[JTWNews] A New Level of Faith & Activism

[Susan Leslie]

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JOURNEY TOWARD WHOLENESS (JTW) NEWS

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Dear JTW-News Readers:

New coalitions are emerging to end the war in Iraq, prevent climate
change, stop the genocide in Darfur, defeat the anti-gay same-sex
marriage bans, hold corporations accountable for their actions, and
address the ongoing neglect in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  UUs are
rising to the challenge of living out our faith and working to solve
these huge problems and create a just society.  In entering into this
holy work, this work for justice, some exciting new relationships and
partnerships between people of faith and advocacy groups have formed
that UUs are participating in.  This issue brings news of these
developments and specific, concrete actions that your congregation can
participate in.  Together we can actually make a difference, act, and
speak out for peace and justice on the planet.   

- Susan


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(1) A Season of Prayer and Action for Justice after Katrina - March
1-April 15

(2) Shareholder Advocacy Teleconference Workshop-March 4

(3) Witness on 3rd Anniversary of Iraq War - March 19

(4) Earth Sunday Services & Earth Day Events - April 22-23

(5) A Million Voices for Darfur Campaign - Now - May 1

(6) Update on Marriage Protection Amendment - June 5

(7) Lasermonks! - Office Supplies that Fund Charitable Giving

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(1)   A SEASON OF PRAYER AND ACTION FOR JUSTICE AFTER KATRINA - MARCH
1-APRIL 15

Holding candles and signs while singing hymns, hundreds of congregations
across the country will conduct prayer vigils and visit their
congressional representative to mark the six-month anniversary of the
Katrina disaster.  Major denominations, national faith-based organizing
groups, organizers of Gulf Coast survivors and national policy and
organizing groups will call for six weeks of prayer and action, starting
on the weekend of March 3-5.

A new coalition, the National Alliance to Restore Opportunity to Gulf
Coast Survivors, http://www.linkedfate.org/supporters.html is calling on
the Washington leadership to rebuild the Gulf Region promptly, to
provide support for displaced Gulf residents and to bring federal
resources to the region without cutting other human needs programs. 

The NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People), the Gamaliel Foundation (a network of 1,600 congregations in 18
states), ACORN, the People Improving Communities Through Organizing
(PICO, a network of 1000 congregations in 17 states, including LA),
Sojourners, Call for Renewal, Smart Growth America, the Kirwan
Institute, Policylink, TIKKUN Community, Clergy Strategic Alliances, the
Civil Rights Project of Harvard University, Center for Social Inclusion
and Earth House  are the primary organizers.

For more information see
http://www.gamaliel.org/NewsFromGamaliel03.01.htm 

[Note to readers, Dr. John Powell keynoted the last UU Urban Church
Conference and dozens of UU congregations work with the Gamaliel
Foundation organizations.  We only just learned about this effort and
will send more information as this initiative develops.]

 
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(2)   SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY TELECONFERENCE WORKSHOP - MARCH 4

Please join the Committee for Socially Responsible Investing (CSRI) for
our third Free SRI Telephone Conference Workshop on Making a Difference
with Ideals, Impact and Involvement.  This one is on Involvement -
Shareholder Activism -- Saturday, March 4th, 1:00-2:00 PM EST.

This season the UUA has engaged in shareholder advocacy on issues of
global warning, non-discrimination policies on sexual orientation and
gender identity, reporting on HIV/AIDS by corporations doing business in
Africa, and various corporate governance policies.  

To join the teleconference, call (866) 868-1054, code 1571617. 

The presentations (Power Point or PDF version) are now up on our website
at: http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/ (Our web folks guarantee that these
will be up today so please check back if you don't see the March 4th
presentation on Shareholder Advocacy up yet!)

Details for all the teleconference workshops on the flyer posted at
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/SRI-TeleConference-Flyer.pdf .

 
Please register with Audra Friend at afriend at uua.org. 

To sign-up for SRI-News (an announcement only list that comes out 9
times per year) go to http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/sri-news  

 
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(3)   WITNESS ON 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF IRAQ WAR - MARCH 19

The Social Justice Committee of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church
of Kansas City MO is co-sponsoring with the Kansas City Iraq Task Force
a commemoration of the third anniversary of the Iraq War on Sunday,
March 19 at 3 p.m. at the JC Nichols Fountain.   Participants will hold
placards with the face and information about a US soldier who has died
in the war.  Flyers with names of Iraqi civilians who have died will
also be held.  Large banners with colorful ribbons attached each ribbon
with the name of a dead US soldier or Iraqi civilian on it will be
displayed.  Speakers and music will round out the event which will also
include a solemn ceremony paying tribute to the war dead.  Contact:
Caron Wells, Social Justice Chair at CaronWells at aol.com.

Let us know what your congregation is planning.  Write to Susan Leslie
at sleslie at uua.org or post your news to the Social Justice Bulletin
Board at
http://www.uua.org/programs/forums/index.php?action=vtopic&forum=1.

 
Win Without War, the national coalition the UUA participates in, will be
posting a calendar of events soon.  See
http://www.winwithoutwarus.org/html/calendar.htm .

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(4)  EARTH SUNDAY SERVICES & EARTH DAY EVENTS - APRIL 22-23

Host an Earth Day Sunday, Address Global Warming 

As UU Congregations across the country focus their attention on
consideration of a Statement of Conscience on Global Warming, the
Congregational Office of Advocacy and Witness, UU Ministry for Earth,
and Earth Day Network have joined hands to bring your congregation
resources for planning one or more congregational activities during
April in conjunction with Earth Day 2006, April 22.

Materials for holding a Sunday Service and for various advocacy
initiatives including an Interfaith Power and Light dialogue are
available.  See http://www.uua.org/news/congpacket/mar2006/earthday.pdf
for more information.

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(5) A MILLION VOICES FOR DARFUR CAMPAIGN - NOW - MAY 1

 
UUA Responds: Save the People of Darfur

Ways Your Congregation Can Participate in the Million Voices For Darfur
Campaign http://www.uua.org/news/darfur/dafur_actions.pdf.

The overall goal of the Million Voices Campaign is to raise the level of
public awareness and outcry so that President Bush and Congress take
significant action. To that end, the UUA, UU Service Committee, and
other partners in the campaign will collect one million postcards from
concerned people across the country. 

**We're hoping to collect 25,000 postcards from Unitarian Universalists
before the Rally for Darfur in Washington, DC, on April 30 and May 1.
See http://www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org.

See President Bill Sinkford's appeal for UU involvement at
http://www.uua.org/news/darfur/.

See http://www.uua.org/news/darfur/congaction.html for more information.

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(6) UPDATE ON MARRIAGE PROTECTION AMENDMENT - JUNE 5

>From the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy:

As you may have already learned, Senator Bill Frist has announced that
the Senate will vote on the so-called "Marriage Protection Amendment"
(MPA) on June 5th of this year.  While this gives us a bit more time
before the vote than we expected, we should continue to intensify our
organizing.  Although a similar amendment was rejected by a bipartisan
majority in 2004, same-sex marriage is often used as a wedge issue in
election years, and we expect 2006 to be no different.  Please help us
diffuse the impact of this amendment; make it clear that you oppose any
attempt to write discrimination into the Constitution, and to use
same-sex marriage as a political tool.  Make sure you know the facts
about marriage equality and are able to articulate why it is important
to you as a person of faith.  Check out www.ngltf and
http://www.nbjcoalition.org/jump_broom1.pdf for some good resources on
marriage equality from a variety of perspectives.  

The UUA Washington Office will also be unveiling new resources on
marriage equality as a matter of faith; stay tuned for more on this
soon.
Contact Elizabeth Bukey, Legislative Assistant for Civil Rights and
Religious Liberty 202-296-4672. x22; ebukey at uua.org.

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(7) LASERMONKS! - OFFICE SUPPLIES THAT FUND CHARITABLE GIVING

That's right, LaserMonks, the brothers of Cisterian Abbey Our Lady of
Spring Bank in Wisconson sell inexpensive office products and give the
profits to charities. 

Go to  http://www.lasermonks.com for more information.


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
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