We began this year with a 30 Days of Love reflection from our Democracy Strategist, Nora Rasman, who wrote, “This year, we will tell the truth to each other and ourselves about the political landscape we inhabit, the conditions and threats we are facing and the power of the left.” The truth is the stakes are high. It is also true that every action that chooses democracy as the method to express political desires or dissent is an invitation to building a new world, together.

Last night millions of voters went to the polls to express their desires about the leadership of their states and country. Hundreds of thousands voted “uncommitted” in protest of the ongoing assault in Gaza. Several voter suppression laws have created an unjust field that cannot produce accountable and representative elected leadership. Some candidates speak openly about ending free and fair elections, disparage trans people and immigrants, and celebrate limiting our individual freedoms. Last night, we faced hard realities together. Now, we must decide what we will do in the days ahead. 

Let us remember that every movement forward generates new possibilities. Every new person we invite into our work grows our power. Each time we respond to the grief, rage, and demands of a people yearning to be free with compassion and a faithful recognition of our shared humanity, we Side With Love. 

We invite you to use today to deepen your commitments to justice. This moment and our movement, needs you. With UU the Vote 2024, we are leaning even more deeply into the shared values that move voters to the polls. We are equipping leaders to engage in compassionate conversations that hold our grief as well as our commitment to building a multi-racial democracy. We are resisting state violence in our work to Stop Cop City in Georgia. We’re showing up to protect abortion in the Yes on 4 campaign in Florida. We are launching Green Sanctuary 2030 to ground our congregational climate justice work in local and accountable relationships.  

Throughout history, we have shown up to kindle the flames of justice in uncertain times. Today, we build on that legacy and commit to justice and prophetic action to build a future where we all thrive. This is our work. We forge the paths that lead us towards the just and loving world we seek to create.

Join a community of people who greet each day a new opportunity to Side With Love in all that we do.

Upcoming Events from Side With Love

March 14: UU the Vote 2024 Launch

UU the Vote 2024 is an ambitious strategy to grow a powerful pro-democracy majority. This year we will build our commitment to democratic practices and recommit to showing up for social movements building infrastructure and relationships to sustain us the beyond the electoral year. Join us to learn about our work with State Action Networks and their partners in key states, key ballot initiatives, political education and spiritual grounding opportunities and our mass voter contact program.

March 20: Climate Justice and Racial Reconciliation in a Predominantly White Congregation
Integrating justice in our climate work is essential, but many UU congregations struggle with this component of the Green Sanctuary 2030 process. Join Dorothy Swain from UUs of Grants Pass, OR, and her colleague Gabi Johnsen from the Pursuit Church of the Nazarene, to learn about the ways their congregations are advancing climate justice in a predominantly white, rural community.

March 18: Side With Love Monthly Mixer
Join us if you are doing the work on the ground, if you are showing up for and with Side with Love, and/or if you are just learning about Side with Love. Come connect with one another, build community across issues, and have some facetime with our staff.

March 21: UU Stop Cop City Monthly Action Huddle
Our huddle this month will focus on writing letters to those imprisoned for protesting Cop City in Atlanta. Writing letters to folks locked up is a ministry, a political act, and a great way to invite new folks into decriminalization work. As always, we’ll also review what’s happening and what you can do with Stop Cop City more broadly. Join us to get activated or to jump back in.

After closing out this year's 30 Days of Love, Side With Love is looking forward to exciting opportunities for faith-filled action this spring. Starting March 6, we have a range of offerings that we hope will ground you and help sustain your commitment to liberation, democracy, and justice. Please join us and share with your congregation!

If you haven't already heard, we're getting ready to activate every corner of our faith for UU the Vote 2024. This year, we will mobilize our friends, our neighbors, and our fellow UUs to generate a groundswell of democratic action and leadership towards a thriving future beyond November 5. If you aren’t already subscribed to our UU the Vote newsletters, you can sign up for updates here.

Join our UU the Vote 2024 Launch!

Get ready for UU the Vote 2024! On Thursday, March 14 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET, join UU leaders and partners to learn how you can show up for our values and communities in the critical 2024 elections. Invite your congregation and social justice teams to join us for an exciting launch of UU the Vote 2024.

When we organize, we build power in our communities for justice, accountability, and healing. In the last four years, UU the Vote has built new networks of spiritual and political communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate. With UU the Vote 2024, we’ll be showing up to combat criminalization; protect and expand healthcare, including abortion; and deepening local democratic practices, from participatory budgeting to ranked choice voting.

We are fighting for so much in 2024. Together, our communities can address the current threats to our democracy and human dignity. Join us in this fight on Thursday, March 14 at 4pm PT / 7pm ET for the launch of UU the Vote 2024!

March Programming from Side With Love

March 6: Green Sanctuary 2030 Orientation

Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Join the monthly orientation session to get a better understanding of the program and learn how your congregation can engage in ongoing climate action. Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice can transform your congregation through climate justice!

March 8: UPLIFT Transgender/Nonbinary+ Pastoral Small Group

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

March 18: Side With Love Monthly Mixer

Join us if you are doing the work on the ground, if you are showing up for and with Side with Love, and/or if you are just learning about Side with Love. Come connect with one another, build community across issues, and have some facetime with our staff.

March 20: Climate Justice and Racial Reconciliation in a Predominantly White Congregation

Integrating justice in our climate work is essential, but many UU congregations struggle with this component of the Green Sanctuary 2030 process. Join Dorothy Swain from UUs of Grants Pass, OR, and her colleague Gabi Johnsen from the Pursuit Church of the Nazarene, to learn about the ways their congregations are advancing climate justice in a predominantly white, rural community. 

March 26: UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary+ Monthly Gathering

This is a cozy, drop-in community space for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism where we connect with each other with games and breakout groups, share ideas and stories on all kinds of topics, listen to music and poetry (often by trans/nonbinary+ creators), and much more! This space is intentionally multi-generational. It is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. Standard UUA online safety measures apply to ensure all people under 18 are able to attend.

March 28: Faithful Grounding

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

By Nora Rasman

In our final week of 30 Days of Love, we explore the theme of “democracy and electoral justice” and how it is situated within our broader organizing. 

As we begin our electoral work of 2024 together, I return to recent remarks by Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell: the organizing principle that we build trust by telling the truth about the world we share. The core truth that I’m reckoning with this year is that democracy—the promise of our elected officials feeling a direct and accountable tie to us, their electorate—has always been aspirational.

I acknowledge the fear that many of us hold–that the threads of democracy we’ve had will fully unravel, and we will lose the pieces of representation we rely on. And I ground in the possibility that with the millions of people who have come into social movements in the past four years, we might push closer to a more just world. We will continue to fight and build the power of the working class multi-racial majority to exact wins from the people in power that will make all of our lives better. 

This year, we will tell the truth to each other and ourselves about the political landscape we inhabit, the conditions and threats we are facing and the power of the left. We will share, heavy hearted, the truth that we are facing massive devastation and suffering by war and genocide, climate catastrophe, legacies of colonization and imperialism, and rising fascist politicians and policies. We will share the bitter reality that our social movements fighting for justice have grown while also facing massive backlash and criminalization. We will also share in the conviction that our work in the year ahead is to continue to fight for the political conditions where winning is more possible.

Organizing is where we draw hope and build long term power. It is where we invest in each other and our communities through relationships and partnerships with grassroots organizations. Organizing is where we move towards the aspiration of representative democracy; a place where local but consequential change happens. Collective decisions like distribution of parking spaces at our congregation, the neighborhood association being trained on de-escalation techniques and the passage of a new lead abatement law at city council. 

When we look back on 2024 - what are the relationships we have built? How is our local organizing landscape stronger? How have we changed? 

Our work should ground and fortify us for whatever outcomes lie ahead. This means building and strengthening our local organizing landscapes. Growing and sharing our skills and resources generously. Engaging humbly. And always telling the truth. 

Unitarian Universalism calls us towards building democratic processes - in our congregations & communities. I hope we can do that together this year.

Nora Rasman is the new Democracy Strategist for the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Organizing Strategy Team, which drives Side With Love and UU the Vote.

See all the resources offered for Week Four of the 2024 30 Days of Love campaign

We are  excited to announce Nora Rasman as the new Democracy Strategist who will support our UU the Vote 2024 program and year-round work to resist authoritarianism and build a multi-racial democracy. 

Nora has been a skilled leader and strategist in Unitarian Universalist justice work and a powerful coalition builder progressive organizations like Working Families Party, Showing up for Racial Justice, and Mijente. Her reputation for building and sustaining accountable relationships and sharpening the analysis and political commitments of volunteer leaders will strengthen our national and local networks for more effective collaboration and deeper impacts. As the former Wisconsin organizer for UU the Vote in 2020, Nora is ready to move our faith community into the next phase of our democracy work. 

The Democracy Strategist is a critical investment that will build on the success of our electoral work and root our collective actions in the long haul work to resist anti-democratic movements that we are witnessing in our courts, our legislatures and school boards, and boards of elections. 

We thank our national community and UU partners for the work and investment that makes this exciting new development possible. Right now, we must all find our roles and grow our commitments to our justice work. Join us as we celebrate Nora finding her place in the work with our beloved Unitarian Universalist community. 

Finding Our Place, Finding Our Power 
A Note from Nora Rasman 

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to return and continue the work of UU the Vote to build power and take action alongside Unitarian Universalists. Writing to you from Sarasota, Florida where I spent the weekend supporting UUs taking action to defend and expand access to abortion in Florida.

I was raised UU and my experience within Young Religious Unitarian Universalists was transformative for me, particularly in shaping my anti-imperialist and anti-racist world view and belief that all people deserve dignity, joy and care. I spent the last few years sharpening my own skills building political power and working on local campaigns in Milwaukee. This included a statewide race for Senate alongside local organizing fights like the fight to Stop Line 5, ongoing election defense work and doubling down on experiments in decriminalization. 

I’m excited to rejoin you to address the urgent need for progressive faith communities to show up for movement organizations committed to collective liberation as we build skills, analysis and take action in line with our values. I see our work towards democracy connected to building strategies and practices for how we are together and building shared governance skills including participatory budgeting and cooperative structures. Outside of this role, I am also a queer birthworker and also very enthusiastic to connect around Trans and queer family building.

Earlier this year, Side With Love and UU the Vote program and field staff were joined by UU State Advocacy Network staff and UU volunteers to talk about the impact of UU the Vote on the 2020 and 2022 elections as well as plan for what we will be doing in 2024. This interactive workshop invites us to dive deep into the practices, relationships, and strategies of our electoral organizing that helped us to reach over 5 million voters since 2020.

View the workshop now.

Yesterday morning, two Unitarian Universalist ministers, Rev. Dave Dunn and Rev. Jeff Jones, joined a non-violent direct action to protest the escalating anti-democratic actions of the Georgia Attorney General and the Atlanta City Council. Over the past year, these two tax-funded institutions have waged an ongoing campaign of disinformation, intimidation, and criminalization to repress the grassroots movement to Stop Cop City.

Revs. Dunn and Jones, along with three additional community leaders, were arrested yesterday after halting construction on the site. Side With Love and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee honor the courageous moral witness of these leaders and remain committed to showing up in solidarity with them and the movement to Stop Cop City. To support those who have been arrested, please click here to donate to the bail fund.

Join us to take action and support our local leaders by signing up for rapid response action alerts!

From City Hall to the Attorney General’s office, Republicans, Democrats, and corporate interests have colluded to intimidate activists, silence voters, and repress a movement of people who are simply asking to have a voice in the future of their community. Last month, the Atlanta City Council announced that they would use the “exact match” system to verify the more than 100,000 petition signatures from communities asking for a referendum vote on Cop City. Courts continually ruled that signature verification methods like “exact match” are subjective and discriminatory, with many Georgia voting rights organizations and elected officials condemning its proposed use in the 2018 Georgia election. In late 2018, a U.S. district judge ruled that the system is a “severe burden” for voters.

On Tuesday, 61 Stop Cop City environmental defenders and organizers were indicted in Georgia on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges, part of a federal law aimed at punishing criminal enterprises.

Among the list of charges, the indictment explicitly cites “mutual aid, collectivism, and social solidarity” as presumably dangerous ideas that were being promoted by the activists. Make no mistake, this is political repression.

The campaign to Stop Cop City is not about one single issue but about resisting the systems designed to make us all less free in the United States and around the globe.

Commit to joining the movement to Stop Cop City! Join our weekly Action Hour on Thursdays at 3 p.m. EDT.

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed the criminalization of voting, protests, abortion, and trans and gender-expansive bodies. We’ve witnessed book bans and the rejection of facts and history in American public schools. Doctors, teachers, librarians, and poll workers are being threatened with violence and losing their jobs. As Unitarian Universalists, we not only condemn these actions, but we support people and communities through mutual aid. We build power for justice through collectivism and deepen our relationships and capacity for liberation through social solidarity. These practices are the expression of the core principles we uphold as covenantal faith. The care for our communities is central to a democracy that is truly for the people and by the people. It is what we do when we love one another, in public and in community.

In faith & solidarity,
Side With Love & UUSC: Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

This can be a bittersweet time of year for so many, but we are taking joy in what UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt reminds us is the time when we “come back to each other in our congregations and communities.”

Whether you are coming back to your community after a long time away or whether you have been there all summer, we are grateful for your shared ministry toward collective liberation and beloved community. 

This summer, Side With Love program and field staff created a wealth of events, resources, and opportunities to balance the need to rest and play with the necessity of honing our skills and staying informed and prepared to respond to the ongoing attacks on communities and people beloved of us.

Whether you need a space to grieve and pray, the opportunity to gather with others doing the work, or dedicated time to learn, we have something that will serve you.

Learn

Skill Up Series: Summoning Courage

Skill Ups are our monthly training series on various organizing skills to help strengthen our congregational and community justice teams. These trainings incorporate spiritual fun and hands-on exercizes to help deepen the lesson. Skill Ups occur every 3rd Sunday for 90 minutes, starting at 4 ET / 3 CT / 2 MT / 1 PT.

• Oct 15: Risk Discernment for Congregations

• Nov 19: Faith Out Loud

• Jan 21: Community Safety and Security

Check out the collection of past Skill Ups here.

Gather

Faithful Gathering

Join our Side with Love Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad for an hour of spiritual sustenance and grounding with others organizing on the side of love. 

Show up as you are, with whatever is in your heart, and have your camera on or off as you need.

Come drink in the music, meditation, play, and prayer.

We end with a Connection Cafe for those who wish to talk together.

This gathering happens monthly on the 4th Thursday of the month at 4:30 PT / 5:30 MT / 6:30 CT / 7:30 ET.

Register Now

• September 28

• October 26

• November 23

• December 28

• January 25

• February 22

• March 28

• April 25

• May 23

Connect

Monthly Mixers

Following the success of our virtual and in-person mixers for General Assembly, we're thrilled to announce our virtual monthly Side With Love Mixer.

This mixer will be held the 2nd Monday of every month at 5pm PT / 8pm ET.

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

Register now!

• September 11

• October 9

• November 13

• December 11

• January 8

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We continue to be committed to our four intersectional justice priorities, work that is even more urgent as we daily see attacks against our climate, democracy, reproductive rights, and our trans and non-binary beloveds.

Create Climate Justice

Register for our Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meetings, view past trainings, download our Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care toolkit, subscribe to our dedicated email newsletters for climate justice and the Green Sanctuary 2030 program, and plan a screen of our powerful event, Abolitionist Visions on Climate Justice, with UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt. Learn more.

UPLIFT Action

Sign up for our dedicated email on reproductive and gender justice (including trans rights), download our Congregational Reproductive Justice Action Guide, learn about our monthly gatherings for Trans/Non Binary+ UUs, and view our past trainings including Responding to Far Right/White Christian Nationalist Threats; “Moral Obligations Transcending Legal Codes”: The Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion; and The Body Politic: Faithful UUs Showing Up for Trans Justice. Learn more.

Love Resists

Find spiritual practices for challenging moments, connect with Stop Cop City organizing, subscribe to our dedicated Love Resists newsletter, download our curriculum for the 2021-2022 Common Read Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment; and view our training on arrestee support, What do we do when our conscience goes to jail?: UUs showing up for UUs who show up. Learn more.

UU the Vote

UU the Vote is now a proactive, year-round program to advance voting rights and democracy. Subscribe to our dedicated newsletter for campaign updates, learn about how UUs are protecting democracy throughout the year, and stay up-to-date on events and trainings. Learn more.

The regressive politicians who would force pregnant people to bear children against their will know their position is unacceptable to most voters. Accordingly, they’ve engaged in a systematic campaign to undermine the ability of citizens to use the ballot initiative process in the 24 states that enable proactive initiatives. 

Thankfully, many states only allow elected officials to propose changes to the initiative process and empower voters to accept or reject the proposal. Those states include Ohio, where voters overwhelmingly thwarted a referendum last week that would have raised the threshold to pass a ballot measure from a simple majority to a rarely-achieved 60 percent. The referendum was placed on the ballot by Republican legislators with the intent to stop Ohioans from passing an initiated constitutional amendment in November that would embed abortion rights in the state constitution. 

By a 14 percent margin, Ohioans voted down the invitation to undermine their own political power (Issue 1 on the ballot). While the GOP deliberately scheduled the referendum for a time with notoriously low turnout, voters showed up in force, more than quadrupling turnout from 8 percent last August to 38 percent this year.

Another state battle looms as Missouri Republicans also are seeking a way to obstruct the passage of an expected abortion rights initiative there. Such supermajority requirements are one of three broad categories of tactics currently in use to strip citizens of their lawmaking ability, along with erecting barriers to initiatives reaching the ballot and corrupting voters’ intent post-passage.

As with Issue 1, Unitarian Universalists will be working to register Ohio voters and encourage them to use their democratic power to enact policies reflecting their values and their communities.

Randy Partain, Minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland (a hub for signature gathering), notes that many of the folks gathering signatures to place the reproductive rights amendment on the ballot went through Side With Love’s organizing school last fall. They came through with hope, enthusiasm, and a new set of organizing tools,” said Partain.

Taking the Offensive to Protect Voting Rights

Of course, attacks on voting rights aren't limited to direct democracy, and when Congress returns from vacation in September, one of our key tasks will be to refocus their attention on the recently reintroduced Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA).

Attempts to pass restrictive, anti-voter bills, driven by GOP legislators, continue nationwide. At least 11 states already have enacted 13 restrictive voting laws this year, creating barriers for many eligible voters but disproportionately (and intentionally) impacting youth, voters of color, and voters with limited mobility. The FTVA is one essential piece of legislation to fill the gaps created by the U.S. Supreme Court's sabotage of the Voting Rights Act ten years ago with its Shelby v Holder ruling, which enabled states to enact many previously banned voter suppression schemes.

We expect the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will implement other needed voter protection measures, to be reintroduced this fall. The Unitarian Universalist Association is part of a team of more than 100 pro-democracy organizations that have united via Declaration for American Democracy, We also have great news to share! As of September, we’ll transform UU the Vote from a bi-annual campaign to a proactive, year-round program to advance voting rights and democracy as we add a Democracy Strategist will join the team.

Along with protecting citizens from being denied their vote, the FTVA includes key actions to shrink the influence of big money in politics, guarantees congressional districts provide fair representation for all, and creates national standards to ensure the integrity and security of federal elections. While the bill fell short of passage last year, it’s far too important to let go of. Please review the key elements of the FTVA, reach out to your community, and contact your federal representatives to demand passage of the FTVA.

One of the nation’s most culturally consequential referendums is underway in Atlanta.

Locals, professional UU organizers, other spiritually grounded activists—including your fellow volunteer UUs—and others from around the world are actively leaning into the work, going door-to-door and busy community sites to collect the signatures needed to bring this issue to a vote.

The City of Atlanta will contribute nearly $70 million to the deletion of at least 13,070,000 square feet of the Weelaunee Forest—developing it into a training ground that militarizes and equips police forces with the skills of insufficient care that (ironically) threaten the safety of the officers and (unironically) threaten the security of the community—if we don't collect enough signatures.

You can contribute to this referendum from wherever you reside, when—and how—you feel called. This is what UUs do.

Join us for the Week of Action July 27th - August 5th

• Online Volunteer Recruitment Phone Canvass Sign Up (Online | Thursday, July 27 at 7:00-8:30 PM ET / 6 CT / 5 MT / 4 PT)

• National Online Action for UUs Sign Up (Online | Thursday, August 3 at 7:00-8:00 PM ET / 6 CT / 5 MT / 4 PT)

• Stop Cop City Volunteer Recruitment Phone Canvass Sign Up (Online | Thursday, August 3 at 7:00-8:30PM ET / 6 CT / 5 MT / 4 PT)

• Weekend of Action Canvas to Stop Cop City Sign Up (Atlanta | Saturday, August 5 at 12:00-3:00 PM ET)

#LetAtlantaBreathe: A UU’s contribution to the #StopCopCity & #DefendTheForest movement.

The UU principle of interdependence may sequentially follow those of justice, peace, and dignity, but respecting, “the interdependent web of all existence” may be the bedrock of those other principles. Can you think of it as the unsurfaced molten rock, the magma of the other principles? Interdependence generates heat, heat generates energy, energy that is transferred to our work in human and environmental rights. What energy will you transfer on?

You have breathed the oxygen made by the trees of the Weelaunee Forest and you’ve felt the rain drops made by its water, too, regardless of where you live.

Such is the interdependence of things.

If the forest is disassembled and replaced by a “city” that trains police but is unable to house the many unhoused, if it is forced to relive being kidnapped from Native stewards and plundered for gain, then its energy is being mis-transferred and misused.

This is a moment of justice. As much as it feels like a fight, it is a moment for you to contribute to peace.

The idea of this development sprung from the protests following George Floyd’s murder. The corporate sponsors and police want to protect their interests, property and capital. We must protect and defend our collective interests: clean air, responsible stewardship of the land, safety and care for our neighbors, and a democratic and accountable government. For all of our collective interests, this project is an immediate threat.

We must #LetAtlantaBreathe.

Responding to the call to contribute, no matter where you are.

#StopCopCity & #DefendTheForest is historic, and you belong in its fold. This is what UUs do.

This referendum will be a first in the city’s 186-year history. Referendums are relatively common in other parts of the United States—particularly the west—but Georgia and the majority of southern states don’t have citizen-led processes like these because most states with enslaved people did not want to create the opportunity for people to directly decide on policies.

• Read the 2023 Action of Immediate Witness Stop Cop City

  As Unitarian Universalists, we recognize the momentum of collective action to demand social change, and we call upon the UUA and its member congregations to stop Cop City;

  As Unitarian Universalists, we will take action through self-organized phone zaps, mass email campaigns, personal and institutional divestment from banks funding Cop City construction, and other solidarity actions against investors, funders, and other corporate partners across the U.S. and Canada;

  As Unitarian Universalists, we will support those engaged in direct action to stop Cop City with spiritual and material resources, by writing letters to incarcerated activists and calling for their immediate release from jail, demanding that all charges against them be dropped, and providing spiritual care for protestors and survivors of police violence; and

  As Unitarian Universalists, we will continue to deepen our theological grounding in issues of environmental justice and policing.

• Donate Now

• Sign up form to get involved

To join, sign up for one of our Week of Action educational activities and learn about phone banking and canvassing. If you’re in Atlanta on Saturday, August 5, come collect signatures with us. Who else will you invite?

With the deepest gratitude and in solidarity,

Nicole Pressley
Field & Programs Director for Side With Love

The Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team is hiring!

Our Democracy Strategist will work with Unitarian Universalist individuals, congregations, and institutions to equip, engage and mobilize them for impactful, values-based pro-democracy organizing. This person will deepen collaborative organizing partnerships with secular and multifaith coalitions and organizations who are working on voting rights, electoral justice, building multi-racial democracy, and fighting authoritarianism and fascism.

If you have 5+ years’ experience with electoral and/or voting rights campaigns at the local, regional, and/or national level, look at the job description and apply!

Democracy Strategist

Title: Democracy Strategist

Location: Open*

Hours/Week: 35, with benefits

Purpose

To equip, engage, and mobilize Unitarian Universalist individuals, congregations, and institutions for impactful, values-based pro-democracy organizing through Side With Love’s campaigns and programs. To maintain and deepen collaborative organizing partnerships with secular and multifaith coalitions and organizations working in the areas of voting rights, electoral justice, building multi-racial democracy and fighting authoritarianism and fascism.

Principal Responsibilities

1. Serves as the lead strategist of the UU the Vote campaign; designs and leads the execution of a national, multi-strategy, hybrid program that engages our base to build power, deepen leadership capacity, and take impactful action in alignment with Unitarian Universalist values and pro-democratic movements for justice. Convenes the SWL team and related UUA partners to execute the strategy.

2. Creates year-round programming that incorporates longer-term democracy organizing with short-term campaign work related to electoral cycles, including primaries, direct democracy campaigns, ballot initiatives and referenda, and general elections.

3. Manages and develops strategic partnerships. Nurtures and serves as primary liaison for partnerships between UU congregations and statewide, regional and national partners within the broader ecosystem of pro-democracy and voting work.

4. Designs accessible, inspiring volunteer recruitment and training strategies that allow UUs with diverse identities, skills, capacities, and passions to meaningfully participate in electoral and pro-democracy work.

5. Identifies strategic opportunities within the democracy and voting rights landscape to mobilize UU communities for concrete, impactful, on-the-ground engagement with non-partisan campaigns in key places. In consultation with the Field Organizing team, identifies and provides direct support to these congregations/communities to develop leadership, grow capacity and skill, and mobilize in support of local and state campaigns and movements.

6. Engages in regular assessment of program effectiveness and impact, including qualitative and quantitative metrics. Provides comprehensive annual analysis and reporting on the overall program.

7. Oversees online programs that support UU the Vote leaders around the country, including coaching, political education, organizing training, and spiritual grounding. In consultation with Field Organizing Team, develops training programs to equip volunteer leaders and congregational teams with the concrete skills needed to develop organizing plans for their own religious communities, and effectively recruit and mobilize fellow congregants to carry out those strategies.

8. Plans and executes in-person and online gatherings to train, coordinate, and mobilize UUs and their partners at critical moments.

9. Supports the use and implementation of voter contact tools and other technologies, such as dialers, mobile apps, and the voter file for UU participants.

10. Stays up-to-date on electoral landscape and provides briefing for UUA staff, UU partners, and congregations.

11. Researches and analyzes electoral and voting rights landscape of target states.

12. Supervises UU the Vote Fellows, interns, and other UU the Vote-specific paid or volunteer staff.

13. Other responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

This is exempt Grade 12 position (expected hiring range of $62,000-$70,000 depending on experience). Note that qualifications may be met as a result of lived experience, volunteer work, professional experience, and/or formal or informal training. Requirements include:

• Must be able to work independently and be highly self-motivated, demonstrate creative problem-solving and excellent professional judgment, possess resiliency and ability to work in a rapidly changing and fast-paced environment

• 5+ years’ experience with electoral and/or voting rights campaigns at the local, regional, and/or national level

• Experience managing program or organization budgets

• Preferred proficiency with digital tools critical for organizing, such as EveryAction, VAN, Slack, dialers, Google Suite and social media platforms

• Excellent skills in building and maintaining partner and constituent relationships, including strong preference for experience working with faith leaders, congregations, and coalitions

• Commitment to developing organizing strategies and partnerships that align with Unitarian Universalist values and principles.

• Ability to act collaboratively and flexibly as a member of a remote staff team, including proficiency with technologies such as Google docs, Slack, Asana, Zoom, etc.

• Solid verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Proven ability to design and facilitate group experiences (in person and remotely) that engage, educate, and empower participants to deepen their leadership skills and mobilize others to work for justice.

• Deep commitment to countering systems of oppression and leading with intercultural fluency and humility. Worked or lived experience with Black/Indigenous/communities of color, LGBTQIA+ communities, and poor and/or rural communities is of particular value.

• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

• Ability to travel if and when pandemic conditions allow

• Willingness to work with volunteers whose schedules require convening meetings and events on evenings or weekends.

* Location is open in the continental United States. You should have easy access to a major airport due to the travel requirements of this position.

How to Apply

People with disabilities, people of color, indigenous people, Hispanic/Latinx, and LGBTQ candidates are encouraged to apply. The UUA is committed to developing a diverse and talented staff team. If you are excited about this role, but are unsure whether you meet 100% of the requirements, we encourage you to inquire and/or apply. Send cover letter and résumé—indicating “Democracy Strategist ” in the subject line—via e-mail to careers @ uua.org, via fax to (617) 948-6467, or to Human Resources, UUA, 24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210. E-mail submissions preferred.

About the UUA

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive religious denomination headquartered in Boston’s waterfront Fort Point Innovation District. Our faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations brings to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance, and social justice. Our normal workweek is 35 hours, we pay 80% contribution towards health insurance premiums, 10% towards retirement (after one year), and have generous paid time-off policies.

We are a great place to work and we value diversity. The UUA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to the full inclusion of all. As part of this commitment, the UUA will ensure that applicants and staff with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact the Office of Human Resources at (617) 948-4648 or humanresources@uua.org.

Proof of a full course vaccination against COVID-19 is a requirement of employment, in alignment with the UUA's commitments to science and equity, protecting those who are most vulnerable. Medical exemptions are considered upon recommendation from a provider.

Please contact the Office of Human Resources at (617) 948-4648 or humanresources@uua.org. For more information on the UUA, visit us online at UUA.org and uuworld.org.

Support for the Mission and Values of the Association

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a progressive and historic religious denomination. While it is not generally required or expected that an applicant/employee identify as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) or be a member of a UU congregation in order to work at the UUA, all UUA staff members are expected to perform their job duties in accordance with the UUA’s values, principles and mission. In particular the following points, drawn from the Seven UU Principles, are of particular importance for the UUA’s work environment and staff culture:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every human being: We affirm the need for a human-centered workplace that allows our diverse staff to flourish. We also understand that our wider culture and society oppresses and denies human dignity, and we seek to counter the effects of that oppression in our hiring and workplace culture so that each person feels whole and valued.

• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations, and the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all: We speak openly and publicly of our support for social and political issues, including LGBTQ equity, racial justice, climate justice, gender equity, and reproductive justice.

• The interdependent web of existence: We recognize that the liberation of all people is interwoven, and we work to counter patriarchy, white supremacy, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, environmental exploitation, and other interrelated systems of marginalization.

As part of this commitment, the UUA will ensure that applicants and staff with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.

When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something. – John Lewis

 Today would have been John Lewis’ 83rd birthday. Millions of people have been inspired by Lewis’ courageous commitment to racial justice and electoral justice. Along with other people of faith and conscience like James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, John Lewis is a spiritual elder and ancestor who invites us to side with love rather than fear. 

Last year, hundreds of UU congregations and individual UUs worked tirelessly ahead of the 2022 election, which helped us reach more than 2 million voters during a time when voter suppression was strong. Inspired by Lewis’ famous quote – Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. –  UU the Vote debuted Good Trouble Congregations, an ambitious effort for congregations to support democracy in their communities with the following goals:

• Average 20 postcards or letters per member

• Average 200 text messages per member

• Average 20 calls per member

• Average 20 doorknocks per member

• Reach 20 percent volunteer engagement

• Average 2 newly registered voters per member

• At least 2 congregants are line warmers, poll workers, or poll watchers

We are delighted and thrilled to announce the congregations who fulfilled 4 or more of the above criteria to become Good Trouble Congregations.

• Aiken Unitarian Universalist Church (SC)

• All Souls Church Unitarian (DC) 

• All Souls Unitarian Universalist Congregation (CO)

• Bay de Noc UU Fellowship (MI)

• Borderlands UU (AZ)

• Chalice UU Fellowship of the Conejo Valley (CA)

• Georgia Mountains Unitarian Universalist Church (GA)

• High Plains Church Unitarian Universalist (CO)

• Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church (WI)

• Unitarian Society of New Haven (CT)

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Surprise (AZ)

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Spartanburg (SC)

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester (MA)

• Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica (CA)

• Unitarian Universalist Community of the Mountains (CA)

• Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport (CT)

• Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick (MD)

• Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady (NY)

• Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington (MI)

• UU Congregation of Caldwell County (NC)

• UU Congregation of Phoenix (AZ)

• UU Fellowship of Marshfield (WI)

• UU Westside Congregation (NM)

• Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation (AZ)

Join us on February 28 at 7:00pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT for the Good Trouble Congregation Celebration. Come hear from partners, President Susan Frederick-Gray and keynote speaker Tiffany Flowers from The Frontline.  There will be a special recognition ceremony for congregations as well as folks who served as poll workers and Election Defenders. 

RSVP for the Good Trouble Congregation Celebration on February 28th!

We are delighted and honored to announce The Frontline’s Campain Director Tiffany Flowers will be the Keynote speaker for our Good Trouble Congregations Celebration on Tuesday, February 28 at 7pm ET/4pm PT.

She will join Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray and other special guests, including our Good Trouble Congregations!

The Frontline was our lead partner in training crucial Election Defenders in 2020 and 2022, and is a powerful coalition made up of  Working Families Organization, Working Families Party, United We Dream Action, and by the Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project. 

RSVP Now

“Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Late Rep. John Lewis’ words call on us to find the moral courage to build democracy and society where all of us can thrive. It calls on us to be uncomfortable, to take risks, to engage our communities and face injustice with prophetic imagination and action.

From phonebanks, talking to neighbors, and showing up at the polls and drop boxes to protect voter access, the stories and activities of our UU the Vote community has been inspiring. On February 28, let us share those stories, celebrate our work, and prepare for the work ahead. Join us on February 28 at 7:00pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT for the Good Trouble Celebration.

I'm In!

When we organize, we build power in our communities for justice, accountability, and healing. In the last two years, UU the Vote has built new networks of spiritual and political communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate. We know what's at stake; LGBTQ rights, abortion access, voting rights and democracy itself are all on ballots all over the country

 With UU the Vote 2022 we’re organizing on the state and local levels to fight for fair elections, advance voting rights, protect abortion access, and resist the targeting and criminalization of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities. 

 Last weekend, we officially launched UU the Vote 2022 and you're invited to join us!

• Watch and share the recording of UU the Vote 2022 Launch

• Download the new 2022 UU the Vote Launch Guide

• Download the slides from the event

UU the Vote Campaign Manager JaZahn Hicks shares his two asks now that we've launched:

“I know the amazing work that you all did in 2020, and hearing from you at the launch, I can see how you did it. You are all dedicated, passionate, fired up about justice and grounded in your faith and principles. We lift up and are truly thankful for those of you who have already started the hard work in your congregations and communities, and we want to hear about it!”

1) Get counted! We know many of you are already acting in primary elections, voter registration drives, and much more. Share your work in the Story and Report form and give your work counted in our national goals.

2) No good campaign can exist without a good volunteer base. Volunteers are the backbone of every movement and ours is no different. We need YOU! We need phonebankers, canvassers, tech and data specialists, trainers, volunteer coordinators and so much more if we are going to be successful in 2022. Be a part of that.

Find a role that works for you at our Volunteer Activation Huddle, Apr 21, 2022, 7:30pm-8:30pm EST! Sign up and share the link to 5 of your friends.

This campaign is only going to work when we all get involved. We have opportunities all over the country and priorities we need to address and we can’t do it alone. We have to join together and fight for our beliefs, our values and our democracy. Take that next step with us on April 21st at 730pm EST. I hope to see you all there."

Right now the Michigan governor is deciding whether or not to appoint an "Emergency Financial Manager" (EFM) for the city of Detroit.  A Michigan political blog, the Eclectablog, points out that if the governor does so, 49% of African-Americans in the state of Michigan will be residing in places under EFM rule.

Why this is such a big deal, and why the EFM law is such a big deal to begin with, is that an EFM replaces local democratically-elected government with a person appointed by the governor.  The people residing in cities run by an EFM still have a mayor and city council, but the mayor and city council no longer make any financial decisions, which is to say they have extremely limited power.

Here's Rachel Maddow, a year ago, as the first city, Benton Harbor, was getting its EFM explaining how this is anti-democratic. (She starts talking about the EFM law about six minutes in.)





If you think this isn't really anti-democratic, consider this...  Last November, Michigan voters voted to repeal the EFM law.  It was the only one of six ballot issues where the vote didn't go our governor's way.  And Michigan voters thought this would do away with the EFM law and restore democracy.  What did our governor and legislature do in response to this clear statement from the Michigan electorate?  They promptly replaced it with extremely similar legislation.  It was one of those lame-duck legislation pieces they swept through this year along with making us a right-to-work state and a host of other things (reproductive freedom curtailed, prisons privatized...).  But this time they did the same trick to it that they did to the right-to-work legislation: they tied it to appropriations so that this time it's not subject to voter referendum.  Yes, that's right.  Our government heard the will of the people to repeal something, and then replaced it with the same thing but in a way that makes it impossible to repeal.  And they did so so that they could replace democratically elected government with appointed officials.  Governor Snyder said, "This legislation demonstrates that we clearly heard, recognized and respected the will of the voters."   Well, heard and recognized, anyway.  I think it would be more truthfully phrased, "We clearly heard, recognized, and have found a way to work around."

This is what we call "democracy" in Michigan these days.  And you can say it's not another sign of the New Jim Crow if you want, but African-Americans in this state in particular are losing voting rights regardless.