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MDOT Fall Highway Cleanup

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09/29/2019 - 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Cross Village - Legs Inn Parking Lot
6425 N Lake Shore Dr
Cross Village
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Michigan Interfaith Power and Light Climate Change Program

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06/26/2019 - 12:00 am
Vorhees Hall
1660 Encampment Avenue
Bay View
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MDOT Spring Highway Cleanup

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05/11/2019 - 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Cross Village - Legs Inn Parking Lot
6425 N Lake Shore Dr
Cross Village
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Zen Buddhist Meditation sessions and dharma talks with Ryan Doran-Fisher

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03/09/2019 - 10:30 am - 3:00 pm
Chapel of our Guardian Angels
812 Petoskey Street
Petoskey
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Zen Buddhist Meditation sessions and dharma talks in Petoskey with Ryan Doran-Fisher, primary teaching monk, Grand Rapids Zen Buddhist Temple

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03/08/2019 - 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Chapel of our Guardian Angels
812 Petoskey Street
Petoskey
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Jim Scott, a friend of Pete Seeger, leads a Seeger sing-along in Petoskey

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02/15/2019 - 7:30 pm
Chapel of our Guardian Angels
812 Petoskey Street
Petoskey
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Symbolic Suicide

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Coming of Age, UU Style

By: shaktinah โ€”
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What if?

By: kady โ€”
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Story is Memory

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Thriving In Difficult Times

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Revisiting Ethics 101

By: shaktinah โ€”
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The Pure Land on Earth

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Public Service Announcement

By: e.shadowsong โ€”
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Left-Wing Credentials

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Practice Taking Risks

By: e.shadowsong โ€”
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Afro-Latina

By: e.shadowsong โ€”
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Hope for Pessimists

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Goodbye To My Abuelita

By: e.shadowsong โ€”
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Saturn

By: e.shadowsong โ€”
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"A New King"

By: shaktinah โ€”
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Church Session CD on sale at CD baby and ITunes!

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You can purchase my CD "Church Sessions" at CD baby or Itunes!
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Music Director in Plymouth

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Really excited to take on the role of Music Director at the Unitarian Universalist fellowship (starr king uu fellowship) in Plymouth, NH, after a year of providing musical support for the fellowship. Adult choir, Sunday service music and hopefully, a children's program in the near future!
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Breaking Legos

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I loved legos as a kid.  I had this huge tub of those classic multi-colored blocks in my bedroom.  I’d pull them out and root around with my hands as the legos made that crashing sound that only small little pieces of plastic can make.  My two best friends would come over and together we would build epic castles and towns complete with colorful streets, schools, fire stations, and homes.  We’d mix in little green army guys, a transformer here and there, and build towers with poker chips for good measure.  At the end we had our masterpiece.  We spent hours, even days, putting it all together.  Then it was time for the real fun.  Breaking it down!

We would gather up all my stuffed animals, balls and other poor toys, and hide around the corner from my bedroom floor.  Then we would take turns without looking and lob the toys at our masterpiece.  We could hear the crashes, and excitedly guessed what we may have toppled.  Was it the castle?  Did we knock down the invading green army guys?  After a few rounds, we’d all swoop back in making ambulance siren sounds, and go to work on repairing the broken buildings and caring for the casualties.  This cycle repeated for days.

I have three kids, and I’ve watched each of them break a lot of toys.  Sometimes it is on purpose, sometimes it is purely accidental.  It seems though that there are a lot of lessons.

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Sense of Place

By: radicalhapa โ€”

When I first learned of the terrible injustices inflicted by people upon people I felt very helpless.  I think a part of my life has been spent trying understand these realities in part to sustain my ministry in a more holistic way.

TuleLakeFencepic

One of the rituals I formed as a young adult was to do my best to always consider my physical place and ask about the people who called it their home in the present and past.  I always learn something new.  Another ethos I developed is around only traveling to places where I have a relationship and invitation.  I can’t say I honored this all the time, but it is one that I feel has grown stronger as I have aged and have more class privilege to visit places of my choosing.

Lastly, I have sought to intentionally be present in places where there have been terrible injustices and great transformations.  I make it a point to bring myself to locations that have meaning for social justice – both in terms of remembering our history and to feel my body in the same spot where others have struggled.

Once I stepped out onto the country roadside to look upon the lightly wooded ravine in South Dakota and upon a simple billboard that honored the Massacre at Wounded Knee.  I can still feel the sight of the beautiful murals at San Francisco State University and the sharp edges of the buildings where 1960s students of color went on strike for equity in education.  My partner and I stayed a month in one of the Zapatista Caracols in Chiapas after engaging for years in solidarity work.  Our family took a tour into the Old City of Manila where thousands were killed during World War II.

This winter we may visit Tule Lake Internment Camp where thousands of Japanese Americans were imprisoned in America’s WWII concentration camp.  A place that continued on as dilapidated farmworker housing.  And we will continue to make visits to meet people who are the hearts and souls in our movement building work, from young people in East Portland to elders who share their stories with us around the campfire.

Photo credit – Alex Haas

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Saltwater Ax

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Saltwater and bits of seaweed stick to my glasses
Close up an ax is raised over a barnacled rock
You can hear the rapid babel of Chinese and feel the Old Men across the jetty look up at the back of your head
A crack rings out, everyone relaxes, senses go calm
Another delicacy of the sea is gathered while youngsters strut across the beach
The fog horn rings out protecting this place
Where land and rock and sea and sky meet

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No More Zimmermans, Prayers and Quotes

By: radicalhapa โ€”

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I can not trust a system that is not willing to protect people of color.  – From a friend and organizing colleague in Portland, Oregon

My communities of pastors, human rights activists and neighbors are reeling from the news this evening that Zimmerman was found not guilty for the killing of young teenager Travyon Martin in Florida.  A culture clash of values at work, wrapped in a racialized media blanket and a desensitized American public that persistently dehumanizes people of color while fueling fear and militant individualism.  Why we need to keep coming together.  From those I love —

…SHOCKED and STUNNED! United States of America as a nation that prides itself on the fairness and equality this is yet another wake up call. Outcomes like this “NOT GUILTY” verdict is YET another reminder of the wounds people of color are asked to heal every minute and every day of their life in America. Do you understand why we question each and every interaction? The justice system has yet to prove to be fair? Do you see the division? HOW in GOD’s name is this a NOT GUILTY case. Post racial America is a myth – despite the outcome I KNOW and believe WITHOUT a doubt that the life of a young Black man in America is priceless. I refuse to accept the injustice you choose to present as a reality! Holding on to these words by Dr. Martin Luther King “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” My heart, prayers and unyielding love are with your family/friends -but especially your mother/father/siblings! We are FOREVER united and connected – the bond has been sealed – The Trayvon Martin Foundation Trayvon Martin your spirit lives one – the world knows your name and have bared witness to this injustice! We must continue to fight for all the Trayvon Martin’s of the world.
– Charlene McGee Past Chair, African Womens Coalition

May we send Trayvon’s family & friends love and compassion.
May we send Zimmerman and his legal team & family love and compassion, and some hope of eventual redemption.
May we remember that white supremacy is so much bigger than this one case that shines such a bright light on the racism of our judicial system.
May we find ways to expand love over hate and fear.
May we rededicate ourselves to eradicating white supremacy from our lives and our systems and our communities everywhere.
May we find the strength to do that work with love.
May it be so.
– Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, All Souls Church DC

Also, no the system is not broken. No there should not be patience. This is what the system does and how it works. Patience only leads to more death of people of color, more colonization of land, more cages built and more wars. We need impatience with this system and we need stronger organizing to fight.
– Rev. Jason Lydon, Black and Pink

NOT GUILTY of ANY CHARGES??? REALLY!!!???!!!
My heart breaks…. No! My heart is broken.
Something is seriously wrong with this picture.
I wish that the Jury would follow the route of the Civil Rights Movement to better understand what just happened. This is an updated version of Emmett Till’s story. Shame. Shame. Shame.
-Rev. Hope Johnson, UU Congregation of Central Nassau

Who will cry for the little boy?
Lost and all alone.
Who will cry for the little boy?
Abandoned without his own?
-Jerome Brooks, Former Urban League Organizer

Follow detailed coverage and analysis at Colorlines.com

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Grassroots Organizing: A Public Health Model

By: radicalhapa โ€”

A core part of APANO’s Model of Change is grassroots organizing, which comes in many shapes and colors.  I think its important for every community to go through a process to define what they mean by grassroots organizing, and its probably a good thing to update it periodically.

APANO developed language around this in 2012, and we’re revisiting, visualizing (see path to social change infographic) and refining through conversations among members at our Statewide Convention, staff and board.  I’ve had the opportunity to consider many approaches over the last 25 years, and am always enjoying new illustrations and deeper analysis on the subject.

I’ve been recently studying this model from grassrootschange.net with a public health frame.  It was shared as part of a discussion around countering bad “preemption” policies that ALEC and big industry have been utilizing to fend off health equity initiatives around the country.

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Movement Activist

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Have you ever heard the term movement activist?  It isn’t something I was very familiar with until a few years ago.  With the help of my colleagues at the Western States Center and friends who continue to organize post-Seattle WTO for convenings such as the US Social Forum, I’ve found myself thinking, feeling and acting out of a deeper “movement building” framework.

I appreciate how the idea of a “movement activist” links us to the historical struggle for social justice.  How the concept of movement binds us in solidarity with the oppression that communities beyond our communities experience, and calls us to find common ground.  In fostering this common ground, I recognize that there is an ongoing effort to establish consensus around the roots of the problems our communities face.  As one of my wise mentor-colleagues said, diagnosis determines therapy (thanks to the late Rev. Dr. Bill Jones).

A final note is on the being an activist, and how in this context of movement building, we are called to find ways to continue the work for a lifetime.  How are we able to sustain ourselves?  What is our support system?  In working to change the social order, with institutional forces aligned to protect themselves and undermine efforts at transformation, how do we grow and adapt?

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Organizing is Hard

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Over the last 5 years I’ve been working with community organizations that are more deeply grounded in organizing as a model of change.  I’ve always believed that everyone is an organizer, to a certain degree.  Parents are amazing at getting their kids to where they need to go.  Young adults plan big parties.  My friends who have “retired” are busier than ever.

Working as an organizer in a professional setting is different, and is probably one of the toughest jobs.  There isn’t a simple model, and there are many intangibles.  I’ve worked in a range of organizing jobs, or jobs where I brought an social justice organizing framework: campus, electoral, neighborhood, faith, multiracial and culturally specific.  They’ve been some of the toughest and rewarding jobs.

Organizing for social justice is hard because the work is at the intersection of the worlds suffering and the deep aspirations of humanity.  Each of these are precarious in the sense that they are both very complex and rarely do a group of people agree.  Yet when they do, great things can happen.

I think there are many incarnations of a good organizer, and no monolith.  There are important hard skills like being able to set goals, manage your time, and have the technical know-how to bring people together.  There are soft skills such as genuinely liking people, being energized by cooperation, and having a strong internal practice of reflection.  There are many other components such as analysis, history, networks, language skills, and more.  

Recently I’ve been contemplating the attitude of a good organizer.  What is the ethical nature of an organizer? How do they adapt to the change they create?  Why do they keep moving forward in the face of opposition, changing situations and limited capacity?  One of my colleagues reminds me about how important it is to cultivate peoples passion.

What is your passion?

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CD baby debut

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You can now purchase Church Session album on CD baby. Check out http://cdbaby.com/cd/sarahdanjones
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Who do you recognize on Earth Day?

By: radicalhapa โ€”

As a parent, Earth Day is a chance to bring out the environmentalist in my kids. I love all the people caring for the earth, improving their individual habits, and drawing special attention to the interconnectedness of humankind and the world we live in. This is also a day that perpetuates the misconception that communities of color aren’t engaged in environmental issues. For the record, folks of color do care about the environment, and are critical spokespeople on climate change and the health impacts precisely because as a community we are disproportionately affected here in the US and globally.

Check out my full post on BlueOregon.com

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Garden Starts, Love & Struggle

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I love the vibrant spring and great opportunities to be out in the community.  Several community organizers have started Umajaa Farm Project, and are selling garden starts and seeds Sat Apr 21 starting at 930am at the beautiful June Key Delta Community Center, built on a reclaimed brownfield across from Peninsula Rose Gardens.  Amazing intersections of food sustainability, green building and Black/African-diaspora activism.

I’m also hoping to check out the Love & Struggle NW Tour that comes to the Reflections Cafe (446 NE Killingsworth) on Sun Apr 29 3pm to hear local organizers Walidah Imarisha and Mic Crenshew discuss the 60’s, Weatherman, SDS along with author Terry Bisson.  These events really surface our shared history of resistance and how we continue to bless the world with vision and social change.

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Oregon's Festival of Democracy

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Check it out, one of the most wonderful weeks of truly engaging and honestly authentic community advocates are being brought together by the Bus Project for a damn fun, critically real and pretty inspirational Festival of Democracy.  Something for everyone, from newbies looking to educate themselves about the upcoming elections to seasoned vets seeking something new in their toolbox.  Rebooting Democracy runs through Sunday April 22nd.

I’ll be a part of Sunday’s workshop The Equity Equation: Working to Solve Oregon’s Racial Disparities, along with Kalpana Krishnamurthy of Western States Center and the Oregon Racial Equity Report Card.  Shout out to all the great APANO volunteers helping out, and the continued effort of the organizers to prioritize the issues of communities of color and communities experiencing inequities.

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when you wake up this morning they have already abolished unions

By: radicalhapa โ€”

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I’m thrilled to share this recently published poetry from one of my oldest friends.  We’ve been through a lot of our social, political and economic intellectual growth together over the last 20+ years.  Here is an excerpt, read the rest in the Grey Sparrow Journal and see her bio after the jump.

when you wake up this morning they have already abolished unions

then

the earth

lifts

and lays her head back down slightly to the left

soon

the sea

sings across that island

pressing our hopes between backup plans

their promises melting down below deck

Finish reading the poem at Grey Sparrow Journal.

Laurel Albina is a Canadian born Palestinian-American writer and organizer. She is a 2011 Hedgebrook Alumnae and a five-year student of Bent Writing Institute in Seattle, WA. Laurel is scheduled to have her poetry published in Prairie Fire Magazine in 2012. She is employed as a union negotiator and lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and four-year old daughter.

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Meeting Great Activists

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Tomorrow at PCC Cascade around 6pm, Winona LaDuke is speaking to kick off Earth Week in Portland.  She was one of the first keynote speakers for the Coalition Against Environmental Racism (CAER) conference I co-organized in the early 90’s.

It made me reflect on several other meetings of great activists.  I spoke on a panel last week at Portland State about community partnerships for the Social Determinants of Health symposium alongside Bob Bullard (a grandfather of Environmental Justice), another CAER keynoter.  And just a few weeks earlier was at the South Los Angeles Library for a Labor/Strategy Center discussion with Fred Ho whose book on Afro-Asian relations is a must read for community organizers.  (nudge to www.bigwowo.com for a place to talk more about this?)

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Yo! UU LGBT Inspire Me

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Surprised that no, zip, zero Unitarian Universalist ministers were profiled in the recent Huffington Post Inspiring LGBT Religious Leaders article??  I remember when Rev. Meg Riley and youth leaders were leading dialogues among UU youth in the late 80’s and early 90’s that were oh so difficult, challenging, and transforming for me and many others.

A decade later when I was at Harvard Divinity School and helping organize an international network of UU Seminarians of Color, we noted that over 40% of our members identified as LGBTQ.  Rev. Meg Riley is still preaching the good word as Senior Minister of the Church of the Larger Fellowship, an amazing international congregation based in Boston with a worldwide ministry.  Here she is speaking out about against the marriage ban in Minnesota, At the Dentist: Fighting the Marriage Ban.

(hat tip to the UU movement building network Standing on the Side of Love)

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Children as Peace

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I have been marveling at the influence of children.  In my moments of high intensity, even anxious grumpiness, I find the sound and sight of my kids calming.  It is like they are a source of peace.  There will be times when I feel the swell of snapping at them, and sometimes I do, but moreover, I notice the feeling of love and gentleness the closer I come to them, hearing their voices, holding their small hand.

 

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Back online!

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Actively working and living in Concord, New Hampshire. Visiting lots of UU churches in the New England area. Happily married (legally!!) and teaching at Strings and Things in Concord.

Life is still good!
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SD in New Hampshire

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Relocated to New England to make music, get into a new UU environment and live my life with my beloved.

Check out Strings and Things link - that is where I will be teaching in Concord, NH.

Also, check out calendar for new dates of UU travels.

Life is great!
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Alone No More

By: radicalhapa โ€”

We know how powerful having vision, a positive attitude, and progressive goals are.  We know to look for assets in ourselves and our communities.  We know change comes when people work not alone, but together.  We know how important movement building is.

We feel so much frustration at the elections.  We feel it with every TV, cel phone, text message, website, and radio reminder that pours through our lives 24/7.  We feel the impact on the most vulnerable in our communities, whose voices may be silenced or worse with decision-makers who value exclusion, demonization, and inequity.

Despite what we may feel as New Americans or Old Americans, this is no longer a land of individualism.  We have evolved beyond the theologies, philosophies, land-use planning, public policy, liberal attitudes and beliefs that held great influence in the past.  We are one.   We commit ourselves to working as one, to build the circles of resilience, of resistance, of restoration of the human family.

We may not be able to touch the lives of those suffering across the world, but we can touch the lives of those on our block who face increasing hostility from racial stereotypes, class warfare, and the socio-economic manipulation of the most vulnerable.  We will not let the media-political-entertainment machine continue to only be fueled by the pain of others, masked in the broken ideology that the best way for humanity to survive is by living alone and caring only about ourselves.

Mainstream liberalism cannot sit back any longer and observe and analyze.  We must be on the front lines.  A path is before us all, to begin again with vision, attitude and goals for progress.  We start with ourselves, preparing ourselves to be in authentic relationships with our families, communities and the human family by both unlearning our petty prejudices, and learning new skills and knowledge to be engaged in community building.  We are careful rethink practices that have divided us along race, class, generation and more within the progressive community.  We nurture the fire within to step out of our comfort zone to give a little more to give in ways that strengthen our voice, ways that bring us into direct contact with the uncertain, struggling, marginalized and surviving participants of our great nation.  Crafting together a new way forward.

Where we talk across generation
Where we popularize our class consciousness
Where white folks bring an attitude of nonviolent listening with folks of color
Where we reject demonizing and minimizing the identities we bring
Where we put our minds, bodies and souls to work in direct contact with other human beings, where there are no strangers, only friends we’ve never met*

And we say yes to being in relationship, to doing God’s work of connecting one by one, and believing that the tasks of community organizing, of reaching out in person, on the phone, in group, are a political and spiritual practice of building wholeness.

*with thanks to Sisters of the Road

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Not All Who Wander Are Lost

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I’ve been on a path far from the circles of Unitarian Universalists the past 3 years.  Today I was out and about wearing a T-Shirts I bought off a C*UUYAN (young adult ministry) Steering Committee member at ConCentric (the annual leadership & business conference for young adult ministry since 1998)  in 2007.  It has that wonderful quote from J.R.R Tolkein – “Not all who wander are lost.”.  I had two folks come up and ask me about it today at the garden store and Trader Joe’s!

My community ministry has me deep in relationship with low-income, communities of color, specifically through transit and economic justice work with OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, and with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon.  In both circles, I meet the occasional UU, usually folks of color who have had some experience in a UU congregations or with Liberal Religous Youth.  I think I’ve met over 15 folks of color right here in Portland, OR who identify to some extent with our faith, a great number for a potluck!

Still, there is a deep dissonance from my previous ministry with the UUA’s Young Adult and Campus Ministry, People of Color (DRUUMM and otherwise), and various congregational efforts I was engaged in.  Those experiences were powerful, and I am glad for the opportunity to serve the UU communities.  I imagined myself staying deeply involved professionally with the UU, however my aspirations diverged, and today I feel as far from the mainstream of UUism as I did when I was an undergraduate at the University of Oregon.  What is strange, is both of these times in my life where my distance was greatest, are also some of the most meaningful.

My time after YRUU (youth ministry) leadership, which was intense from high school through early college, was a place where I explored and lived at the intersection of my identity, the suffering of the world, and grew in my ability to serve.  Now in my time after C*UUYAN and the UUA, I’ve come full circle and am immersed in communities on the margin of our mainstream society, and by some logical extension the margin of Unitarian Universalism.

Through all this, I have a deep appreciation for the training and mentorship I received through lay and ordained leadership.  For the most part I worked with amazing high functioning colleagues, was compensated generously, and was able to work with an amazing diversity of grassroots UU’s for a decade.  Now, I’m happily connected with the “big church” in Portland, which I’ve been around since I was a child growing up at the wonderful hippie fellowship in the rural suburbs.

Being back in Portland now 3 years, life is great and grounded.  Emerging also from that period of time with lots of really little kids, hard to believe that our 3 total 18 years in age already!

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Arizona GA Game Changer

By: radicalhapa โ€”

The letter sent from UUA President Morales and the national Boycott Arizona movement asking us to come to Phoenix in 2012 for our regularly scheduled, business-as-usual GA and go through a “transformation” is a game changer.  Added to the high consideration about the $600,000 hotel contracts (we have yet to sign convention contracts as far as I know), as well as the intense push back immigrant issues have generated in our congregations, I predict this trinity spells rejection of the proposal to honor the Arizona Boycott called for by communities of color by our dominant white religious adherents in Minneapolis next week at GA.

We still need boycott GA and PASS THE RESOLUTION to move GA out of Arizona in 2012.  We are not ready spiritually, religiously, and from a values perspective – organizationally, to achieve this transformation in 2012 years.  Consider:

  • The general apathy and suspicion of racial justice concerns, and powerful pushback against immigrant and refugee rights education and social justice
  • Lack of any coordinated UUA immigrant rights and racial justice programming that is accountable to communities of color within our congregations and the larger racial justice movement.  We have many individuals with relationships and personal influence, but this does not provide long-term sustainable leadership.  Disappointingly even local congregations in Arizona are disconnected and disengaged.
  • Little UUA-wide accountability with immigrant communities, UU laity and clergy engaged with communities of color, immigrants and refugees.  There is no communication or relationship building with any of the ministers and lay folks I know who are deeply involved with these issues, and I’ve made and received several calls.  We appear to lack vision and structure to hold this dialogue effectively.
  • There is no clearinghouse, no contact person, no issue tracking, and no leadership development plan as far as I can tell from a brief look at district and UUA materials.  Already in Oregon we are facing two copycat measures in local counties, and there is no communication or information sharing structure developing.  We need to develop a strategy and coordination to manage UU engagement on this issue if we are going to really “transform” ourselves at GA.

As a faith tradition, we share a lot of values in common with the movement to boycott Arizona.  Yet the evidence is clear that we are not ready to meet the call to have a “transformed” GA.  We do the immigrant rights movement a disservice by pretending to be so, and bringing what will ultimately be a GA with status quo activities and crossing the boycott.  We also disrespect the voices of people of color, immigrants and refugees within our congregations, who have made their position clear, it is our moral and political call to respect the boyott, and our own safety and wholeness are at stake.

I urge GA delegates to support the GA Boycott Resolution in Minneapolis AND

1) Support the move to biennial or triennial GA
2) Call on the UUA to dedicate staff resources to coordinate research, local networks, and anti-racism education
3) Commit to social witness and civic engagement now, in conjunction with local congregations and national affiliate organizations such as DRUUMM, LUUNA, ARE, Asian Pacific Islander Caucus of DRUUMM, and youth and young adult UU movements.

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Push to Keep GA in Arizona

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I continue to oppose having the regular general business of the UUA in Phoenix.  I strongly support re-investing the $600,000 in minimum reservation fees for the 2012 to be directed to a UUA response to SB 1070.  I wonder if we are trying to be cheap by insisting we can “do it all” by having GA and public witness?  Do we undermine the larger movement by making these rationalizations but really what we’re concerned about is money?

Lots of discussions are being generated by UUA President Peter Morales issuing a call for GA continue to be held in Phoenix in 2012.  Check out this discussion thread by Rev. Michael Tino.

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UU Allies for Racial Equity(ARE) Endorses Arizona Boycott

By: radicalhapa โ€”

UU Allies for Racial Equity(ARE) Endorses Arizona Boycott

May 2010

With other people of faith and concerned citizens across the country, we are disappointed and deeply troubled by the passage of recent anti-immigrant legislation in the state of Arizona.  We fear that this legislation will ultimately result in marginalization of immigrants, both documented and undocumented.   Harassment of Latinos/Latinas/Hispanics and people of color perceived as immigrants because of their race or ethnicity will be an inevitable consequence of any attempts at enforcement.   Our nation has made significant progress toward racial equity in the last fifty years.  This new law is a shameful step backwards, once again inscribing racism in the legal system and thereby in the institutions required to comply with the legal system.

Immediately upon passage of the new Arizona law, the Rev. Peter Morales, president of our Unitarian Universalist Association, issued a statement in which he wrote: We cannot stand by while those charged to protect us instead subject us to racial profiling, unwarranted searches, and unjust arrests. We must not let fear and ignorance cause our neighbors to be treated as lesser beings. We must not allow this law to violate our national constitution or America’s moral conscience.”  We are grateful for the leadership of Rev. Morales and for the leadership of our Unitarian Universalist Association Board of Trustees who quickly convened a special meeting to consider whether we should rescind our commitment to hold our 2012 General Assembly in Phoenix.  After listening to many voices and considering a spectrum of protest strategies, the board voted to present a business resolution before the delegates to our annual General Assembly this June in Minneapolis, MN asking us to participate in a widespread economic boycott of Arizona.  We encourage you to read the full text of the board’s resolution which can be found at http://www.uua.org/aboutus/governance/boardtrustees/index.shtml.

We know that some in our association are advocating alternative protest strategies, but our philosophy of accountability calls us to carefully consider requests for allied participation from Diverse & Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) and from the Latino/a Unitarian Universalist Networking Association (LUUNA).  In doing so, we have discovered that DRUUMM and LUUNA leaders have aligned themselves with the leadership of several prominent national civil and immigrants rights organizations.  With hope and faith that a strong, united voice of protest will help overturn this law, and in solidarity with LUUNA and with DRUUMM, we affirm our support of an economic boycott of Arizona and encourage delegates to our General Assembly to vote in favor of the business resolution presented by our board of trustees.

UU Allies for Racial Equity (ARE) Steering Committee

Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo, President

Rev. Michael Tino, Vice-President

Ken Wagner, Treasurer/Stewardship Coordinator

Sharon Blevins, Membership Chair

Rev. Bill Gardiner, Education Team Co-Chair

Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, Education Team Co-Chair

Rev. James Hobart, Connections Team Co-Chair

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5 Ministers of Color

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I was struck by the MFC report which noted that “5 Ministers of Color were either moved to inactive status or removed from fellowship by inactivity or by their request.” [April MFC Report to Board]  I don’t doubt the MFC is following protocol and really have no quarrel here.  But it is a significant number given the 60 or so active UU ministers of color that I tracked in 2006.  That would be about 12%.

Great to see DRUUMM member and soon-to-be Rev…Jacqueline Duhart will be student liaison to MFC.  Great to see the MFC has so many POC on their review board, really amazing given where the MFC was when I first started paying attention back in 1997.  Lastly, it was a little sad to read about a candidate “losing it”, and that this was reported so widely to the Board.  Well and now I’m posting it on my blog.  Hmm…

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Business Resolution on Arizona GA 2012

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Here is the text of the GA Business Resolution referred by the UUA Board of Trustees.  I’m still seeking a copy of the meeting minutes to give more context to this democratic action, including the roll call of votes and motion-maker. – jsl

Business Resolution Phoenix GA by the UUA Board of Trustees

“Whereas the state of Arizona has recently enacted a law—SB 1070—that runs counter to our first principle, affirming the worth and dignity of every person,

Whereas the Association stands in solidarity with allies using a widespread economic boycott of Arizona as leverage for Love against this hateful legislation;

Be it resolved: we will not meet in a state of fear.

Accordingly, the Assembly hereby:

  • Directs the UUA General Assembly Planning Committee to recommend to the Board of Trustees an alternate location for General Assembly 2012 at a location outside the state of Arizona;
  • Pledges to generate from Member Congregations the amount sufficient to cancel arrangements in Phoenix for GA 2012;
  • Pledges further to generate an equal or greater amount to fund ongoing efforts to Stand on the Side of Love in Arizona.
  • Pledges to renew and redouble our efforts to become a multicultural, anti racist Association; to live as a people standing faithfully in opposition to systemic racism in our congregations, local communities, and in our own lives.
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Boycott Arizona GA Say Asian Pacific UU's

By: radicalhapa โ€”

“It is one thing to stand on the side of love when it doesn’t cost anything.  It is a real test when it does.”
— Karen Narasaki, President and Executive Director – Asian American Justice Center

A/PIC (Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus), a caucus of DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) supports the stance to boycott Arizona and move our UUA General Assembly 2012.   These are not easy decisions and we have had many discussions within our steering committee, membership, and general
lists on this topic.  The elements that most influenced our decision included:
1)      Supporting LUUNA and their wish that the UUA boycott Arizona;
2)      Affirming the position of our parent organization, DRUUMM, in favor of the boycott;
3)      Concern from and for People of Color who do not feel safe traveling in Arizona while this law is active;
4)      Standing in solidarity with immigrant advocacy organizations in Arizona who have called for boycott.

We will continue the discussion and invite everyone to participate in this discussion in three ways:
1)      Add your comments to the DRUUMM conversation site
2)      Send an email to general@apiuu.org
3)      For more private consideration, send an email to steering@apiuu.org

The A/PIC steering committee will continue to monitor these channels as well as participate in the discussion during our GA in Minneapolis.

In faith,

A/PIC Steering Committee

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DRUUMM: Boycott Arizona GA 2012

By: radicalhapa โ€”

DRUUMM STATEMENT ON ARIZONA SB 1070

June 1, 2010

DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) join with other Unitarian Universalists concerned with justice to condemn the new racial profiling laws in Arizona and we urge Unitarian Universalists who identify as people of color/Latina/o/Hispanic to express their outrage individually and collectively at these laws which allow law enforcement to target people based on race.  We particularly note the statement by  LUUNA (Latina/o Unitarian Universalist  Networking Association), which states about this law that “its very vagueness will provide a means for law enforcement agencies to harass individuals on the basis of appearance alone.”

Because some of our members have indicated their concern that they would not be safe travelling to and within Arizona as long as such racial profiling laws exist, we also support the proposed boycott of Arizona and support relocating or cancelling the General Assembly scheduled to be held there.  To hold a General Assembly without the total spectrum of our members is exclusionary.  We also urge our General Assembly delegates this year to explore other options that could keep us in dialogue with the people of Arizona.

We remind our Unitarian Universalist family that such actions do have impact.  In the late 1980s, when Arizona refused to honor the Martin Luther King holiday, Unitarian Universalists cancelled the General Assembly scheduled to be held there.  After the state changed their position, General Assembly was once again held in that state.  We believe that, even in hard economic times, Unitarian Universalists must be willing to demand that their money be guided by their principles.

We as people who affirm the worth and dignity of all people must continue to fight against racism and ethnic discrimination in all forms.  A law that singles people out by race and ethnicity is by its nature racist.  We condemn this law and urge people of faith throughout our country to let their voices be heard.

The Steering Committee of

DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries)

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UU Solidarity with Arizona

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I’m renaming my blog UU Solidarity with Arizona in an effort to bring attention to the harms SB 1070 is perpetuating upon the people of Arizona and the Unitarian Universalist response.  The racism, profiling, and xenophobic anti-immigrant principles guiding Arizona’s public policy is the wrong direction for our country, and the wrong direction for Unitarian Universalism to endorse.  Honestly I’m equal parts pit-of-my-stomach angry, scared for my family, and anxious about what this justice issue means for my Unitarian Universalist faith.

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MSD UUA Meeting and More

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Whew. Busy times getting ready for the UUA MidSouth District Meeting May 7-9, 2010 in my home away from home - Dahlonega, GA. Lots of cool stuff on tap. Going to use power point slides for hymns, visuals since we'll be at North Ga. College in the Health and Natural Science Building!

Been in D'town (Dahlonega) for a few weekends a month now, and we're starting to take some shape as to the resources that are there now, have been there a while, and can be developed. I always cite this congregation as a success story for small churches and even after 5 years, they still deliver. I am proud to return there as a part time Music Director.

I'll be there again (after the May rush) again on June 6th with my dear friend, Jaehn Clare for a groovy service on Building ComUUnity through the ARTS! Yeehaw. See yall soon!
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Democracy Ctrl-Alt-Del

By: radicalhapa โ€”

A powerful civic organization developed in Oregon while I was away at Harvard for graduate school starting in 2002.  I had heard bits and pieces about The Bus Project, mostly through media reports on their political rise and effectiveness at electing progressives to the Oregon House and Senate, and from activists in communities of color who were a bit skeptical of their ability to partner and be inclusive of racial justice in their “progressive” agenda.  Ctrl-Alt-Del was a key theme, the need to “reboot” democracy, even “remake” democracy, and to do so in a way that leaves no one behind, ensures our future survival, in way in which we have equity.  And unlike a computer, it takes organized people power Ctrl-Alt-Del errors in our democratic system.

THE BUS PROJECT IS AN INNOVATIVE VEHICLE for hands-on democracy. We drive votes, drive leaders, and drive change. (And yes, we have a bus.)

Founded in 2001, the Bus Project has mobilized thousands of volunteers and activists around the state of Oregon and throughout the country. We bring voters out of the woodwork. We host zany forums to learn about candidates and policy issues.

The Bus Project is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that implements the Bus Trips program.

They hosted their Rebooting Democracy Conference (and check out the twitter feed!) for over 300 mostly under age 30 activists from across Oregon, and a host of panels and speakers educating and firing up the attendees.  A core group of folks of color came to engage, link our issues, and advocate for racial equity.  Urban League, the Center for Intercultural Organizing, CAUSA and APANO all turned out young participants, and I spoke in 3 sessions throughout the weekend.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, former Air Force chaplain, New Orleans native, and leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, headlined Friday with Harvard legal eagle and democracy activist Lawrence Lessig speaking Saturday.  I have to admit I’ve been out of the loop on the younger generation since I left the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Young Adult & Campus Ministry Office after 10 years, so it took a little adjusting and re-education.  It did make me think about all the intense and meaningful community building and organizing young UU’s were a part of, and how critical these were to bringing about social, economic and racial equity.  I said a prayer hoping that this intentional ministry is still being carried on by Unitarian Universalist congregations and the national association.

I took away several lessons:

  • You can’t beat an event where folks are explicitly talking about progressive policy advocacy (i.e. public interest advocacy) with super engaged volunteers (who will go door-to-door hundreds of times) and a whole host of politicos including Gubernatorial candidate and former Governor John Kitzhaber, who a group of 10 POC met with to encourage his participation in our April 29 candidate forum, and probably a dozen other electeds included Rep Nick Kahl who I had a great lunch with Saturday.
  • Our community building, anti-racism and community ministry are a critical step in building the world we dream about, and it must be linked directly to effective policy advocacy and civic engagement.  We need to take time to understand each other and build relationships, but we also need to put our money and time where it also matters – in elections and in legislative battles.  The Bus Project does an excellent job of doing the “math” on where people-powered door-to-door phone-banking and grassroots organizing can make a real difference in the election of progressives in key swing districts.  And they’re doing it with one of the most disenfranchised voting electorates – the 18-35 year olds.
  • The struggle for equity in white progressive institutions is still very difficult and long-term.  My UUA experience taught me the need for accountability, and the value of strong anti-racism leadership development programs, both multiracial and culturally/ethnic specific.  I was particularly disappointed in the ethical and moral behavior of white progressives, so-called “allies”, who ultimately worked to undermine collective people of color leadership.  My experience today in the larger white progressive communities is that there are key white leaders committed to partnerships with people of color and a real awareness of the challenges, but a real lack of systemic training and education integrated into their leadership development programs.

This was my first experience with the Bus Project, and I would say it was overall positive.  Some of my colleagues from the community felt frustrated, tokenized, and even angry at some of their interactions, and I am sad for that.  It was a strategic decision, and there is some sacrificing that comes from putting our limited organizational resources to recruit and turnout our folks to participate.  I think we’ll benefit in the long-term, and I appreciate the efforts of Bus Project Board & Staff Helena Huang, Noah Manger, & Caitlin Baggott, as well as my colleagues from community-based organizing.

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BREAKING NEWS: Sinkford Named Senior Minister Candidate

By: radicalhapa โ€”

UPDATE 1: It’s Rev. Bill Sinkford!  Read the Announcement here.

This morning the Search Committee at First Unitarian Portland, Oregon, will announce a major update in the Senior Minister transition.  Rev. Tom Disrud has served as Acting Senior Minister for the last year since Rev. Marilyn Sewell retired.  More news in a few minutes.

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Quick RJ Look at Primary Election for Mult Co Seat #2

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Update 3/27/2010 – I met face-to-face with Roberta Phillip last week, comments below.

A quick political observation and a few racial justice related comments.

The race for Multnomah County Seat #2 covering most of N/NE Portland is going to be hot, multicultural, and will almost certainly result in a run-off.  For folks of color, immigrants and refugees, this represents one of the few elected seats where our communities have enough political power to elect someone in relationship with our growing diverse populations.  The seat has been held by a progressive white guy Jeff Cogen who gets rave reviews for everything from his policy making to his hiring of Karol Collymore.  Previously Serena Cruz held the seat, who won it through serious grassroots organizing (remember Cruz Points anyone?) in a significant community development for the Latino Community.  Serena left the commission to go into building contracting with her husband, scion of megabuilder Walsh Construction.

The political dominoes that fell when Governor Kulongoski appointed Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler to the State Treasurer post upon Ben Westlunds’ death has been intense.  Jeff Cogen is now running for Multnomah County Chair, with hefty support from former Chair Bev Stein and former US Senate candidate Steve Novik.  With Cogen’s commission seat #2 now open, the list of folks who are running is impressive.  Here are a few quick hits on a few candidates:

  • Karol Collymore is highly praised for her work as a Cogen aide, and her Democratic party and women’s organizing in New Mexico and Oregon.  She was a finalist for the House 43 and Senate 22 appointments.   She is African-American, involved in lots of cool GOTV activities, and is a regular contributor to BlueOregon.com and even talks about racial justice issues.
  • Chuck Currie is a legendary housing and homeless activist, who worked closely with City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury.  He is now a UCC minister (same year as me!), family man with twins, and moved from Westside to Eastside to settle down around Parkrose.  Currie has a fairly famous civic and religious blog.  He is a white guy who has addressed racial justice concerns and whiteness.
  • Gary Hansen is a former commissioner running again for office.   Older white guy who I have no idea of his racial politics, but I’m sure is really nice and formidable because of his past experience.
  • Roberta Phillip who recently left the Crittendon Foundation and serves as Board Chair of Pangea Project, became more widely known when a group of African American civic leaders endorsed her over Joann Bowman and Chip Shields for the open Senate 22 seat last year.  Seems relatively unknown within communities of color and no idea about her racial justice perspective. UPDATE 3/27/2010: Had a really nice tea with Roberta, learned more of her background and work here in Portland, including: 1) Creating Mentor Program at POIC that lives on with over 70 youth; 2) Community relations and interest in increasing accountability with communities of color with Chair Wheeler; 3) Long-term commitment to the future of Oregon.  She is an immigrant from Trinidad, grew up in NYC, and really just a thoughtful focused person.
  • Irma Linda Castillo I’ve never heard of, at least I don’t think, is a 14 year Multnomah County worker who cites diversity training in her filing statement.  Educated in California.  Would love to hear from her!
  • Maria Rubio used to work for Mayor Tom Potter on public safety issues among other things.  Is mother to new Latino Network Executive Director Carmen Rubio, and I think was even in the Emerge Oregon program for women candidates, although I could be wrong.  I saw her at a recent Office of Multicultural Health legislative forum, and she indicated she has been doing consulting since Sam Adams took office.  I imagine her analysis is sharp given what I know and love of Carmen’s vision and work.

There are several other candidates who I don’t know who may be amazing, although I think the general election will be two folks from this list.

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New Spring dates!

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Check out my calendar for an pdate as to my travel schedule through April Returning to Georgia Mountains UUC in Dahlonega at the end of this month and very excited about that! Lots of potential and a bit of grounding with my home congregation. Mom is doing well, and I still visit her in S. Georgia once a month. Lots going on and much to be thankful for.
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Return from Finding Our Way Home 4

By: radicalhapa โ€”

We just wrapped up a fun afternoon and evening of merrymaking as part of my birthday-social justice fundraiser.  We had some serious numbers of children, tofu and chicken, and a great cake with a funny picture of me on it (thanks babe!).

I had a blast though just chilling, after returning from SF and the Finding Our Way Home 4 UU religious professionals of color retreat.  Got to catch up with my cohort of seminarians of color we first organized when I was at Harvard, as well as generations of mentors and leaders I looked up too since my first encounters with other people of color in Unitarian Universalism.  At the party tonight, several local POC friends and I talked about our involvement at First Unitarian Portland, and how we’d love to be more intentional about building community together.  We also lamented the challenge of doing so in a larger congregational setting, and how it takes a plan, as with most good things.

  • Janice Marie Johnson has taken over leadership of the religious professionals of color retreat, aka Finding Our Way Home.  Sofia Betancourt led the UUA’s initial effort and response to years of advocacy by professionals including a strong push by seminarians of color in 2005-2006.
  • Seminarians of Color continue to be led by Walter LeFlore and now Angela Henderson.  It is a hard network to keep engaged with the demands of ministerial formation and the more non-traditional nature of the students of color (i.e. generational, economic, familial).  Still it is a critical organizing effort that I am happy the UUA continues to provide some financial support to in the form of coordinator stipends, support-accountability, and information sharing.
  • There were heavy conversations on all levels, and most recurring from previous years.  Religious educators frustrated with ministers.  Seminarians struggling with debt and the do-it-yourself fellowshipping process.  People of color and the white institution.
  • DRUUMM had a great highlight, Leslie Takahashi-Morris and Mel Hoover announced that all participants would be offered a free 1 year membership in DRUUMM thanks to a large donation from Chris Long’s ordination.
  • Alicia Forde who directs the UUA’s Diversity of Ministry Initiatives around anti-racist multicultural congregations held an excellent question and answer period that highlighted some of the direction of developing congregational ministerial positions and preparing congregations to receive and support the ministry of people of color.
  • There is little to no talk about people of color ministry unfortunately, and perhaps because very few religious professionals of color in Unitarian Universalism have the opportunity or intention of providing such ministry.  This has not been an issue for me in the past, but now that this is the essence of my work since I became ordained almost 3 years ago, I find myself in the same boat as elder colleague Don Robinson in DC, sister Karen Tse who works heavily in SE Asia, and my MFC mentor Cheng Imm Tan in Boston.  There just isn’t a strong contingent of UU POC religious professionals working with POC, UU or community, full-time.
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Creating a Tool for Progressive Activists

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I’ve been mulling over how to create a website for Oregon progressive activists to track legislation and elections at the state level.  Blue Oregon is a great resource for highlighting current developments, but doesn’t aggregate news and analysis in much detail for all 90+ state races and numerous state house and senate bills introduced each biennium and special session.

Perhaps a website like this would be too much to manage, and be of little interest to most folks.  I’d imagine though that progressive c3 and c4 organizations, particularly the smaller ones, would benefit from up-to-date information on who is running in what elections, and the progress of legislation, and a way to share progressive analysis and opinion.  I’m thinking some combination of an auto-Google News by House and Senate District (thats 90 races), and some way to spreadsheet legislation and have a custom column for endorsements and the progressive word on the street.

Has anyone heard of anything like this out there?

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Examples of Disempowerment: Portland's Rose Quarter Redevelopment

By: radicalhapa โ€”

[disclaimer – I speak only for myself.  I work for an organization that has written a letter of support for the Community Crossroads concept.  These are my observations in part fueled from 15 years of community organizing in N/NE Portland.]

This week, the Rose Quarter Advisory Committee, a 22 member group appointed by Mayor Sam Adams, vetted finalists for a major redevelopment of the inner Northeast Portland district.  Dozens of proposals were narrowed to 7, and on Tuesday Feb 23 the committee narrowed to 3, with 1 alternate.  Despite this being a public process, three things happened that really demonstrate how conservative and disempowering Portland is:

  1. Secret balloting of the committee in their selection voting.  These citizen representatives need to be held accountable like everyone else when our taxpayer funds are at stake.  There is no hiding and ducking accountability.  The committee itself voted only 17% on the question of whether the Community Crossroads proposal met all the criteria.  This is really the truest sign of how disconnected even our citizen leaders are from the community.
  2. PDC staff member(s) UPDATE: I have now watched the video and it turns out it was a Mayor’s aide(?) publicly criticizing, minimizing and manipulating the process in order to lobby the committee to advance the developer-backed proposals their pet projects.  This unethical behavior in my opinion specifically targeted Community Crossroads proposal, generated by a coalition of non-profits, multicultural organizations, and local architects
  3. In the best contradiction of the night, the non-profit Community Crossroads proposal was criticized for not having enough cash on hand to conduct more in-depth proposal work leading to their failure to advance to the final 3 proposals.  The final 3 proposals are all led by private developers/corporations, and were all given funding to conduct their final in-depth proposals.  Corporate welfare at its best/worst!

Learn more for yourself at http://www.rqdev.org/

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Kurt Jun - Key Role in PPS

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Portland Public Schools hired an excellent staffer in Fall of 2008 to address deep systemic disparities in workforce diversity, cultural competency, and lay the foundation for improving academic achievement of students of color.  Kurt spoke to APANO’s general membership in June 2009.  Here is the press release:

Superintendent names workforce diversity director

In announcing the hire of Kurt Jun, Superintendent Carole Smith said: “All of our employees must be able to build strong relationships with our students and families, no matter who they are or where they come from. Kurt is skilled and experienced in helping large, public organizations become more diverse and culturally competent, and I look forward to working with him to achieve those goals here at Portland Public Schools.”

Jun comes to PPS from Salem Hospital and Regional Health Services, where he directed its diversity program. In that role, he worked closely with the hospital’s human resources department to promote the hiring and retention of a more diverse workforce. He also built strong ties to the local community and served as a member of the Salem Human Rights Commission.

Previously, Jun managed diversity, affirmative action and civil rights compliance programs for the Oregon Department of Transportation. In these positions, he monitored agency compliance with federal civil rights provisions and worked with state, local and community partners to promote affirmative action and environmental justice on major transportation-related projects.

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Police Related Racial Incidents

By: radicalhapa โ€”

The more I’ve been back in the community, engaged in multiracial organizing and leadership development, the more I hear and experience the violent and racialized encounters with police, not just in Portland, but Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, and beyond.  It one of the hard realities of white supremacy on people of color – the violence and control that breeds an environment of low-intensity conflict, hurt and suffering.  Some of it is clearly a crisis response to criminal behavior.  Yet when one does a full accounting over any period of time, race is ultimately a deciding factor.  (kudos to Maxine Bernstein who is doing excellent reporting from the Oregonian)

  • The deep tragedy of an elder brother shot in the back by police, dead, unarmed, in the midst of emotional distress over the death earlier in the day of his younger brother [funeral note].  While his criminal background may justify unwanted police attention and aggression, the facts as they’ve been reported appear to point again to a combination of poor police training, a need for better competency in cross-cultural crisis management, and protocols that don’t let a bleeding victim of a police gunshot to be left on the road for 23 minutes.
  • PCC Women’s Basketball player was essentially assaulted by police around the corner from our house.
  • Eugene police tasered a  University of Oregon student, recently arrived from China, in his bedroom, in his apartment.  [APANO response]  [good summary from local API activist]
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My Music Mission

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Been thinking on the idea of recreate/rewriting my mission statement. I still have one for the UU work I do, but maybe I can incorporate my teaching as well. Always a challenge.
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Gearing Up for 2010

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Setting up my schedule for this new year. Have traveling gigs to different UU churches at least once a month. In between that, visiting with my mom in South Georgia also at least once a month. Living every day - one day at a time - while trying to plan for the future as well.
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Keillor Anti-UU Rant Generates Humor

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I’m usually reading comments that remind me of the awful side of human nature.  Took a gander at the white-hot Garrison Keillor rant against Unitarian Universalists (along with Jews and Christmas secularism), and went further to skim the comments, and had a blast!  They were funny, reminded me of the wit of humanity, and well, seemed to have the most redeeming value of the whole literary episode.  Hat tip of course to Rev. Fred Small of First Parish Cambridge who wrote a nice reply via the UU World.

A sampling:

  • Hey, if you’re going to nit pick (in the spirit of Christmas), don’t go translating a perfectly lovely German song into English.
  • don’t worry: it’s bad enough just the way it is.
  • You might wake up with a big question mark burned into your front lawn.
  • Garrison’s going to return the favor and never touch songs like “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” and “Jingle Bells” and “Over the River and Through the Woods” that were written by Unitarians?  You’d think a guy who rewrites lyrics on his show that often would be a little more open-source, but there you go.
  • Garrison…don’t even try to belittle us Unitarians…we bite!
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Happy Holidays

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At home in Decatur most of this month (unless a trip to mom's is needed) - and will be in South Georgia with family for the Christmas time. Just posted a new link to UU minister and Musician, Mary Grigolia - check it out, yall! Peace.
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Great Blogs of Color and Politics

By: radicalhapa โ€”

My regular favories:

  • Blue Oregon run in part by an old high school amigo Kari Chisolm has fun, interesting up-to-date information about progressive democratic issues and candidates.  I particularly appreciated their reporting and analysis of the selection processes to replace State Representatives and State Senators by Precinct Committee Persons (as I am for 2086).
  • Colors of Influence written and edited by Maileen Hamto who I’ve had the privilege of meeting through APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon).  I pledge some of my hard earned non-profit wages to through a donation subscription.  Maileen has interviewed a great cross section of movers and shakers within communities of color in Oregon, and her website is an excellent resource to any community organizer like me.
  • Race Wire is a project of the Applied Research Center (Hi Rinku Sen and Gary Delgado) and does an excellent job of breaking down the issues and analyzing from the perspective of those most impacted by social injustice and disparities.  I also appreciate the growing use of short video PSA’s, and always love to hear my fellow activists putting some sense out there to the broader world.
  • Western States Center, which is of course where my loving partner works, but is also developing some original content and essays on their “Blog and Discussion” page that I find very interesting.  Immigration and GLBT issues?  People of Color and Feminism?  Their work is often at the intersections of identity and social justice issues.
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New IRCO Family Center

By: radicalhapa โ€”

irco-logoIRCO has officially launched a new $1.3 million dollar capital campaign for the IRCO Family Center.  Executive Director Sokhom Tauch and the Board of Directors have unveiled the campaign to staff and community through a series of events (including a great spring roll luncheon) and press releases.  While the building location has yet to be determined, the vision is to incorporate the Asian Family Center, Africa House, and Parent and Child services into a comprehensive campus that would likely rival the main IRCO Building on 103rd and NE Glisan.  This is welcome news for the staff at the fast growing social service agency, and will continue to strengthen IRCO’s reputation as an effective non-profit agency.

You can learn more about my community ministry/civic engagement work at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) here.

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Oh Thy Garish Sunflower

By: radicalhapa โ€”

baby sunflowersThe wildish sunflowers in our new front yard garden were garishly 8 feet tall this year.  But beautiful cut flowers, and definitely on the list for an encore in 2010.  Kudos to our mate Adofo for his help with our new garden architecture!

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UUMA Convo Thread

By: radicalhapa โ€”

General and tangential observations on the UU Ministers Association Convocation 2009

  • CONVO happens only every 7 years, and this may be the last one with UUMA restructuring of education and learning (also known as UUMA CENTER).  Attendance is around 400.
  • No one appears to be “live blogging” much of anything
  • Bill Sinkford is not here.  Peter Morales is (as is Gini Courter interestingly), and he pledged to visit the UU Church of the Philippines as early as 2010.
  • Worship has been amazing, coordinated wonderfully by Rev. Leslie Takahashi-Morris (with well wishes to David)
  • Little to no controversy, other than the simplified food menu that has raised a few grumbles, but was necessary given the lower registration and budget
  • A UU Fight Club of ministers sharing stories for future preaching has emerged.  We don’t talk about UU Fight Club.
  • Ottawa is really beautiful, parliament, an intense new War Museum, and I’ve eaten out for Indian, Vietnamese, and Thai.
  • Only a fraction of the UUA’s Dreaming Big and large church ministers are here, a bit surprising, and feeds the perception of disengagement by large church ministers.  It could be budget related but there also appear to only be a handful of the UUA staff ministers here.
  • The choir is singing a little in French tonight for the closing worship, directed by Rev. Jason Shelton, with a new version of the Fire of Commitment, which appears to becoming on par with Spirit of Life for its intensity and popularity.
  • A lost opportunity to educate ministers about UU projects through information tabling, which some may dislike, but I find very helpful.  You’ve got a captive audience for 5 full days, and a few have taken advantage to put out literature and be available such as ICUU, Historical Societies, Standing on the Side of Love, but where are all the other ministries?
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UUA.org Could Organize More

By: radicalhapa โ€”

During the UUA Presidency of Bill Sinkford, it seemed each year there were more and more “Statements from the President” that were circulated by email and posted on the website.  It definitely made the UUA President a much higher profile position, although maybe it was just that I started paying attention more and that the internet era was upon us.  It takes time to craft each of these statements, sometimes pastoral messages.

I’d love to see UUA.org develop more of a presence and pulpit for local ministers and lay leaders, after all, this is our UUA isn’t it?  And it would be a great way to formally build stronger associational relationships, and for UUA staff to be more connected to what is going on locally.  I’m not meaning to pan UUA.org or the staff, but it does feel like I get 90% messages from the President.  One approach could be promoting “joint statements”.  In these ways we can introduce ourselves to those who are doing the work at the grassroots.

This comes out of my philosophy that the power of the UUA should be used to strengthen our association, through the building of networks, leadership development, and contribute to social justice.  I get frustrated by the heavy PR, opaque decision-making, and reluctance to authentically engage stakeholders at the grassroots level.

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Classic Ignorance

By: radicalhapa โ€”

From People Magazine

“…the governor of Alaska wasn’t even aware that the teen was having sex”

Another vote for rigorous, appropriate and healthy comprehensive sexuality education.

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End of Church?

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Anna Garlin Spencer was the first woman to deliver the Berry Street Lecture, entitled “Are We Outgrowing the Need for Church?“.

The Church as the organized expression of this religious sentiment must then it, seems, be here to stay.

If so, it must change its form with the changing conditions of man’s life.

Perhaps not a radical call, but an interesting analysis given today’s present moved towards radical geographic congregational conservatism.

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UU Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy

By: radicalhapa โ€”

This is exactly what I talked about in my MDIV thesis:

When it comes to our own racial and cultural identity, our policy seems to be “don’t ask, don’t tell.” I find this both troubling and puzzling in light of our commitment seventeen years ago to create a “racially diverse and multicultural Unitarian Universalism.”

From Paul Rasor’s Berry Street Lecture 2009

Without data, we can’t address equity, and thus we end up speculating and working from poor assumption.  I was at GA but missed this presentation, and alas only now took the time to read it.  It is really quite fascinating, and I agree (and unfortunately disagree in part with the response from Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt …”But in the end, this is not, and never will be, a numbers game”) that it is helpful to understand our context through census numbers.  I’d write more, but it is midnight.

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Morman Fairness

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Media outlets are abuzz over the announcement that the Morman Church supports anti-discrimination measures inclusive of gay, lesbian communities.

“It’s the most progressive and inclusive statement that the church has made on these issues,” said Will Carlson, the manager of public policy at Equality Utah, the state’s largest gay rights group. “What they’ve said here is huge, in protecting residents in other municipalities, and statewide.”

NY Times November 11, 2009

I grew up in a primarily Morman neighborhood in Portland OR.  The other Morman children were very friendly, loved pie, and I enjoyed the boy scouts and other dances the local “ward” hosted.  They were often some of the nicest people I met.  By high school it was evident however that “Mormans First” was their mantra, prejudiced against inter-racial, even inter-religious dating from my personal experience.

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Adoptee Questions

By: radicalhapa โ€”

There are certain questions every adoptee I’ve known, including myself, seems to ask at some point in their life.

It was not until she was in her 30s that she began to explore her Korean heritage. One night, after going out to celebrate with her husband at the time, she says she broke down and began crying uncontrollably.

“I remember sitting there thinking, where is my mother? Why did she leave me? Why couldn’t she struggle to keep me?” she said. “That was the beginning of my journey to find out who I am.”

NY Times Article Adopted From Korea

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Blogging Again in 2010

By: radicalhapa โ€”

It rhymes!   “blogging again in twenty-ten“.  After some consideration, great poetry performances at New Portland’s Colored Pencils, several nice sermons, and a year settled in my new community organizing, it feels like the right time to start blogging again.  We’ll be in the Philippines soon, a great place to spa and reflect on the calling, the work, and the future.

I went from typepad ($$$) to wordpress (free!), although I think I lost like 3 years of posts.  Ahh well, why save stuff, seems like Google has a program for that, or Apple has an app for it.  Eventually.  So stay tuned, for the 10 of you left who actually check this old blog!

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DRUUMM and Congregations

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Editor blank content page// While people of color are inspired by the liberating messages of Unitarian Universalism, congregational life often does not reflect diverse worldviews or cultural practices.  Often congregations are not committed to the justice struggles of communities of color.  This can leave people of color feeling invisible and isolated.  For many members, participating in DRUUMM enhances their congregational experience and empowerse them to work for racial justice and cultural inclusion in their home church.  For others, DRUUMM may be their primary place of Unitarian Universalist religious expression. (from new DRUUMM Brochure)

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Congratulations to New UUA President

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Tonight at 8pm Mountain Time, the Secretary of the Association Paul Richter will announce the new UUA President. The era of Bill Sinkford is officially over.

Laurel Hallman is the clear front runner, and it will be little surprise if she wins tonight with 55% of the vote. She has the money and the endorsements, much of it lined up well before officially declaring, scaring away other potential candidates. Laurel is the status quo candidate, and in our small “family-style” faith, has the bulk of major rich, leaders of influence and access, and UUA support. Key money and organizational people behind at least the last 3 UUA Presidents, are behind Dr. Hallman. She’ll be a fine president.

A Rev. Morales victory will deeply and gently unsettle the traditional powers of the UUA. With fewer endorsements and resources, Morales has benefited from a crisp vision. It will be the biggest upset and most significant change institutionally should he win the UUA Presidency.

I look forward to congratulating the new leader of our association, and also reading the financial disclosure report! More on that later.

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UU Murdered in Philippines

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Lee Boeke Burke, UU Partner Church coordinator for the Philippines, sent around this tragic news.  Rev Nihal Attanayake, one of my mentors and staff for the UU Church of the Philippines wrote this public letter about the death of Arlyn Barotag, mother of two and pregnant who was murdered last week.  Her UU congregation is a member congregation of the UUA.

Arlyn Barotag was brutally murdered on June 2, 2009 in the village Nataban, Philippines. 

Arlyn was a faithful UU a mother of two kids 6 and 3 years old and was two months pregnant when she was brutally murdered. Arlyn’s husband Jonathan UU member had to find employment in Cebu City the adjoining Island to Negros and has been working for the last three years. He visits the family once in six months. 

On June 2, 2009 at about 7:30 in the evening a young man age 23 single a resident of the same community under the influence of alcohol had entered the house of Arlyn and said to have attempt rape. Arlyn carried the two children and ran out of the house and down the precipices crying for help. Her cry did not fall on any body’s ears. The family relatives and members of the congregation lived scattered in the area at a distance of 500 meters and more.  

She had stumbled over the rocky surface and had a fall and possibly knocked her head against the rocks that gave enough for the man who chased her and repeatedly stab her more than thirteen times, revealed at the inquest.  

The elder child of 6 years crawled her way to the near by neighbor’s house at about 500 meters at that time and cried for help on behalf of her mother and the three year old was by the side of the mother in shock having the traumatic experience of witnessing the mother been murdered and was found with blood bath as the neighbors rushed to the site. 

The brother in Law and a member saw the suspect in the act from a distance as they approached the scene and identified the man who ran away in to the woods. 

The family members of the young man the murderer had fled the community that night but through a coordinated effort he was arrested from a place at the distance of about twenty to thirty kilometers away. He is now under custody of the Police in San Carlos City.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is said to have taken responsibility to pursue the case against the suspect in Court. 

At my visit to the congregation on June 13 the members gathered in the chapel and all were there still unable to get rid of the traumatic experience. It was too much of shocking news to me and I was helpless and deeply sad with what had happened. When I asked why we were not informed of this tragedy I was told that they them selves were very much feeling helpless and shocked and waited till I visited them to share their experience. 

I spent the afternoon with them gathering information and listening to them and their feelings. The women expressed fear for their lives with this event. There are three families whose husbands are working in cities as construction workers in Cebu and Manila.

As I listened to their story we identified concerns.

Some are to find short time solutions and some are long term solutions to concerns.

We sat and drew the community map and identified the locations of their residences in the village. We saw that out of 15 families 13 families were living scattered in about 2 kilo meters radius. The houses are located at a distance of about 200 meters, 300 meters 500 meters and 1 kilo meter.                                                   1 

WE asked our selves why no body heard the cry for help?

The geographical setting of the landscape and the direction of the wind prevent been heard.

We asked our selves why the cell-phones they had were not used to Communicate? There are particular areas where they can find the signals. The batteries run down and to recharge they need to get to the community proper where there is electricity. They cannot reload their cell-phones all the time because they do not have money for that. 

We asked our selves then how are we to take are of each other as we are afraid now?

A possible solution could be to provide families with hand sets. 

We asked our selves Why this type of crimes take place?

Because of alcoholism and use of dangerous drugs which is grown in small quantity in the area

[Marijuana]

Such crimes are committed mostly by People who do not work and idle.  

Who will take care of the two children?

The Aunt of the two children offered to take care of the children and asked me for help with sending the 6 year old to school. That is one concern we need help with but the most immediate help is to provide counseling both to the Aunt and to the two children. Arranging for those facilities are essential. The father of the two children wants to continue work in Cebu and earn his living. 

We asked our selves why do husbands have to leave their families and work in far places?

They have tried do farming and have found it less income generating because there is not enough funding to spend on all costs for farming. Some times natural calamities such as strong winds and typhoon rains destroy the farms.

If sufficient funds are available they prefer to stay and farm. 

We seek justice for Arlyn and in order to do that we need to be consistent with pursuing the case

And very important two aspects in seeking justice for Arlyn is to have the witnesses be present in court at all times when Court hearings take place. The other is to support the two children with necessary counseling and future plans for their development.  

In consultation with the UUCP President and coordination, on behalf of the UUCP I seek you help in support of justice for Arlyn Barotag. 

On page 3 I attach the crime scene pictures taken by the Police and forward to me by Arlyn’s husband. It is not at all pleasant to watch. You may refrain from viewing if you wish. 

We are still gathering information and finding ways to approach this very heart braking concern. I am willing to provide you with more details and information as days go by. Please feel free to write and ask. 

Wishing you well and greatly saddened, 

Nihal Attanayake

International Relations Officer

Chair FIA Com. Director Partnership

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Discussing Transracial Adoption

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Adoption Mosaic, a new advocacy and education organization based in Portland, OR, continues to flourish under the able leadership of co-founder Astrid Dabbeni.  Unique within the adoption world as a non-adoption provider non-profit that works extensively with families, adoptees, and prospective parents with a racial justice framework, I’ve had the honor of speaking several times as part of their ongoing workshops on transracial adoption.

There is a new Adoption Mosaic Blog where you can discuss the issues further.  Check it out!

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Immigrant Leadership Grows in Portland

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Yesterday the signature project of the Community Development Program I coordinate at IRCO (Immigrant Refugee Community Organization-Portland) – ENGAGE – held its graduation at City Hall.  Mayor Sam Adams, Commissioner Amanda Fritz, IRCO Executive Director Sokhom Tauch joined 36 people of color/immigrants and refugees who completed an intensive 4 month leadership training.

In its second year of providing leadership and organizational development to communities of color/immigrants and refugees, IRCO’s Community Development Program builds strong community coalitions in the Slavic, Asian/Pacific Islander and African populations of Metro Portland.  Funded through an innovative municipal Diversity and Civic Leadership small grant, through the Offfice of Neighborhood Involvement, IRCO is one of 5 people of color-led community based organizations providing empowerment, civic engagement, and community building services in the City of Portland.

IRCO is one of the oldest immigrant and refugee social service agencies in Oregon, and has grown rapidly over the last 10 years to become an $11 million dollar “mutual assistance association”.  A primary provider of refugee resettlement services, IRCO offers over 80 programs to communities.

It has been a full circle experience for me.  When I left Portland in 2002, I was deep in community social justice work, particularly with Asian/Pacific Islanders, and in the performing arts with Portland Taiko.  After 5 years of graduate school and ministerial formation, it is wonderful to be back, and re-connecting with the work.

I had imagined going deep in youth and young adult ministry, one of the primary focuses of my study at Harvard and professional work at the Unitarian Universalist Association, and I continue to see myself growing and striving to be of use to the younger generation.  Unfortunately, painfully, and in ways that made me question the ethics, values and practices, I was “restructured” and after 10 years forced to re-apply for my job.  With my privileges, from education to family, from cultural resources to history, I’ve found a wonderful place again in Portland.

Working full-time with communities of color, immigrants and refugees is an honor, and another privilege.  It is special to be able to work in ways that promote multiracial and intergenerational community, a vision and practice that is is the lifeblood of my soul.

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UUA Presidential Election 2009

By: radicalhapa โ€”

The Unitarian Universalist Association is electing a new President this month, and the politics are heating up to the point that I’m breaking out of my non-blogging phase. For 10 years and through one major election, I worked for the UUA and so technically had “no opinion”, which makes sense. Now I’ve been out of the system since Dec 2007 at which time I was ordained and moved back into community ministry in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.  Here is my brief, from the gut, two cents.  I’m sure I could write something far more nuanced, but it is after midnight and I’ve got three kids to wake up tomorrow, and a taiko performance to prepare for.

The election appeared for almost a year to be a coronation of the singular candidate, Laurel Hallman, a wonderful preacher and large church minister in a suburb of Dallas, TX. I have really never met Rev Hallman formally, and have mixed feelings about her given the unfortunate and inappropriate behaviors of her congregation during the last of the Young People of Color Leadership Development Conferences and significant youth and young adult anti-racism/anti-oppression ministrys. Some of this is documented in the UUA’s Special Commission Report of 2006, although I believe it really missed the mark with respect to the root causes and recommendations.  One fact that has stayed with me is the eiree silence of Rev Hallman on the events publicly, that underscores a concern of mine – her readiness to minister in a multicultural world and understand the experiences of people of color within Unitarian Universalism.  Laurel strikes me as an amazing pastoral care (not sure about communities of color/immigrant and refugees) and administrative professional.

Peter Morales jumped in the race late, and was virtually a guerilla candidate.  Nearly all the powers that be have lined up against him, particularly what I would categorize as the status quo.  There is a nice diversity of anti-racism activists and ministers who are split between the two candidates, including people of color.  But all in all, the money and powerful UUA players are in the Laurel Hallman camp.  I have known Peter since the days when he wrote the original letter calling together religious professionals of color – a group that became DRUUMM in 1998.  Peter had some serious conflicts, some direct and some indirect within these communities due to what I viewed as miscommunication and a difficultly in finding common ground on an anti-racist analysis that honored diverse people of color experiences.  I honestly have always found Peter to be very candid, a refreshing personality within what is often a challenging and frustrating UU culture.  He is not perfect, is willing to experiment, and also be honest about failures.

I’ve chosen to endorse Peter for UUA President, particularly after talking with several trusted colleagues and Peter himself.  Most of my closest collegial friends in the ministry are actually supporting Laurel Hallman.  What was most interesting to me is that all had the same reasons – that they were asked by another trusted colleague, most commonly Wayne Arnason.  None of them had a clear enough reason for me to support Laurel, and frankly the social justice ministry as well as ethical conduct of UUA power players is what I am most interested in during this upcoming election.  Peter to me is the best candidate for the job.

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Twittering and Facebook Take Over Blogging

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I just don’t have the energy to blog these days! I get to Facebook more given the privacy and the ability to also engage in community organizing and work. Now, I’ve been convinced to start Twittering (radicalhapa). We’ll see what becomes of this blog…

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Build a Columbia Smart Bridge!

By: radicalhapa โ€”

There has been an ongoing policy advocacy struggle in the Portland-Vancouver metro area over replacing the aging Interstate Bridge that crosses the Columbia River. I’m a resident who lives blocks from both the Interstate Freeway, and a mile from the river. The current plans are terrible, calling for an expansion to a 12 lane freeway, without quality mass-transit and other congestion tools.

A colleague at the Coalition for the Livable Future shared this Letter to the Editor:

Anna Griffin’s Saturday column dismisses the thousands of hours that citizens have dedicated to thoughtfully shaping the Columbia River Crossing by likening their work to keying a Hummer. Car keying is vandalism. Healthy civic debate is democracy.

“Try leaving a Prius brochure on the window instead” concludes Griffin. Many of us have been doing this very thing for over four years. Coalition for a Livable Future is calling for a Climate Smart CRC, one that will stabilize the amount we drive at or below today’s levels so that we can avoid consequences from global warming pollution. Smarter Bridge, a group of concerned citizens, has proposed another idea. Both are suggesting that we fix the problems in the crossing, while also recognizing that every investment we make with our limited resources must prepare us for a sustainable future. Unfortunately, no matter how you spin it, a twelve lane CRC is not a healthy choice for our region.

Jill Fuglister
Co-Director
Coalition for a Livable Future
107 SE Washington, Ste. 239
Portland, OR 97214
Voice: 503-294-2889
Fax: 503-225-0333
Web: http://www.clfuture.org
Are you a CLF member? Join now and help connect people, organizations and issues for a sustainable and healthy Portland-Vancouver region.

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Third Time Is a Charm? - Ministers of Color Meet in Atlanta

By: radicalhapa โ€”

For the third consecutive year, the UUA through the Identity Based Ministries Staff Group is hosting a gathering of Religious Professionals of Color. Specifically fellowshipped ministers, seminarians who have reached candidate status, and DRE’s. Over the last three years, about 40 folks have participated each year, but probably around 60 total have come at least once.

I’m heading out tomorrow to join colleagues from across the country for a weekend of reflection and spiritual work. The space has not been utilized yet for strategic long-term organizing as a community, but there is a good level of relationship building and information gathering that is helpful to that purpose. This gathering returns full circle to the gatherings that happened in the mid-1990’s that resulted in the formation of DRUUMM, the UU People of Color organization in 1998. When I was convening an informal (and now formal) network of UU Seminarians of Color, we consistently advocated for this gathering to be re-established. It is exciting to see the ongoing commitment and facilitation by the UUA, particularly Rev. Sofia Betancourt. Hopefully Third Time is a Charm, and regardless of the UUA Presidential Election.

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A Year Away

By: radicalhapa โ€”

Last month I celebrated my first full year away from the UUA. It was important to stay out of the fray after my departure after 10 years of organizing and ministry with youth and young adults. The transition was made even more profound when my 36th birthday came around! No longer am I a young adult. In the ministry there is a lot of health conversation about the importance of giving space to new leadership when we transition. It feels like that happened for me, as I had maybe one or two conversations about young adult and campus ministry in the whole year, and only at social events. There is still some sadness that after a decade of intense action and reflection with the youth and young adult generation, my generation at the time, that the experience and learnings are stored away like an Indiana Jones find. Nonetheless, given my collective organizing principles, I believe that the best leadership will come from young adults themselves. A new generation of empowered, visionary, radically inclusive and spiritually alive youth and young adults are leading already.

I have a lot of love and powerful memories from my 10 years of work. Through all the ups and downs of funding, part-time, leadership transitions, etc, that period in my life both professionally and personally was very meaningful. With an amazing group of dedicated activists, together we built an effective and creative continental network of Unitarian Universalists. We were able to develop on so many levels, not only organizationally, but spiritually. Our basic theology and philosophy of the ministry evolved…process theology and practice at work.

Now that a year is passed, I’m paying attention to only one of the ministries that I left, the Groundwork Initiative. This was a joint collaboration of DRUUMM, YRUU, C*UUYAN and the UUA that was administratively managed by the UUA and led at least ideally by the collective of youth, young adult and mentor anti-oppression/anti-racism trainer-facilitators who went through a 4 day train the trainers. Our work was, and unfortunately still is on the cutting edge. I am pleased to see the integration of so many of the Groundwork participants in our UU congregations, in the organizations we sought to partner and be accountable with including the Catalyst Project (formerly Challenging White Supremacy), People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, Asian American Resource Workshop, Western States Center, and Crossroads Ministry. There is a Groundwork connected member, apprentice or mentor in each of these organizations at some level. This is amazing!

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New Health Care Union?

By: radicalhapa โ€”

An old UU friend sent out this letter today, reposted with permission.

 

Some of you know that in the past few weeks, the Union I worked for was taken over by our international union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

For over two years, UHW has been at odds with SEIU. The fundamental issues are member democracy, workers in UHW wanting to make sure they had a voice in their contracts and their unions, while Andy Stern and SEIU have increasingly centralized control taking it out of the hands of workers. But also the issue is about what kind of union do we want to work to build, one that fights the boss, or one that collaborates with the boss.  The fight started when UHW led by Sal Rosselli began to criticize sweatheart deals SEIU had made with nursing home and hospital bosses to gain more union members—at the expense of those worker’s standards and working conditions.  UHW then tried for over a year to fight for reforms within SEIU. After this exhausting process, most of us came to the conclusion that the institution of SEIU is to undemocratic, to top down, to ever win real reform in.

This fight led to Andy Stern to make the undemocratic and purely political move of trusteeing UHW. A trusteeship means that all of the officers are fired and SEIU installs new leadership that will do as they wish. The local’s constitution and bylaws are suspended and the local union is in complete international control.  UHW members repeatedly warned Andy Stern and SEIU that they would not stand for a trusteeship. They warned SEIU that they would do everything within their power to fight back and keep their local whole and in their hands.

You can learn more about this all at www.seiuvoice.org.

SEIU trusteed UHW on Tuesday January 27th. UHW workers would not stand for it. Within 5 days, 10,000 workers at 62 facilities petitioned the NLRB to decertify SEIU and certify the newly formed National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) since then, another 20,000 or so workers have joined them, and workers throughout the rest of UHW are working to do the same. NUHW is a member led, militant, and leftist union that hopes to lead the labor movement to reform itself, not by working with the boss and accepting concessions, but by organizing and fighting back. 

You can learn more about NUHW at www.nuhw.org.

I loved working for UHW and I loved working with the UHW members.  I knew I could not continue to work for SEIU and assist them with the trusteeship.

About 120 former UHW staff resigned or were fired and currently volunteering their time to make NUHW a reality. I resigned shortly after the trusteeship to do this. All of us are struggling and have made huge financial sacrifices because we believe in this movement.  Of course we are taking on the biggest union in the country with far less resources, but our members remain united and strong.

You can help to sustain us and make this movement a reality.  You can make a donation to the Fund for Union Democracy at www.fundforuniondemocracy.org. Or you can make a donation directly to me to allow me to continue to work full time to build this movement.  You can send checks directly to me at 134 St. Charles Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132. Any amount will make a difference. Nothing is too small to donate.

 

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3 Things I Learned about Fidel Castro

By: radicalhapa โ€”
  1. His parents were uneducated, but became wealthy.  They were immigrant farmers from Spain.
  2. After the revolution in Cuba, Fidel came to the USA for a tour, and was widely welcomed, although Eisenhower sent VP Nixon to meet with him at the White House.
  3. The US organized terrorist attacks in Cuba before the Bay of Pigs in 1961, including one of the first known use of secondary bombings.  They blew up a supply ship in the harbor, and then rigged additional bombs to go off when First Responders, Medical and Fire were responding, killing dozens of other persons.
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Another Year - and a whole New Era...

By: The Eclectic Cleric โ€”


After all the blogging I've done this past year about being diagnosed with cancer, and learning to live with my illness and its treatment, it feels a little strange to be sitting down to write another Annual Holiday Letter that will basically repeat all of this same information for the same group of readers.

Except, of course, that it won't. Oh, maybe the basic information remains the same. But the readers are different, and even the writer is a little different, having now lived though it all, and (for the moment, at least) survived it. On February 19th 2008 I woke up in the middle of the night coughing, and realized that I was coughing up blood...not a lot, mind you, but how much does there really need to be? Made an appointment to see my Primary Care Physician the next day, and on February 21st a chest X-ray confirmed that I had a tumor about the size of a jalapeno pepper growing in my right lung. It took a few more tests and a lot of doctors talking with one another before I was actually typed and staged and my "diagnosis" was official. But I'm still looking back to February 19th as the day my life really changed, and forward to that same date as the one year anniversary of my life as a cancer survivor.

At first my life didn't really seem to have changed that much. Lots of tests, lots of appointments, and meanwhile my life pretty much went on the way it always had. It was almost a month before the tumor board finally met and determined that I was a Stage IV Non Small Cell Whatever and More Latin...the one Wild Card being an "area of interest" in my L-3 Vertebra, which everyone assumed was a distant bone metastasis but no one could really confirm for sure. But before we began treatment, we wanted to make sure that everything that could be done would be done, so as my family begin pouring into town for Easter, we also made plans to drive to Sloan Kettering in NYC for a second opinion after the holiday.

My Easter Sermon was really wonderful, if I do say so myself...although there were plenty of other people willing to say it for me. The next day my dad and I crowded into my Ford Focus and drove to my brother's house in Connecticut, where we spent the night before our Tuesday appointment in the city. That meeting likewise went about as well as I could have expected: yes, my own oncologist had the diagnosis and treatment plan correct, no there are not any "secret" drugs that they keep under the counter and only give to the nice people...basically, just the sort of thing I was hoping to hear that would put my father in particular at ease, and allow us to move forward with my chemotherapy. The one new thing that did come out of that meeting was the suggestion that it might be a good idea to get an additional MRI on my lower back before beginning any treatment, just to better define what was actually happening there so that we could monitor any changes over time. My own oncologist agreed this was a good idea, and the procedure was scheduled for the following Monday. We celebrated all our good news with lunch at the Algonquin Hotel (the site of Dorothy Parker's famous "Round Table"), and on Wednesday once again drove the six-and-a-half hours back to Portland from New York.

This is where my cancer blog, "One Day Isle" really tells the story a lot better than I can. Basically that trip marks the beginning of a month and a half long sojourn in and out of our excellent local acute care cancer center (the Gibson pavilion at Maine Medical Center) and another local rehab hospital, before eventually landing where I am now, at another excellent Adult Independent/Assisted Living Center close to the church here in the heart of downtown Portland. Much of that time I've been pretty much confined to bed or to a wheelchair, because of the excruciatingly painful sciatica created by what is essentially an L-3 vertebra eaten almost entirely away by cancer. I've also had to give up my apartment, and my ability to drive, and have filed a disability claim at work, which has allowed the church to hire two excellent ministers to serve on a "ministerial support team" that has helped keep things running relatively smoothly during my imposed absence.

There have been other losses as well, the most profound (at least for me personally) being the hard decision to to say farewell to my much-beloved Boston Terrier, "The Adorable Parker," after over 13 years of near constant companionship. There are lots more posts about Parker in my blog from last October, but the one thing I'm pretty sure you won't want to miss is my Columbus Day Sermon, "To Cross the Wide, Wild Ocean." That dog taught me so much about what it really means to be a caring and compassionate soul -- lessons that I can't adequately put into words, and that she didn't need to. I still thank God daily for the serendipitous coincidence of events that brought her into my life in the first place, and allowed me to enjoy her companionship for as long as I did.

I've also learned a lot of other lessons about gratitude this past year as well...gratitude and patience and generosity and forgiveness. I've learned about tenacity and commitment, not to mention pure pig-headed, bull-headed, and mule-headed stubbornness. I've learned about courage, becoming discouraged and fighting discouragement, and especially about encouraging others; about seeking inspiration, finding inspiration, offering inspiration to those who need it. I've learned about faith, trust, confidence, and fidelity...not to mention hope, and (of course) the greatest of these abiding virtues...agape love.



And I've had more than my share of George Bailey moments this past year too. Times when I have felt so overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection and generosity and care and concern for me that I've been reduced to tears. It really is like a miracle. Really makes me think that maybe all that expensive theological education really was worth the money after all....



So, I suppose now you're thinking "Well, I guess that makes the cancer all OK...."

NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!

I wake up every morning and wish with all my heart (because I don't think it's appropriate to pray for this sort of thing) that this cancer would all just go away, and give me back the life I had before I was diagnosed. But I also know that's not going to happen. So I'm trying to learn instead how to make the most of what has been left me, and to improve on that as best I can, slowly but persistently developing new goals for myself, for whatever time I may have left me...be that another few years, or another twenty (which had always kinda been my original goal).

They tell me they can't cure this cancer, but they can treat it...and potentially for a very long time. This first year of survivorship is always a big milestone. Let's hope there's lots more where this one came from. For me, a GOOD year now is any one that has 365 1/4 days in it. As long as I can keep hitting that benchmark, I'm not going to sweat the rest of it too much....
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A Rightist Look at Obama's Unitarian Universalist Heritage

By: radicalhapa โ€”

From the American Thinker: The Unitarian Church and Obama’s Religious Upbringing (Dec 29, 2008)

At the time of his resignation Obama told reporters:
“I’m confident we’ll be able to find a church that we’re comfortable with.  We probably won’t make any firm decision on this until January, when we know what our lives are going to be like.  My faith is not contingent on the particular church that I belong to….” 
Obama discarded the mushy Unitarian agnosticism to work as a community organizer on Chicago‘s Southside.
Obama discarded the angry anti-Americanism of Trinity UCC as a presidential candidate.
What kind of religion does Obama need to act as a President?
Thoughts?

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Merry Christmas

By: radicalhapa โ€”
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Snow Keeps Us Wild

By: radicalhapa โ€”

We’ve been mostly at home for 5 days now.  More snow is supposed to come tomorrow in Portland.  We are a bit stir crazy, and tomorrow have planned a snow ball – snow man building gala, and all out neighborhood free for all.  It is gorgeous outside.  And some great sledding at Farraguat Park next door!

Folks are still going out and about, even though most of the roads are still caked with packed snow.  My mind is a little mushy, it is weird.  When I am on a work day, my mind and body just click into gear.  On these off-days, I relax like a sloth.  The transition is intense, but feels good.

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Obama at First Unitarian Honolulu

By: radicalhapa โ€”

I can’t tell if Rev. Mike Young was a part of the memorial service for Obama’s maternal grandmother, but it is in the news that he walked through the door and into the sanctuary of our First Unitarian Church in Honolulu.

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From "An Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope

By: The Eclectic Cleric โ€”
Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is Man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between, in doubt to act or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God or Beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused or disabused;
Created half to rise, and half to fall:
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!
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Why Do You Ewes Use "UUs?"

By: The Eclectic Cleric โ€”
I have to admit, as ackward and tongue-twisting as "Unitarian Universalsm" may be, it is infinitely preferable to the acronym "UU." And I don't even want to think about the connotations of "UUism," much less "Unitarian Universalist TM." This whole on-going discussion about whether or not UUism is a form a liberal Christianity, a post-Christian Protestant heresy (open, of course, to inspiration from ALL the world's great religious traditions), or actually an entirely New Religion altogether seems as pointless to me as the seemingly interminable debates about whether or not certain semi-obscure celebrities from a century or two ago ever actually "signed the book." But here's my larger point....

So many of these discussions seem to boil down to anxiety about identity, legitimacy, and a desire for better "branding." And with that anxiety and that desire comes a whole history of baggage around issues of anti-creedalism and freedom of conscience, together with both a perceived need and a profound reluctance to articulate "Things Most Commonly Believed Among Us To-Day." And this reflects yet another tension at the center of our movement: our understanding that "all ministry is local," and that the proper location of the authentic religious/spiritual life is within a covenanted local congregation and community, and the ambition to develop a higher public profile, grow in numbers and influence, and become a more powerful presence on the religious landscape.

So with all that water now under the bridge (at least until the tide turns again), here's something that I've often wondered about, and in particular have been wondering about again lately. Despite the great pride we take in being "a church without a creed," we are the ONLY denomination I can think of off the top of my head that takes its name from two explicitly theological doctrines: Unitarianism = a belief that God is One (i.e. radical monotheism, and more explicitly the rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity) and Universalism = a belief that All Souls shall ultimately be reconciled to their Creator (i.e. Universal Salvation: the "no Hell" church). So here's my Question: can one be a good "UU" and still find meaning in the doctrine of the Trinity (never mind Pantheism, or its opposite Atheism), or believe that SOME souls, at least, are going to Hell, and deservedly so?

Just a few random thoughts, after having just finished teaching for the God Only Knows just how many times the "UU Identity" portion of our "New UU Explorers Class."
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Yes We Can

By: The Eclectic Cleric โ€”
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