justice Award Nominations Wanted!

Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action

The Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action honors a Unitarian Universalist congregation that has done exemplary work in social justice and is accompanied by a $1,000 cash award.

Submissions must be received by April 25, 2025.  

Submissions consist of a short description form, and if applicable, a testimonial from a partner organization or community group, and any relevant media about the congregation's justice ministry, including news articles or photos. Learn more and submit your nomination.

Skinner Sermon Award

The Skinner Sermon Award honors Clarence Skinner, the late dean of the Tufts College School of Religion in Medford, MA. and a major voice of prophetic religious liberalism, and is presented annually to the preacher of the sermon best expressing Unitarian Universalism's social principles. It comes with a $500 honorarium. 

We particularly encourage and invite sermons that speak to one of our four intersectional justice priorities (bodily autonomy inclusive of reproductive justice and trans liberation; decriminalization; democracy and electoral justice; and climate justice). 

Submissions must be received by April 25, 2025. 

Submissions may be offered as a document of the sermon text and/or as a video recording of it being offered. Please be sure to include the author's name, address, church affiliation, phone number, email address, and indication of when and where the sermon was delivered in your email submission. Learn more and submit your sermon.

Tonight, the final votes will be cast in this election. As we await the results, many of us feel the weight of uncertainty. This moment brings tension but also invites us to lean into the steady presence our faith calls us to embody. Now, more than ever, your strength and leadership in your communities are essential. Together, we can be a grounding presence, steady and unwavering, whatever may come.

While the outcomes of key races are yet to be decided, we remain united by a shared commitment to our core values—values held by communities of all backgrounds, rooted in the freedom to shape our futures, protect our communities, and make our voices heard. In this moment, let us stay steadfast in our commitment to one another and to the common good, keeping our eyes on our ultimate goal: the collective liberation of all people.

As we move through this day, may this blessing spark hope within you:

On this Election Day,
One of us will joyfully cast a vote, hoping we are moving closer to a just world—
This act renews our inner strength,
Challenges closed minds,
And lifts our spirit with hope.

On this Election Day,
One of us will serve as a poll worker—
Guardians of democracy who show up with patience and courage,
Ensuring every vote is counted and every voice is heard.
A sacred act of love for every person in our country.

On this Election Day,
One of us will vote with our focus on communities in need,
Disrupting cycles of oppression,
Loving our neighbors as ourselves,
And seeking to bring peace to a world marked by division.

On this Election Day,
One of us will vote with righteous anger aflame within,
Encountering barriers to our right to be heard,
To share our sacred stories,
And feel the sting of ignorance working against our dignity.

On this Election Day,
One of us will show up as our fullest self, without fear, demanding recognition and affirmation—
Trusting in the power of “we the people,”
Believing anew in the promise of democracy,
And finding courage birthed within us once again.

As we embark on this sacred work today,
Let us release that which has made us afraid,
Hold close what stirs our spirit,
And renew our faith in the strength of the Beloved Community.
For as we bless the world with our voices and votes, we, too, are blessed in return.

As we continue forward together, here are essential actions that can support your communities during this time.

• Embrace Connectedness: Remain closely connected to your faith community, using this moment to check in on one another and nurture the deep relationships we’ve formed. Whether through emails, phone calls, virtual gatherings, or in-person meetings, ensure that no one in your community feels isolated during this time.

• Prepare for a Range of Outcomes: While we all hope to see a peaceful transition of power, it’s important to be ready for any unrest that may arise or the spread of misinformation. Utilize the resources we’ve developed to encourage calm and critical thinking in the days ahead.

• Support Our Community: We must prioritize care for those most at risk in our communities—migrants, trans and nonbinary individuals, queer communities, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Take time to reach out to trusted local coalitions and offer support where possible.

• Mobilize When Necessary: Whether through public demonstrations or behind-the-scenes support, remain flexible and discerning in the days ahead. Keep our organizing and accountability networks active for a coordinated, compassionate response should it become necessary. Resources on risk discernment, safety at protests and more can be found on the Community Resilience Hub.

The Unitarian Universalist Association, along with our Side With Love and Congregational Life teams, is here with you through this time of unknowns. We’ve developed a broad range of tools, resources, and events to help us move forward together, and we will continue to provide thoughtful updates and support in the days ahead with a steady commitment to our shared values.

In times like these, it is natural to feel overwhelmed. Yet we’ve prepared for this. With courage, clarity, and deep love, we will navigate this journey together—whatever the outcome.

In faith and solidarity,

Nicole, Amanda, Amarin, Audra, Brandan, Cathy, G., Jeff, Nora, Ranwa, and Rachel
the Side With Love staff Team

Our shared values of love, justice, and compassion call on us to respond to the many threats to our future of collective thriving and liberation. While we fight the many causes of climate disasters (extractive capitalism, racial injustice), we also commit ourselves to building communities of care and resilience. As the Southeast experiences the devasting loss from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we are grateful for the many who have taken up the sacred task of care. From spiritual support to life-saving rescue efforts to financial and material relief efforts, it is critical that we show up. If you can make a financial contribution to relief efforts, please support one or all of the vetted relief efforts at the end of this email. 

It is clear that mitigation - working to reduce the polluting emissions that drive climate change -  is no longer enough. We are called to expand our efforts to center justice and prioritize creating communities of care.

Our congregations must become places of refuge in the storms, hubs of resilience in times of climate disaster, and centers of nourishment when things fall apart. This, dear friends, is the work of our time.

We know that climate disasters do not affect all equally. Marginalized communities—including people of color, people with disabilities, low-income families, and unhoused neighbors—are often impacted first and hardest. Consider that people with disabilities are two to four times more likely to die or be injured during climate disasters. Or that Black disaster survivors receive significantly less government support than their white counterparts, exacerbating pre-existing inequities. This is a call to action.

As we reimagine a world where all communities thrive, we must also ground ourselves in the systems of oppression that worsen the climate crisis. Our work must include addressing FEMA accountability, the mental health crisis exacerbated by displacement, and the climate grief and anxiety that many are facing. We must not turn away from these realities but open our hearts to create a new world with this knowledge.

We encourage everyone to support efforts like the UUA's Disaster Relief Fund and mutual aid networks, such as those offered by Highlander, to uplift the most vulnerable. Additionally, the importance of voting for leaders and policies that prioritize climate justice cannot be overstated. Our collective action in these moments will shape the future.

Let us move forward with courage, faith, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

In solidarity,

Your colleagues at Side With Love

UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice

UUs have been at the leading edge of climate action for decades, but how does our faith call us to the work of climate justice?

Join the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community on Wednesday, October 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET for a watch party of the UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice Fireside Chat with UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt and UUSC President Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, hosted by Side With Love Climate Justice Advocate Rachel Myslivy.

How does your faith call you to this work? Join the conversation!

Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care

How can we center the inherent worth and dignity of every person in climate disasters? Check out our resource for congregations, Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care.

We can use our gifts to offer love, to work for justice, to heal injury, to create pleasure for ourselves and others. We can recognize our mutual independence with all life. We can take actions that are grounded in justice, guided by wisdom, and sustained with hope. We can learn, act, and reflect to cultivate the beloved community.

Every community is different, and climate impacts will vary at the hyper-local level. Some neighborhoods may be devastated by a hurricane while others experience only minor impacts. Adequate preparation and response for climate disasters must center the lived experiences and impacts of climate disasters on those most at risk.

Use our toolbox, worksheets, and recorded trainings to assess your community's climate impacts and mobilize for action. Start today.

UU the Vote: 2024 Mobilization

With just 24 days until Election Day, UU the Vote continues to invite UUs around the country to join us for these important events to engage with voters.  

If you are within driving distance of any of our in-person mobilizations, please join us! Each day includes spiritual grounding, training, lunch, and support (plus gas reimbursement if you bring a group!). Read about our in-person mobilizations in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Dallas! 

Drop into any or all of our upcoming phonebanks - we train at the beginning of each one and provide on-going support. Your personal information is protected as you make calls through our software. 

In-Person Canvassing

• October 25-27: Phoenix, AZ

• October 25-27: Raleigh, NC*

• November 1-3: Denver, CO 

• November 1-3: Orlando, FL*

• November 1-3: Milwaukee, WI

Virtual Phonebanks

• October 15 with UU Justice Pennsylvania

• October 22 with Texas UU Justice Ministry

• October 29 with Michigan UU Social Justice Network

Tell us about your congregation’s UU the Vote work!

Please update us about the work your congregation is doing on democracy with our Activity and Action Reporting Form!

UPLIFT Access Monthly Accessibility Resource Webinars

Our loving faith calls us to honor the inherent rights and dignity of all people and to fight forms of oppression wherever we find it. However, disabled people (who make up 26% of the population) regularly find ourselves pushed to the margins, being denied our needs, and not receiving the radical welcome UU’s aspire to provide to all members.

Lay leaders, religious professionals, and allies are invited to join us for our monthly lunchtime webinars where you can learn how to be more accessible and inclusive of your congregation’s disabled members and visitors.

Join us for our next UPLIFT Access Resource Webinar on Thursday, October 17 at 12:00pm ET / 9am PT for a discussion of Voting and Disability Justice. Join representatives from Side With Love, New Disabled South, and Rev. Amanda Schuber, the UUA’s Disability Justice Associate.

• UPLIFT Access Monthly Webinar Registration

Check out last month’s recording: Sacred, Collective Care and Safe, Clean Air with CB Beal and Meghan Garvey

• UPLIFT Access Webinars - All Previous Recordings

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Monthly Gathering

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us on October 22 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)! 

This is a drop-in space, where folks can come and go as works best for them, and where people can join us at any time. You can be a regular or someone new, someone who's been curious for a while but hasn't yet checked us out, somebody who is rejoining after time away, and all other ways of relating to this space! You are welcome here, and you are loved. 

Learn more: https://www.uua.org/lgbtq/transnb
Register: https://bit.ly/UPLIFTGathering

In these times, where the threats to democracy and liberty devastate our communities, we are fortified by the truth that throughout history, people rise to meet the moment. 

 In 2024, we are rising to the challenges we face in the world. 

 Transforming our Climate Justice Work  

 We are launching a first-ever faith-wide Climate Revival that will break down silos and springboard hundreds of congregations to a move beyond extraction into a wider climate justice movement—the Revival supports congregations with tools and training to equip us to take courageous and impactful action.  

 Growing our Organizing Power 

 We’re building response networks across the country for trans people, students, and the many folks targeted by state violence and legislative attacks. 

 Taking mass action for democracy 

 We are answering the call to show up boldly and be part of the moral majority that knows another world is possible. We are taking action right now towards that future with UU the Vote 2024. 

Side With Love is a public expression of our values, bringing our values to life through mobilizing leaders in congregations and our communities.

Today, it is urgent that we center love in all that we do, if we are to transform ourselves and our world toward liberation. That is the power of a liberating love. 

“Everything you touch, you change; everything that changes, changes you.” 

Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower

What happens when love is a force for change? Who must we become to embody that love?

 Help Side With Love build community and campaigns centered around liberating love. Let's harness our power in the urgent times. Thanks to generous donors, all contributions made by July 5 will be matched up to $75,000. 

The Mass Poor People's & Low-Wage Workers' Assembly & Moral March on Washington DC on Sat, June 29

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is calling on people of moral conscience in the DMV area to join thousands on June 29th in Washington, DC to uplift and center the needs of the over 135 million poor and low-wage people and workers across the country. The UUA is one of the organizational partners for this event.

• Interested in joining in person?

• Watch the livestream on Saturday on our Facebook page.

Blessing for Queer Youth of Faith Day

Queer Youth of Faith Day is celebrated on June 30th.

According to Beloved Arise, "1 in 5 LGBTQ youth say their faith is important to them."

As a religious denomination committed to LGBTQIA+ liberation, Side With Love is pleased to share this blessing for queer youth of faith, penned by Side With Love Leadership Development Specialist Rev. Cathy Rion Starr (they/them/theirs).

General Assembly 2024

Side With Love Cohorts

During General Assembly 2024, Side With Love offered a cohort for attendees. Twice a day, GA attendees could drop into one of Side With Love's cohort sessions which offered theological grounding, a story of congregational action connected, opportunities for discussion, and moments of movement and levity.

 Recommended Resource: Collaboration is a relationship that starts with knowing what you have to offer and what you hold. See what your congregation can offer and what your congregation is currently holding:

• Skill Up Workshop: Asset Mapping: Leveraging Congregational Resources for the Movement

• Green Sanctuary Team Meeting: Engaging Marginalized Communities

• Skill Up Workshop: What Do Impacted Communities Need? How Would I Know!?

Join Slack - our virtual field office! Slack is our primary online community for Side with Love - let’s connect!

Social Witness Statements for 2024

These statements were affirmed at General Assembly and are undergoing review by UUA legal counsel. Final text will be posted at UUA Statements by July 15th. 

• AIW: Centering Love Amidst the Ongoing Impact of COVID-19

• AIW: Solidarity with Palestinians

• AIW: World on Fire: Humanitarian Work and Climate Change

Additionally, during General Assembly, the UUA Business Resolution: Embracing Transgender, Nonbinary and Intersex People is a Fundamental Expression of UU Religious Values was adopted as well as Responsive Resolution: UUA General Assembly Support for October 7 Hostages. 

It is that time again. PRIDE Month! Every June, many of us celebrate PRIDE, honoring LGBTQ+ people, our lives, accomplishments, and resilience. As you read this, the streets in your hometown may be lined with banners announcing the upcoming PRIDE parade; storefront windows are abundantly decorated with affirming messages like “love trumps hate” or “love is love.” From logos to curated book displays at our local library, we can find PRIDE deeply affirming and celebratory. 

Pride is beautiful! It is life-affirming to be celebrated and declare your love for yourself and your beloved. Whether it is joining an affirming community in a parade or a gentle reminder of your worth and dignity on a rainbow t-shirt, PRIDE month can bring revolutionary joy and healing to our community. Our existence and our resistance is beautiful and worthy of celebration. 

We know this PRIDE month may feel different. Maybe your school has removed books that include stories with LGBTQ+ characters. Maybe the PRIDE flag that used to fly outside your church’s door or in front of City Hall has been vandalized or stolen. Perhaps you and your community are grieving the loss of a loved one, the loss of a community member who has moved for their safety, or the loss of hope that things will get better. Maybe your PRIDE celebration includes a memorial or dedication. 

PRIDE is complicated. The love, grief, and unbridled joy moves through us 

It is a time when many of us hold our partners, our chosen family, and our beloved close because we know that “love is love” is not just a slogan. It means offering housing to someone whose home is no longer safe. It means cards and celebration on Nonbinary Parents Day. It means learning and celebrating new names, pronouns, and bodies. Love is embracing the joy in becoming who you know you are and the humility and care of being one who may be invited to witness this transformation. 

Today, it is important that we remind ourselves that the first PRIDE was a riot and lift up the legacies of Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera. In June, we witness new cycles of “No Police in PRIDE” campaigns. Some LGBTQ+ organizations will inform us of all the corporations that churn out PRIDE-themed advertisements while donating millions to legislators who vote to ban trans children from sports and trans people from bathrooms, vote for discriminatory policies that leave many in our community without homes or jobs, or healthcare, spread pinkwashing messages that worsen the genocide in Palestine, abandon disabled people to an ongoing pandemic, and use the carceral system to police our identity. 

PRIDE is political. PRIDE has never represented one cohesive and aligned community. Just as Silvia Rivera gave voice to a gay liberation movement that ignored the needs and contributions of trans and non-binary people, PRIDE continues to be an important site of political struggle that calls us into accountability and the work for collective liberation. 

PRIDE, like our LGBTQ+ community, is so many things. For Side With Love, PRIDE is an opportunity to faithfully continue the work of LGBTQ+ liberation and gender justice. It is an opportunity to reflect on where movements have fallen short of our highest ideals and recommit to centering BIPOC, trans, disabled, and other marginalized LGBTQ+ people who are still marginalized due to multiple and intersecting oppressions. It is a time when we honor our legacy of protest and disruption by affirming protest and disruption when communities are struggling for their liberation. PRIDE is an invitation to root in a radical history so that we may reach a liberatory future. 

This month, we will share short reflections from UUs on what PRIDE means to them this year. Find these posts on our Instagram at @SideofLove. 

Happy PRIDE!

In faith and solidarity,

Nicole Pressley 

Resources

• Donate to the Pink Haven Coalition

• Watch our webinar, The Body Politic: Faithful UUs Showing Up for Trans Justice

• Support TransLash: telling trans stories to save trans lives

New from inSpirit: UUA Book and Gift Shop!

T-Shirt: Every Body is Sacred

T-Shirt: Create Climate Justice

T-Shirt: Promise of democracy

See all merchandise available for Side With Love and our campaigns at InSpirit!

June Programming from Side With Love

Monthly Mixer

Monday, June 10 at 8:00pm ET

We know that these times ask a lot of us and that we need one another to stay in the work with hope, joy, impact, and accountability. Join us if you are doing the work on the ground, if you are showing up for and with Side with Love, and/or if you are just learning about Side with Love. Come connect with one another, build community across issues, and have some facetime with our staff. Register now.

Climate Justice Revival Info Session

Thursday, June 13 at 1:00pm ET

Are you excited for the first-ever UU Climate Justice Revival ...but...still have so many questions? Is it on zoom or in person? Can kids participate? Is it a regional or national event? When we do new and different things, questions are expected! Come to the UU Climate Justice Revival Info Session and get all your questions answered! Register now.

Stop Cop City Monthly Huddle

Thursday, June 13 at 2:00 PM ET

We’ll review what’s happening and what you can do with Stop Cop City more broadly. Join us to get activated or to jump back in. Register now.

Blessing for Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We are grateful to share with you a blessing to honor all of you, from Side With Love Disability Justice Associate Rev. Amanda Schuber.

Spirit of Life, Source of Hope and Healing,

We open our hearts to the boundless love that surrounds us. Each of us is touched in different ways by the complexities of mental health. Today, and every day, let us remember that wholeness is our birthright, and each of us is a precious part of the vast tapestry of existence.

May we embrace a theology of hope, one that celebrates the wholeness within each soul, beyond any perception of brokenness. Let us acknowledge that our struggles and pains are not signs of failure, but threads in the intricate weave of our humanity.

In times of struggle, may we find the wat forward. May we hold onto the truth that we are never alone; we are part of a loving community that supports and uplifts one another. Together, we can accompany each other in this life, offering compassion and understanding to ourselves and to others.

Let us affirm that every person is deserving of care, dignity, and respect, and may we create spaces where mental health is spoken of openly and without stigma, where seeking help is seen as a strength, and where every story is heard with empathy.

Spirit of Love, guide us to be beacons of hope. May we find strength in our shared journey, knowing that we are interconnected, and that together, we can foster a world where every mind and heart can thrive.

Blessed be. Amen.

Communication – Communication – Communication