[JTWNews] UUA Takes on Racism & Poverty

[Susan Leslie]

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JOURNEY TOWARD WHOLENESS (JTW) NEWS
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Dear JTW-News Readers:

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has brought into sharp relief the
intersecting oppressions of race and class in America. As part of
addressing these systemic issues, and as people of faith called to
witness, the UUA has joined some key strategic interfaith initiatives to
address the ills of poverty and racism in our society and work towards
their eradication. Clearly, the more congregations that join in these
efforts the stronger they will be and our collective voice as UUs will
be amplified. I believe that we are at a moment that we cannot afford to
miss.

Below you will find information about several interfaith initiatives and
a new project to assist UU congregations in becoming anti-racist
multicultural communities (Requests for Proposals for the Anti-Racist
Multicultural Welcoming Congregation Project--Deadline Dec. 2nd.)

Also in this issue: UUA President to Co-Lead Commemorative Voting Rights
March with Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, Boston, Oct. 30th.

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**Nov. 13th is Moral Approach Sunday. On that day, thousands of
congregations will premier director Robert Greenwald's newest film,
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Unable to find a distributor for
this film, Greenwald--director of Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential
Election, Unconstitutional, Uncovered: The War in Iraq, and
Outfoxed--has joined with interfaith and community groups to launch a
grassroots screenings campaign. Over 3,000 screenings are already
planned to be held during the week of Nov. 13th-19th in congregations,
schools, workplaces, community centers and homes. The UUA, the UU
Service Committee, and UUs for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) are
sponsors. Please join the over 60 UU congregations that have already
signed up to sponsor a screening. The UUA will be hosting a screening on
Wed., Nov. 17th. 

Please see below for how to sign up to host a screening and receive the
film. Also included is information on incorporating this theme into your
Sunday worship service and suggestions for sermons.

**The UUA has also joined the Let Justice Roll/Faith & Community Voices
Against Poverty Living Wage Campaign (and to raise the minimum wage). We
are asking that you plan your Martin Luther King Weekend Service to be
part of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Days. We will be sending our
more information in the days ahead but ask that you HOLD THE DATE. And
we are supporting the Higher Ground interfaith efforts for a just
recovery in New Orleans. 

As Bill Sinkford wrote after the human disaster that followed the
natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina: We are a gentle and generous
people. But let us not forget our anger. May it fuel not only our
commitment to compassion but also our commitment to make fundamental
changes. Our vision of the Beloved Community must stand against a vision
that would allow the privilege of the few to be accepted as just and
even holy. Our religious vision must again and again ask the Gospel
question "Who is my neighbor" and strive always to include more and more
of us as we intone the words that gave birth to this nation, "We the
people..." 

In faith, Susan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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(1) MORAL APPROACH SUNDAY - Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price - FILM
Screenings

(2) LET JUSTICE ROLL Living Wage Campaign & MLK Weekend

(3) HIGHER GROUND Interfaith effort for a just recovery in New Orleans

(4) UUA PRESIDENT TO CO-LEAD VOTING RIGHTS MARCH with Congressman John
Lewis, Oct. 30th in Boston

(5) RFPs FOR the Anti-Racist Multicultural Welcoming Congregation
Project (Deadline Dec. 2nd).

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(1) MORAL APPROACH SUNDAY - Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Screenings

Many are asking why the faith community should get involved in the fight
to improve Wal-Mart's business model. Martin Luther King, Jr. said,
"Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes
through the tireless efforts of men (and women) willing to be co-workers
with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the
forces of social stagnation." Progress will only come when people of
good will stand and speak for those who suffer unduly from economic
subterfuge, deficient health care plans, and inconsolable environmental
practices. For more information on A Moral Approach Sunday see
http://www.walmartmovie.com/sunday.php
<http://www.walmartmovie.com/sunday.php> . 

>From UUs for a Just Economic Community:

HOST A SCREENING OF THE NEW WAL-MART MOVIE!

Over 60 UU congregations in 26 states from Maine to California have
signed on to host a screening of the new Robert Greenwald film,
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. This action launches UUJEC's
"Unmasking Wal-Mart and other Big Box Retailers '05-'06 Action Campaign.
UUs for a Just Economic Community is an official sponsor of the
week-long movie launch that starts November 13th with movie screenings
and discussions organized by religious communities across the country.
Our intention is to hold Wal-Mart accountable for unjust practices that
impoverish workers and threaten communities. We want UU congregations to
show the movie and let our communities know that Unitarian Universalists
stand up for justice! Screenings can occur at your congregation, in
homes, public places, whatever makes sense. Make it a party! This is a
great way to get youth and young adults involved in social justice.

Follow these steps to sign up and order the DVD Screening Kit ($10 cost
includes promotion materials and a discussion guide. 

SIGN UP to HOST a screening at
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php?track=uujec
<http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php?track=uujec>  

PRE-ORDER the DVD at http://www.walmartmovie.com/watch.php?track=uujec
<http://www.walmartmovie.com/watch.php?track=uujec>  

LIST your screening date and location at
http://www.walmartmovie.com/host2.php
<http://www.walmartmovie.com/host2.php> . In the next month, millions of
people will be going online to find a movie place and time that works
for them. You can open your event to the public or limit it to a
particular audience (private screening). You can identify your preferred
option on the website form. No matter which option you choose, please
fill out the form so you get everything you need to make your screening
a success. 

LET UUJEC KNOW that you signed up to host and a few details about your
plans. 

And please check out UUJEC's Campaign Tool Box at http://www.uujec.org
<http://www.uujec.org/> . It contains ideas for action, a "No to Big Box
Retailing Pledge," a commentary on why UUs should be involved as people
of faith, facts, resource articles, videos, and websites, a video
discussion guide, sermons, and much more. You can start by reading
excerpts online and then order the complete Tool Box from UUJEC's office
(ordering instructions can be found at our website). FFI: contact Betsy
Allis, Campaign Co-Chair, at erallis at aol.com.

FOR sample sermons, bulletin inserts and a faith resource kit see
Interfaith Outreach Wal-Mart Watch at www.walmartwatch.com
<outbind://61/www.walmartwatch.com> . 

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(2) LET JUSTICE ROLL Living Wage Campaign

The Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign www.letjusticeroll.org
<outbind://61/www.letjusticeroll.org>  an interfaith and community
initiative to raise the minimum wage nationally and in selected states.
The non-partisan campaign will officially launch with a press conference
on November 7, 2005 and continue through the November 2006 elections. 

Many faith and community groups are alarmed by the increasing numbers of
people living in poverty in this nation. Most recently, the tragic
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought the plight of poverty in
America into sharp relief. Since the last minimum wage increase was
passed in 1997, the value has eroded by more than 15 percent.
Consequently, to have the purchasing power it had in 1968, for example,
the minimum wage would have to be over $9.05/hour today, $3.90 more than
it is today at $5.15.

The Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign is working to raise the
minimum wage at both the federal and state levels. At the federal level,
the campaign is supporting legislation currently before both Houses of
Congress. At the state level, plans are underway to support initiatives
in several states including Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, and Arkansas.
Further, the campaign is in touch with work going on in several other
states including Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, California, Colorado and
elsewhere. An organizer is already in the field in Ohio. Organizers will
be in the field in Michigan and Arizona very soon. In each of these
states, the initial work will focus on getting the issue before the
electorate through ballot initiatives. 

Holding a Let Justice Roll Living Wage Worship Service or Event on
Martin Luther King. Jr. Weekend is a powerful way to educate and
mobilize your congregation and/or community to support and act for
raising the minimum wage. Testimonials from low-wage workers struggling
for a better quality of life and for their dignity should be at the
heart of your service or event. Followed by on-the-spot and ongoing
advocacy efforts, these services and events can create transformative
partnerships between low-income workers and families and your faith
community or network. Offerings, collections and fundraising are also a
sustaining part of putting your faith and values into action.

By honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday in this way, we
remember that he died in the midst of supporting striking sanitation
workers - garbage collectors - in Memphis TN. 

A Let Justice Roll position paper on a Moral Wage and MLK Living Wage
Days Worship Resources will be available soon! 

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(3) FROM HIGHER GROUND Interfaith effort for a just recovery in New
Orleans

Recently, the Los Angeles Times reported that, "the administration has
yet to introduce legislation for two of the three proposals the
president highlighted during his September speech from New Orleans." 

So we've joined in making a promise of our own. 

Faith Voices is working with a coalition pressing for justice for
Katrina survivors. It's called Higher Ground and its Promise calls upon
our national leaders to ensure that the federal budget reflects the
moral values of our nation. Specifically: 

Pay workers the "prevailing" or average wage for public construction
projects. 

Provide healthcare to all Katrina survivors. 

Ensure federal contracts to rebuild the region will help strengthen
local businesses. 

Ensure that affordable housing is included in the rebuilding plan. 

Listen to the radio ad at the Higher Ground web site. Make a donation to
Higher Ground. See http://highergroundpromise.org/index.html
<http://highergroundpromise.org/index.html> .

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(4) UUA PRESIDENT TO CO-LEAD VOTING RIGHTS MARCH with Congressman John
Lewis, Oct. 30th in Boston

On October 30th you and members of your congregation and friends can be
part of history. The Massachusetts Council on the Humanities is helping
to present "Retracing the Struggle: The Legacy of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965 ." The Retracing the Struggle for Voting Rights Act March will
re-enact the march from Selma to Montgomery that initiated the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. In the aftermath of the violent assault on peaceful
marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on "Bloody Sunday," hundreds of UU
ministers and laity answered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s call to come
to Selma. In the following days and weeks, James Reeb, a UU minister,
and Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a UU from Detroit, MI, would sacrifice their
lives for the cause of civil rights. In commemoration of that historic
march and as a reminder that the struggle for equality in voter rights
still exists, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and UUA President Bill
Sinkford will be leading the commemorative 2.5 mile march from Dudley
Square to the Boston Common. MORE >>
http://www.uua.org/president/051019_voting.html
<http://www.uua.org/president/051019_voting.html> .

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(5) RFPs FOR the Anti-Racist Multicultural Welcoming Congregation
Project (Deadline Dec. 2nd).

Anti-Racist Multicultural Welcoming Congregation is the working title
for a new congregationally-based program that seeks to provide another
path to helping Unitarian Universalist congregations become more
welcoming, affirming and inclusive of racial/ethnic/cultural diversity,
and to dismantle racism in congregations and the larger community. In
2004, the UUA sponsored a multigenerational consultation of racially,
ethnically, and culturally diverse religious professionals and lay
leaders to envision goals and components for the curriculum.

We invite proposals from Unitarian Universalist curriculum developers,
adult educators, and anti-racism and multicultural education
professionals. Submissions may be made by individuals or by a team. We
encourage and welcome diversity in terms of race/ethnicity, disability,
sexual orientation, age, and gender/gender identity. NOTE: A UUA Project
Staff Team will select the curriculum developer/s in January 2006.
Project deadlines are June 30, 2006 for the curriculum draft and
September 30, 2006 for the completed curriculum. 

For details and more information go to
http://www.uua.org/programs/idbm/05proposals.html
<http://www.uua.org/programs/idbm/05proposals.html> .

But it is still the case that the most frequently asked question I
receive as I travel the country is how we can become more racially and
culturally diverse. My response, always, is that the objective of
finding a few more dark faces to make our white members feel better
about themselves is not spiritually grounded. Nor will it be successful.
Racial and cultural diversity will, I pray, come to Unitarian
Universalism. But it will come as we become known as a faith community
that strives to live our open hearted theology, and a faith community
that is willing to be an ally in the struggle for justice. -- William G.
Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association, General
Assembly Fort Worth, TX (June 2005). 

Susan Leslie

Director for Congregational Advocacy and Witness

Unitarian Universalist Association

25 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02108

(617) 948-4607; sleslie at uua.org

www.uua.org/justice <outbind://61/www.uua.org/justice> 

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