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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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!

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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!)

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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 » 

Affirms Commitment to Separation of Church and State

The IRS recently made news by suggesting that clergy be allowed to endorse political candidates to their churches. While this potential change surfaced as part of a lawsuit the IRS is involved in, no changes to IRS policies or the laws governing political activity for nonprofits have been finalized or fully enacted. 

For years, the UUA has published guidance to our congregations and leaders about how to be a prophetic voice advocating for UU values in the public square. Additionally, our faith has a long history of faithful statements and resolutions that unequivocally support the separation of church and state. As such, we are deeply concerned by the IRS’s actions which would further erode this fundamental principle and democracy itself. The UUA maintains adherence to this principle and calls on all people of faith and conscience to uphold this cornerstone of democracy. This serves both to safeguard the public pluralism of religious freedom and civil rights from government interference, and to preserve the independence of religious organizations, allowing us to follow our calling without entanglement from the state. Both are more important now than ever in pushing back against the rising tide of authoritarianism and the infiltration of white Christian nationalism into government and public policy. 

We offer a plethora of resources supporting congregations in being “Prophetic, Not Partisan,” including “The Real Rules” -- a handy guidebook on appropriate political activity and justice organizing. This guidance is woven into all of our nonpartisan, pro-democracy work through UU the Vote. These recommendations remain the UUA’s best guidance on navigating IRS rules and current law governing non-profits, including congregations.  

In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to monitor the potential impact of any changes to nonprofit laws. In a time when UUs are under heightened scrutiny from hostile governmental leaders, we are particularly conscious that there are many who would seek any avenue to question our legitimacy and standing. Our guidance remains the same as it has always been to protect our essential position in our communities: partisan activity is incompatible with an organization’s 501(c)3 status, including for us as churches, while it remains our moral duty to advocate publicly and unapologetically for laws and policies that align with our shared UU values. 

WASHINGTON, DC — Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director of Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, and Nicole Pressley, Director of Organizing Strategy Team, Unitarian Universalist Association, led the following organizations – JUUstice Washington; Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network; Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance; New York Unitarian Universalist Justice; Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice; South Carolina Unitarian Universalist Justice Alliance; Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Congregational Action Network; Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry; Unitarian Universalist Action New Hampshire; Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illlinois; Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California ; Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina; Unitarian Universalist Massachusetts Action Network ; Unitarian Universalist Refugee & Immigrant Services & Education ; Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East; Virginia Unitarian Universalist State Action Network; and Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist State Action Network – in a joint statement upon the conclusion of the 2025 U.S. Supreme Court Session last week.

This season, the U.S. Supreme Court has greatly expanded the power of the presidency. They have sharpened the points on the Faux King’s crown in ways inconceivable a mere session or two ago. In case after case, the Court chose the interests of billionaires, big corporations, and authoritarian power over the rights and well-being of the people.

We believe in a democracy where every person is treated with dignity, protected by just laws, and empowered to thrive in community.

In United States vs. Skrmetti, the court enabled states to block the rights of transgender youth to receive gender affirming care. In a press release, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, the UUA’s president said, “As a part of our faith tradition, Unitarian Universalists embrace transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender diverse people. This is a central expression of our faith. We also believe that denying healthcare to the trans community is a moral violation. We send our love and care to all the trans youth and their families who are directly affected by this ruling, we will keep fighting for you. We will continue to work with and on behalf of the trans and nonbinary community to ensure that their dignity as human beings and rights are protected across this country.”

In Trump v. Casa Inc., the Court ruled that federal judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions to block Trump’s unconstitutional executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or travelers. By stripping judges of this critical tool, the Court enables the selective, racialized enforcement of citizenship itself. This decision furthers a long and violent legacy of exclusion and criminalization—from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese internment to the historic denial of full rights to women, Black people, and Indigenous communities. Once again, the law is being weaponized to restrict belonging and legitimize state violence.

In Kennedy v. Braidwood, the Court opened the door for political and ideological interference in preventive health care, threatening access to cancer screenings, contraception, and medications like PrEP. While claiming to preserve the Affordable Care Act, this ruling grants anti-science, eugenicist ideologues the power to deny lifesaving care—especially for LGBTQIA+ people, poor people, and Black and brown communities.  

This comes just days after the third anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, when the Court struck down our constitutional right to abortion. Now, anti-abortion extremists in Congress are escalating their assault by targeting Planned Parenthood—advancing a de facto national ban that strips millions of access to reproductive care, cancer screenings, and contraception.

As Unitarian Universalists in our covenantal tradition, we believe in equal protection and dignity for all, no matter your roots or where your loved ones hold you close. It is part of our theological grounding to demand for others the same dignity we demand for ourselves. We hold ourselves to the expression of our theology by committing to an inclusive democratic process and placing love at the center of our faith. We work to manifest justice in the world. This season’s rulings reflect little of those higher laws of humanity and faithful teachings.

The ability of federal courts to block unjust laws has long protected immigrants, asylum seekers, LGBTQ people, trade unionists, patients, and children. Undermining this power is an attack on our shared humanity. It weakens the judiciary’s role in defending not just the law, but justice itself.

We must not back away from what is right, ethical, moral, and consistent with our faith teachings. As stated in a recent Action of Immediate Witness, “Now is the time to rise—to be the moral voice, the loving hands, and the brave hearts our world needs.

Let us not be bystanders to injustice.
Let us not offer thoughts and prayers where action is required.
Let us not forget that history is watching—and so are the generations to come.

Let us remember that the arc of history bends toward justice—but only when we bend it.

We are Unitarian Universalists. We side with love. We act in faith. We choose justice. And we will not be moved.”

Signed

Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice

Unitarian Universalist Association

JUUstice Washington

Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network

Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance

New York Unitarian Universalist Justice

Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice

South Carolina Unitarian Universalist Justice Alliance

Tennessee Unitarian Universalist Congregational Action Network

Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry

Unitarian Universalist Action New Hampshire

Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illlinois

Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California

Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina

Unitarian Universalist Massachusetts Action Network

Unitarian Universalist Refugee & Immigrant Services & Education

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East

Virginia Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Relevant and Recent AIWs and Business Resolutions

• We Declare and Affirm: Immigrants Are People Who Have Inherent Worth and Inalienable Rights

• 2025 Proposed AIW: Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism: Reaffirming Our Covenants for Democracy and Freedom

• Unitarian Universalists Pass Resolution Expressing Religious Belief: “Embracing Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex and Gender Diverse People is a Fundamental Expression of UU Religious Values”

Rev. Deanna Vandiver
Church of the Larger Fellowship Affiliated Minister

The Pink Haven Coalition is actively seeking Unitarian Universalists to offer welcoming villages, to serve as hosts and housing support for internally displaced trans and gender expansive persons and their families. While many calls to action ask for you to write your policy makers or show up for public witness, this is a direct ask for the abolitionist practice of accompaniment.

At a recent meeting with our Unitarian Universalist Association, the chalice lighting shared was this provoking invitation by the glorious Billy Porter,

“I think one of the things that we don’t talk about enough is the positive. Our news cycles are based in the negative. One of the things that I’ve been trying to lean into is the positive. The reason why the pushback is so acute and so severe is because the change has already happened. We have to remember that.
I stand before you as an out black queer artist who’s in the mainstream. The changes already happened. That’s what the pushback is. So let’s celebrate the joy of that.”

Yes. Let’s take a moment together and celebrate the joy of that. Many of us carry the brutal stories of pushback in our beings, AND for this moment, let us give thanks that joy does not wait for the struggle to be over.

It is because Unitarian Universalism honors the inherent dignity and power of all human beings, celebrating the plurality of possibilities with the realm of gender, and creating welcoming congregations that Unitarian Universalists are being explicitly invited to support the abolitionist work of the Pink Haven Coalition.

And yet, our history as welcoming congregations is rather recent on the scale of religious time. It matters that we are accountable to our own struggle to live into the promise of universal love.

David Pohl, who spent twenty-two years with the UU Department of Ministry…recalls helping to place the first two openly gay ministers in UU pulpits in 1980, when Douglas Morgan Strong went to Augusta, Maine and Mark Belletini went to Hayward, California. “I was kind of proud of that,” Pohl said, “proud of working with the churches and search committees that had the courage to make those decisions early on.” (The Premise & The Promise)

Rev. Douglas Morgan Strong’s own recollection of this breakthrough reflects more of the pain than the pride – He wrote “When I went before the Ministerial Fellowship Committee, I was petrified. Back then [in 1979], the number of out gay ministers successfully serving congregations was easy to count. There were none.” He lifted up that the General Assembly vote in favor of an Office of Gay Affairs – now housed within the Justice & Inclusion office of the Unitarian Universalist – was by no means unanimous and that many objected vehemently. Strong recalls “one colleague asking the assembly if the next step would be an Office of Bestiality.” (The Premise & The Promise)

Mercy.

It wasn’t that long ago, beloved. We must be humble in our becoming abolition.

And.

“The changes already happened. That’s what the pushback is. So let’s celebrate the joy of that.”

We celebrate the joy and we do not stop showing up for the struggle for collective liberation, an abolitionist future where we turn towards each other in care and treat no one as disposable.

How could anyone ever tell you
you were less than whole?

Many of us have been introduced to the concept of abolition through frameworks based in the negative. Taking a lesson from the wisdom of Billy Porter, let us lean into the positive and turn towards becoming abolition as a project of creation.

“As Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Angela Davis have taught us, abolition is a project of creation. To end criminalization, policing, and prisons, we need to build up life-affirming practices, institutions, and infrastructure that generate care and safety.” – Amanda Alexander & Deanna Van Buren

Universalism proclaims that no one is outside of the love of the holy, that not one soul is disposable, no matter what the legislators decide and police enforce. Whether you are being criminalized because of your identity or because of your poverty, systemic violence requires a faithful response. Becoming abolition is a faithful response.

While a writer in residence at the University of Washington, Madison Snider wrote an elegant essay on The Vigilant Imagination of Abolition. They wrote “The work is a continual, slow burn of justice. Abolition rejects the idea that anyone is disposable and reinstates hope in healing…Engaging in practices of “constant becoming” pave the way toward a world built on a foundation of care rather than harm.”

Snider concludes: What abolitionists have taught me is the value of holding space simultaneously for worldbuilding and radical dismantling. What ultimately must be abolished are the means by which community resources are drained to perpetuate harm and present the community back to itself as unworthy of care…The vigilant imagination of abolition is a confluence of resistance to persistent and evolving forms of oppression and steadfastness in the knowledge that another world is possible.

Another world, a loving world, is possible, dear ones. Together we make it so. Let us commit to becoming abolition and creating together.

May 2025

“I want you to imagine a society in which no person is disposable. In which every person has everything they need not only to survive, but to thrive.” —Rev. Dr. Michael Tino

Download the full issue and read all Quest publications: 

At the June Gathering, Shana Aisenberg sang us an invitation and a prayer:

“We rededicate ourselves to love, on this day, on this day.”

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? 

You can watch the recording and view the presentation slides.  After you watch, we would love your feedback!

As I said at The Gathering, it is central to Unitarian Universalism that EVERY body is sacred, and that each of us has a role to play in building a world where that is true.  What will you do this week? 

Take Action:

1. Find 1 thing you can do in our Side with Love Congregational Reproductive Justice Action Guide 

2. Join the August Faithful Futures multi faith training series for people of faith committees to reproductive Justice that Rev. Kentina shared

3. Send Avelo “Abduction” Airlines a message on X, Facebook or Insta or LInkedIn , or email: Socialmedia@aveloair.com and let them know you won’t fly on their planes if they’re collaborating with ICE to profit off of kidnapping  #StopAvelo

4. Get involved in the Stop Avelo Organizing 

I invite you to let us know which of these actions (or others!) you are taking, and be sure to read our Action Center Weekly Update for specific actions you can take this week. We publish the update every Tuesday on our Action Center.

Resources:

• Our Chalice Lighting was “A Protest and a Party,” by Rev. Hannah Roberts Villnave, p371-2 of “For Pride,” in Blessing It All: Rituals for Transition and Transformation, edited by Revs. Heather Concannon and Allison Palm.

• SACReD 

• Renewed Clergy Consultation Service 

• Follow Shana Aisenberg at Shana Songs and String Equinox Band 

• Follow Faith in Action and Faith in NJ who are anchoring the work to stop illegal detentions at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey. 

• Preparing for Pride 2025: Resources for Safety and Liberation

• Side with Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

At The Gathering, we invited you to Glitter Up, Share with a friend, and Act.  There is no time like the present!  Take a few minutes right now to sign up, make a call to Congress, put a note in your congregational newsletter, and call or text 3 beloveds.  We are more powerful than we know – and we need that power well-organized to confront the regime we are facing together.     

Do at least one thing to celebrate your beautiful, fabulous body and self this week, and we will see you again in August.  

May we dedicate ourselves to love today and always, 

Rev. Cathy & Side with Love Staff Team

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

Read the June 10 Action Center Weekly Update

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

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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

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

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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.

Find or Host a Local Event

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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.

View our recommended resources

Side With Love @ General Assembly

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

See our programming & events

Catch Up on Our Past Events

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

View Now

Recording and Resources: Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials

View Now

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.

Webpages

• Community Resilience Hub: Safety and Security in Troubled Times

• Community Resilience Hub: Protecting our Communites

• Side With Love’s Action Center Weekly Updates

Webinars

• Preparing for Pride: a webinar for religious professionals

• Responding to Far Right/White Christian Nationalist Threats

• The Body Politic: Faithful UUs Showing Up for Trans Justice

Courses

• Transforming Hearts Collective: Responding to the Anti-Trans Movement (sliding scale)

At our monthly Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting on May 21, we learned 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. Watch the recording here.

Visit our Green Sanctuary 2030 hub to:

• Subscribe to receive updates

• Download the materials.

• Join one of our monthly Community Meetings!

Ready to start the GS2030 process? Sign up here!

So you held a Climate Justice Revival.... now what? The Revival Planning Team offered this space to come together with other UUs who are also moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

• View the presentation slides

We lead the Gathering to offer you spiritual and political handholds for your actions toward liberation. We care about the work you are doing right there in your community. We hope that this month’s Gathering nourishes you with the poetry and words from Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto; that you come away with a better understanding of a Theory of Change from Nicole Pressley; that you get as excited as we are by the Avelo “Abduction Airlines” campaign and our beloveds confronting ICE malfeasance at Delaney Detention Center in New Jersey.

This month, we dove into two critical (and exciting) campaigns to resist ICE:

• Umme Hoque from Siembra NC shared about the new campaign to Stop Avelo Airlines, whose contract with ICE went live on May 12th. Umme shared the extensive research and strategy of this campaign, giving hope and inspiration towards a path to victory. This campaign has roles for everyone—from research to protest to advocacy. Check here if you are near an Avelo airport!

• Rev. Robin Tanner and Charlene D. Walker joined us for a live update from Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark New Jersey, where Faith in NJ has been fighting ICE detention facilities for a long time—and fascism has ratcheted up their tactics in the last few days. Learn about this ongoing campaign at the 54-minute mark in our recording.

If you missed us live, you can watch the recording and view the presentation slides. After you watch, please do take 2 minutes to answer this feedback survey about The Gathering and what you’re doing in your community!

Upcoming Events: 

• June The Gathering: Monday, June 9th at 5pm PT / 8pm ET and bring a friend!  [NOTE: The recording above contains the incorrect date! This is correct]

• Join the Stop Avelo call on May 22nd 8pm ET / 5pm PT 

Key Links:

• Stop Avelo campaign—sign the Avelo Pledge and learn how to get involved

• Follow Faith in Action and Faith in NJ who are anchoring the work to stop illegal detentions at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey

• Side With Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

At The Gathering, I asked folks to think about something you would share with 3 people and how many people you will recruit in your congregation to sign the Stop Avelo pledge (or another campaign you are working on). Rev. Julián invited us to picture how and when you will do that.

Friends, now is the time. Please take a few minutes right now to sign the pledge, make a call to Congress, put a note in your congregational newsletter, and call or text 3 beloveds. Together, we will continue to resist fascism and build towards a world where everyone has love, safety, respect, and beauty.

Finally, please do tend to your spirit and regulate this week (perhaps with more of Rev. Julián’s poetry in Spilling the Light!).

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!

Spirit of Life,
we gather with hearts broken open, souls aching—
by the weight of the world,
by the wounds of history,
by the cruel persistence of injustice.

How long, O Spirit, must our bodies be made into battlegrounds?
How long must the Earth be sacrificed at the altar of profit?

How long must we abide by an economy of disposability
where Black, Indigenous, people of color, transgender, and disabled lives are traded for another’s right to exist, another’s claim of safety?   

How long must this world run on stolen labor, stolen land, and stolen lives for the sake of greed and the lie of supremacy? 

We lament the silence that has stretched too long,
the complicity woven into our comforts,
The slowness of our response when urgency was demanded.
We grieve the gap between our values and our actions—
between the pragmatic and the prophetic. 

Forgive us for the times we have turned away.
Forgive us when we have mistaken quiet for peace,
and civility and decorum for justice.

But let this lament not be the end.
Let our sorrow carve space for resolve.
Let our tears water the seeds of uprising.
Let our faith rise from the ashes—not innocent,
but braver, wiser, more centered in love.

May we be a people who side with love.
May we be a people who disrupt, who dismantle, and who dream.
May we be a people who remember
that we are always on the horizon of transformation,
and there may we greet our collective liberation. 

May it be so. Blessed be. Amen.

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 

Aisha Hauser, MSW
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

What does radical community care look like, in what ways can we be the ones to offer the welcome hand to hold and the compassion that bonds us together? 

Within systems of oppression, we can find examples of radical community care, the kind of care that exists in spite of efforts to subjugate entire communities.

One example of radical community care in the form of community organizing happened in the spring of 2020 in Los Angeles when a landlord sent an email to 300 tenants informing them they must pay their rent, the landlord did not blind copy the tenants thus sharing the contact information of all the renters with each other. One of the recipients hit reply all and suggested a rent strike. The renters joined the Los Angeles Tenant Union’s effort launched amid the pandemic called Food Not Rent in an effort to build their network of renters who do not want to have to choose between having a meal and having shelter. 

This is an example of creative and radical community care. 

Another example are the many urban farms that have been cultivated across the country. Urban farms are crucial to communities that have been impacted by food deserts, areas where access to fresh and affordable food is nonexistent.

Growing and sharing food is one of the most fundamental ways to offer community care. In 2012 NFL player Jason Brown at age 29 walked away from professional football and multi-million dollar offers to live on a farm and grow food to give away. 

Brown knew nothing about farming and in fact learned how to plant sweet potatoes and cucumbers by watching YouTube videos.  He recalls a conversation he had with his agent:

“My agent told me, ‘You’re making the biggest mistake of your life,” Brown recalled to CBS Sports in 2016. “And I looked right back at him and said, ‘No, I am not.’”

To date, Brown has given away over 100,000 pounds of sweet potatoes and 10,000 pounds of cucumbers to food banks all over his home state of North Carolina.

Brown, having been born and raised in North Carolina, felt a commitment to return to his roots and give back to the community and state that raised him.

What all of these examples have in common is people building on relationships. We cannot exist in community without relationship. 

The invitation to all of us is to remember that nothing is inevitable, we can engage in and create the radical community care needed to transform our hurting world. 

April 2025

“Community means strength” —Starhawk

Download the full issue and read all Quest publications: 

In April, Side With Love Organizing Strategy Director Nicole Pressley introduced a framework for analyzing to understand our power and what we are up against, predict what comes next, and plan our actions strategically.  Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen invited us to think about a time we took a risk in line with our values, how that felt, and what made it possible.  She invited us to reflect on our personal resiliency and the solidarity so deeply needed right now as we make sure to center those most targeted (and most at risk) by federal and state governments.  Rev. Tania Marquez closed The Gathering with a somatic practice focusing on gentle touch and self-awareness. 

We hope you will come to our next Gathering on Monday, May 12 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET and bring a friend! 

You can visit our webpage for The Gathering to see all the dates, a promotion kit, recordings, crisis resources, and links.  

As a reminder, here’s what we invite you to do after this month’s Gathering: 

1. Ground yourself: What is 1 thing you will do this week to tend to your spirit and regulate? (bonus if it brings a smile to your face!) 

2. Practice analysis in community.  Try it with January 6th: 

• History: Where did this come from? When has this happened before? When can we find patterns or features?   

• Structure: What were they thinking? What are the primary grievances? What systems/institutions facilitate this occurrence? 

• Politics: How is this possible? How did they acquire the power to take this action? How will this power express itself elsewhere? 

• Now what: What can and will our team or congregation do to block this or build something else? 

1. Practice Discernment Together using Spiritual Discernment and Preparation for Collective Action: Tips and tools for resilient and sustained activism By Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen

Additional Resources 

• More about Rev. D’Orlando, the minister in New Orleans who Rev. Elizabeth talked about  

• Join us for the Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Celebration and Call for Renewal this Wednesday 

• SWL Risk discernment & assessment - 2 workshop sessions you can use in your congregation and a simple handout for immediate decision making

• Side with Love Action Center

• Side With Love’s Dos & Don’ts Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

• UUA Community Resilience Hub (includes resources for risk mitigation & digital security)

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. 

On April 9, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival.  Watch the recording here.

We were joined by Terry Welsher from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett.  This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides from Terry Welsher

• View the presentation slides from Side With Love

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

• Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary and Call for Renewal on April 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials on May 21 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

For people who work on climate change, it can feel like we’re living through the apocalypse. We know how climate disruption is wreaking havoc on communities and threatening future generations, and still we wake up every day committed to the work of climate justice.  I’m reading “The New Saints” by Lama Rod Owens right now, and I have been meditating on his reflection that:

Living through the apocalypse feels . . . like making plans for tomorrow while having little faith that there will be a tomorrow.  It is the feeling of the bottom falling out from under me. . . but I believe the apocalypse is a blessing.  There’s nothing like a crisis to wake us up and force us to start getting serious about change.  

Even though recent research reflects that 72% of Americans believe that Climate Change is a serious problem and the U.S. just experienced one of the deadliest non-hurricane weather disasters in decades, the Trump administration is tackling every ‘emergency’ except the important one – climate change, demolishing years of climate action, and endangering all of our lives.  

Although I struggle to call what’s happening with climate policy a “blessing”, I do agree that this crisis is a clear call for renewed commitments and strategic actions.  

As a people of faith, we are uniquely poised to meet the challenging realities and overwhelm them with community care, and the UUA has resources to help your congregation meet the moment.

We’ve completely revitalized the Green Sanctuary 2030 materials for more action, less paperwork.  The goal is no longer accreditation - the goal is creating climate justice in our communities.  With just ONE requirement for yearly recognition, now is a perfect time to renew your climate justice commitments. The new materials are grounded in UU values and echo the UU Climate Justice Revival’s call to Reimagine Our Community Thriving, Ground in Our Context, Explore Opportunities, and more.  

Here are a few opportunities to connect with other UUs committed to climate justice and fortify your souls:

• Dig into the new materials at the next Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation on April 2 or May 7 at 7ET.

• Turn your Revival experience into meaningful actions at the Revival Community of Practice on April 9 at 7ET.

• Renew your commitment to climate justice at the Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary Celebration and Call for Renewal with President Sofía on April 16 at 7ET.

• Nourish your spirits at the UUMFE Earth Day Celebration April 22, 2025

• Download written materials for use at your congregation’s Earth Day Service. 

• Learn how UUs are Working with the new Green Sanctuary materials on May 21 at 7ET.

Lama Rod encourages us that “to meet the apocalypse, you must embody an intention that this experience will not consume you, that this experience is calling you into a deeper labor of transformation and creativity.”  

Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation
April 2, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CT

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Green Sanctuary orientations provide an overview of the process and allow for plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. Come learn how to transform your congregation through climate justice.

What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice
April 9, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

So you held a Climate Justice Revival.... now what? 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. This informal gathering will provide ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

Image description: A green gradient background with specks of light, with a head and shoulders photo of Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt in a flower frame and bold, stylized flowers in pink, yellow, and green. Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary and Call for Renewal. Wednesday, April 16, 4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET.

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.

Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation
May 7, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CT

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Green Sanctuary orientations provide an overview of the process and allow for plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. Come learn how to transform your congregation through climate justice.

Working with the New Green Sanctuary Materials
May 21, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM CT

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.

On March 12, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. Watch the recording here.

Andrew Batcher shared about organizing a Revival that brought together multiple UU congregations.  This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

This is the only space specifically held for Revivaling congregations. It's your community! We're so grateful for everyone who attended the first Revival Community of Practice, and we look forward to learning, sharing ideas, and building community with you all again at the next Community of Practice on April 9 at 7pm ET.  After receiving feedback from folks, we've decided to extend the meeting to be 90 minutes to allow for more full conversations.  RSVP today!

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides (Google Slides - PDF)

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

Green Sanctuary 35th Anniversary and Call for Renewal on April 16 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

As we mark the beginning of spring, we're excited to share a variety of offerings that we hope will nourish you and help sustain your commitment to collective liberation and justice this month.

Responding to the Anti-Trans Movement: A Course for UUs

This concise on-demand course consists of three sessions: trans 101, what you need to know about the anti-trans movement, and how to ensure your congregation is truly trans welcoming. Each session includes a 25- to 35-minute video and accompanying resources.

It’s perfect for UUs who are looking to level up their understanding of the current political assault on trans people, how to respond to anti-trans information, and how to create more safety and belonging for trans people and our families in their congregations. Learn more here. 

s course is not meant to replace our existing 6-session program Trans Inclusion in Congregations. It does make a great add-on to that more in-depth program, either as an entry point or as a continuation. It's priced for individual purchase but anyone who'd like to use it in a group setting is encouraged to email us to discuss a nominal/equitable fee.

Defend Trans Lives: A Webinar for People of Faith

This webinar, offered twice (on March 25 and April 8), is geared toward pro-LGBTQ Christians (but is open to all people of faith), presented in partnership with Enfleshed and Soulforce. Prior to the webinar registrants will receive essential background info from trans faith leaders and national trans advocates from the Transgender Law Center, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and more. On the webinar, speakers will discuss the moral and spiritual imperative to defend trans lives and how attendees can take action in the public square and in their own churches and faith communities. Learn more here.

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Monthly Gathering

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings focused on trans, nonbinary, and other not (completely or at all) cis UUs. Join us 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 intentionally multi-generational gathering is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. NOTE: There may be cisgender people present as parents supporting their 13-and-younger-child's presence in the space, as tech support, or as captioners. Standard UUA online safety measures apply to ensure all people under 18 are able to attend. We're glad to have you here!

Closed captioning will be available, and any common chat content will also be spoken aloud. Participants are encouraged to be mindful of processing and communication access, and speak one at a time. The meeting will not be recorded, and participation, as well as what is shared, will be confidential. There is no requirement to appear on video or to otherwise maintain “conventional” appearances. Any additional accessibility needs? Email lgbtq@uua.org. Register here.

UUA Transgender Day of Visibility Service

Join us for an hour-long UPLIFT Trans Day of Visibility Service hosted by the UUA on Friday, March 28, 2025 at 4 ET/1 PT. We will have time and space to celebrate who we are and show our support and love for each other as trans/nonbinary+ UUs and friends. All supporters and members of this community are welcome to attend!

Logistical and accessibility information: This is an all-ages event, and chaplain support will be available during our time together. We will have CART captions with a transcript and ASL interpretation. Visual descriptions will be integrated into our time together. This is an actively anti-racist and anti-oppressive space, and we strive to ensure all are included.

Do you have any needs that can help increase you access to this event, or other community events? Please reach out to lgbtq@uua.org, and we will do our best to accommodate. Register here. *This will be a youth/child centered, multigenerational, and accessible space.

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Pastoral Small Group

What is pastoral care, exactly? Pastoral care is support with navigating life—big and small things, joys and hardships and all those mixed together. It’s not therapy, but a way for us to be in community together, supporting each other. This is a space to share the hard stuff and to hold the hard stuff that others are navigating in their lives.

During our time together, our lead chaplain/facilitators will share opening and closing words, and in between, there is time for everyone to share what's on their hearts, and receive what others are sharing about their own lives. It's a supportive, judgment-free place to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ people. 

This year, the pastoral space is for adults only. If you’re a child or a youth and you’d like to have a space to talk about the hard stuff, let us know by registering for the pastoral space and putting a note in the comments. When we have enough children and youth registered, we’ll plan for opening additional spaces for different ages. And stay tuned for additional opportunities for children and youth to connect—we’re working on this!

Programming is trauma-informed. Closed captioning will be available, and any common chat content will also be spoken aloud. Please be mindful of processing and communication access, and speak one at a time. Meeting will not be recorded, and participation, as well as what is shared, will be confidential. There is no requirement to appear on video or to otherwise maintain “conventional” appearances. Any additional accessibility needs? Let us know by emailing lgbtq@uua.org! We’ll do our best to ensure you can fully access the space. Register here.

Spiritual Support for Reproductive Experiences: 6-Week Online Course

For two decades, All-Options has provided trainings on open-hearted, nonjudgmental counseling for pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption. Our Faith Aloud spiritual care line has trained volunteers and provided spiritual support for hundreds of callers over the last decade. Drawing on our robust counseling expertise, we are excited to announce a new round of training: Spiritual Support & Counseling for Reproductive Experiences!

This training is designed for people with some level of education and/or experience in providing spiritual care. Please register only if you are already familiar with what it means to provide spiritual support in a vocational setting, which includes but is not limited to chaplaincy, parish/congregational ministry, and faith-based non-profit settings. Register here.

Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary

Since 2017, First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse has hosted an annual transformative conference supporting transgender inclusion and spiritual growth in Unitarian Universalism. Learn more about this year's conference here.

A SACReD Journey: Curriculum and Facilitator Training

Become SACReD Journey Curriculum Facilitator! This 12-hour training will prepare you to facilitate the SACReD curriculum for your congregation, faithful organization, or curious community.

Trained facilitators will be ready to lead a curriculum that:

• deepens understanding of Reproductive Justice,

• engages complex theological approaches to liberation and systemic oppression,

• introduces practices of healing, and strengthens our community organizing.

SACReD is able to provide 10 scholarships for the May 2025 training. Scholarships will cover the cost of the registration and two nights in the training hotel. Breakfast and lunch is included as part of the training (May 5-6). Scholarship Recipients will be responsible for their travel to & from New Orleans. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more here.

Katherine Hofmann
Learning Fellow, Church of the Larger Fellowship

Our dreams and imagination fuel childhood. The world encourages children to use their imagination through words and actions. We often hear an adult tell a child to use their imagination. This behaviour is encouraged through educational shows, playground structures (rocket ships anyone?), and toys. But then adults are told to “put away your childish things (C.S. Lewis),” as if becoming grownup precludes any need to use our imaginations.

Yet, if we want to experience life fully, we have to be able to imagine what we want our life to look like. How can anyone figure out their ultimate desires if they can’t imagine them? All the goal-setting gurus tell us to envision our futures and act as if it is already true. In other words, to use our imaginations to create our reality. I believe that our spiritual reality is drawn from imagination as well.

Our Unitarian Universalist faith encourages us to explore our own beliefs and to draw from a wide range of spiritual traditions and experiences. Because being a UU is about openness and freedom in spiritual practice, imagination plays an important role in how individuals connect with their faith. Rather than seeing imagination as something separate from spiritual life, UUs embrace it as a tool for deepening our spiritual journeys, building connections, and inspiring positive change. Using our imagination to develop our spiritual practice empowers us to envision new possibilities for ourselves, others, and even the world.

One of the core beliefs of Unitarian Universalism is the idea that everyone has worth and dignity and that everyone’s spiritual path is unique. This makes it a perfect place for imagination to thrive. Using your imagination allows you to engage with your beliefs in creative, personal ways. Whether through prayer, meditation, or everyday life, imagination helps open new doors to explore the divine, connect with the world, and grow spiritually.

Perhaps the most important way imagination is currently used in Unitarian Universalism is in the area of social justice. As UUs, we are committed to making the world a better place, and imagination helps fuel that work. By imagining a world where people are treated fairly, where the environment is cared for, and where peace prevails, we are inspired to take action and create positive change.

Ultimately, within our Unitarian Universalist congregations, imagination is a creative gift and a profoundly spiritual tool. It encourages personal growth, enhances communal worship, and inspires justice-driven action, making it an essential part of the UU spiritual experience. Unitarian Universalists can use imagination to connect to the divine, engage with each other, and work toward a better world. And that’s a dream that I hope we can all imagine.

Authentically and with a heart full of love, grace and a determination to do what I can to bring about liberation in all I do.

March 2025

“Without imagination, how will we know where we’re going?” —Rev. Leah Ongiri

Download the full issue and read all Quest publications: 

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.

Huge thanks to Deb and Sheila from the UU Church of Berkeley for talking through the ways their congregation Explored the Possibilities for Mitigation using the new materials!  We enjoyed a robust discussion about the new materials and the ways the UU Climate Justice Revival works together with the revitalized Green Sanctuary Materials.  

The new Green Sanctuary 2030 materials are designed for more action, less paperwork!  Instead of a process where teams have to report a ton of information to the UUA, the new materials are here to support your congregation.  As one presenter said, “Having this plan gave me confidence.  I never would have attempted anything so ambitious without the support of this plan.”  If you haven’t downloaded the new materials, check them out!

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Green Sanctuary Celebration and Call for Renewal with President Sofía on April 16 from 7-8:30 ET.  RSVP today!

If you had to leave early or weren’t able to make it, you can watch the video or review the slides and materials shared.

• Watch or listen to the video recording

• Slideshow

• UU Church of Berkeley’s Future Mapping Exercise

• Films they mentioned include: 2040 and The Letter: A Message from Our Earth,  Additionally, they featured a Zoom presentation featuring two physicians who spoke on the topic of "Healthy Air for All: Time for Action."

To get a more complete orientation to the new Green Sanctuary Materials and Process and the ways they can support your congregation,

• Attend a Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation (first Wednesday of most months)

Or Review

• The Green Sanctuary 2030 orientation video

• The recording from the GS New Materials Release that took place during the February Green Sanctuary Community Meeting

You can sign up for an orientation or access these videos at SideWithLove.org/ClimateJustice

Subscribe to receive updates:  https://sidewithlove.org/subscribe

Download the materials at https://sidewithlove.org/green-sanctuary-process-materials 

Ready to start the GS2030 process?  Sign up at bit.ly/JoinGS2030

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation
April 2, 2025 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM CT

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Green Sanctuary orientations provide an overview of the process and allow for plenty of time to get all of your questions answered. Come learn how to transform your congregation through climate justice.

What's next after the Revival? Revival Community of Practice
April 9, 2025 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

So you held a Climate Justice Revival....now what? 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. This informal gathering will provide ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together.

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.

Tending SOIL is a program developed by Side With Love (SWL) to build leadership skills and effective local teams among Unitarian Universalist congregations to advance our shared values. The SOIL acronym stands for Skills, Organizing, Interdependence, and Liberation. 

The program debuted last year, but built on the foundation of Side With Love’s previous organizing schools in 2020 and 2022 to create an opportunity for participants who had shown their commitment to action through other SWL activities to gain more advanced leadership skills.

Seventeen congregations across 13 states participated in SOIL last year, which involved two to five people committing to the full program per congregation. Participants first gathered online in February, attended monthly online learning activities, convened for three days in May, and completed three or more self-directed learning activities over six months.

Each participating congregation was asked to fund the training program on a sliding scale of $5 per congregation member, meaning a team from a 100-member UU congregation was expected to raise $500. This was done both to help cover some of the expenses involved in developing and offering the SOIL program (about $30,000 total), and because fundraising is integral to effective organizing. 

Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Side With Love’s Congregational Organizer, and Rev Cathy Rion Starr, SWL Leadership Development Specialist, also wanted the investment for its own sake. They knew financial investment was also a way to help ensure participants had established relationships with their minister and congregational leaders / board), creating a stronger foundation for their work at home. Each participating team chose how to raise the funds which could come from their operating budget, ministers’ discretionary fund, fundraising, or personal contributions. 

The Tending Soil components are:

Skills: Personalized Skill Building by learning & practicing 2-3 organizing skills/practices (connected to existing Side with Love resources)

Organizing Plans: Develop your Vision, Goals, & Organizing Plan for electoral and issue-based campaign work, begin to implement it, and reflect on it in our learning community 

Interdependence:  Put relationality at the center of your team’s organizing and build a faithful community of peers  

Liberation: Root deeply in our Unitarian Universalist values, working in solidarity with the people and communities most impacted by injustice to gain liberation.

During the SOIL program, the Stop Cop City campaign served as a case study that encompassed a spectrum of Side With Love justice priorities. 

While the inaugural six-month program concluded, communication with participating teams is ongoing. Early responses from participants were enthusiastic. Lora Powell-Haney, interim Director of Religious Education at Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in Virginia. said, “The collaborative nature of the training has shaped how I do the family ministry work and now made me ready to be a resource for congregations as they organize beyond their walls.” Diane Lange of Olympia Brown UU Church in Racine, Wisconsin, reported, “Becoming better at celebrating effort and building community was a definite result of attending the SOIL program.”

The SWL facilitators will assess the impact of SOIL to improve on any future offering by asking a range of questions, including:

• Did congregational teams engage in a campaign back home?

• Have they recruited new volunteers & trained new leaders?

• Are participants asking for the program to be repeated?

Look for information on ongoing training and skills development opportunities from Side With Love in email updates and social media.

---

In this insightful conversation, Side With Love's Senior Communications Manager Rev. Brandan Robertson sits down with Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Side With Love’s Congregational Organizer, and Rev Cathy Rion Starr, SWL Leadership Development Specialist, to explore Tending SOIL, a transformative leadership development program from Side With Love.

You can watch or listen to the recording of The Gathering on March 10, 2025, read the transcript, or view the slides

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.

Our launch on March 10 was led by Side With Love Staff Nicole Pressley and Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, with Katia Hansen sharing about the immigration context, and Rev. Lane-Mairead Campbell sharing lessons on showing up for and with trans folks in Western New York. bēheld grounded us with live singing.

We hope you will come to our next Gathering on Monday, April 14th and bring a friend! 

You can see all the dates, a promotion kit, recordings, crisis resources, and links at sidewithlove.org/the-gathering.  

As a reminder, here’s what we invite you to do after The Gathering: 

1. Ground yourself. What is one thing you will do this week to tend to your spirit and regulate?

2. Ground in community. What is a nugget from this session you will share with your people? 

3. Go deeper with your people. 

For individual reflection: download Sacred Circles or purchase printed copies

For group reflection: Congregational Asset Mapping Guide 

For  “how to” or “should I?” questions:  Grounded, Resilient & Responsible Toolkit

4. Write yourself a note about how & when you will do this.

Resources from the webinar

• ​​beheld music invite you to stay in touch

• Side with Love Action Center

• UUA Community Resilience Hub

• UURISE’s website

• Learn more about the sanctuary lawsuit the UUA is part of in UU World

• For more about Sensitive Locations: UUA Defending Faithful Sanctuary and Hospitality Webinar

• For those looking to connect to local immigrant rights groups, start by asking for connections from a UU State Action Network

• Find UU State Action Networks at CUUSAN

• If you don't have a SAN, reach out to UURISE to help get you connected to local organizations

• Find the Chalice Lighter on the  WorshipWeb app
  

In our Sacred Circles worksheet, we encourage individuals to reflect on these three questions:

1. What brings me joy?

2. What do I have to Offer?

3. What does my community need? 

   Image description of the Sacred Circles Worksheet: "Sacred Circles" is a flier with graphic flowers at the top. Most of the page is three colorful circles overlapping with "Love" in the center. One circle reads "What my community needs." Another circle reads "What Brings Me Joy," and the third circle reads "What I have to Offer." "Hope" is also written where the circles overlap.

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.

With Love at the center of our faith, we can embody our shared value of generosity by clearly identifying the resources we hold and can offer to our community. Congregations of all sizes are fundamentally hubs of Love’s resources: the people who make up our membership, the infrastructure we build to serve our mission, the values we hold in common and our commitment to realizing them in the world, and the relationships we nurture with one another and our communities. Because of the inherent richness within our congregations, we play a crucial role in the ecosystem of local organizing and justice-making.

Congregations can be wellsprings of significant resources for their communities, both in ongoing and emergent ways. The more authentic and mutual our relationships are with community partners, the more effectively we can share our assets with those who share our values and goals. By practicing generosity, we honor the interdependence that has the power to transform our world with justice and Love.

View The Guide Download The Guide

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.

February 2025

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”

—Elie Wiesel

Download the full issue and read all Quest publications: 

 

 

AISHA HAUSER, msw, cre-ml
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

Growing up in an Egyptian Arabic speaking home, we never just said, “hello” to greet each other. We would say “Ahlan wa sahlan” which translates to “easy family.” You are part of our family and it is easy to be together is how I would explain this. An affirmation of connection.

I learned that the Zulu greeting is “Sawubona” which means “I see you, I acknowledge you, I recognize you as a person.” What a powerful and life affirming greeting.

I acknowledge you.

I recognize you as a person.

This month’s theme is witnessing, and the greetings I describe above are a way of witnessing who we are to each other in community. As humanity has become more transient in the last few hundred years, many of us travel and live in many places throughout our lives. This means our friendships and connections are fluid. Before the internet, I would maybe receive a handwritten letter from a friend I met after they or I moved to a new town. This was a rare occurrence.

Now that social media is a pervasive part of our lives, I have found that I am able to remain connected to people that I got to know and care about during a moment in time when we lived in geographic proximity to each other. I can follow people as they acknowledge milestones in their and their loved one’s lives.

Through TikTok, I have learned more about non-famous people all over the world and here in the United States than I ever would have on any other platform. People who are interested in transforming our hurting world into a more healing and equitable place.

We all are continuing to bear witness to the genocide in Gaza, the Congo, Haiti, Sudan among other places, thanks to social media. Awareness has been brought to our phones. We can never again claim, “we didn’t know.”

We do know. What we do with that knowledge is part of choosing how we move forward as a collective.

The Church of the Larger Fellowship would never have the reach it does at this moment in history if it wasn’t for the internet and social media. We as the CLF are able to bear witness to the lives of our members all over the world, including our beloved incarcerated UU community.

Bearing witness is part of the ways we share stories of our lives and the lives of those we care about. Humans have been sharing these witness stories for as long as we have could communicate. It is a blessed thing to be able to bear witness to the joys, sorrows, horrors, celebrations and all that it means to be human. We will support and love each other through it all..

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.

The Green Sanctuary 2030 materials have been revised and updated to better serve the needs of our dynamic congregations. On February 19, we gathered at our Green Sanctuary Community Meeting to learn all about it and how these materials can help you advance climate justice and cultivate thriving communities. Watch the recording here.

Visit our Green Sanctuary 2030 hub to

• Subscribe to receive updates

• Download the materials.

• Join one of our monthly Community Meetings!

• Ready to start the GS2030 process?  Sign up!

As people of faith and conscience, we are called to be bold in love, steadfast in our values, and unwavering in our commitment to justice. In the face of growing authoritarianism, fear, and division, we must respond—not with despair, but with courage, resilience, and collective power.

That’s why Side With Love invites you to join us on Tuesday, March 4 at 7pm ET/4pm PT for

Webinar

Grounded, Resilient, and Responsible: Responding and Organizing in Authoritarian Times

Register Now: March 4 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

This moment calls for us to be deeply grounded in our values, resilient in the face of challenges, and responsible stewards of justice. Together, we will explore:

✅ Simple tips on communicating safely in public and on private channels 
✅ Strategies for responding in crisis moments 
✅ Practical tools for organizing and resisting authoritarianism

Join us for powerful stories from the organizers who helped write the Grounded, Resilient, and Responsible toolkit. Learn how these tips can help you meet this moment. 

Now more than ever, we must show up for one another. Join us to deepen your commitment, strengthen your skills, and stand in solidarity for a just and liberated future.

🔗Register now to join us on March 4

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New! Action Center Weekly Update

We are in a critical moment. Power is being consolidated in the hands of the few, while attacks on democracy, bodily autonomy, and human dignity escalate. But nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are powered by people like you—people who organize, resist, and build a loving and liberated world.

That’s why we’re launching the Action Center Weekly Update—a resource to keep you informed, equip you with immediate actions, and help you strengthen your organizing skills. Each Tuesday, find our newest update at our Action Center as well as the archive of past updates.

Check out our Action Center Weekly Update for the week of 2/18/2025

Community Resilience Hub

Through this hub, we offer guidance and resources on how to take action now, support each other, and build a resilient community that stands firm in the face of uncertainty.

UUA Community Resilience Hub

On February 12, the Revival Planning Team offered this space to gather together with other UUs who are moving through the Rest, Celebrate, Reflect, Synthesize, Organize process following the Revival. This informal gathering provided ample time for conversation and brainstorming next steps together. Watch the recording here.

This is the only space specifically held for Revivaling congregations. It's your community! We're so grateful for everyone who attended the first Revival Community of Practice, and we look forward to learning, sharing ideas, and building community with you all again at the next Community of Practice on March 12 at 7ET. After receiving feedback from folks, we've decided to extend the meeting to be 90 minutes to allow for more full conversations. RSVP today!

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides

• Watch the recordings of our UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions

We hope you'll join us at our upcoming events:

• Green Sanctuary New Materials Release on February 19 at 7pm ET

• UU Climate Justice Revival Facilitator Training on February 26 at 7pm ET

We are on new terrain, but the work remains the same. Side With Love proclaims the power of love to end oppression and build a just and loving world where we all thrive. In this final week of 30 Days of Love, we honor Black History Month at a moment when this administration seeks to resegregate America and establish and enforce a global racial hierarchy. This week's theme is a bold proclamation of sacred and revolutionary truth: there are Black people in the future. What becomes possible when we inhabit this prophecy of Black resilience and liberation in our lives today?

These words from Interdisciplinary Artist and Cultural Producer Alisha B Wormsley are a declaration of resilience, commitment to solidarity, and insistence that victory is ours! It is a refusal to accept the erasure of Black existence, imagination, and liberation. It is a call to action for Unitarian Universalists and all people of faith and conscience to engage in the sacred work of co-creating a future where Black lives thrive. 

At its core, "there are Black people in the future" disrupts all narratives of disposability, which sanction discrimination, inequity, injustice, and genocide. It offers instead a vision of boundless possibility. As a faith committed to justice and love, this theme challenges us to ask: What are we doing today to ensure a just and liberated future for Black people? Are we confronting the systems that perpetuate harm? Are we uplifting Black leadership, creativity, and wisdom? Are we actively dismantling white supremacy within and beyond our communities? Who must we be? What must we do? What transformation unfolds today if Black life and thriving are the promises of our future? What will you put into practice today to fulfill this promise?

May we move forward with courage, faith, and unwavering love. The future is now, and Black liberation is the path to collective liberation. Let us build it together.

Explore this week’s offerings which include ways to take action, something to watch, three activities for families, a body practice, journaling practice, and a creative practice.

In faith and solidarity,

Nicole Pressley, UUA Organizing Strategy Director

Showing up to meet this moment!

Side With Love is working across partnerships, coalitions, and staff teams at the UUA to bring you current and accurate information on the many pressing issues related to this Administration's unjust and unconstitutional actions. This requires legal support, following the lead of the most impacted, and refining systems for consistent learning and action. We thank you for your patience as we navigate this chaotic political moment together. Below are three offerings that are coming soon to support your communities in showing up in our collective struggle for justice. 

Grounded, Resilient, & Responsible Toolkit

We will provide helpful guidance to navigate political action in our current climate. As we all discern our risk in answering the call to side with love, this tool will support you in aligning our intentions with our impact for more strategic and deliberate social justice organizing. The focus will be safety, effective partnership, solidarity, and messaging. Use this guide to discern how you engage on social media, better understand the strategy and safety of protests and direct action, and how to use tactics effectively—coming end of February.

Side With Love Action Center 

Help harness our power by joining in learning and action opportunities with Side With Love and coalition partners. The Action Center will provide weekly updates, issue analysis, and actions to take on issues related to immigration, LGBTQ justice, climate, and democracy. You will find these opportunities on the Side With Love homepage and via email. Subscribe here to get the Action Center alerts in your inbox. Coming end of February 

Side With Love Monthly Meeting

As 30 Days of Love comes to a close, we are launching a monthly national call for faithful, grounded, and powerful organizing. This moment demands our attention, our action, and collective care. Join us monthly to root in our values, get updates and analysis on the political and organizing terrain, and move into prophetic action. Together, we will harness the power of love to end oppression and build a loving and just world where we all thrive. Launching early March. 

Mní Wičóni. Water is life. This sacred truth, which echoed around the world as the Standing Rock Sioux Nation led the movement to resist the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline across the Missouri River, reveres the interdependence that defines all of our existence. In both the original Lakota and translated English, Mní Wičóni (Water is life) reminds us that honoring our connections to the elements—the air, the land, the water—transforms our communities. When we fully embrace water not just as a resource for life but as the source of life, we shift from extracting its power to tending to it with reverence. Water—life—is no longer a commodity or an obstacle but instead accompanies us as a close relative.

Mní Wičóni, Water is life, is not just an anthem of resistance against the devastation and violence that colonization continues to inflict upon this world. Yes, to declare “water is life” is to demand an end to the pipelines and mines that destroy ancestral lands, as well as the deadly pollution of waterways and neighborhoods caused by chemical plants and industrial agriculture. But it is also a message of healing and hope, grounded in the wisdom of communities that have endured and persevered through the worst of humanity. It is sacred guidance—an invitation to all of us—to not only end the harm we have caused but to restore the gratitude and care inherent in the ecosystems to which we belong.

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Check out Week Three 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.

On January 29, we held our annual Celebration for our Active Green Sanctuary Teams to come together to share what they’re working on. It’s a fast-paced, inspirational review of all the good work our congregations are doing. 

• View the slides

• View the chat feed, with more stories and suggestions

Recommended Resources

• Green Sanctuary: subscribe to receive updates, join the process, RSVP for upcoming events, and more

Upcoming Green Sanctuary Community Meetings

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.

Trans people are divine. This profound truth, first gifted with the world by J. Mase III and Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi in their Black Trans Prayer Book, is not just a statement but a powerful declaration of sacredness and resilience. It reminds us that trans and nonbinary existence is ancient, predating the oppressive systems of colonization, white supremacy, imperialism, and patriarchy that seek to erase or control it. Last week, one of the first actions of the current administration was to enact executive orders that limit the ways trans and nonbinary people can legally identify in our country. It was the latest effort in an ongoing campaign to legislate these divine beings out of existence.

It will not work.

Trans and nonbinary people have always been here. Acknowledging this calls us to honor them as vital and irreplaceable members of the human family and essential threads in the divine tapestry of creation. We affirm this not just as a response to oppression, but as a truth that has always existed. Their presence is a testament to the enduring power of transformation and creation, defying the forces that seek to constrain them and teaching us all how to manifest a more liberated future.

Check out Week Two’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.

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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

With abortion rights under threat of continued erosion, we’re equipping Unitarian Universalists with the information, framing, and assistance needed to enable you to fight for those rights effectively and advance a broader Reproductive Justice paradigm. We’ve just published a guide to provide an easily-navigated reference that helps you make an impact defending and advancing abortion rights, including authoritative sources, key legal history, messaging ideas, UU landmarks and more. 

To make it readily updatable, and easy for users to navigate, excerpt, or print, the primer is offered via Google Doc. You are welcome to repurpose and excerpt, provided attribution to the Unitarian Universalist Association is noted (and linked, for online matierial). We invite your input on any ways to improve this primer, or requests for support on other topics of interest to you. We will update this document periodically as major developments occur.

See the Unitarian Universalist Association Issue Guide: Abortion and Reproductive Rights

See other tools from Side With Love:

• UPLIFT Action congregational action guide

• Action Center with links to resources on all our justice priorities

• Guides to Public Outreach through letters to the editor and guest commentaries

• Why Side With Loves speaks of Reproductive Justice

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 

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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 

On January 14, UU the Vote, Side With Love, key partners, and special guest musicians Sandy O. of Emma’s Revolution and Holly Near hosted this celebration to honor the incredible work of UUs in 2024 to building and growing our democracy and dig into our work ahead. Watch the recording here.

Resources from the meeting:

• Presentation slides

Upcoming events:

• 30 Days of Love from Side With Love—stay tuned!

• Interfaith Service & Moral Mass Meeting, Monday, January 20 at 6pm ET

• Good Trouble Congregations Celebration, Tuesday January 28 from 8–9:30pm ET—if your congregation was awarded Good Trouble in 2024, you should have received an email confirming this from us. If you applied for it and haven’t heard back, please email us as soon as possible at voting@uua.org.

AISHA HAUSER, msw, cre-ml
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

I have always had a strong personality and for much of my professional life, I took that to mean that I can be a “good leader.” In time and with many experiences of leadership throughout my life and in different contexts, I have come to realize that leadership is not about telling people “what to do” or “asserting authority.” Rather, true leadership is about modeling and collaboration.

When in a position of leadership, that person is more visible to more people and what the leader does and says is under more scrutiny than others in any given system.

Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran minister who has gained notoriety over the years for her progressive social views, while also being a devoted Christian and follower of the bible.

A few years ago, I attended a lecture she gave promoting one of her books and she began by talking about authenticity in leadership and how there is a lack of authentic leaders in the U.S. Bolz-Weber is almost six feet tall and has many visible tattoos. She is bold and unapologetic in how she asserts the teachings of Jesus, centering care for the under-resourced, underrepresented and targeted.

She told us that it is useless to try and hide some part of yourself when you are a faith leader, “Whatever you think you are hiding, people already know.” She was alluding to the fact that as a leader, you are always modeling and being true to yourself and others is the way to be a leader that people can and will trust.

It is hard to be both authentic and bold. In the age of social media, where people with any platform are scrutinized more than ever, it can be scary to show vulnerability and authenticity.

Even in the face of this, I assert it is important to model what it means to be true to the values and ideals you hold dear.

As a Unitarian Universalist, I have taken to heart the ways I can model what it means to center liberation, love and community care. I try to model what it means to move through the messiness of being human. I often share through my sermons and on the podcast The VUU, the ways I grapple with uncertainty, injustice and how to respond to the enormity of the ills in the world.

I almost never have any “answers,” what I do offer is what I think about and why. I offer the ways my UU faith informs how I imperfectly navigate the world. Perhaps the most important thing I do is show up authentically and with a heart full of love, grace and a determination to do what I can to bring about liberation in all I do.

January 2025

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” —Charles Dickens

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

December 2024

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” —W.B. Yeats

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

 

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the LargerFellowship

“This being human is a guest house
Every morning is a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!”

— from “The Guest House,” by Coleman Barks, based on the original poem by Jallaludin Rumi

Around the world and for many thousands of years, humans of different cultures have created rituals of sympathetic magic intended to invoke unknown powers to act in our world. This kind of spiritual work asks us to make connections between objects and actions and the ways in which we want to affect the world.

In the northern hemisphere, it is winter now, and the farther north one goes, the shorter the days become at this time of year. Where I live in the northeastern United States, the darkest days of the year, clustered around the Winter Solstice, have just over nine hours of daylight in them, a full six hours less daylight than we enjoyed in June.

Our bodies feel that difference. For some of us, it is a welcome feeling of cozy darkness as the long nights wrap us like blankets. For others, it is a dreadful feeling of loss as the light dwindles and comes at sharper angles from a sun closer to the horizon.

And the sympathetic magic that many cultures from the farthest north places have developed to face the winter involves light. We adorn trees, festoon our houses, hang lanterns, and light bonfires. We welcome the fullness of the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow. We bask in the warmth of the blazing Yule log (or the psychological warmth of its digital equivalent on our TV and computer screens).

The Christmas trees that became traditional in the United States began as pagan German celebrations, hung with dried fruits to capture the color and scent of summer and lighted softly with candles. Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, people are celebrating in ways that were designed by the ancients to convince the sun to be reborn, to return to us and give us light and warmth. And, lo and behold, it worked, every year.

And yet, we cannot escape the reality that many people greet the winter—and the many holidays celebrated at wintertime in order to bring cheer to this desolate season—with dread, with fear, and with a profound sadness that no amount of merry-twinkle lights can break. Our spiritual houses are too often visited at this time of year by the guests of grief and sadness, loneliness and fear.

Sometimes the role of the religious community is to inspire us to action.  Sometimes, it’s to mark the important moments in the cycles of our life. And sometimes, religious community exists just to hold us together for a little while. Sometimes, we come together in community despite the unwelcome guests knocking at our doors.  Sometimes, because of them.

We need the touchstone of community, the embrace of love, the practice of reverent stillness, in order to summon the courage to welcome in those guests. To welcome in the crowd of sorrows that persists in knocking on our door again and again, demanding a room for the night.

To welcome in those guests, though, goes against our nature.  Rumi suggests to us that such guests have something to teach us if we sit with them a while. To welcome these guests in, however, doesn’t mean we have to resign ourselves to their permanent residence in our spare room.  Listening to our pain and learning from it is not the same as letting it take us over.

We have to learn how to encourage these guests to move on when they’ve overstayed their welcome.  Nature does this automatically.  The darkness builds through the fall, and peaks at the Winter Solstice.  And then the light returns.  We can learn from nature, especially at the darkest time of the year.

But we have to do this work ourselves.  There is no tilt to our axis that leans us away from the sun—and then towards it again as we revolve around it.

Luckily, we don’t have to do it alone.

We do it together, beloved. Together, we create winter magic. We sing, we light candles, we bear sacred witness to one another. May your life be filled with magic this winter.

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.

On November 21, Side With Love, BLUU, and DRUUMM hosted Tools for Tending: Post-Election Spiritual Care Space. This 2-hour special event was designed to help tend our spirits through somatic practices, spiritual grounding, and small group connection. Combining structured elements, reflection time, music, facilitated caucus spaces, and visioning exercises, we hope participants felt grounded, strengthened, and held. Watch the recording here.

Resources from the meeting:

• Rev. Rhetta Morgan: https://www.reverendrhetta.com

• Rev. Dr. Megan Visser: http://www.copingincommunity.com

• Marchaé Grair: https://marchaé.com

• Carry This All by Alexander Blakely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBhCFsatU0Y

• Black Lives of UU Worship: https://blacklivesuu.org/resource/spiritual-gatherings/

• DRUUMM Programming: https://druumm.org/events/

• UUA Community Resilience Hub: 
  https://www.uua.org/safe/community-resilience

• UU Mental Health Network: https://www.uumentalhealth.org/

• Pray Up Stay Up by SAULT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE3k_qqgkLA

With over 375 UU Congregations hosting the UU Climate Justice Revival and 125 ACTIVE Green Sanctuary 2030 Congregations, UUs are mobilizing for Climate Justice...but how? 

As climate disasters become more commonplace, we need stronger networks of community care. Whether you want to convene a regional Revival, work on disaster response, collaborate on statewide advocacy, or just learn how others are approaching their climate justice work, working together with other UUs can be a powerful response to the problems of our times. 

Find resources and upcoming programming at sidewithlove.org/climatejustice.

After this year’s election, we must come together to nourish our spirits and move in our collective power. This is about more than one election; it is about grounding ourselves in the values and communities that drive our fight for justice. No matter your issue — climate justice, democracy, gender justice, or decriminalization — we are in this work together. 

This final session included an invitation for congregations to do the preparatory groundwork for meeting this moment as well as analysis from UUs in organizing who shared what they see as immediate needs for UU response.

• Missed the first session? Recording & resources for Session One: After Election Day

Resources

Where we've been & where we might go

Rev. Angela Tyler-Williams, Co-Director for Movement Building for SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity

• Pastoral Care from Black Lives of UU for Black UUs

• Vespers and other spiritual tending spaces from DRUUMM for BIPOC UUs

• UURISE

• UUSC CAPAS Program

• United We Dream

• Detention Watch Network

• List of local bail and bond funds

• List of resources and calls to action around immigration

• How to map your congregation’s assets to put in service of community

• SACReD

• Woven Together webinar series

• Curriculum Facilitator Training Registration

• Community Resilience Hub

Save the Date

• Tuesday January 14 8-9pm ET: UU the Vote Celebration

• Tuesday January 28 8-9pm ET: Good Trouble Congregations Celebration

Music Played

• Human Nature by Beautiful Chorus

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

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The results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election have been devastating for many of us. The election of Donald Trump to a second term as President is more than worrying for all of us grounded in a commitment to love and liberation — we know that his fascist and authoritarian agenda threatens the lives and well-being of many of us and our beloveds. The following message was shared online by Rev. Dr. Michael Tino on the day after the election.

---

November 6, 2024

Beloveds,

I am trembling today with grief and fear. I am finding it hard to breathe, even as I force myself to focus on ways of breathing meant to calm my body. I hugged my child extra long this morning as she left for school—it was all I could do at that moment.

I am reminded again and again of my relative privilege right now. My BIPOC friends remind me that this is exactly who the United States has always been. It doesn’t make it easier. I am mourning a nation that has never really existed, and knowing that doesn’t make the grief less.

Perhaps you are feeling some of this, too. Please know that you are not alone.

At some point, we will figure out what we need to do next to protect those who are most vulnerable right now. At some point, we will be part of a movement to save the lives of those who are threatened by the fascist agenda that won the day in yesterday’s US elections. That doesn’t need to be today (even if we know it’s coming).

Right now, I am reminding myself that I am part of a faith grounded in love. A faith that always has been and always will be profoundly counter-cultural. I am leaning on my faith ancestors to guide me, and I am trusting that my faith community will rise to the challenge presented to us.

I invite you to pray with me (or center yourself, or meditate):

O love that will not let us go, remind us of your presence now.
Remind us of your power now.
Remind us of your tenacity now.
Fill us with your strength that we might know ourselves connected to a love greater than we can imagine.
For we will need that love as we move forward together. Amen.

Yours in faith,
Rev. Michael

November 2024

“We must take care of our families, wherever we find them.” —Elizabeth Gilbert

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Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

Christina Rivera
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

Family is one of those topics that can be both celebrated and filled with tension. Sometimes at the same time! It can bring to mind images of parents, children, siblings—those bound by blood or marriage. And within a liberatory theology, family is something more. It can be a chosen, dynamic, and inclusive concept that welcomes all, just as we are. When we speak of family as Unitarian Universalists, we are called to expand our definition beyond the typical Western idea of family. We are called to understand that family is not something we have but something we build, together.

Western culture is generally considered to be an “I” culture. These cultures have characteristics in which the person is the center and include the idealized version of the nuclear family: mother, father, children. However, if we just scratch the surface of Western culture, we find the vast influences of the global Southern majority and our “We” cultures, in which the community is the center. A “We” culture includes chosen family, identity families, and community family. And while “We” culture is not as widely acknowledged; it is more widely practiced.

The exciting news is that our newly affirmed UU values centering Love, Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity can help us in our framing of family. Family doesn’t have to be confined to those who share our DNA but rather, it can embrace those who share in the journey of life with us. In this sense, family is a covenant of love and support, a relationship defined by care, mutual respect, and shared commitment.

And in thinking about that covenant of love and looking at the “I” culture of family, we can see how it can feel limiting and sometimes even harmful. We must ask ourselves: what about those who don’t fit that mold? What about those who find their deepest sense of belonging in friendships, in chosen family, in their communities? What about family who have hurt us?

I think some of those questions can be answered if we look to the lessons from “We” culture. A culture in which family can be the person who sits beside you during difficult times, the neighbor who cares for your children when you’re in need, or the community that rallies around you in times of celebration or sorrow. These relationships are just as sacred, just as valuable, as those bound by biology.

In fact, they may be more intentional and powerful precisely because they are chosen. And they have the added benefit of being able to ask harmful people to move away from community for the time it takes for them to heal and take responsibility for actions. This isn’t a shunning, but rather in the best practice of family, accompanied by non-affected individuals, the person doing harm can have support while they seek to address the issues which led them to harm.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that “We” cultures have it all figured out and that everything is perfect and rosy. Harm still happens, conflict still exists. But still — no one is thrown away. No one is beyond the hope of God’s love. We simply understand that we don’t need to participate in harm by saying, “oh, that person is family so that’s why they get to keep doing what they do and hurting people.” Rather we say, “you need some time out of community with some folks who can help you heal so that you don’t continue to harm others.” It doesn’t always work, and that is the beauty of our UU commitment to covenant. We can keep practicing so that we do better the next time.

At its heart, family—whether born or chosen—is a covenant. It is a promise to care for one another, to show up when it’s hard, to forgive, and to grow together. As a UU community, we strive to model this kind of covenant at the CLF. We strive to be a  place where individuals find the family they may not have experienced in their own lives. It is within these sacred spaces that we nurture one another, celebrate milestones, and bear witness to life’s sorrows and challenges. Our Unitarian Universalist values challenge us to constantly examine and dismantle systems of oppression that prevent people from forming families in ways that reflect their truth. Whether it’s advocating for marriage equality, defending reproductive rights, naming the ongoing genocide in Gaza, or ensuring access to healthcare and childcare, we are called to create a world where every family can thrive. We must continually ask ourselves: Who is the “We” we are talking about and centering? Who is being left out? How can we do better?

In my own life, I have found that family is not something that has stayed exactly the same from season to season. It is one that changes and requires constant attention, love, and patience. We never get it 100% right, we are always asking for grace.

In the end, family, like justice, is love made visible. It is the place where we practice our Unitarian Universalist values, where we learn what it means to live in covenant with one another. Whether through birth, choice, or circumstance, we are all called to create and nurture families that reflect the beauty of our shared humanity. And in doing so, we honor that divine spark of the holy which is within each of us and live into the beloved community that is at the heart of our faith. So say we all and amen.

After this year’s election, it is critical that we come together to nourish our spirits and move in our collective power. This is about more than one election; it is about grounding ourselves in the values and communities that drive our fight for justice. No matter your issue; climate justice, democracy, gender justice, or criminalization, we are in this work together. That’s why we are excited to invite you to join us for Forward Together: Anchoring in Community Post Election, a virtual series designed to offer space for reflection, spiritual grounding, and practical organizing in response to the evolving political landscape.

Session One: After Election Day

Resources

• Feelings Wheel

• UU the Vote Congregational Action, Activity, and Story Reporting Form

• UUA Community Resilience Hub

• UUA & Side With Love Skills Survey

Upcoming Events

• Forward Together 11/19, 8-9pm ET. Register now.

• Tools for Tending with BLUU and DRUUMM, 11/21, 7-9pm ET. Register now.

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

by Rev. Brandan Robertson, Senior Communications Manager, Side With Love

On this Election Day,

One of us will joyfully cast our vote

in hopes that we are moving closer

to a just world—

This act renews our inner strength,

Challenges a closed mind,

And causes our spirit to leap with hope.

On this Election Day,

One of us will serve as a poll worker

and watcher—

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 cast a vote

with our focus set

on a community in need,

Disrupting cycles of oppression,

Loving our neighbors

as we love ourselves,

And seeking to bring peace

to a world marked by division.

On this Election Day,

One of us will vote with holy

and righteous anger aflame within,

As we encounter barriers to the right to have our voices heard,

Barriers to sharing our sacred stories,

Or 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 to be recognition and affirmation—

Trusting in the power of “we the people,”

Believing again in the

promise of democracy,

And finding courage birthed within us once again.

As we set out in this

most sacred of work today,

Let us release that which has

made us afraid,

Hold close to that which stirs our spirit,

Renew our faith in the strength of the Beloved Community,

For when we bless the world

with our voice and our vote,

we, too, are blessed in return.

 

 

In these challenging times, we draw strength from the sacred truth that people of faith and conscience have been essential to every justice movement in our nation’s history. We are called to be faithful witnesses, to live our values through action and care. This has been true of Unitarian Universalism, from standing for abolition to advancing civil rights and marriage equality. This is our truth. And this is our time.

Let our history of prophetic witness guide us now, so that we may rise to meet every challenge and a commitment to building the Beloved Community. We recognize the sacred work many of you are doing—taking action, providing care and bearing witness within your communities. Though the path ahead may be uncertain, our faith calls us to move forward with clarity and courage, trusting in our shared power to shape a more just and compassionate world.

As we approach November 5th, be aware of the rising disinformation and increasing political violence. While Unitarian Universalist congregations may not be primary targets, we have a moral obligation to be in solidarity with our neighbors—particularly migrants, trans and nonbinary people, queer individuals, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. In these times, we have the opportunity to embody the highest aspirations of our faith. Together, through our care and preparedness, we can take faithful action to respond to the threats facing democracy and our communities. Our connections and shared values are boundless resources. Let us draw deeply from this well in this important moment of our history. 

Here are a few ways we can move forward together in this moment:

• Check in and Communicate: Regularly connect with your communities. Draw on lessons from the pandemic to ensure you have effective communication systems and nimble decision-making strategies for uncertain times.

• Focus on Safety and Security: Be mindful of who enters and exits your building when your community gathers. Utilize de-escalation tools and other resources to ensure the safety and security of your congregation.

• Connect with Local Leaders: Ensure you are in touch with regional UUA staff, local congregations, and organizers in your area. The leadership and experience of those accustomed to working in coalition and responding under pressure will be invaluable. Now is the time to decide whose leadership you will follow in moments of potential post-election instability.6

We at the UUA are committed to staying in close communication with you during this time. Our Side With Love and Congregational Life staff teams are gathering resources to help congregations navigate these uncertain times. Please keep an eye on your inbox, as well as our social media channels and other platforms, where we will share this information.

Throughout this election cycle, we will face many decisions about how best to uphold our values. Some situations will require bold, public action, while others may call for quieter, steadfast support for those who have been targeted by political violence. We must rely on the relationships within our congregations and communities to meet these challenges with wisdom and courage.

Thank you for everything you do in the name of love, justice, and democracy.

In faith and solidarity,

Nicole, Amanda, Amarin, Audra, Brandan, Cathy, G., Jeff, Nora, Ranwa, and Rachel

the Side With Love staff Team

As we approach Election Day, it is critical that we come together to nourish our spirits and move in our collective power. This is about more than one election; it is about grounding ourselves in the values and communities that drive our fight for justice. No matter your issue; climate justice, democracy, gender justice, or criminalization, we are in this work together. That’s why we are excited to invite you to join us for Forward Together: Anchoring in Community Post Election, a virtual series designed to offer space for reflection, spiritual grounding, and practical organizing in response to the evolving political landscape.

RSVP TODAY

Event Details:

Forward Together: After Election Day

• Date & Time: Wed, Nov 6, 8-9 PM ET

A time for spiritual tending, regional connections, and holding space for emotional responses.

Forward Together: Meaning Making & Immediate Action

• Date & Time: TBD (The day the election is called), 8-9 PM ET

A focus on immediate action steps, regional assessments, and spiritual nourishment.

Forward Together: The Way Forward

• Date & Time: Tues, Nov 19, 8-9 PM ET

An opportunity to make political and organizing assessments and care for those navigating post-election challenges.

Our Commitment to the Long Haul 

For more than a decade, Side With Love has brought people of faith together to harness the power of love to overcome fear and oppression and build a world where all people are free and thriving. In 2024, our work through UU the Vote takes up that work in a critical election where our collective action can protect and expand democracy, advance voting rights, and support climate justice, racial justice, and bodily autonomy.  

Faith calls us to the promise and the practice transformation. Forward Together is a part of this long-term strategy. Through this series, we’ll gather to reflect on our faith, values, and next steps as a community committed to justice and love. 

Explore the UU Community Resilience Hub

As part of our commitment to building resilient, safe, and thriving communities, we encourage you to visit the UU Community Resilience Hub a comprehensive resource offering tools, training, and support to help protect our communities and democracy. The hub contains everything from conflict de-escalation to leveraging spiritual and physical assets during critical times. We will be updating this space often to bring you the latest information and resources to equip our communities to meet the challenges and opportunities of this moment.   

Get Involved with State Action Networks

Our Unitarian Universalist State Action Networks (SANs) are crucial in mobilizing local communities for justice. They will also have the latest and best information for state specific actions and community support. For more information on how to get involved with SAN events in your area and to see how you can contribute, visit CUUSAN to find your local SAN. 

Why This Matters 

Moments that define us are made in the actions we take together. Forward Together will include on-the-ground updates, political analysis, and messaging guidance for leaders and partners.  Let us use our time meeting the urgency of the moment while nourishing the networks that build hope and resilience.   

Whether you are passionate about racial justice, environmental resilience, or democracy, we invite you to join us in grounding, reflecting, and organizing in solidarity with the most impacted people.

RSVP TODAY

Together, we can respond to this moment with courage, compassion, and collective action. I hope to see you there.

In faith and solidarity,

your UUA Side With Love team

How do we make our interdependence faithful and value-driven?

This question was posed by UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt during the fireside chat with UUSC President Rev. Mary Katherine Morn. These two theologians and leaders discussed the UU theological grounding for climate justice. Interdependent doesn't always mean something positive, as Rev. Betancourt noted. Someone upstream polluting has an interdependent relationship with those downstream. So: how do we make our interdependence faithful and value-driven?

Watch the event recording which includes reporting back from the small group discussion that happened. 

Host Your Own Congregational Viewing & Discussion

 You are welcome to share the recording of our meeting or watch the conversation only and use these discussions for your own small group conversations.

• Video: UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice Fireside Chat (32 min)

Discussion questions:

• What are you holding in your heart or mind?

• How does your personal faith call you to climate justice?

• How can this growing understanding of the faithful call to climate justice transform your current climate actions?

Upcoming Events

UU Revival Facilitator Training

November 14 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Are you one of your congregation's facilitators for the UU Climate Justice Revival? All facilitators need to join one of our 2 hour Facilitator Training Sessions. Come learn how to be the best facilitator you can be for your congregation's Revival! 

Get Connected:  Who's doing what, where, when, and why!?

November 20 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT
With over 375 UU Congregations hosting the UU Climate Justice Revival and 125 ACTIVE Green Sanctuary 2030 Congregations, UUs are mobilizing for Climate Justice...but how?  As climate disasters become more commonplace, we need stronger networks of community care.  Whether you want to convene a regional Revival, work on disaster response, collaborate on statewide advocacy, or just learn how others are approaching their climate justice work, working together with other UUs can be a powerful response to the problems of our times.

Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation

December 4 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Join the monthly orientation session to get a better understanding of the program and learn how your congregation can engage in ongoing climate action. Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice can transform your congregation through climate justice! Orientation meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET. 

Green Sanctuary Celebration and Call for Renewal with Pres. Sofía Betancourt
December 11 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Come together to celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary! From the 7th Principle Project to Mobilizing for Climate Justice, the Green Sanctuary process has transformed our congregations and our world. Join Pres. Sofía and friends for a celebration of Green Sanctuary and a call for renewal through Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice. Register now.

Our October Green Sanctuary 2030 Monthly Gathering was a fireside chat with UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt and UUSC President Rev. Mary Katherine Morn on UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice. After the conversation, participants were invited to join small group discussions.

Host Your Own Congregational Viewing & Discussion

You are welcome to share the recording of our meeting or watch the conversation only and use these discussions for your own small group conversations!

• Video: UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice Fireside Chat (32 min)

• Discussion questions:

  • What are you holding in your heart or mind?

  • How does your personal faith call you to climate justice?

  • How can this growing understanding of the faithful call to climate justice transform your current climate actions?

AISHA HAUSER
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

One of the most impactful trips I have ever been on in my life was with a friend to Olympic National Park in Washington State, specifically the Ancient Forest, an area that dates back to pre-contact, when only the indigenous people lived and thrived on this land, before the arrival of European settlers.

We were completely cut off from any of the digital and online life we were living. Being this off the grid took a bit of getting used to, however I quickly found something shifting in my physical body and my emotional state.

I felt calmer and inching closer to feeling relaxed. I hadn’t fully appreciated that there is a different kind of relaxation one feels when fully unplugged from anyone who isn’t in your physical presence.

Going into the ancient forest helped ground me while paradoxically allowing me to become more expansive at the same time. 

Old growth and ancient grown forest ground contains layers upon layers of flora and fauna. In fact, the word “flora” means goddess in Latin. How fitting that divinity is part of the naming of these natural and sacred living entities.

The quiet of the forest is not silent. There is the rustling of the trees, the sound of a stream, birds chirping and the muffled sounds of our feet along the forest floor.

I felt myself release tension as I walked.

I placed my palms on the trees, leaning on them for comfort and solace.

It was truly a cleansing experience, a forest bath.

According to the National Geographic website:

The term emerged in Japan in the 1980s as a physiological and psychological exercise called shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing” or “taking in the forest atmosphere”). The purpose was twofold: to offer an eco-antidote to tech-boom burnout and to inspire residents to reconnect with and protect the country’s forests.

While the term ‘forest bathing’ may be relatively recent, humans have found ways to heal and cleanse while communing with nature throughout millenia.

Jesus prayed at the foot of olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Bodhi tree also known as the Wisdom Tree is believed to be where the Buddha found enlightenment.

Integral to Pagan practices are communing with nature often among the trees.

While I did not find enlightenment during my time in the ancient forest, what I did find was a deeper connection to myself and the earth. 

October 2024

“The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.” —Robin Wall Kimmerer

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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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!

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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

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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

The Side With Love staff team - some of whom are in the US South - are holding all our beloveds in deep care, prayer, and love tonight as Hurricane Milton makes landfall.

If your congregation is able, please consider a donation or collection for the UUA Disaster Relief Fund. All funds go directly to supporting congregations and their communities.

The UUA understands the connection between disaster relief and justice making. Populations who have historically been denied access to resources and care suffer most in a disaster.

Disaster Relief Grants to our UU congregations and related organizations not only help other Unitarian Universalists, they can also support on the ground relief efforts through existing partnerships that congregations already have. These grants encourage congregations to build coalitions to meet the needs of their wider communities. 

UUs have been on the leading edge of environmental advocacy for decades - and much of that good work has focused on mitigation - working to reduce the polluting emissions that drive climate change.  While mitigation is a critical piece, it’s not enough.  As our beloved communities continue to experience climate disruption, extreme weather, and climate disasters, we must expand our climate work to center justice and prioritize creating communities of care.  As we reimagine together a world where all communities thrive, we equally have to ground ourselves in the systems of oppression and harm.  We know that climate disasters impact some of our neighbors more than others.

If you are in an area that hasn't yet experienced a climate disaster, I invite you to explore our resource Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care which includes a toolkit, webinar series, and worksheets for congregations and communities to identify risks and envision solutions with love and justice at the center.

In faith and solidarity,

your Side With Love colleagues 

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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!

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Celebrating the Climate Justice Revivals So Far

Just two weekends ago, hundreds of UU congregations around the country held their own UU Climate Justice Revivals - and we know more congregations are hosting their own throughout this winter and next spring.

 If your congregation hosted a revival recently, tell us your revival story using our UU Climate Justice Revival Commitments & Evaluation form here or by going to https://bit.ly/UURevivalStories, where you can not only submit your revival participants’ words of commitment, but also share your feedback and upload the pictures you took!

 Upcoming UU Climate Revival Facilitator Trainings

• Thursday, November 14, 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7 ET: Register now

• Wednesday, January 15, 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7 ET: Register now 

• Wednesday, February 26, 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7 ET: Register now

Upcoming Programming

Recording and Resources

 "What do I have to offer?" + the Social Ecosystem Framework

View Now

Wed, Nov 20 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Green Sanctuary 2030 New Materials Release

RSVP Now

Wed, Dec 11 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Green Sanctuary Celebration and Call for Renewal

RSVP Now

Our faith calls us to proclaim that liberation is possible even as the devastation stretches beyond what any human spirit should be forced to hold. As we watch the news out of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, the West Bank, and Israel our spirits are unimaginably stretched – especially those of us who have family and beloveds in danger on these lands. As people who commit to center love as the fundamental theological anchor of our faith, we are called to embody that commitment beyond our church walls, our nations’ flags, and even our personal pains. We are called to be beacons of true transformation, dreaming and creating pathways towards a justice that leaves nobody behind.

As people of faith, we reject the false narrative that the safety of some must come at the expense of the safety of others. It is that choice which has permitted too many atrocities in the U.S. and abroad. As our Unitarian ancestor and abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper reminds us, “We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest [sic] of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

The Israeli government’s project of settler colonialism is now expanding to many countries. The violence must end. The U.S. government funding for this violence must also end. The cost to our collective soul is too high. The escalation in Lebanon and Yemen, which has caused more devastation and destabilization, must stop. U.S. military aid to the Israeli government must cease. And the oppression that has long fueled this conflict must finally come to a permanent and sustained end. Sovereignty for Palestine and an end to the occupation of Palestinian lands must be realized.

We are not bystanders to the moral imperative of our time. We are each called to faithful witness on the stage of history. We will not crumble under the shadow of a troubled past but be fortified in the light of the truth – that all life is a reflection of the Divine. Let us rise in that truth.

Let us live into our sacred duty to reject any actions that violate that truth, and instead fully embrace the opportunities for a holy and wholly liberated future. May we recover our collective humanity by making a different choice than we have over decades of this compounding human rights atrocity.

We can start by first witnessing this moment and grieving the lives, homes, and futures that this violence has stolen.

We invite you to join us on Oct. 6 for “Still Here: A Unitarian Universalist Vigil for Gaza” at 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT.

We can honor the commitments of our 2024 General Assembly’s Action of Immediate Witness, “Solidarity With Palestinians,” and move towards the necessary humanitarian demand of calling, yet again, for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, and for the U.S. to stop shipments of military weapons to Israel.

Join us in taking action and renewing this commitment by calling your representative to ask that they support the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which blocks a proposal to send $20 billion in weapons to Israel.

Tell Your Senator: Block Weapons to Israel

And finally, deepening in our knowledge and values through education and discourse so that we may align our work in healing and accountable solidarity with the many living under the remnants of settler colonialism and empire. Visit Resources for Engaging Palestine & Israel for ongoing resources and learning opportunities.

We embrace liberation as a collective process and collective responsibility. Each of us has a role in cultivating the collective thriving of which so many lives and futures, including our own, depend.

Towards collective liberation and a free Palestine, today and always, we Side With Love.

Love and courage,

The Side With Love Team

P.S. Check out UUJME’s Resources for Sunday, October 6th Worship Service for more.

Talking about abortion is the first step to busting stigma, stopping harmful restrictions, and expanding access. On September 30, we learned how to have deeper conversations about abortion that are rooted in values and facts, defuse extremist talking points, and develop skills to use in one-on-one conversations. Watch the recording here.

Resources from the webinar:

• View the presentation slides

• Join Yeson4’s Weekly Phonebanks

• Learn more about Avow Texas

• Learn more about ongoing work of the National Network of Abortion Funds

UU Climate Justice Revival Ahoy!  Starting this weekend, congregations across the land are coming together to reimagine a spirit-filled and liberatory future. Through conversations, worship, and advocacy, congregations will work together to realize climate justice and collective liberation in our communities. Let’s GO!

Read on for more info about:

• Revivaling Congregations + YOU!

• Tune in to the Livestream of President Sofia’s sermon at UU Congregation of Ann Arbor

• Sneak peak into UUA’s expanding support for climate justice!

• “When I go to the Revival” reflections from Side with Love!

Revivaling Congregations + YOU!

Over 370 UU congregations in 45 states plus Mexico, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and online -   over 35% of our denomination - are joining in spirit to reimagine together a world where all communities thrive. 

The UU Society of Oneonta, NY is the first congregation to share the outcomes of their Revival.  Look at all those smiling faces!  Karen Palmer reports,

“We just completed our Climate Revival Saturday Workshop a weekend early due to our schedules.  Rev Stacey and I facilitated and we think it went very well.  People were very engaged and moved from expressing that they felt overwhelmed and stressed about Climate Change to feeling more positive and hopeful seeing the collective energy that emerged from the event.  Thanks for all the work your team did to provide the resources!” 

What’s that you say?  Your congregation hasn’t signed up to host a Revival yet?  Do it now!  You can host your Revival later this year or in 2025.  Several folks are hosting theirs over Earth Day.  Do what makes sense for you but sign up now so we can best support you!

Your Revival will bring together hearts and minds to make the connections between climate and justice and re-imagine what it means to do this urgent work in community.   This powerful and transformative event weaves together the threads that have always linked our deepest commitments. The UU Climate Justice Revival will equip UU congregations to enter into a new era of climate action—one that intentionally and faithfully breaks down silos and cultivates relationships that lead to flourishing collaborations that transform our congregations through climate justice.  

Watch a Revival Worship This Weekend!

If your congregation is not hosting the Revival this weekend, but you want in on the fun, we invite you to join the livestream of UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt preaching at the UU Congregation of Ann Arbor on September 29 at 8:30am PT / 11:30am ET.

UUA developing new tools for Climate Justice facilities projects at the congregational level

As congregations seek to implement climate justice projects at the community level, we are excited to report that the UUA will soon be offering support and a loan option for clean energy projects with incentives for climate justice.  We can’t go into too many details just yet, but put this in the back of your mind as your congregation is Reimagining Together at your UU Climate Justice Revival and stay tuned for more information!

How are you Revivaling?  

Hear from the Side With Love Team on what we’re bringing to our Revivals!

“The sign of a health economy should be a drinkable river.” - Li An Phoa

Here in Delaware, none of our rivers and creeks are swimmable, let alone drinkable.  Here in my county with the highest number of chickens in the country, chicken waste is spread on our fields and runs off into the water (among other causes for the unhealthy water).  If we had drinkable rivers, families be able to play in them!  But more than that, getting there would require improved conditions and lives for the chickens themselves, the small family chicken farmers stuck in contracts with the big chicken companies, and the largely immigrant and Black non-unionised workers in the chicken factories.   When I go to the Revival, I will elevate the connection between small farms, workers, animals, water, and our health.”    

Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, Leadership Development Specialist

When I go to the Revival, I’m going to talk about the profound connections between climate justice and building a more democratic society for all people. I think about the opportunities for direct democratic process in Atlanta where over 116,000 residents signed petitions in support of taking Cop City – a militarized police training camp destroying an urban forest to be destructed – and the city’s unwillingness to respond to the demands of the people. I think about what it means when our governing bodies have been bought and sold by the wealthy and corporations – in the case of the Great Lakes, the federal government has not stopped Enbridge from pumping oil through their 71-year old pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac putting 21 percent of the world’s fresh surface water at risk. I am excited for the synergy and opportunity for more relationship and more collective action that will emerge from the Revival.

Nora Rasman, Democracy Strategist

When I go to my climate justice revival, I want to talk about the intersection of the climate crisis and our values.  I want to leave able to articulate how our values call us into environmental action. I care about Climate Justice, and I'm already doing so much to end oppression that I want to better understand how this work impacts the work I'm already doing. It all feels so big! I want a space to dream about a better, healthier, and more connected world.

Rev. Amanda Schuber, Disability Justice Associate

When I go to my revival, I will talk about the impacts of climate change on marginalized communities. Many who lack the basic necessities of life and whose livelihood depends on survival are the most likely to suffer the devastating impacts of climate catastrophe. When a hurricane hits or a chemical contamination strikes, low-income people, Black and brown people, trans people, and disabled people lack the financial resources to protect themselves. Worse yet, agencies and government officials fail to craft policies and procedures that take into account the variety of needs and contingencies that will ensure the safety of these communities. A climate revival will not only raise the aware of the reality of climate change but will also raise the awareness of how climate catastrophe impacts all communities and the need to center care for the most vulnerable as we consider sustainable solutions.  

Rev. Michael Crumpler, LGBTQ and Multicultural Programs Director

When I go to my Revival, I’m going to talk about disability justice, community care, and the urgency of practicing solidarity with disabled people in this age of pandemics. As we reimagine a world where all beings thrive, in this moment of accelerating mass disablement, death, and climate catastrophe and simultaneous calls to reinvest in pre-pandemic ways of living and organizing, I’m curious about what our movements can learn from disabled resistance, connection, and survival. I’m eager to attend to this need for the many generations of people who are becoming disabled in a very small window of time and to whom our movements are accountable for a place in this work. I’m inspired by the 2024 AIW Centering Love Amidst the Ongoing Impact of COVID-19. What’s possible for our communities when we live into communal interdependence? 

Amarin Young, Communications & Administrative Assistant

When I go to my climate justice revival, I want to make sure we find spaces for us to grieve.  There is so much violence we are encountering and experiencing in our lives, and it takes a toll on our bodies, minds, and hearts.  My heart breaks for my Palestinian siblings who have lost homes, loved ones, and ancestral lands where they have nurtured olive trees for generations.  All of us have lost the biodiversity that comes with human-driven climate change.  And some of us may feel like humanity has lost its soul, with our extractive relationships to each other and our greater world.  I want to make the space for us to name and feel that grief.  Because in that grief, we can find our longing.  We can find what it is we yearn for, rooted in our greatest imaginings of what our faith tells us is possible.  In honoring our grief, we lean into the best of our humanity - our connections to our reality and our commitments to transforming this world into one centered on love.

Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Congregational Justice Organizer

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When I go to my Revival later this year, I am excited to meet all of the community members we’re inviting to join us.  We’re using the Revival materials to bring together as many people as we can from the many smaller communities in our area who are all connected to the same ecosystem we love and social services we need.  I plan to elevate the connections between climate change and all of the injustices we fight so hard against as a means of working towards building community resilience together.  How can we make sure that everyone in our community thrives?  I know that I - alone - do not have the answer, but we - together - can create a vision, a north star, to guide our collective work.  Together, with curiosity, humility, grace, and imperfection, we can find the solutions that strengthen our community and protect our ecosystem, all while centering the needs of those most impacted by climate injustice.  I bring my lived experience as a person with a disability and my rural, working-class background to this dynamic work.  As Chico Mendes said, “Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening.”  How can our climate justice work intersect with labor, disability rights, anti-racism, disaster preparedness, and more?  My commitment to justice and collective liberation will guide my actions both at the Revival and beyond. No system but the ecosystem, no liberation without love.  We’re reimagining together!

Rachel Myslivy, Climate Justice Strategist

On September 18, we joined Deepa Iyer for our September Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting: “What do I have to offer?” + the Social Ecosystem Framework. Watch the recording here.

We all have an important part to play in our congregation! To create a world that liberates all of us, we need each and every one of us. Deepa Iyer's Social Change Ecosystem Framework identifies ten "roles" all working towards and with the values of equity, liberation, justice, and solidarity. This framework is built on the recognition that we all have “innate gifts, lived experiences, learned skills, and formal and informal knowledge that can propel social change.” It also celebrates that we are fluid and adaptable, with our "role" changing from one context to the next. We’re using this framework in the UU Climate Justice Revival and in it can be helpful when bringing together you GS2030 Teams.

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides

"We build spiritual containers. We tell different stories. We engage one another. We follow frontline leaders. We remind each other [to be with each other] when the world mocks us sometimes for hope; mocks us sometimes for the radical idea that love can guide who we are and how we show up, rather than needing to win at a game that puts some of us ahead of others." - Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt

 Earlier this month, UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt joined our first UU the Vote in-person mobilization in Philadelphia. She was part of a powerful panel on the role of faith organizations in this political moment (watch the entire event at Side With Love’s YouTube) and invited UUs to remember how important it is that we be together in this work; to, in her words, "literally chaplain one another back to the space we are building together."

 Over the next four weeks, we have a number of reproductive justice and access events so we can learn and take action on this critical issue. Two political education events, two phonebanks with partner organizations (one in Florida and one in North Carolina), and our ongoing UPLIFT and UPLIFT Access monthly gatherings. We hope you'll join us at these events where we can chaplain each other, remind each other why we're letting love guide us, and tell different stories about the world we want to live in.

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Woven Together: Religion & Reproductive Justice

Political Education Series from SACReD

Tuesdays this fall 7-8:30pm ET

SACReD is a national alliance of multiracial, multifaith, multiethnic, mixed gender and sexual identity religious leaders, congregations, movement organizations, activists, academics, and directly impacted communities collaborating to advance Reproductive Justice through congregational education, culture change, community building, and direct service.

Join SACReD for a 6-part virtual learning series this fall! 

 As we shift the culture to make Reproductive Justice a lived reality, we recognize that our political, religious, and reproductive lives are all woven together. We are watching the forces of White Christian Nationalism threaten our families and our communities every day. We are bringing together experts to cover the legal, political, theological, and cross-movement intersections of religion and reproductive justice. When we understand how all of our struggles are inextricably linked, we can continue to deepen our solidarity in the pursuit of liberation and justice for all.

 Accessing this series is free, with a suggested donation of $25 per workshop, or $150 for the full series.

Learn more & register now

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UU the Vote & Yes on 4! Virtual Phone Bank

Thursday, September 26 at 3 – 5pm EDT

Help us grow our movement to limit government interference with abortion!

 Florida's proposed Amendment 4 creates a state constitutional amendment that explicitly blocks the implementation of laws that prohibit, delay, or restrict abortion access.

On Thursday, Sept 26, you're invited to join Yes on 4 and UU the Vote for a virtual phone bank session. We'll connect to voters to invite them to take action and support Yes on 4 this election cycle. No experience is necessary, we will provide training and support to you while you make calls. Your personal information is protected and all calls are made through the dialer system. We'll have fun and promise the conversations you have with voters will energize you!

Register Now

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Unapologetic Abortion Access: Skill Training with Avow Texas

Monday, September 30, 2024 8pm ET - 9:30pm ET

Join us for a virtual workshop with Caroline Duble, Political Director of Avow Texas, to talk about abortion.

Defuse extremist talking points and develop skills to use in one-on-one conversations. We are particularly enthusiastic to invite UU reproductive justice organizers and activists and folks living in states with abortion ballot measures this November.

Talking about abortion is the first step to busting stigma, stopping harmful restrictions, and expanding access.

 Learn how to have deeper conversations about abortion that are rooted in values and facts. 

Register Now

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North Carolina Abortion Rights Interfaith Phone Bank

Tuesday, October 8 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT

Join Side With Love, UU Justice NC, Pro-Choice North Carolina, and Carolina Jews for Justice for a phonebank calling North Carolina voters. The future of abortion access in North Carolina is on the line this election! Even though there isn't a ballot initiative, abortion is absolutely on the ballot in NC, because those we elect will either defend and advance abortion access, or keep banning it. People of faith are coming together to send a powerful message that reproductive rights are aligned with our values, so let's get on the phones and turn-out pro abortion voters this fall!

Register Now

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UPLIFT Access Resource Webinar

October 17 at 12pm - 1:30pm ET

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.

Register Now

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary Monthly Gathering

September 24 at 8pm ET

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us 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.

Register Now

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Climate at the Intersections: Climate Justice is Gender Justice

In our newest video in our Climate at the Intersections series, Side With Love Climate Justice Organizer Rachel Myslivy and UU Women's Federation National Organizer Antoinette Scully explore how climate is a gender justice issue. 

We have some fantastic meetings planned this fall, and we hope to see you all soon!   Join the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meetings for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs working to transform our congregations through climate justice.

UU Climate Justice Revivals!

I know that many of you are busily preparing for your UU Climate Justice Revivals!  Keep up the good work, and remember that if you do the Revival activities as planned, they can serve in place of your Opportunity Assessment!  Win-win!  If you missed it, check out the recording of the UU Climate Justice Revival + GS2030 to learn how these activities overlap and support each other.  

If you haven’t signed up to host a Revival, there’s still time!  Many of our congregations are hosting their Revival later this year or in 2025.  Bonus!  We have mini-grants to support your work!  Sign up today!

New Video Series!  Climate at the Intersections

Explore our video series on Climate Justice at the Intersections, to discover how our climate justice intersects with social justice, economic justice, our UU theology, and more.  So far we have:

• Climate Justice is Social Justice 

• Climate Justice is Economic Justice

• Climate Justice and UU Values

• Climate Justice is Gender Justice

Fall Community Meetings

Our meetings will begin and end with some very special guests!  The September meeting, “What do I have to offer?” + the Social Change Ecosystem Framework will feature Deepa Iyer, author of Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.  Consider this a must-attend training for nourishing impactful Green Sanctuary Teams!  In October, we’ll deepen our understanding of the UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice with the UUA President, Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, and UUSC President, Rev. Dr. Mary Katherine Morn.  In November, we’ll release the new Green Sanctuary 2030 Materials and the yearly renewal process.  These new materials will be even more manageable and accessible for all of our congregations.  Come get the inside scoop!  We’ll round out the year with the 35th anniversary celebration of the Green Sanctuary program featuring Pres. Sofía.

Register Now!

"What do I have to offer?" + the Social Change Ecosystem Framework

September 18, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

We all have an important part to play in our congregation! To create a world that liberates all of us, we need each and every one of us. Deepa Iyer's Social Change Ecosystem Framework identifies ten "roles" all working towards and with the values of equity, liberation, justice, and solidarity. This framework is built on the recognition that we all have “innate gifts, lived experiences, learned skills, and formal and informal knowledge that can propel social change.” It also celebrates that we are fluid and adaptable, with our "role" changing from one context to the next. We’re using this framework in the UU Climate Justice Revival and in it can be helpful when bringing together you GS2030 Teams. Learn more about this powerful framework from the author, herself!

We will be giving away 50 copies of the Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection at this event.  You must be present to win.  Sign up today!

UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice with UUA Pres. Sofía and UUSC Pres. Mary Katherine Morn

October 16, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

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 for a watch party of the UU Theological Grounding for Climate Justice Fireside Chat with UUA Pres. Sofía and UUSC Pres. Mary Katherine Morn. How does your faith call you to this work? Join the conversation! 

Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Gathering

November 20, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET

Topic TBD

Green Sanctuary Celebration and Call for Renewal with Pres. Sofía Betancourt

December 11, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET

Come together to celebrate 35 years of Green Sanctuary! From the 7th Principle Project to Mobilizing for Climate Justice, the Green Sanctuary process has transformed our congregations and our world. Join Pres. Sofía and friends for a celebration of Green Sanctuary and a call for renewal through Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice on Wednesday, December 11 at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET.

Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
Lead Ministry Team, Church of the Larger Fellowship

Recently, I’ve heard more and more people wondering what is the place of covenant and accountability in Unitarian Universalism. In some circles, they have become almost dirty words–signs that we are somehow abandoning the individualist faith that so many people mistakenly think we are. And yet, both of these concepts are central to our faith.

Covenant consists of the sacred promises we make to one another. It is not a fixed set of beliefs, but rather a living understanding of how we are in community together. Covenants define the practices of Unitarian Universalism as well as what we are striving to create together.

As a faith movement, our congregations are bound to each other in covenant. That covenant is expressed in Article 2 of the Unitarian Universalist Association by-laws. It lives there because covenants and by-laws, unlike creeds, are meant to be changeable. As our understanding of our faith deepens, as our understanding of our world develops, and as the circle of our faith widens to welcome in those who have too long been marginalized, we must adapt the promises that hold us together.

And so it is that our covenant has been updated recently. Rather than simply asking our congregations to “affirm and promote” principles (a phrase that I came to see as the faith analog of the meaningless phrase “thoughts and prayers”), our new covenant asks us to engage in specific actions to live our faith in the world. It asks us to understand power, how it is abused to lead to oppression and exploitation, and to actively work to dismantle those things in our world. It asks us to commit to changing, growing, and repairing damaged relationships. It asks us to create fully accessible and inclusive communities, and to embrace our differences as we learn from one another.

These are good promises, solid promises that, if we keep them, will help us center our faith in love and live from the values we claim: justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interdependence, and generosity.

But what if we don’t keep our promises?

That’s where accountability comes in.

In 1646, the congregations in the New England colonies brought delegates together to discuss how they would be governed. The 1648 Cambridge Platform has served since then as the basis for what we call “congregational polity,” the way in which Unitarian Universalist congregations still come together. Even in 1648, congregations realized that one of their responsibilities to each other was to be able to hold each other accountable to the practices and ideals of their faith.

How this happens has changed a lot since 1648, but it has not ceased to be part of the relationship among congregations. We are collectively responsible for the covenant of our faith. And so, we have to be collectively responsible for asking our sibling UUs to be accountable to that covenant.

Accountability does not mean punishment, nor does it mean banishment, like so many people seem to fear. It does mean that we are allowed to ask each other to do better. It means that we are allowed to point out when each others’ actions fall short of the values we claim. Yes, it might mean that we are going to have to get used to giving and receiving constructive, loving criticism.

For too long, our faith has been mired in a hyper-individualism that is good for no one. We are not the faith where, as some claim, one can believe or do whatever one wants to. We are instead a faith where we proudly center our interdependence with one another, a faith that insists that none of us are in this alone.

In the back of our hymnal is an uncredited (anonymous) reading that blesses us with these words: “May we know once again that we are not isolated beings, but connected, in mystery and miracle, to the universe, to this community, and to
each other.”

To these words, I add this: May our connection to each other be grounded in covenant. May it be a connection of mutual accountability and growth. May it be a connection that helps us all live with love at the center of our lives. 

September 2024

“We are collectively responsible for the covenant of our faith.” —Rev. Dr. Michael Tino

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

 

 

 

 

To create a world that liberates all of us, we need each and every one of us, whether in our roles in our congregation or in our wider community.

 Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer and advocate for justice who has developed ten "roles" -- all working towards and with the values of equity, liberation, justice, and solidarity -- in her new book from Skinner House, Social Change Ecosystem Framework.

 This framework is built on the recognition that we all have “innate gifts, lived experiences, learned skills, and formal and informal knowledge that can propel social change.” It also celebrates that we are fluid and adaptable, with our "role" changing from one context to the next.

 We’re using this framework in the UU Climate Justice Revival and in it can be helpful in your congregation's justice ministry or your everyday life! Learn more about this powerful framework from the author, herself, by joining our September 18th event. We'll be giving away 30 copies of this book during the event, too, so join us live for what we know will be an informative and inspiring gathering!

Register Now

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Host the UU Climate Justice Revival on Your Timeline!

Did you know that more than a third of our North American congregations are hosting a UU Climate Justice Revival? This is an incredible demonstration of the passion and commitment our denomination has to this transformative work - and your congregation can be a part of it, whether you can host your revival in September or not!

 The UU Climate Justice Revival is responsive to your unique needs and context, which means you can register now for the materials and schedule it whenever is best for your congregation. (We're requesting that all congregations offer their Revival before General Assembly 2025.)

✨ REGISTER TODAY ✨

 Here’s a sneak peak of the “How do we schedule the Revival” section of the Toolkit. You can make this schedule work in a variety of ways—whatever suits your congregation. You could host one-hour meetings on Zoom over the course of four Wednesdays or your congregation could have volunteers host house parties for the dialogs and a potluck. Be creative! If you’re still not sure how to swing it, email us at UURevival@UUA.org. We can brainstorm ideas!

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Connect with UU climate justice organizers & Side With Love staff on Slack!

Slack is a collaboration app that can be used on one's phone, computer, or web browser. Like a message board, it has various channels related to different topics and Side With Love has an active Slack account where UU volunteers, activists, and leaders can work together with Side With Love staff on a variety of topics and campaigns. Check out this intro packet to learn more and join!

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UU Climate Justice Revival Sermon Contest Winners!

Imagine that it's 2050 and we've achieved all of our wildest hopes for collective liberation. What is present in that re-imagined reality? What have our values led us to collectively abolish or move away from? How would our world transform if love was at the center of our climate actions and collective liberation were upheld as a uniting goal across all of the movement spaces that matter most?

With these questions in mind, the UU Climate Justice Revival planning team invited sermons that would ground us in this new reality. The number of submissions exceeded our expectations - evidence of the prophetic spirit and liberatory theology alive in our movement - and after much deliberation, we are proud to announce our sermon winners. 

Congratulations to:

• Andrew Batcher

• Lee Curran

• Diego Garrido Barreto

• Meleah Houseknecht

• Rev. Dr. Molly Housh Gordon

• Frances Koziar

• Edward Lynn

• Rev. Arif Mamdani

Learn more about each awardee and read their award-winning sermon. Recordings of each sermon will be available by September 5th. https://www.uuclimatejustice.org/sermon

On August 7, we hosted Green Sanctuary 2030 + the UU Climate Justice Revival to learn how both the Green Sanctuary 2030 community and the UU Climate Justice Revival can spark and light the way to transforming climate justice in your congregation. Watch the recording here.

On September 28-29, congregations will host UU Climate Justice Revivals to collectively reimagine a spirit-filled and liberatory future. Through conversations, worship, and advocacy, congregations will work together to realize climate justice and collective liberation in our communities. Congregations will receive everything they need to host a revival in their communities, including discussion guides and materials for all ages, training, worship resources, and advocacy actions designed to transform our communities through climate justice.

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides

• Watch President Rev. Sofía Betancourt's video, which was played on the fifth presentation slide

Let's Reimagine Together! Register your congregation for the UU Climate Justice Revival today! UUClimateJustice.org.

Siding with love means we center accessibility in all our programming and events.

Rev. Amanda Schuber, Disability Justice Associate on the Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team, offers some guidance for congregational staff and volunteers on how to center accessibility in programming.

Companioning One Another Through These Times

by Nicole Pressley
Organizing Strategy Director, Side With Love – Unitarian Universalist Association

On November 15, 2015, the Minneapolis Police Department killed a black man named Jamar Clark. That night, community members, organizers, and activists formed an encampment outside the Fourth Precinct to demand the release of the body camera footage and justice for Jamar Clark. For 20 days, as the Minnesota winter set in, businesses, organizations, unions, and people came together to build and sustain community. Meals were served, warm clothing was provided, and systems of care, security, and conflict resolution were designed. People danced. People sang. And people preached.

On a very late night, as many of us huddled under the propane heaters donated by the Sierra Club, Rev. Danny Givens preached a sermon about Henrietta Lacks, a black woman whose cells were used without her consent to lead to breakthroughs in science. He called us to remember the many ways in which that violation of black bodies feeds heteropatriarchal capitalism. He invited us into the powerful call to ground our work demanding justice for Jamar Clark in a broader demand to dismantle state violence and commit ourselves to black liberation.

This was the beginning of my journey into Unitarian Universalism. Rev. Danny Givens worked at Unity Church in St. Paul. At this encampment, I experienced “church” and activism in a new and powerful way that transformed my relationship to both. In my prior experience, sermons were delivered from ornate pulpits in the comfort of a building, not on a cold wet street under the threat of arrest and violence from police and white supremacists. The primary subjects were usually men whose stories felt too far away to be easily relevant to the struggles I find to be critical, as a black queer woman. Instead, he elevated the story of a black woman. Instead of focusing on salvation as a reward for our good deeds after death, he opened us up to the possibility of transformation and liberation as an urgent spiritual and political practice.

I reflected on this moment recently as I stood in solidarity with students at their encampment at Northeastern University. I was in Boston because I had the honor of being the respondent to the Minns Lecture, an annual Unitarian Universalist theological presentation, offered by Rev. Jason Lydon a few days previous. Rev. Jason spoke about the UU Service Committee’s National Moratorium on Prison Construction. He opened his remarks with the connection between the police violence against students on Emerson College’s campus and that of the cruelty of the prison system.  At the Shabbat service that followed the early morning raid and arrests of Northeastern students, attendees discussed the police repression on Emory’s campus and at Stop Cop City actions in Atlanta. In the midst of this political action, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case on the criminalization of encampments of unhoused people across the country. With the Court’s ruling in favor of criminalization, students at elite universities and their unhoused neighbors will sit in the same jails, with the same charges, and for different reasons with vastly different resources. I think about how our jails will fill with trans people, medical professionals, and people seeking abortions, because life-saving care is also criminalized.

“If they take you in the morning, they will be come for us that night.”
—James Baldwin

Baldwin wrote these words on November 19, 1970 in a letter to Angela Davis in solidarity after her arrest. These words are not a warning like those we usually hear, “you’ll be next,” or, “first they came for…”. It is an understanding. Baldwin knows, deeply, that being targeted by the state can happen to anyone who finds themselves out of favor with those in power. LGBTQ, BIPOC, and disabled people, union organizers, sex workers, the unhoused, even women in bathing suits have found themselves the target of state based violence.

Criminalization as a tactic is not new, yet under increasingly fascist conditions in this country, we may find the connections between our struggles more easily.

As I wrote in this year’s 30 Days of Love, a project of the UUA’s Side with Love campaign: “before criminalization becomes a political tactic of disconnection and domination, it is first a spiritual acquiescence to dehumanization and disposability. We deny a moral mandate of mutuality in search of the protection of power over others.” Too often, we take up solidarity in a reaction to a threat. We use it as a political strategy, attempting to build larger coalitions as a means to pass or block legislation or win some other material demand for our communities. I hope that instead, like Baldwin, we can begin to know in our bones that our liberation is inextricably bound — that maybe, we are not just all we have, but we, together, are all we need. 

July/August 2024

“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.” —Cornel West

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that almost 300 congregations are hosting a UU Climate Justice Revival! How amazing! In just a few days, the registered congregations will receive all of the materials to host a Revival. If you haven’t signed your congregation up yet, there’s still time! But… maybe you’re saying to yourself…

"Aw, we can’t join the Revival because [insert time conflict here]!"

If you’re one of the many people thinking this, I’m here to tell you that YOU CAN HOST YOUR REVIVAL ANY TIME AFTER SEPTEMBER 28!

Seriously. The Revival is responsive to your unique needs and context. If you need to host the Revival in October, later in the year, or even in 2025, that’s fine! ✨ REGISTER TODAY ✨

“Yeah, but we rent our space and have limited access to it. We can’t reserve it for the dialogs.”

Bummer! But you can STILL host a Revival! In the soon-to-be-released Facilitator’s Toolkit, we’ve crafted several sample schedules to help congregations figure out what would work best for them. Revival activities are super flexible and can be modified in many different ways. We’ve included several options for the Day 1 Dialogs:

• Quick and Easy: Afternoon Revival with Snacks

• Slow and Steady: Full Day Revival with Lunch and Snacks (and Optional Videos and Longer Breaks)

• The More the Merrier: Revival + Community Fair

• Saturday Dialogs

• Revival dialogs take place for one hour over four days

Here’s a sneak peak of the “How do we schedule the Revival” section of the Toolkit. You can make this schedule work in a variety of ways—whatever suits your congregation. You could host one-hour meetings on Zoom over the course of four Wednesdays or your congregation could have volunteers host house parties for the dialogs and a potluck. Be creative! If you’re still not sure how to swing it, email us at UURevival@UUA.org. We can brainstorm ideas! ✨ REGISTER TODAY ✨

“We really want to do the Revival, but our budget is t-i-i-i-ght! Is there any support for congregations who need some extra help to host a Revival?”

We sure understand that! The UU Climate Justice Revival is designed to be accessible to all congregations, regardless of size or resources.

Thanks to the generous support of the UUA and Revival sponsors, we are offering mini-grants to support congregations who need additional resources to be able to host a Revival. If this sounds like you, ✨ REGISTER TODAY ✨ and then fill out this UU Climate Justice Revival Mini-Grant Support Request form to let us know the kind of support you need. There are limited funds available, so we can't guarantee every request will be filled, but we’re going to do our very best to make it happen!

“Ok, so now that we’re registered and ready to go, what can we do to get our congregation excited!?

So much!

• You can start getting your team together with the Welcome Packet

• Read and share this awesome article about the Revival!

• Start identifying your volunteer facilitators

• Mark August 1 on your calendar and start counting down the days to the materials release!

• Register for Info Sessions and Facilitator Trainings

• Host watch parties of Side With Love’s new Climate at the Intersections video series, including Climate Justice is Social Justice with Rachel Myslivy, Climate Justice Strategist

• Climate Justice is Economic Justice with Nicole Pressley, Organizing Strategy Team Director

• Climate Justice and UU Values with Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, UUA Director of Communications and Public Ministry

On July 20, we offered a virtual workshop to talk about abortion, led by Caroline Duble, Political Director of Avow Texas. Watch the recording here.

Talking about abortion is the first step to busting stigma, stopping harmful restrictions, and expanding access. We learned how to have deeper conversations about abortion that are rooted in values and facts, defuse extremist talking points, and develop skills to use in one-on-one conversations.

Resources from the webinar:

• View the presentation slides

• Join our UU the Vote x Yeson4 Phonebank on Thursday, September 5 at 6pm ET

• Join Yeson4’s Weekly Phonebanks

• Learn more about Avow Texas

• Learn more about ongoing work of the National Network of Abortion Funds

On July 17, we hosted Green Sanctuary 2030 + the UU Climate Justice Revival to learn how both the Green Sanctuary 2030 community and the UU Climate Justice Revival can spark and light the way to transforming climate justice in your congregation. Watch the recording here.

On September 28-29, congregations will host UU Climate Justice Revivals to collectively reimagine a spirit-filled and liberatory future. Through conversations, worship, and advocacy, congregations will work together to realize climate justice and collective liberation in our communities. Congregations will receive everything they need to host a revival in their communities, including discussion guides and materials for all ages, training, worship resources, and advocacy actions designed to transform our communities through climate justice.

Resources from the meeting:

• View the presentation slides

• Watch President Rev. Sofía Betancourt's video, which was played on the second presentation slide

Let's Reimagine Together! Register your congregation for the UU Climate Justice Revival today! UUClimateJustice.org.

by Rev. Amanda Schuber, Disability Justice Associate, UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team

Image 1: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: A Blessing for Disability Pride Month by Rev. Amanda Schuber, Disability Justice Associate, UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team.

Image 2: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: Spirit of Life and Spirit of Love, July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate our community's diversity, tenacity, and adaptability.

Image 3: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: It’s a time to acknowledge the work being done towards a more accessible and welcoming world.

Image 4: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: This month, we lift up those who have fought tirelessly each day to ensure that everybody (every body) is honored as sacred and holy.

Image 5: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: We send love and care to those who have not been served well, who have been abused or forgotten.

Image 6: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: May we remember the fierce souls of our movement who have died this past yea as we carry their legacy forward.

Image 7: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: The Disability Community is one grounded in resilience and connection.

Image 8: Image has a black background. To the left is a stack of watercolor style hearts in the following colors: green, blue, white, yellow, and red. Text in white reads: May we hold fast to the promise of a future that is inclusive, welcoming, and accessible for all.

Download the zip file of images

Spirit of Life and Spirit of Love, July is Disability Pride Month, a time to celebrate our community's diversity, tenacity, and adaptability.

It’s a time to acknowledge the work being done towards a more accessible and welcoming world.

This month, we lift up those who have fought tirelessly each day to ensure that everybody (every body) is honored as sacred and holy.

We send love and care to those who have not been served well or who have been abused or forgotten.

May we remember the fierce souls of our movement who have died this past year as we carry their legacy forward.

The Disability Community is one grounded in resilience and connection.

May we hold fast to the promise of a future that is inclusive, welcoming, and accessible for all.

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.

Support Side With Love

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. 

Donate Now

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. 

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).

A Blessing for Queer Youth of Faith

Bless you, for who you are, right now, right here.

Bless you in your queerness, your genderfabulousness, your questioning, wondering, exploring, declaring. Bless you in the words you create and evolve and claim for yourself. May you relish your divinity as you dismantle binaries and create beautiful worlds of infinite possibilities. May those of us who are not queer respect you, learn from you, and show up for you as you need.

Bless you in your youth, your brilliance, your ideas, your curiosity, your incredible leadership right now (let alone what is to come). May you be fortified in the face of adultism and may you inhabit the fullness of your being. May those of us who are not youth respect you, learn from you, and show up for you as you need.

Bless you in your faith, your precious connection with the sacred, tradition, community, belief and action that guides your life and holds you through the storms and celebrations of life. May your faith sustain you when your faith tradition honors you and when it harms you. May those who hold faiths that judge you come to know how very sacred and perfect you are. May those of us from all sorts of faith traditions respect you, learn from you, and show up for you as you need.

May all of us – queer and straight, trans and cis, young – younger -old and elder, faithful and faith-allergic -- bless you as your full, beautiful, queer, young, sacred self.

Bless you as YOU. Know that you are enough right now, right here; and you are ever evolving, growing, deepening as your imperfectly perfect self.

May we bless all queer youth of faith, all queer youth, all queer and trans and questioning people, all youth on our collective journey towards liberation.

May you be blessed with the glitter of joy, dances of liberation, bricks of safety, and the nourishment of radical love.

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

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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!

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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.

My childhood consisted of navigating what it meant to grow up Egyptian in America. My mother spoke only in Arabic, and she very much passed on the traditions of our culture to my sister and me. She cooked delicious Egyptian meals, told us stories from her childhood and she taught us the ways to be a good Muslim, in an effort to raise us as devout as she was.

One of the lessons that I embody from my childhood is that of generosity. Not only of money, but also of spirit. The Muslim faith mandates generosity and giving to those who have less.

While I have never been a devout Muslim the way my mother still is, I remember that she donated money every year to help feed poor Muslims during the Eid (the feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan). She did this even when we were on public assistance. One year, I let her know that I thought we didn’t have enough to give to others, but she responded  that since the government was helping us, we were mandated to help others.

My mother and I have had our share of disagreements and challenges over the years, but her spirit of generosity is one lesson that I have held dear and been grateful for, and that I try to replicate. In my personal life, this is something that I have easily embraced. This is not something that is as prevalent in modern U.S. society.

It has been more than a little disheartening to witness the dialogue about student debt forgiveness and universal basic income. I have heard people lament that they had to pay off their debt, so why should anyone else be “let off the hook.” When I bring up universal basic income people immediately dismiss it as unrealistic and one person asked me what the incentive would be to work. I responded by asking what the incentive is now. Is it death? Is that really the society we want to maintain? Don’t we want to support people not only living, but thriving and experiencing joy and creativity in ways that nourish our spirits?

These are just two examples of the ways I experience a lack of generosity of spirit in the United States. We find ways to make people “earn a living.” Instead of affirming the value and inherent worth of every person by offering a universal basic income, universal healthcare and free college education (thereby preventing student debt to begin with), this country asserts a scarcity mentality and creates barriers for thriving.

There is no reason to live this way except the stories we tell ourselves. While I know that the idea of transforming our systems is daunting to think about, we do have it in us to practice a generosity of spirit in the ways available to us.

I have witnessed examples of mutual aid that not only centers generosity of money, but also food donations. One wonderful example is Lasagna Love (lasagnalove.org), a continental organization that pairs people who want to cook a homemade lasagna with folks who would love to receive one. What a caring and generous way to affirm community care.

If you are interested in finding out what mutual aid programs exist in your community, and you have access to the internet, you can check out Mutual Aid Hub (www.mutualaidhub.org) for a map and list of organizations. The website hosts the networks across the United States, the organizers want to connect people but they do not vet or endorse any of the programs; please research once you find one you would be interested in.

These are ways that communities are embracing a generosity of spirit and community care. These initiatives feed my spirit and offer hope for the ways that society is already shifting to one that rejects scarcity and embraces abundance.

June 2024

“That’s what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.” —Simone de Beauvoir

Download the full issue and read all articles on Issuu: 

 

On May 15, Side With Love offered our May Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting: Climate Justice Brainstorm! Watch the recording here.

Advancing climate justice is one of the essentials of the Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice... but how do we do that... exactly? We joined other UU Congregations for our annual Climate Justice Brainstorm to hear what's worked, what hasn't, and how we're learning, supporting each other, and adapting along the way.

We hope you'll join us at one of our upcoming UU Climate Justice Revival Info Sessions.

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 for any session:

• Tuesday, May 21 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET

• Wednesday, May 29 at 10am PT / 1pm ET

• Thursday, June 6 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET

May 16th is the 13th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). UUA Accessibility Resources Coordinator Gretchen Maune shares this reflection on digital accessibility.

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In 2007, I was staying at a blind rehabilitation center in Kansas City. Six months prior, I had gone from having 20/15 vision to being almost completely blind over eight rough weeks. I was 24 years old and needed to complete just 15 more credits to finish my Bachelor’s in English so I could move on to grad school, but first, I had to figure out how.

While I enjoyed learning Braille, and techniques for cooking without sight, most of my motivation was reserved for learning to use a computer again. Starting with my family’s Apple II GS, I had been using computers for the vast majority of my life. Being unable to use one for the last several months had made everything from writing capstone papers, to playing Morrowind, to messaging friends impossible, and I was miserable. Cut off from so much, I didn’t know how I was supposed to live my life anymore. When my rehab counselor told me there was software that made it possible for blind people to use a computer, I felt hope and clung to it.

Through the help of a text-to-speech screen reading program called JAWS, I quickly adapted to navigating Windows with my ears instead of my eyes. My instructor, Jim, was the first blind person I can ever remember meeting, and I will be forever grateful to him for all he taught me. One day, as I was practicing surfing the web (come on, it was the 00’s) I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with a particular website. The techniques I’d been taught weren’t working, and though I creatively strove to find a solution, I eventually found myself giving up. Confused, I asked Jim what I was doing wrong, but the answer he gave me was “nothing at all.” That was the day I learned about digital accessibility.

Assistive technologies like screen readers make participating in society possible for me and countless other disabled people. However, these tools can’t make content accessible all by themselves. Application developers, page designers, instructional material creators, and anyone posting something to the internet (so, that would be just about everyone) have to do their part as well, building, editing, or sharing with accessibility in mind.

Thankfully, my UUA colleague, Kasey Kruser, knows just how important digital accessibility is, and is always keeping it in mind with her work. When asked why she thinks accessibility is important as a web developer, she says, “Making our sites as accessible as possible is a great way to help people feel welcomed and included right from the start. Whatever else might be going on in their lives, whatever brought them to our site, I want to know I've done my best to remove frustrations and roadblocks; I hope my efforts make life that much easier for everyone in or looking for our community.”

As someone who relies on accessibility for my professional, entertainment, and spiritual needs, I am reminded daily that we’re all in this together. On this 13th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day, let us design our websites, create our documents, and share our social media with love.

A few of the resources I recommend:

• The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG, are standards for making digital content accessible to disabled users. These standards are required by many countries and other entities across the globe. Learn more with this WCAG primer.

• Whether you’re using mostly text, tables, or graphics, increase your inclusive practices with this guide to creating accessible Microsoft Office documents.

• Engage with official GAAD Events and Resources and learn to make your content more accessible!

Gretchen Maune, MPA, CPACC :: she/they

Accessibility Resources Coordinator

UUA Ministries and Faith Development

May 2024

“Treating different things the same can generate as much inequality as treating the same things
differently.” —Kimberlé Crenshaw

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Perhaps you have seen the widespread cartoon image that illustrates the difference between “equality” and “equity” [above]. First drawn in 2012 by Dr. Craig Froehle, it shows two panels. In each, three people of varying heights are trying to watch a baseball game over a fence, and they have three crates to stand on. In the scenario labeled “equality,” everyone gets one crate, which allows the tallest person to tower over the fence, but the smallest person still can’t see the game. In the scenario labeled “equity,” the crates are distributed so that everyone can see over the fence.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this cartoon as Unitarian Universalists discuss naming equity as one of the core values of our faith. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about why there is a wooden fence in the first place, and about all of the people in the stands whose access to the game doesn’t depend on the distribution of crates.

If someone were to attend the game in a wheelchair, they’d need more than crates to see over the fence. They’d need an expensive ticket, and a ballpark policy that carves out appropriate and desirable places for wheelchairs to be. (It is purely coincidental but illustrative that this week, a friend who uses a wheelchair and loves baseball took to Facebook to decry the ways in which several major league teams make it harder for him to attend games by putting additional steps in place if one wants to buy a wheelchair-accessible seat.)

It seems to me that true equity is that everyone has access to the game in a way that fits their bodies and brains and not their wallets or the willingness of someone to give them a temporary boost.

It wasn’t until I decided to write about this cartoon, though, that I learned that its original creator researches inequities in healthcare. This makes the difference between getting into the ballpark and trying to see over the fence even more stark. For too many people, inequity leads to death.

I have hope that our Unitarian Universalist embrace of equity will be deeper and more meaningful than a cartoon. Part of the proposed language for what would be our core values reads that “we covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities.”

If we are really serious about equity, then, we will work to make our communities—inside and outside of our congregations—fully accessible and inclusive.

This means accessible and inclusive to all bodies. This means accessible and inclusive to different ways that brains work. This means accessible and inclusive to people with different financial means. That means accessible and inclusive to people with histories of trauma and also those who are imprisoned.

It also means that Unitarian Universalists are called to understand ourselves as part of accessible and inclusive communities, so that when we build structures that allow everyone to be part of things, they don’t come across as unfair or unequal.

Have you ever complained that someone else got a crate to see over the fence, even if you didn’t need one?  Sadly, over my years as a minister I’ve fielded way too many similar complaints.

Instead, let us tear down that fence and let everyone into the game. Let’s create space where we can all have the place we need to participate, and where we don’t resent the full participation of others.

What does it mean to value equity? How does it look?

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Darrell
CLF Member, incarcerated in CA

To be honest, at first I thought this theme might be about real estate. Then my mind switched gears and I began to grasp the foundational meaning of the word equity — value! Upon taking the backseat of my life’s vehicle (I tend to let the Universe do the driving nowadays), I’ve become more conscious of our society in regards to our behavior towards ourselves and others.

When I was in my late teens, an older guy once told me, “people that live in lower class environments are blind to their true worth and potential.” Hopefully this same individual has come to the realization that this imaginary blindfold can be worn by individuals from all walks of life, expanding all over the planet. Do we exhibit self-value when we fill our bodies up with harmful narcotics? Are we expressing our self-value by overindulging and drinking alcoholic beverages? Is self-value being shown by the clothes we wear, cars we drive, people we socialize with, and the amount of money we possess? What is self-value anyway?  Does self-value (or acknowledging that you have self-value) determine how you treat or value others?

Someone asked me a few years ago if I would rather be loved or valued. What a profound question! Not knowing the meaning of self-value back then, I decided to choose love, because I was ten times more familiar with its existence. If you were to ask me that same question right now, I would say both — but overall, I would rather be valued.

Why? Consider the society that we all are experiencing together. This country runs off capitalism. I hear people say, “money isn’t everything,” and I would concur. But let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment: everything you need to survive in this society only becomes available through the exchange of currency (food/clothing/shelter). This economy has a strong influence over its inhabitants that leads them to place value on people, places, and things when, in all actuality, the majority of those objects (or subjects) have no value at all.

Let’s face it, everybody might not love their boss, but we all value our paycheck because it helps pay our bills, provides clothes for our children, keeps gas in our cars, and so on and so on. This emotion that we call love can be fleeting at times. We all know what it feels like but half of us have a hard time expressing it, because of fear of getting hurt or it not being reciprocated. Some of us don’t even know what love looks like when other people display it to us through their actions. I see way more conditional love then I see unconditional love (which is true love).

This is my suggestion on what I believe this country needs to place value in: God/higher power/nature/knowledge/wisdom/and understanding of various aspects of the Universe and how we correlate to them. We need to place value in our physical well-being, mental well-being, emotional and spiritual well-being and the well-being of our Mother Earth. We need to place value in positive, powerful, and uplifting beliefs about ourselves and others, and build a positive attitude towards life, self, and others. We need to value unconditional love, family ties, real friends, discovering one’s purpose in life — and so much more.

As I continue to build equity in my life experience, I am forced to go with the flow of the collective consciousness that sees value in some of the most ridiculous things. I will never confirm their beliefs, nor will I condemn them. I will only adapt and use my awareness of this knowledge in a way that will empower me and along the path towards true prosperity. We are all more than worthy!  

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Kathleen
CLF member, incarcerated in VA

First, let us look at what equity means.. Webster’s dictionary defines equity as: the quality, state, or ideal of being just, fair and impartial. The first thing that stands out to me in that definition is the word ideal. I’ve been feeling a lot lately that as Americans, we are not living up to our ideals, equity being one of them. I feel that this is because we are often alienated from one another due to our so-called differences. I think that equity means putting aside our differences and looking through them, to the throbbing, pulsing, living divinity that exists in each one of us.

Equity means that I want for you what I want for myself. Equity is not selfish. As a trans woman of color, I think the more we fight for equity, the more it becomes exacerbated in the media, and people become fatigued by slogans. Many people are tired of hearing us rally for justice in an unjust world. So what do we do, where do we turn?

I think the key is trying to relate to each person, even when they do not want to relate to us – whoever they are. Because in the big picture, it really isn’t us vs. them. It’s just us. I think it’s time for the world to see that.  

Seamus Vonn-Jernigan
CLF member, incarcerated in OR

 

Oh Great Creator,

We are humbled to have been created by you and to witness your creativity flow through us daily. We understand that we are your instruments of peace, play and innovation, and intend to funnel your imagination through our very existence.

We are your hands, that sculpt the clay and paint the canvas.

We are your eyes, that capture a photograph and perfect a design.

We are your ears, listening to the harmonies among the song of birds, crash of waves, cries of babies and the wisp of the wind.

We are your feet, that dance across the stage, and your arms, that conduct a symphony.

We are your words, that form haiku and fill pages to create great novels.

We are your voice, that sings in the choir and whispers our prayers
at night.

We are your laugh, that fosters joy and heals our souls.

We are your mind, that seeks the truth and guides us to think
objectively.

We are your heart, that allows us to love our neighbors and forgive our enemies.

We are your spirit, that shepherds us to share peace and compassion with each person we meet and to extend grace to all, especially those who appear to deserve it the least, as they need it the most.

We are your creation, and your creativity lives on through us.

What we dream in our minds, help us to believe in our hearts. What we believe in our hearts, help us to cultivate in our lives.

In the name of the Great Creator,

Amen.

Thomas
CLF Member, incarcerated in IN

 

Side With Love, in collaboration with the Youth and Emerging Adult team of the Lifespan Faith Engagement office and the UU College of Social Justice, joins in solidarity with Unitarian Universalist young adults and students across the globe who are protesting the ongoing assault in Gaza. These protests are a response to the moral urgency of this moment. The assault on Gaza, sponsored by the United States, has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians. We cannot turn away.We join the chorus of faith and progressive organizations calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the protection of student activists.

In the face of dehumanization, devastation, and death, human beings have always gathered to create life-affirming communities of resistance. Rooted in a strong lineage of student movements, this generation - like those protesting the Vietnam War, calling for the racial integration of their campuses, and for the end of apartheid in South Africa - are, again, asking this nation to embody its highest ideals of liberty and justice for all.

Our values call on every generation to listen with care and compassion to the prophetic witness of these courageous students and offer faithful solidarity. We, too, must rise to meet the highest aspirations of our faith, which rejects the disposability of any human being and proclaims all are worthy of love and belonging.

This generation of students has endured the trauma of COVID-19, school shootings, a climate crisis, and the brutality of U.S. police forces on their campuses and in their communities. It is time to turn around the question, “Where are the young people in our faith movement?” and instead ask, “Where are all of us, as people of faith, when our young people are showing up?” We must not turn away.

Side With Love proclaims the transformative power of love to build vibrant and liberated communities. This dangerous assault on civil liberties on college campuses and human rights – at home and globally –are connected. Too many of our justice movements (labor movement, Civil Rights, Gay liberation), have been met with sanctioned police brutality, imprisonment, and worse. We must not fail our students with our silence. We will not betray our faith with our complicity.

We call on university administrations and public officials to remove police from campuses, end the militarized response to student activism, and come to the table in good-faith negotiations with student demands. We call on our community to show up in solidarity. We welcome all, in this pivotal movement, to Side With Love.

Add your signature to this letter.

Signatories

Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association

Rev. Scott Aaseng
Abigail Abysalh-Metzger
Ms. Kathleen Adams
Rev. Dr. Julia Aegerter
Ms. Nancy Ahmadifar
Dr. Robert Alexander
Dr. Amanda Alexander
Ms. Melody Allan
Ms Gaylee Amend
Dr. Susan Anderson
Adele Andrews
Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone
Ms. Larissa Armstrong
Ms. Dana Ashrawi
Ms. Ellen Asprooth
Barbara Atkinson
Dan Bailey
Ms. J Bannester
Rev. Erica Baron
Rev. Dr. Tracie Barrett
Ms. Kathy Bartolomeo
Dr. Lynette Bassman
Janet Bednarz
Ms. Sharon Bell Stevens
Mrs. Sharon Bell-Stevens
Patricis Bennett
Ms. Rebecca Bent
Gene Bergman
Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt
Ms. Joyce Bianchini
Rev. Ashley Birt
Mx. Sara Blackthorne
Mx. Emily Blair
Ronnie Boyd
Cole Breedlove
Henry Bright
Mr. Farrell Brody
Ms. Beth Brunton
Ms. Dana Buhl
Mr. Benjamin Burch
Sue Burke
George Burman
Ms. Shirin Caldwell
Rev. Dr. Isabel Call
Mrs Cici Carilli
Cheryl Carmi
Dr. Devin Carroll
Rev. Melissa Carvill Ziemer
Alesha Chaffin
Mr. Donald Chery
Ms. Jane Collins
Mr. R.Sidney Collins
Rev. Otto Concannon
Rev. Susan Conrad
Rev. Julie Conrady
Mr. Larry Cooper
Rev. Darcy Corbitt
Ms. Nan Corliss
Betty Cornelisen
Rev. Lyn Cox
Carol Crabill
Mrs. Sue Craig
Chris Crass
Ms. Gretchen Crawford
Mrs. Jamaine Cripe
Mrs. Lee Curran
Patrice Curtis
Mrs. Jeanne Davis
Ms. Karen Deaton
Rev. Emily DeTar Birt
Ms. Mary Devitt
Rev. Tina DeYoe
Rev. Jaimie Dingus
Sarah Ditzler
Ms. Rebecca Donley
Angie Donnay
Laura Dooley
Ms. Lynn D Douglas
Mr. Bruce Douglas
Ms. Joyce Dowling
Ms. Helen Duffy
Martha Durkee-Neuman
Angelique Duvet-Tovar
Rev. Dayna Edwards
Natalie Eldridge
Susie Epstein
Ms. Claire Eustace
Dana Fisher Ashrawi
Beverly Fitzpatrick
Rev. Tobi Fleck
Ms. Clare Fortune-Lad
Kim Fox-Kristensen
Ms. Janna Radovsky Frelich
Ms. Roberta Frye
Lori Garcia
Dr. Shernaz Garcia
Dr. Anne Garcia
Rev. Lisa Garcia-Sampson
Ms. Vicki Gavel
Rev. Pamela Gehrke
Elaine Gehrmann
Ms. Sally Jane Gellert
Janine Gelsinger
Elisabeth Geschiere
Mrs. Stephanie Giamberardino
Mark Giese
Ms. Ann Gilmore
Rev. Annie Gonzalez
Rev. Sara Goodman
Ms. glenda gordon
Ana Gorny
Danielle Grand
Mrs. Virginia Green
Ms. Joan Gregory
Rev. Ranwa Hammamy
Emily Hand
Ms. Katia Hansen
Dr. bill Harris
Ms. Zoe Hart
Victoria Hartman
Ms. Aisha Hauser
Ms Gwyn Helie
Peter Helwig
Paul Heniques
Rev. Meagan Henry
Rev. Patt Herdklotz
Samantha Herndon
Bill Hessell
Ms. Sandy Hildebrandt
Mr. Joel Hildebrandt
Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger
Rev. Dr. Lucy Hitchcock
Heather Hoecker
Dr. Donna Hoffmeister
Ray A Hommeyer
rimki honnold
Rev. Ashley Horan
Edythe Hough
Rev. Molly Housh Gordon
Ms. Kathleen Yezierska Hulley
Kirsten Hunter
Rev.erend DL Hwlfer
Ms. Laila Ibrahim
Elizabeth Ingram
Diana Ingram
Ms. Catherine Jackson
Mr. Mark Jagner
Dr. Melissa James
Rev. Abhi Janamanchi
Ruth Jenkins
Ms Cheyenne Jenvey
Mr. Bruce Jewell
Valerie Johnson
Ms. Barbara Johnston
Miss Zoe Johnston
Constance Jones
Rev. Dr. Dr. Roger Jones
Rev. Jeff Jones
Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones
Mona Jones-Romansic
Dr. Donna Joss
Dr Razan Kaileh
ANN KALINOSKI
Mr. James Kane
Ms. Rosemary Kean
Carl Kennedy
Asma Khan
Ms. Izzy Khapoya
Lynn Kimbark
Dr. D King
Rev. Dan King
Gregory King
Rev. Cecilia Kingman
Mary Kingsley
Ms. LINDA KNIGHT
Ms. Katie Kosseff
Anne Kosseff-Jones
Rev. Tim Kutzmark
Ms. Pat Lamanna
Mr. Steven Sellers Lapham
Ms. Areej Latif
Dr. Kate Lenhardt
Rev. Bran Lennox
Ms. Renate Ley
Dr. Judy Lightstone
Tanya Liscano
Dr. Deborah Little
Ms. Karin Livingstone
Andrew Livingstone
Patricia Looney-Burman
Ms. Sue Ann Lorig
Mr. Terry Lowman
Marie Lowry
Marsha Luce
Monica Luevano Mares
Kathleen Lund
Leigh Ann Luscan
Dr. Aurolyn Luykx
Rev. Jason Lydon
Mx Bernise Lynch
Mx. Sherri Lysy
Mr. Melvin Mackey
Dr. Heather MacLeod
Ken Mah
Tina Malone
Alisha Mancinas
Rev. Kevin Mann
Jennifer Marck
Mr. Bob Mason
Ms. Sally McCollum
Clara McCollum
Dr. Renee McCormick
Ms. Pamela McInnes
Kathy McKay
Ms Ann McKay Bryson
Jung Han Messinger
Ms. Joanne Michelson
elizabeth miller
Rev. Alisha Mills
Rev. Sarah Millspaugh
Mr. Michael Monroe
Rev. John Morehouse
David Morgen
Dr. John Moses
Abbas Moussaoui
Rev. Johannah Murphy
Ms. Christine Myers
Ms. Diane Nassif
Mrs. Dawn Newcomer
Dr. Gail Newel
Mrs. Jackie Newman
Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen
Jil Novenski
Ms. Susan Nye
Debbie Ockey
Mx. Kyle Osborne
Peggy Owen Sands
Lori Palmer
Ms. Kathryn Partridge
Miss QuianaDenae Perkins
Rev. Ali Peters
Lydia Philip
William Philips
Rev. Millie Phillips
Betty Prange
Dr. Marcelle Pratt
Mrs Virginia Preuss
Ms. Lois Reborne
Dr. jon rice
Ms. Mary Richards
Emily Richards
Alice Richards
Sandra Rigsbee
Rev. Cathy Rion Starr
Christina Rivera
David Roberts
Ms Nancy Roberts
Dr. robert roberts
Ms. Amanda Rogers
Jonathan G Rogers
Rev. Jonathan Rogers
Ms. Genevieve Rohan
Rev. Katie Romano Griffin
Mary Rooker
Dr. Lee Rossi
Rachel Rott
Ms Ann Rovere
Mr James Ruelas
Mr. Stephen Sacks
Ms. Judith Sadegh
Rev. Misha Sanders
Rev. Elizabeth Saunter
Ms. Wendy Schoener
Rev. Amanda Schuber
Mx. Andrea Schulz
Rev. Catie Scudera
Antoinette Scully
Jeffrey Severson
Evelyn Sheridan
Ms. Isabel Sheridan
Rev. Alia Shinbrough
Ms. Terri Shofner
Dr. Joshua Shurley
Mr. Brett Smith
Rev. Julián Soto
Sandra Steubing
Catherine Strickland
Wesley Stroupe
Ben Strube
Rev. Sonya Sukalski
Judith Swick
Rev.erend Jan Taddeo
Rev. Leslie Takahashi
Dr. Katrina Thompson
Mr. Scott Thomson
Bis Thornton
Ms. Rita Townsend
MS. Ellen Trumpler
Dr. Brenda Ungerland
Elizabeth Valencia
Danielle Van Dusen
Nico Van Ostrand
Ms. Michelle Venegas-Matula
Sandra Villareal
Hannah Villnave
Dr. Maria Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa
Dr. Caitlin Waddick
Dr. Kaitlin Walker
Virginia Waring
Mylo Way
Rev. Vail Weller
Penelope Wells
Krista Westervelt
Elizabeth Westie
Rev. Dr. Pippin Whitaker
Mrs. Jan Wiley-Egdall
G Williams
Gordon Woodworth
Ms. Carol Workman
Ms. Connie Young
Lenore Yousef
Rev. Crystal Zerfoss

Video recording of April 17 meeting

Overview
Rev. Cathy Rion Starr led us through the Universe of Possibility presentation, after which we all spent some time drawing our unique Universe of Possibility for work we're doing in our congregations and communities. We reflected on questions like: 

• How many people are in each circle? Who’s in your core?

• Is your committee reflective of the congregation as a whole in terms of demographics and interests?

• What do you invite folks to at each level?

• How is the flow of leaders in and out of the circles?

• What are your hopes & dreams for your universe? What changes would you like to make?

It was so helpful to frame our work through this tool, but don't take my word for it, here's what some of your peers said:

• "Love this tool and this group… looking forward to working with y’all!" - Sharon G.

• "Thank you, Rev. Cathy, for reminding us about the importance of different levels of involvement!" - Diane D.

• "This is a great topic — impactful teams! Our UU congregation has many teams and they all operate differently. Love this model and I think we can apply it broadly. I hope to learn more about building community and spiritual connection simultaneously. Thank you!" - Carolyn T.

• "I loved this! Lots to think about and weave into all my future efforts!" - Dorothy S.

This will definitely be a workshop we reference time and again in the coming months!

Resources from the meeting:

• Introductory slides

• Rev. Cathy's slides

• All resources to engage with the Universe of Possibility

Links shared:

• Check out our Green Sanctuary page to subscribe to receive updates, join the process, RSVP for upcoming events, and more

• Sign up for all of our Green Sanctuary 2030 & Climate Justice events

• Join the Green Sanctuary 2030 Community!

•  The link to the Action Report Form is here: bit.ly/GS-ACTIONS

• Check out the Building and Community Transformation Resources

• Sign up to host Reimagine Together: from an Extractive Age to a New Era this September 28-29 at UUClimateJustice.org

April 2024

“When you become the image of your own imagination, it’s the most powerful thing you could ever do.” —RuPaul

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When I think about transformation, I often think of when people say they had a “transformational experience,” or when, as religious professionals, we look for the ways in which ministry can be transformational for our congregants.

And it gets me thinking: What is all this transformation about? In my experience, a lot of people really don’t like change. Even people who say they want to be “transformed” also can really not like change! Why would we seek that which we can’t actually embrace? I tend to think it is because our entire human experience is leading to an ultimate transformation which we cannot know the result: death. So sometimes we are, at best, ambivalent, and other times outright hostile to change.

Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower is one of my favorite books about Change. Because in the book she explores the idea that God is not some distant almighty spirit, but rather the very up close and real experience of Change (capital C.) What an exciting idea to explore! Her most often quoted refrain from the book, and that which the central characters revolve, is “All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.”

When I first read that phrase as a young adult, it blew my mind! I loved it. I loved the capitalizations which conveyed the idea that what we’re reading in the capitalized word carried with it the reverence of the word God. Here was a religion I could get behind. The idea that I could continually be both transformational and transformed?! Wow!

This idea helped me look at the changes in my young adult life in a new way. It helped me realize that while there was change that I couldn’t control, I could still make that change part of my life. And it helped me realize that I had a deep responsibility for the Change that I created in the world. That Butler chose to capitalize the Y in “All that you touch You Change” was something I thought about frequently. That I continue to think about when faced with difficult situations and decisions.

In Parable of the Sower, the people who couldn’t change, couldn’t adapt, those who desperately clung to racism, sexism, and fascism, did not survive the new climate changed landscape. They met the ultimate Transformation while resisting the very changes which could have helped their survival. And when I think about the difficulties we face as Unitarian Universalists, I think about what it is we are resisting and could those things be the very things that can prepare us for survival?

In creating the community structures of Parable of the Sower, Butler relies heavily on the community building foundations seen in the “We” culture communities in which she was raised. “We” culture communities in the U.S. are most often found in Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous peoples as well as other BIPOC communities. Among many “We” cultural values, most strikingly, the requirement of putting group needs ahead of the individual needs is foundational in Parable of the Sower.

So I wonder: What would it look like to put the needs of our entire faith community ahead of our individual needs? What are the needs of Unitarian Universalism at large? How do we meet those needs even when it feels like we are not getting what we want as individuals? This feels a lot like the conversations which are going on right now around the proposed changes to the UU Principles and Sources, often referred to as Article II.

As we’ve written about in recent issues of Quest, our denomination is in the process of adopting new language to articulate and ground our faith community. This new language is framed as seven UU values: Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, Generosity and Love.

I wonder if haven’t we actually already made these changes in spirit. Haven’t we already touched, and thus Changed how we practice Unitarian Universalism? What if the proposed changes — the new UU values — are simply the language catching up to the spirit of Unitarian Universalism?

Perhaps we have already touched and been Changed. Because in the end, Change cannot be successfully resisted but it certainly can be influenced. And we can do so together. ′

How do we remain open to change and transformation?

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JACK
CLF Member, incarcerated in MA

Transforming is the action of changing every day, and each and every one of us is witness to transforming experiences whether we know it or not.

For those of us in prison: we meet new inmates, new staff. We are exposed to expressions of concern, love, happiness, sadness, sorrow, and even fear. Every one of our senses meets something new or different, something we had not noticed before, something we had not heard before or smelled before, and we can be open to being transformed by them.

So often we think over the years that nothing is new, and prison life never changes; one day in prison can seem like any other. You know what day it is only by what food is served. But each day is new, each day is different. Each day has the opportunity for us to think differently, discover something new, something we didn’t know before. You may discover someone you had only passed in the hall, someone different from those you talk with every day.

Journaling is one of the best ways of always looking for that one thing, that one day that was new. It may be the one thing that transformed your day into something different, or that offered you the opportunity to be transformed in ways we had never thought possible. Use your senses. Look around. Let your mind out of the cell around you. Let your thoughts roam. Dare to be transformed, to welcome change.

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JACOB
CLF Member, incarcerated in AR

Being open to change and transformation is an important part of growing spiritually, maturing and succeeding in life. Transformation is to change or alter in some way shape or form. To remain open to this means to put yourself in situations, to experience new things, to learn — especially to learn of other cultures and religions and practice the knowledge you’ve gained.

By keeping your mind open, you stay open to growth, change, and transformation, but you have to want to.

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JASON
CLF member, incarcerated in IL

Transformation is an interesting word, especially for someone who has been in institutions for as long as I have.

As I write the word transformation, it makes me think of who and what I used to be. When I was younger, I was full of hate and fear. I acted impulsively and reacted to what people said or did towards me, which got me into a lot of trouble, as well as a number of fights.

Now, I’m no longer filled with hate, and though I still have some fears, they are nowhere near as bad as the ones I used to have. Now, instead of reacting to what people say or do, I take a mental step back, think things through, and then respond to them.

Now, because of the changes I have made and continue to make as I work to transform myself into the person I want to be, my life is a lot less stressful than it could be.

Frances Koziar
CLF member

Our transformations
are our own, paths we choose
but are never forced to take.

What doesn’t kill you does not
make you stronger, but—
you can choose for it to,
learn lessons from your suffering
that help you create what you believe in.

And those transformations are yours
to be proud of, no one
gets to take credit for the good inside of you
or the skills you have worked on, especially
not those who have abused you.

Because you choose your self
if not your path, and that has always
been your strength.

Kay Anderst
CLF Member, incarcerated in KS

When I read that April’s theme was Transformation, I decided that it was time to share my story with the world for the first time. 2024 is a big year for me, as I have begun the Male to Female (MtF) transition process. It took a lot of prayer and soul searching to get to where I am now.

My journey begins in rural South Dakota. My parents are immigrants, I am a first generation American. We are of Eastern European and Jewish descent, so old Testament laws and morals were imprinted into me as I grew up. There was right and there was wrong with no shades of gray or alternate choices. The result of this strict upbringing was inner turmoil as I got older. I saw that my orientation and gender identity were not compatible with what I had been taught.

How can God love me, I thought, when every thought and action I took were tainted by sin? Why did He make me so broken, so against everything He wanted mankind to be? These questions haunted me every time I tried to pray.

In my 20s I turned away from God completely, going years without a single prayer. I embraced a bisexual identity and found a measure of happiness. After a time, I figured out that I was transgender, and it was only then did the pieces start to fall into place.

I was then angry with God. How could he do this to me? Was he asleep at the switch the day I was born?

My turning point came when a woman I was dating told me something. She said that God didn’t make mistakes, and that He put me here on earth because she liked girls like me. I was like this to be there to love her. Something else she pointed out was that there were millions like me, all through history. Would God have allowed so many of us to be made if not by his will?

This happened right before I came to prison. While it helped me make the final decision to make the MtF conversion, I have spent the last 4 years in hiding, biding my time until I felt it was safe enough to come out into the light. While difficult, God has helped me through this dark time. My personal relationship with Him is the strongest it’s been in my entire life.

So now is my time for change and transformation. It’s not an overnight process; in fact it will take a couple years. I will face many challenges ahead, but I know that what I do is by design. This is what He wanted of me. This place, this prison, is no longer my place of confinement.

It is now God’s tool of transformation and change. I am right where I need to be. I will emerge from this cocoon in 2 years and like a butterfly, I will be free to live the life and be the woman he always wanted me to be.

If anyone reading this is contemplating similar choices, or has been down this road before, your welcome to share your story with me.

You may contact me at: Kay Anderst 18611-273, PO Box 1000 USP 2, Leavenworth, KS 66048.

This Sunday, April 21, is Nonbinary Parents Day. As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We share with you a blessing to affirm and celebrate all nonbinary parents and caregivers. (See our Facebook post for beautiful graphics of this prayer!)

Blessing for Nonbinary Parents Day

 To all the in-betweens, outside-ofs, not-quites, both/ands, and neithers:

We honor all of who you are and all of how you nurture and care. 

Through your embodied authentic self, you impart a transformative love. 

A love that is abundant, bold, whole, holy, you.

On this Nonbinary Parents’ Day, may we amplify this transformative love into a world that allows you to be secure and safe, to rest, breathe, and relax. 

On this joyous day, may we celebrate the sacredness of your relationship and role.

Written and offered by:

• Mylo Way, UUA Youth & Emerging Adult Ministry Staff and "Bo"

• Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, Side With Love Congregational Justice Organizer and "Nommy"

• Noor Hammamy-Way, Honorary Staff and "Cube"

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Announcing Nicole Pressley as Organizing Strategy Director!

We are pleased to welcome Nicole Pressley as the Organizing Strategy Director for Side With Love!

Nicole first joined Side With Love in 2020 as the National Organizer for UU the Vote and has since worked to strengthen our infrastructure, nurture partnerships, and coordinate collective action across our core issues as the Field and Programs Director.

Click here to read the full blog post announcement.

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Join the SACReD Gathering, May 7-9

Our movement partner SACReD, is hosting a multi-faith conference centering Reproductive Justice: the SACReD Gathering, May 7-9.

Connecting healing, skill building, deeper analysis, and organizing, the SACReD Gathering will strengthen our cross-movement connections and capacities to build a world where Reproductive Justice is a lived reality.

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May Events

May 10: UPLIFT Transgender/Nonbinary+ Pastoral Small Group

5pm PT / 8pm ET

This is a space to share the hard stuff and to hold the hard stuff that others are navigating in their lives. During our time together, our lead chaplain/facilitators will share opening and closing words, and in between, there is time for everyone to share what's on their hearts, and receive what others are sharing about their own lives.  Register to join.

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May 23: Faithful Grounding

4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET

Join our Side with Love Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad for an hour of spiritual sustenance and grounding with others organizing on the side of love. Come drink in the music, meditation, play, and prayer. We end with a Connection Cafe for those who wish to talk together. Show up as you are, whatever is in your heart, and with your camera on or off as you need. Register to join.

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May 28: UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Monthly Gathering

5pm PT / 8pm ET

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. 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. Register to join.