[Sac-news] Now is the Time to Keep Witnessing!

Thu Oct 26 18:07:40 EDT 2006

****************************************
SOCIAL ACTION CHAIR (SAC) NEWS
****************************************

Dear SAC-News Readers:

We are having some real success in raising our liberal religious
perspective for social justice!  Often we are in "losing forward" mode
but we are there bearing witness and providing support and hope for all
who care about equality for the bglt community, ending the war in Iraq,
stopping torture, and all oppression.  And through our organizing
efforts we are gaining ground, gaining allies, and becoming known as a
church that walks its talk for justice.  Now is the time, during the
electoral season, to keep on witnessing and organizing on issues that
matter to us as people of faith and conscience to make sure that our UU
perspectives on public policy issues are heard and are part of the
public dialogue.

In this issue you will find:

1) A statement from UUA President Rev. William Sinkford commending
yesterday's NJ Court Ruling on Marriage along with resources for
challenging anti-marriage ballot initiatives and a report from the UUs
opposing a constitutional amendment in South Carolina.

2) News from the Social Action Committee of the UU Church of Bowling
Green Kentucky on their participation in the Declaration of Peace
Campaign (they organized a vigil and received front page coverage in the
local paper); a UUA Statement on the mounting death toll in Iraq and
resources for congregational advocacy and witness on the Iraq war. 

3) Follow-up on Rev. Kathleen McTigue's (Senior Minister of the
Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT) appearance on the O'Reilly Factor
addressing torture.  Including links to view the show! This 5 min. clip
is useful for learning how to speak from a faith perspective on
political issues.

4) Electoral resources for congregations to put our faith into action:
IRS Rules, State Ballot Initiatives (Raising the Minimum Wage, Opposing
Constitutional Amendments Banning Same Sex Marriage) and More.

5) Information about a campaign by the Oneida Tribe Trust Committee, one
of our partners in Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, has
initiated to stop the sale of Indian costumes for Halloween.  And...

6) Next UUA Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Teleconference on
Shareholder Advocacy this Saturday, Oct. 28, 1 pm EDT.  Learn how to
change corporate behavior and promote ethical business models.

Thanks for all that you do to promote justice.  Keep your stories
coming!

In faith, Susan

**Note:  SAC-News Readers may also want to read the UUA Washington
Office Advocacy News.

Oct. 20th Issue: Poll Parties & What to Wear to Them
http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/article.php?id=884 

------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
------------------

Updates: News & Resources from UUA and UU Congregations on:

1) Marriage Equality
2) Iraq War
3) Speaking Out Against Torture
4) Mid-Term Elections
5) Stopping the Sale of Indian Costumes for Halloween
6) SRI Teleconference on Shareholder Advocacy, Oct. 28th

-------------------------------------------

1) UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST PRESIDENT COMMENDS COURT RULING IN NJ MARRIAGE
CASE STATEMENT BY THE REV. WILLIAM G. SINKFORD, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONS

(October 25, 2006) I welcome today's ruling by the New Jersey Supreme
Court in which it was decided that "the unequal dispensation of rights
and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated"
under that state's constitution. The Unitarian Universalist Association
has a long-standing and deeply held religious commitment to support
civil equality for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people, and
today's ruling ensures that the legal protections enjoyed by married
heterosexual couples in New Jersey will also be available to committed
same-sex couples. 

For full statement and resources for congregations working for marriage
equality see http://www.uua.org/president/061025_ftm.html.

***CONGREGATIONS ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA ARE UNITING TO FIGHT A PROPOSED
STATE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD BAN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Laura Morris, Social Action Chair,[LSM21643 at aol.com] Unitarian Church in
Charleston reports that several UU congregations have passed resolutions
opposing the amendment, and many congregations are raising public
awareness about the issue.  UU churches in Beaufort, Charleston,
Columbia, Greenville, Hilton Head, Spartanburg have joined a coalition
fighting against this amendment that includes NOW,ACLU, PFLAG, League of
Women Voters, Hadassah, Beaufort Republicans, SC AFL-CIO, National
Assoc. of Social Workers, People for the American Way, and the SC
Democratic Party.  Ahead of the vote, Unitarian Church in Charleston
will be showing "The Color of Fear 3"
(http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/coloroffear3.htm), a documentary
exploring the fears, stereotypes, and moral issues that are dividing our
country, facilitated by a former County Council Chairman.  The Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship of Columbia was featured in an article on
www.thestate.com for their resolution against the amendment, saying it
"will jeopardize the physical, emotional, legal and financial well being
of same-sex couples and their children."

***************************************

2) DEATH TOLL MOUNTS IN IRAQ: HOW CAN WE RESPOND?

On October 11, 2006, a study released by The Johns Hopkins University
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimated the number of
Iraqi civilian deaths due to the US invasion of Iraq three years ago to
be more than 650,000. Since the release of the report, the exact number
has been debated, but the headlines from Iraq have been clear: people
are dying every day. A Washington Post headline from October 23, 2006,
told the story of fifteen Iraqi police recruits shot dead, twenty-five
Iraqis injured, and twenty kidnapped as they traveled by bus to Baghdad.
Four US troops were also killed, and October has become the deadliest
month for US troops in over two years. 

For full statement and resources for congregations working to raise
awareness about the situation in Iraq see
http://www.uua.org/news/2006/061025_deathtoll.html

***INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE VIGIL -- REPORT FROM UU CHURCH OF BOWLING
GREEN KENTUCKY
Jan Garrett, Member, Social Action Committee [jan.garrett at insightbb.com]

The Social Action Committee at the UU Church of Bowling Green KY
organized a Peace Vigil  of about 35 people held on Sept. 21 in
connection with the international day of peace and the Declaration of
Peace campaign (endorsed by the UUA - see
http://declarationofpeace.org/.)   A favorable article, with photo, was
on the front page of the Bowling Green Daily News the next day. A few
well-selected remarks were cited, quite accurately, including:

"Not only has this war put the lives, bodies, and sanity of U.S.
servicemen and women in jeopardy for three and a half years, it has
produced so-called collateral damage to the lives, bodies, and sanity of
hundreds of thousands of Iraqis-real human beings who rarely show up in
U.S. statistics about the costs of the war. If the U.S. does not pull
its troops out quickly--more deaths of Iraqis as well as American
combatants can be predicted, along with more destruction of Iraqi
infrastructure making future rebuilding even more arduous, and more Abu
Ghraibs as hard-pressed troops try to carry out an ill-conceived if not
impossible assignment."

About 20 of the participants were from the church, close to a third of
our small congregation.  The rest were church friends and students from
the nearby campus of Western Kentucky University. Our communications
committee had produced an announcement that was picked up in the local
media. We placed an ad in the university newspaper and we invited people
on the Womens' Studies email list serve and the Amnesty International
campus group list serve. At least two of our church friends who were at
the vigil joined the church shortly thereafter and another couple who
both work at the University came to the vigil and we expect them to join
in the not too distant future.

******************************************

3) SPEAKING OUT AGAINST TORTURE & THE MILITARY COMMISSION ACT FROM OUR
UU FAITH

Last Thursday The Rev. Kathleen McTigue, Senior Minister of the
Unitarian Society of New Haven, CT and a founding member of the
non-profit group "Reclaiming the Prophetic Voice," appeared on "The
O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News speaking out against the recently signed
Military Commissions Act.  You can view the show at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dHkh4wMpq0.  The Hartford Courant also
published an Op Ed by Rev. McTigue and a coalition partner Rabbi Donna
Berman entitled "Torture and the Nation's Soul" - see
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-humphries1024.artoct24,0,22
62984.story?coll=hc-headlines-oped.

Faith in Public Life has a feature on their website at
http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2006/10/rev_mctigue_takes_on_oreilly_o
.html.

See their excellent resources for congregational witness and media
advocacy at http://www.faithinpubliclife.org/.

Last week I incorrectly reported that the interfaith clergy group had
raised funds to post two billboards ("The Vote to Allow Torture") on the
heavily-traveled highways I-95 and I-84 to make sure Connecticut
residents know which members of the state's congressional delegation
voted for the recently-signed Military Commissions Act.  In fact Rev.
McTigue tells me that two Christian businessmen who own the billboards,
and are deeply concerned about this issue, approached the group about
using the billboards and they donated the cost! 

**********************************************

4) MID TERM ELECTIONS ARE TWO WEEKS AWAY

Religious individuals and groups have played a prophetic role in public
life throughout history by calling attention to oppression, demanding
change, and holding leaders and institutions accountable for their
actions and policies. While this is still true in the United States
today, too many people are under the false impression that religious
organizations cannot have a voice in the public policy arena, fearing
that such activities would violate either the Constitutional separation
of church and state or Internal Revenue Service regulations. In reality,
there is a great deal of public policy and election-related work that
any religious group can do without jeopardizing its nonprofit tax-exempt
status.

We have resources for congregations and information on grassroots
initiatives to put our faith into action.  See
http://www.uua.org/news/2006/061005_voting.html

************************************************

5) STOP THE SALE OF INDIAN COSTUMES FOR HALLOWEEN -- IT DEHUMANIZES
INDIANS & APPROPRIATES SPIRITUAL RITUALS 

>From Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility on Behalf of Oneida
Tribe Trust Committee.  (Contact Gary Brouse at ICCR at
gbrouse at iccr.org).

Halloween Express, a franchised retailer is refusing to remove offensive
Indian Costumes, upon repeated requests from the Oneida Tribe's Trust
Committee.  The Oneida Tribe has written and called the store asking
them to do the right thing, to stop dehumanizing a race of people. 

Their letter reads in part:  

We work to eliminate the negative images portrayed by stereotypes of
Native Americans, such as your company's "Indian" Halloween costumes. 

We request that you remove the costumes from your Halloween Express
store in Green Bay this week. We will be dialoguing with the company's
headquarters located in Owenton, KY.  

The offense in selling "Indian" costumes is that the action dehumanizes
a race of people.  Although, Native Americans make up only 2% of the USA
population, we are real people, who deserve equal treatment as other
races. The concern with the costumes extends to a larger issue involving
stereotyping of any ethnic group (or any protected class) by retailers,
sports teams, and public schools. Since 1991, 26 school districts have
eliminated an Indian logo in our state. The positive change is due to
the good work of local advocates and friends. There are still 35-37
schools with a logo, team name or some residual stereotypical "Indian"
imagery.

There are groups across the country who have elevated the awareness of
the continued proliferation of the negative stereotypes. The National
Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media confronts misconceptions of
American Indians in the form of sports team identities resulting in
racial, cultural, and spiritual stereotyping.  The Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility has been a leader of the corporate social
responsibility movement. ICCR, with which the Oneida Trust Committee is
affiliated, has worked on improving human dignity and other indigenous
issues, such as stereotyping. These groups are trying to right wrongs.

Last month, Anheuser-Busch, discontinued a multi-million dollar
advertising campaign which offensively portrayed Zagar, a "primitive
indigenous character." Indigenous leaders were in contact with the
corporation and Anheuser-Busch responded respectfully. There are many
more examples of where indigenous people and their friends have elevated
awareness. Where the treatment has not been equal, the indigenous have
sought justice, and in many cases have been successful.

TO TAKE ACTION:

Contact:

Halloween  Express
1660  W.  Mason  St.
Green Bay, WI 54303
920-499-4226

Halloween Express
Corporate Offices:   859.282.5555 * 
Operations Center:  859.282.5550 *

Accounting Business Office
Halloween Express
1860 Georgetown Road
Owenton, KY 40459

Media Inquiries
Diana Krohn 
diana.krohn at halloweenexpress.com
859.282.5555 ext 2110

****Please speak to managers at stores in your area selling Indian
costumes for Halloween.

************************************************

6) SRI TELECONFERENCE ON SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY, OCT. 28TH

Please join the Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (CSRI) this
Saturday, Oct 28th at 1pm EDT for a FREE teleconference on Shareholder
Advocacy.

Shareholder activism has caused major corporations to change their
behavior. For instance, as a result of a carefully orchestrated dialogue
with management and finally the CEO of Home Depot, that company changed
its policy to include sexual orientation as one of the prohibited
discriminations. See the story on UUA.org:
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/justice/homedepot/casestudy.html. Join
this call to learn how you can take part in this vital movement and
demonstrate that our faith can make mountains move. 

To participate: 
USA Toll-Free Access #: (866) 868-1054
Conference Code: 1571617 

Please RSVP with Audra Friend at afriend at uua.org with your name,
congregation, position, and phone number.  The PowerPoint/PDF
presentation is available for download at:
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/.

For more information on the series, please see:
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/SRI-TeleConference-FlyerFall06.pdf. 

"...all will be well, and will be well, and every kind of thing will be
well."  -- Julian of Norwich

Audra Friend
Assistant, Office for Congregational Advocacy & Witness
Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St
Boston, MA 02108
(p) 617.948.4656 or 617.742.2100 ext 656
(f)  617.742.0321
www.uua.org/justice