Faith Without Borders

The UUA's "Faith Without Borders" program is designed to assist congregations in creating and sustaining effective international engagement ministries.

The latest update to the program is a resource booklet with suggestions for adding international themes to celebrations of St. Valentine's Day. The booklet is available as a webpage or as a PDF.

Other seasonal resource materials have been developed for Flower Communion, Water Communion, UN-Sunday, and the Winter Holidays. A resource booklet for Spring Holidays is in development.

The International Resources Office staff is available to lead International Engagement workshops for Districts and Clusters, please contact the office for additional information.

The next workshop will be held at the First Parish UU Church in Duxbury, MA for Ballou Channing District Congregations on Saturday March 14, 2009 from 8:30 - 1:00pm. Participants will explore the history of Unitarian and Universalist International Engagement, the Theology of International Engagement, and begin strategically planning international engagement ministries. All are welcome. (Workshop Flyer)

Obama Ensures Equal Pay for Equal Work

In a solid victory for workers in the United States, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act into law yesterday. After winning enough votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate to be passed on to the President's desk, it became the first piece of legislation to bear his signature. Civil rights movements, the Unitarian Universalist denomination, and countless dedicated individuals have been fighting wage discrimination for decades.

The Fair Pay Restoration Act removes restrictions on the length of time a worker has to file a wage discrimination lawsuit against an employer. Lilly Ledbetter, for whom the new law is named, had worked at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Gadsden, Alabama for 20 years before she realized that although she had the same skills and training, she was being paid up to 40% less than her male colleagues. Many employees don't learn about pay disparities and their rights to claim equal pay for the work that they have done until well into their careers. The Lilly Ledbetter Act makes it possible for those who may have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars due to wage discrimination based on age, gender, ethnicity, religion or disability to seek and win legal recourse no matter how much time has gone by.

Seventy-year-old Lilly Ledbetter has been working selflessly towards the passage of this law since the Supreme Court ruling two years ago that denied her rights to the money she lost. Speaking to First Lady Michelle Obama Lilly says, "I will never see a cent from my case. But with the passage and the president's signature today, I have an even richer reward. I know my daughters and granddaughters and your daughters and your granddaughters will have a better deal."

The First Lady's comments at the reception she held for Ms Ledbetter expressed her solidarity with "women of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, older women, younger women, women with disabilities and their families" by recognizing the new law as a "cornerstone of a broader commitment to address the needs of working women who are looking to ... not only ensure that they're treated fairly, but also to ensure that there are policies in place that help women and men balance their work and family obligations without putting their jobs or their economic security at risk". The President stated, "Signing this bill today is sending a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone."

On a personal level, I couldn't be happier, and I couldn't agree more. I think I'll take a walk by the White House this evening in a silent expression of gratitude.

Reflections on Pluralism and Theologies of Justice

Like Adam, I am lucky enough to be able to attend the Convocation on Theology of Justice and Ministry currently being held just outside of Baltimore. It is late Wednesday night, almost Thursday morning, but I am just posting about Tuesday because it's taking me that long to digest the rich diet of ideas being offered.

We started the Convocation by devoting the first session to our UU theological and historical background in social justice - our religious grounding. We heard from three provocative panelists - Rebbecca Parker, Dan McKannan, and Jill Schwendemn. One theme that emerged was to recognize the rich history that we have coming out of two liberal Christian traditions - the Unitarians and the Universalists, and the importance to ritual to reaffirm our values. This being a UU convocation, those of us in the audience were asked to engage in these questions for ourselves - to think about how our own faith impacts our social justice work. I thought about how both the Christian tradition of the culture in which I grew up and the Buddhist tradition of my ancestral culture were equally important to me. The Judeo-Christian stories are so familiar and emotionally powerful. Yet at the same time, I do not want those traditions to be privileged over others such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The need to recognize the religious pluralism within our UU congregations mirrors the need to recognize and celebrate diversity in all its forms in our society.

The second session took up the problem of suffering, brokenness, and evil in the world, and our appropriate response. If the earlier session celebrated our UU and American heritage, then the evening's panelists - Taquiena Boston, Victoria Safford, and Sharon Welch - all gave beautiful, painful testimonies as to where we have been unable to fully address the challenges that arise in an imperfect world. The room struggled with the concept of evil and wondered whether it was necessary to confess complicity by making the statement "I am evil." Dr. Welch stressed a non-dualistic approach, recognizing and addressing acts of oppression while at the same time not labeling others as "evil" in a way that evokes animosity towards them and thus perpetuates the cycle. And Rev. Safford talked about how the choices that we make to no longer do harm are not one-time events. The choice must be made over and over again. What I understood from her was that we have been conditioned to be inclined to make the choices that we make. That doesn't absolve us of responsibility for our choices but it recognizes that simply choosing once would not be enough.

As I listened to the conversations from both the afternoon and evening - discussions of "sin" and the means to "reconciliation" - I felt that it would be helpful if we UUs became conversant in other faith traditions - if we truly understood the concept of karma.

I do not mean the Westernized understanding of karma as a punishment and reward system. That comes from imposing the concepts of "good" and "evil" and a "divine judge" on an Eastern concept. Karma is not based on judgment. It is merely the consequences of one's actions. Harmful acts have harmful consequences. Understanding this allows us to name and admit to oppressive acts without the debilitating judgment of "evil doer." It tells us that the need to choose to end oppression is urgent for every moment that we allow it to continue (which is a choice), we generate more bad karma, the consequences of our actions (or inaction). What's more karma reminds us that even when we choose the loving act, our work is not done. We will have to choose over and over again because the consequences of past harmful choices are still with us. It reminds us that there are no easy fixes to repair the world and build Beloved Community. But it also follows that if we act in love, steadily, that reconciliation and wholeness are inevitable.

A Reflection from the Convocation on Theology of Justice and Ministry

Brokenness, evil, hope, encounter, partnership, accountability, effectiveness, justice, change, worship, and repeat.

That is the mantra that is emerging for me over the course of my past two days surrounded by committed and prophetic Unitarian Universalists. Without naming it, I have spent my nearly three years with the UUA’s Washington Office learning and living this mantra. Much of my inspiration and guidance along this journey comes from the people present at this convocation.

I was asked at the convocation how I see my faith impacting my justice work. I quickly replied, ‘I don’t see a difference between the two.’ When asked to expand on that, I had trouble articulating what I meant. But after listening to so many panelists speak of such core components of our faith and our work for justice, I zeroed in on a clearer sense of my meaning. My faith is composed of community, reality, hope, belief and joyfully showing up to do the work. My justice work is also composed of community, reality, hope, belief and joyfully showing up to do the work. At their core, I don’t see a difference.

But there is a need – and a space - for our faith to have a more defined and complete theology of justice and ministry other than faith = justice. I have found that the space between and among our faith and justice work is filled with the elements of the mantra above. Each one of those elements has been spoken to at this convocation, albeit in often disjointed and incomplete ways. But, like a puzzle, as each moment passes the picture is becoming more clear.

At the end of the last panel discussion we were asked to come forward and share song or metaphor to illustrate our visions of prophecy and justice. Participant after participant went to the microphone and stood before all of us and the camera, and beautifully and articulately added more and more pieces to the emerging puzzle. I was literally on the edge of my seat.

Join a national week of grassroots action for immigration reform, Feb 13 - 22

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a partnership of faith-based organizations committed to enacting fair and humane immigration reform (including the UUA), has announced a national effort to organize prayer vigils and other actions coinciding with the first recess of this session of Congress, February 13-22, when members of Congress will be home in their districts.

Hosting prayer vigils around the country will give people of faith an opportunity to reflect on the scriptural and spiritual roots of our work to support immigrants in this country, highlight the moral aspects of the immigration issue, and to acknowledge the real-life consequences of our failed policies on immigrant families. It will show our representatives in Congress that humane immigration reform is a top priority for people of faith, and demonstrate a growing movement in support of immigration reform.

EVERYONE can be a part of this nation-wide effort—from the smallest community of faith to large suburban congregations or city-wide coalitions! Check out the following ways you can participate:

1. Plan a public prayer vigil coordinated with other places of worship. This type of vigil could include 50+ participants, your local media, and even your member of Congress. You may also choose to invite members of your broader community and publicize the event through the bulletins or websites of the participating congregations.

2. Plan a public prayer vigil for your community of faith, and if your congregation is already engaged in direct services related to immigrants and immigration, consider inviting an immigrant to share his or her story as part of the event. Even these smaller vigils can be a great opportunity to invite your local press outlets.

3. Add a focus on immigration reform to an existing/on-going community event or activity—voter registration drive, community meal, ESL classes, and/or discussion for your worshipping community. Contact local press to let them know you’re doing it!

4. Encourage your clergy or lay leaders to offer a sermon, litany or other major focus on immigration in worship.

5. Include a prayer petition concerning immigration reform within worship.

Whatever form your event takes, your prayers will be joined with other people of faith around the country praying for protection for immigrants, empowerment of people of faith to speak out more boldly for immigrants, and moral courage for Members of Congress to show leadership in enacting humane immigration reform.

Register Your Event Now

Once your congregation or social action committee has decided on an event, go to http://interfaithimmigration.org to register your event on the Interfaith Immigration Event Calendar. You can also use the calendar to find out who else is planning events in your area.

Registering your event is IMPORTANT—it helps the IIC track how many congregations are participating and provides information so that other immigrant advocates in your town know how to get involved. Even small events, multiplied around the country, will send a powerful message to representatives in Congress. Shortly after you post your event, the coalition's prayer vigil coordinator will call to check in and see how the coalition can support your efforts.

Getting Started

Check out Getting Organized: A Quick How-To on Planning Your Prayer Event to help you plan and publicize your event. Check the Interfaith Immigration Coalition website later this week for a sample vigil program and press materials you can use at your event.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is here to help!

The IIC can provide media support for your event—they can provide a sample press advisory, press release, op-ed and letter to the editor. You can adapt the press advisory and press release to fit your event, and the IIC will send them out to media in your area and make phone calls to pitch the event.

Your UU Contact in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition

Lisa Swanson in the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy represents the UUA in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. If you have questions or want to know more, send her an email at lswanson [at] uua [dot] org, or give her a call 202-393-2255, ext. 22

Convocation on Theology of Justice and Ministry

We’ve got snow, ice, slush, sleet… but amazingly, weather didn’t interfere with the arrivals of any of the 35 assembled prophets who are tucked into the Maritime Center, near Baltimore Washington Airport, to wrestle with the deeper questions related to social justice: What is it about Unitarian Universalist history, theology, and practice that calls us to justice? How do we hold brokenness, suffering, oppression? How do we find prophetic voice? How do we build prophetic congregations?

It is a huge treat to gather for reflection. I find myself sucking up bits of what might seem abstract or distant theory, just the way my dry Minnesota skin sucks moisturizing lotions in winter. There’s a deficit here and what a treat to spend some time filling it!

In seminary, my psychology and theology professor used to tell us over and over, we should always have at least two theories to pick from as we made any decision in a counseling session. Absent such good grounding, she warned us, we could damage our clients deeply.

And yet, as the saying goes, “I used to have six theories about childraising and no children. Now I have six children and no theories about childraising.” We get busy. We find ourselves suddenly swimming in deep waters where our only thought is survival. We learn that the plane we boarded for Florida was really heading to North Dakota. And we do the best we can.

So, as I say, this is a huge delight. We are here to create a book and a DVD for others to have the same chance for reflection, and it’s fantastic to be here. The UUA is partnering with All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC to do this, and received a grant from the UU Funding Panel as well as All Souls’ Beckner Fund. Look for us at the social justice track of UU University at General Assembly in Salt Lake City!

First UU Church of Nashville youth speak out for immigrants' rights

On January 22nd, voters in Nashville, TN, defeated an amendment that would have made Nashville the largest municipality in the United States to pass an English-only ordinance. Members of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville (FUUN, pictured at right) joined forces with a broad-based coalition, Nashville for All of Us, and its subgroup, Faith Leaders for All of Us, to defeat this amendment, which would have violated the human rights of many residents in Nashville and surrounding Davidson County.

Members of FUUN were active in helping spread the word and getting out the vote. 5th and 6th grade members of the congregation discussed the issue in their Sunday morning Religious Education class, and then wrote letters that were published in the church newsletter, The Fireside, and mailed the letters to The Tennessean. See below to read their letters, reprinted from The Fireside.

Many thanks to Tanya Surawicz, co-chair of FUUN's Social justice Committee, Marguerite Mills, FUUN's Director of Religious Education, and the youth of FUUN for this news item!


Dear Editor:

I think that English shouldn’t be the only language in Davidson County. It isn’t fare to the people that only speeks one language. What if there is someone that only speeks Spanish and they can’t get a job because of that. That means that the people who speek a different language won’t be able to get a job and there will be a lot of people without jobs. In the Declaration of Independence it says that all men are created equal. If there is someone that is signing up for school they can only sign them up in English. So that being said English shouldn’t be the only language in Davidson County!!

Sincerely,

Khalila Early-Zald, sixth grade


Dear Editor:

I think that English should not be the only spoken language in Davidson County because it is not fair for those who are from different countries, and can not pay for the education to learn English. Also, in the Declaration of Independence it says, “All men are created equal.” If this is passed, it goes against the Declaration of Independence. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it says, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.” If the English only amendment is passed, it would go against this to.

Sarah Keil, sixth grade


Dear Editor,

It has come to my attention that a law has been made to declare English the main language in Davidson County. My UU class and I oppose this idea. What about immigrants? Those foreign people who have a good idea and cannot understand English would not be able to communicate it. Please try not to pass this law.

Sincerely,

Hannah Harrison, sixth grade


Dear Editor,

I believe that an English-only law should not be passed in Davidson County. This would harm the United States. We are the most united country in the world. We shouldn’t discriminate [against] others just because they don’t speak English. The declaration states that “all men are created equal.” We are the country where many immigrants [come] to in search of freedom, their only chance of hope. How do you expect those who are less fortunate and can’t afford to get a translator to move here and survive this way??? We live in the United States, we are united, we are 1. This can only be true if we truly are 1, we are accepting of others even if they look different, believe differently, or speak a different language.

I hope you will consider this letter. Thank-you for your time!

Sincerely,

Joanna Paul, seventh grade

To learn more about the defeat of the English-only ordinance in Nashville, see Nashville Speaks up: English Only soundly defeated from The City Paper of Nashville.

Working Faithfully for a Living Wage

When I attended my first Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign meeting after the 2004 election we were asked to raise our hands if we knew what the federal minimum wage was, and if we knew what the minimum wage was in our state. I was mortified that I did not know but felt slightly better seeing that many of the other denominational advocacy staff did not know either. The people in the room that did know were organizers from ACORN, Jobs with Justice, and the Let Justice Roll Living Wage organizers.

My experience was pretty typical for a middle-class, middle-aged, white person. I haven’t known what the minimum wage is since I worked for it myself as a teenager and later when I worked as a community organizer in low-income communities. (If my son was old enough to work after school I may have known!)

In any case, the experience demonstrated sharply for me how those of us doing advocacy work can get pretty out of touch with the realities of poverty and oppression in our country. I mean we know it exists, but start doing the math of living on $6.55/hour and it breaks your heart.

Through the UUA’s partnership with the UUSC on the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign, I have learned who low-wage workers really are and what they are facing.

Three out of four minimum wage workers are age 21 or older. Two out of three minimum wage workers are women. Most minimum wage workers are women with children. They are healthcare workers, childcare workers, food service workers. People of color and immigrants make up a disproportionate percentage of minimum wage workers. Most minimum wage workers are high school graduates. Many teenagers working in minimum wage jobs are working to save for a college education. The next minimum wage increase of $7.25 in July 2009 (the third and final increment of the legislation passed in 2007) will affect 10% of the workforce nationally, and close to 20% in several states, particularly in the south.

It would take a $10.08 minimum wage now to match the buying power of the minimum wage in 1968—four decades ago.

I’m proud that the UUA and UUSC are working in solidarity with low-wage workers and their families. Through our joint efforts we have connected with congregations already doing living wage work and encouraged others to get involved. Hundreds of UUs participated in the Let Justice Roll Campaign to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in ten years in 2007. Now Let Justice Roll is working again to get closer to a living wage with another raise to $10 in 2010

UUA President Rev. William Sinkford’s Op Ed about the $10 in 2010 Campaign is inspiring and informative. It was run in several African American weekly newspapers over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and on several progressive websites. See Hope and Change for Low-Wage Workers.

I’m also inspired by what our congregations are doing. See reports on President Sinkford’s Living Wage Sunday at the UU Church of Nashua NH on Sunday, January 25th and

New Jersey UU recognized for 22 years of letters to the editor

Advocacy & Witness staff members of the UUA love to encourage people to write letters to the editor. It's an easy way to make a highly visible statement on issues of justice and compassion. So today, we'd like to lift up the amazing work of Eleanor Fleischman of the Central Unitarian congregation in Paramus, New Jersey.

Over the past twenty-two years, 95 year-old Eleanor has had forty-four letters to the editor published in The Record newspaper of Bergen County, New Jersey. Eleanor's letters have addressed justice issues including local hunger, the Iraq War, and the election of President Obama.

In addition to letter writing, Eleanor has been an active volunteer in her community: She has taught English as a Second Language, helped the developmentally disabled, collected food for the needy, and worked in Hackensack University Medical Center Auxiliary’s Green Caboose Thrift Shop.

I've never met Eleanor or read any of her letters, but I am so impressed and inspired by her spirit of giving and community involvement.

I hope that I'm that cool when I'm ninety-five.

Read the article by Jay Levin on TimesRecordNews.com, Woman's Letters Come From Her Heart.

Thank You, President Obama

Following yesterday's anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision, President Barack Obama prepares today to rescind what has been known as the "global gag rule." The regulation, in place for 17 of the past 25 years, prohibits health organizations receiving US foreign aid dollars from discussing abortion in any way. In an article on British news website guardian.co.uk, Dr. Gill Greer, director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation affirms:

The gag rule has done immense harm and caused untold suffering to millions around the world .... It has undermined health systems and endangered the lives and health of the poorest and most vulnerable women on the planet by denying access to life saving family planning, sexual and reproductive health and HIV services and exposing them to the dangers of unsafe abortion.

To read the rest of the article, click here.

I hope that this victory is the first of many that women all over the world can expect in the coming weeks, months and years of the Obama administration. For easy and effective ways that you can get involved in working for reproductive choice and justice, take a moment to visit the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Action Center. A letter or phone call to your representative could make a difference in passing important legislation that supports reproductive health and education.

President Obama's statement from yesterday. I feel proud and blessed that he is the leader of my country.

The 36th Anniversary of Roe v Wade

Today marks the anniversary of the historic supreme court decision that allowed women access to safe and legal abortion. It is a day to celebrate the success of women such as Dottie Doyle, a former state representative from Maine and a Unitarian Universalist who worked with so many others to help decriminalize abortion in the United States. Read her story here on the UUA website. After learning about Dorothy and her compatriots, I was struck but not surprised to learn that activism surrounding a woman's right to choose was spurred on and supported by a resolution adopted at the 1968 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly to repeal laws restricting or criminalizing abortion. UUs all over the U.S. and Canada acted on this resolution. In Michigan, for example, many women worked tirelessly circulating petitions and collecting signatures in the face of threats, verbal abuse and ostracism. Without a doubt, Unitarian Universalist efforts contributed to the right to choose when to bear children being upheld as a constitutional right of women in the United States of America.

If a resolution adopted at General Assembly can make such a contribution, I have no doubt in my mind that, with the inauguration of a new administration and a new day dawning in Washinton, our voices as people of faith can and will be heard. As the new Legislative Assistant for Women's Issues at the Washington Office for Advocacy I am grateful to those who have worked for justice before me. Together we can have faith that we can help to change the laws of our country so that they reflect our values to uphold the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. I can have faith that I will see such changes not in some far-off dreamed future, but in the next year or two. I draw joy and strength and courage from that faith.

While celebrating and anticipating successes, however, I remain cautious, and I feel compelled to point out that Roe v Wade still needs our support and protection on all fronts. In most states, access to abortion is still restricted by mandates for parental notification and/or consent. In many states, women can barely seek information about abortion due to legal bans on counseling, biased counseling, and mandatory delays for abortion care. In all but the three states of Alabama, New Hampshire, and Vermont, health care providers can refuse care entirely to a woman seeking an abortion (see naral.org). These barriers to access continue to disproportionately affect poor women and women of color who have long struggled not only to gain access to quality and affordable health care but to be allowed to make informed choices about their own fertility. A woman living in a rural, northern county of my home state of Wisconsin would probably have to pay for her own abortion as well as travel for 6 to 8 hours, if she had access to a car and could drive, in order to reach a clinic that would perform the procedure.

In short, we still have a lot of work to do. True reproductive justice means that our societies protect girls and women from rape and sexual assault by teaching all children and adults that each person the right to make decisions about the sacred boundaries of their bodies. Reproductive justice means that no woman anywhere in the world is forced or coerced into bearing children when she does not choose to do so. Reproductive justice means that all women have access to safe and legal means of birth control and accurate information about possible side-effects and how to use them. Reproductive justice means that women and men undergo medical procedures that may affect their ability to have children only after giving their full and informed consent. Reproductive justice means that poor women and women of color are not denied or restricted from accessing any form of reproductive health care, nor from making an informed decision about any medication or procedure.

Access to safe, legal, confidential and affordable abortion is a right and a milestone along to path to achieving Reproductive Justice for all. I am proud to be part of an organization that has been working to this end for over 40 years, and I hope to do my best to continue in the footsteps of those who have walked this path before me.

Reflections from a 12 year old daughter

Meg's daughter, Jie Wronski-Riley, shares her Inauguration Week impressions.

The Sun was rising, Bright and hopeful,
The people were gathering, light and soulful

As a country, as a nation we have risen to this occasion.

January 16, 2009

From Milwaukee to DC
I was traveling alone which basically meant that I was sat down in a chair and ignored for about two hours. When we finally boarded I was sitting next to a woman who liked solitare and we exchanged small talk. I've flown on a plane many times before but this was different from those times, everyone except the stiff-necked businessman used the name Obama in every other sentence and there was an aura of tingling exhilaration that couldn’t be forced down by any number of delays and missed flights. This was a sample of what was to come during my stay in Washington.

January 17, 2009

Shopping
Today we went to get Obama souvenirs. First we went to the "Official Obama Store." As we entered the small street shop we were greeted by women, children and men milling around the little tables plucking buttons, pins, and stickers out of metal tubs.

Quilt Show
In the museum of D.C. there was a show of wall hanging quilts from all over the states and world . All of these quilts were inspired by the Obama campaign.


January 19, 2009

Kids Inaugural
My long time friends Lina and Renci have an aunt that was the main commissioner on the obama campaign in the whole state of Michigan. And this aunt just happened to have tickets to the Disney kids inaugural. She had an extra ticket and she insisted that she couldn’t just leave me behind so I went to this Disney concert at the verizon center. It was great! I really admired how all the free tickets went to military families, many whom had a parent overseas. I also liked how they incorporated the inauguration into a kid friendly place.

January 20, 2009

Inauguration
photo by Jie Wronski-Riley

The excitement in the crowd was in-comprehendible we rushed, well as fast as we could which is about as fast as a slug who pulled a muscle. There were long wide masses that muddled along buzzing energetically about where they were from what had brought them here and how long the line was. It was a very bleak, freezing, almost sunless day, this was the day that we had been waiting for. The day which to some was a miracle when Barack H. Obama became our president after 8 long years of the bush reign. We had high hopes and frost-bitten but elated spirits. While we were standing about people were hopping up and down, swaying from side to side, and watching the monitor intently. After about an hour of waiting the jumbo-tron switched from showing pictures of the momentous American flag and high and mighty capitol to the red carpet of the 56th presidential inauguration. There were the powerful house representatives, the mighty senators, the old but noble former presidents and the celebrities. The crowd played a game of guess that big shot and most of the time there was a cry of “An old guy in suit and wearing a tie!”. When the crowd recognized someone other than by the color of their neck garment it was soon accompanied by a unanimous wave of boos or a great mass of encouragement and cheering . Then following hours of waiting in these bone-chilling temperatures and huge face buffeting gusts of wind Barack Obama walks down to his family as rigid as I’ve ever seen him. The mobs go wild! While Joe Biden is sworn in as vice president I wonder aloud what an odd duo Biden and bush would be. Then Obama steps up and places his hand on the bible. Everything is focused on this inspiring man and the oath he is taking. Some of the tension is let out when the jumbo-tron is about ten words behind the speakers and a whole clog of tall people are right in your line of vision, people who have an uncanny knack to sway right when you try to see right and to swing left when you attempt to catch a glimpse left. “So help me god.” repeats Barack Obama, seconds later the picture of Barrack Obama moves his mouth saying “so help me god.” The applause was tremendous! It was like a booming waterfall rushing down and rolling long and deep. There was a small sense of relief, that this actually happened, that Barack Obama is really the president of the United States of America!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now this day we’ve renewed the pride and steadiness that America is famous for.

The time is Now For the Change We Seek Hope is in the air

For more photos of the Inauguration in DC, visit the Advocacy & Witness facebook page.

My Country Tis of Thee

Taquiena Boston is Director of the UUA's Identity-Based Ministries and a native resident of Washington, DC. She offers some of her experiences of this week's inauguration:

"No more bargaining with God," my mother said after we watched the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama from Station 9, a restaurant on U Street in Washington, DC.  When I asked her what that meant, she said that just as she had prayed to see my sister and me grow up and hit the significant birthdays and benchmarks in our lives -- as well as her personal benchmarks, -- she prayed that she would live to see Barack Obama inaugurated as president. 

My mother turned 81 on January 2, 2009.  She was the youngest daughter, ninth child and first of my grandmother’s 10 children to be born in Washington, DC during segregation and on the brink of the Great Depression. When we researched my mother’s genealogy in Culpeper County, VA, we learned that her matrilineal line dates back to the late 1700s in the United States. We even found the name of the man who "last owned" her great grandfather, Abram. As my sister photocopied the census information from "The Colored People of Culpeper County" that named my mother's grandmother and the names of her great and great-great grandparents, my mother's reaction was "I feel like I belong to something."

In the last several years, walking and crowds have become more challenging for my mother.  So on January 20, 2009, she, my sister and I went to a U Street restaurant reserved by "DC for Obama" for campaign volunteers and friends to watch the Inauguration. I wore my deceased father’s sweater loaded with all my campaign buttons. (Because my father’s ancestry also extended more than 200 years in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I had worn this sweater while canvassing and doing Get Out the Vote in Prince William County, VA to feel the support of my ancestors as I knocked on doors in communities unknown to me.) I gave my mother the Obama-Biden inauguration button purchased the day after the election.

During the election, my mother and I had several conversations about what it was like be a citizen of a country in which you are also treated like the stranger. My own experiences traveling outside the United States brought home to me how much I am a product of "American" culture. But it surprised me to hear my mother say that most often she felt like she was an exile or refugee. So the most moving part of Inauguration Day for me was when Aretha Franklin sang "My Country Tis of Thee."  The "Queen of Soul" hardly got out "sweet land of liberty" when my mother grabbed the tissues from her purse and started sobbing.  I put my arm around "Mommy" as several tears rolled down my own cheeks. 

When the inauguration ceremony was over, I asked my mother what had moved her about "My Country Tis of Thee."  She said "we used to sing that song in school all the time when I was a girl, but I never believed it was true for me until now.  Today, this is my country, too."

Hold On to This Feeling

The first time that I visited Washington, DC, it was as a tourist. As I stood in awe of monuments and grand buildings, shuffled past the Declaration of Independence, and tried to take in all that the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian had to offer, I could not imagine that anyone actually lived in this city. To me as a tourist, Washington was like a marble theme park where presidents and Congress members made history of one kind or another.

A couple of months after I had moved to the neighborhood of Columbia Heights, I caught sight of the far off Washington monument down Meridian Hill and remembered how I once could not fathom being what I had become, a DC resident. I, like other staff members of the UUA's Washington Office for Advocacy, live in DC. We go to work, go home, buy groceries, go to church, go out... and know a city that is not evident from vacation visits and media coverage. The Washington that tourists see is disproportionately white with a smattering of foreigners, and an emphasis on lawyers and the military, lobbyists and diplomats. The DC that I know as a resident is a mixture of ethnicities - Euro Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, and others - living in neighborhoods of varying degrees of integration... policemen and nurses, shop keeps and community organizers. There are neighborhoods of extreme poverty and despair in the same city with the marble facades and luxury hotels. I live in the capital of what is still the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth and yet our school system fails its children, some neighborhoods are plagued with violence, our residents do not have true Congressional representation, and everywhere the divides created by both racism and classism are evident.

I do not mean to give the impression that everyone walks around distrusting each other. Far from it. But just like other large cities in the U.S., there are barriers in our daily lives that are perhaps more visible in DC because of the stark contrasts. But this week we watched those barriers tumble down. On Sunday, I attended the "We Are One" concert with Taquiena Boston and her sister Mishan. We met in the neighborhood of Adams Morgan for brunch and then walked down to the National Mall, an over two mile walk. Along the way, we joined hundreds of others walking there as well. And we smiled at each other and shared stories. At the concert itself, the crowd was even more diverse than the performers on stage. The spirit of unity continued through the weekend, culminating when two million people - from all over the nation including DC, from all walks of life - converged again on the National Mall. When Barack Hussein Obama completed the oath of office, people everywhere hugged the nearest person they could find, regardless of race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation.... We truly were one. This spirit of good will has continued long past that one moment. People greet each other with smiles at metro stops and chat while waiting in lines.

We live in an age where self-sufficiency is valued over cooperation. Where people intentionally avoid eye-contact when passing each other on busy city streets. Only twice in my life have I experienced the loving good will that is still embracing DC right now. The other time was in New York City after September 11th, 2001. While a lot of anger was unfairly directed at Muslims following the attack, there was also an encompassing feeling of intimcacy amongst usually gruff New Yorkers. People held doors open for each other, used their car horns less, and were generally more patient and kind. In our moment of collective grief, as a nation searched for meaning out of tragedy, we could have listened to the better angels of our nature, instead of the demons of fear and self-centeredness. People were ready to serve a higher purpose, if only we had had the leader to inspire us in that direction. Instead, our president at the time told us to "go shopping" and then took us into two wars.

The inauguration of President Obama cannot erase the harm we have done in the last seven years (and for hundreds of years before that). But at least now we have a chance. May we hold on to this feeling of unity in the trying times to come.

The Prayer Delivered by Bishop Gene Robinson

Millions of people heard Rev. Rick Warren deliver the Invocation at the inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama on Tuesday. As many of you know, Warren vocally supported the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which took away the rights of same-sex couples to legally marry. Fewer people saw the "We Are One" inaugural concert that took place at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. And even if you followed on radio or watched it on tv, you would not have seen Bishop Gene Robinson's opening prayer because HBO and NPR chose not to air it. As many of you know, Robinson is the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. Below is his prayer:

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

Delivered by the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson:

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God's blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America

On this past Monday, January 19th, over a thousand people entered All Souls Church, Unitarian, for the Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America celebration hosted by Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership. This event brought together a diverse group of theologians and activists from major American spiritual traditions.

Together, we explored the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 2009. Using his April 4, 1967 speech: Beyond Vietnam, we looked at poverty, oppression and militarism today.

The evening began with a vigil for peace on the front steps of the church. Prayers were offered by Japanese Buddhist monks, Catholics fasting to close Guantanamo, and marriage equality activists.

During the service inside All Souls Church, Unitarian, speakers included:

• Rev. William G. Sinkford-- President of the UUA
• Rev. Robert Hardies-- Senior Minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian
  
• Mark Johnson-- Director of Fellowship of Reconciliation
• Samina Faheem Sundas-- Founder of Muslim American Voices
• Rabbi Arthur Wascow-- Founder of the Shalom Center
• Rev. Rita Nakashima Brock-- Minister from Disciples of Christ and founder of Axis of Friendship
• and many others.

The service included music from the Interfaith Children's Choir and singing from Dr. Ysaye Barnwell--a member of Sweet Honey in the Rock.

The evening was an amazing collection of inspiring speakers-- concluding with messages from Rev. Jim Forbes, minister emeritus from New York City's Riverside Baptist Church (where Dr. King gave the Beyond Vietnam address) , and Dr. Vincent Harding who co-penned the speech with Dr. King.

We learned together that Dr. King's legacy is still important in an age of President Obama. Poverty, Oppression and Militarism are still prevalent in today's society. Racism, homophobia, sexism, and the lack of equal opportunities inherent in these systems reinforce a lack of economic stability and reinforce these people as second class citizens. Not only does a military attempt to retain American supremacy and hegemony siphon important funds away from people who need assistance, these second class communities become a surplus of disenfranchised citizens who find their only solution is military service. (This is not to say that all military service people are or see themselves as disenfranchised. Nor is this to say that they are not incredibly brave.)

In order to end poverty, oppression and militarism, we find ourselves obligated to work against all three simultaneously.

For more information on the event and the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership, please visit olivebranchinterfaith.org

For more photos, visit the Advocacy & Witness facebook page.

The Transformation of Washington, D.C.

This inaugural weekend, there was love in the air. Washington, D.C. was filled to the brim with the most polite, positive, life-giving people I have ever met. I have never heard so many “excuse me’s” and “thank you’s.”

Two stories, neither of which I witnessed, demonstrate the willingness of the masses to find love even where hate is what they saw. An All Souls Unitarian, D.C., member, was walking towards the Lincoln Memorial with his husband, and their son, for the We Are One concert, when they came across a small handful of people protesting homosexuality. The protesters had a large sign that read “Homo-Sex Is Sin.” My friends were saddened, but they decided not to pay the protesters any attention. However, a group of gay men down from New York were not going to let it pass. In an act of creative counter-protest, they started chanting, “Homo-Sex Is In! Homo-Sex Is In!” Thousands of people all around them took up the chant and the protesters were left scrambling to reclaim their hate.

The handful of protesters returned on Tuesday for the Inauguration. A man, who I randomly hugged on the street, told me that as he was filing out after the swearing-in, he saw two men climb up on an electrical box, right next to the protesters, and start making out. The thousands of people witnessing this brave couple’s statement of love erupted in cheers.

It was abundantly clear to me this weekend that the millions of people who filled D.C. came because they were ready for more than a new President; they were ready for a new love; a love of country, a love of their fellow citizens, and a love of those who have for so long been victims of hate.

One final thing. For the first time in my three years in D.C., African Americans with cameras and fur coats are everywhere. I didn’t realize it until they appeared, but black tourists are highly underrepresented among the many tourists who come to D.C. It sort of feels like a portion of this city is being reclaimed by its rightful owners and those of us who have been occupying their portion are jubilant that its owners have found their way home. Everyone seems ready for reconciliation and reconnection. I started the day with a moment of this reconnection.

I walked out on my porch at 7:30 a.m. and an African American man was bundled up and walking hurriedly towards the route downtown. I was already feeling the historical nature of the day and when our eyes met I raised my fist in the air in a motion closely resembling the black power salute. While retaining the blanket he was holding, he awkwardly returned the gesture. Now, I am a white guy, and as he was walking away, I was thinking to myself – was that really an appropriate thing to do? Sure enough, he stopped and turned around. He walked back down the sidewalk to the bottom of my stoop. He pulled out his camera and said, “Could you do that again? I want to document everything today.” I smiled and proudly thrust my fist back in the air.

Faith Based Community Organizations Prepare to Govern

Last month I had the opportunity to go to Washington, DC to a gathering organized by the Center for Community Change and the Gamaliel Foundation called ‘Fulfilling the Promise.” The event brought about 2,500 people from interfaith and community organizations together to meet with key members of President-Elect Obama’s Transition Team, leaders of Congress, and others. UUA and UUSC staff and UUs from across the country were part of the gathering, in attendance with their congregation-based community organizations and advocacy groups.

It was pretty amazing to be with elected and newly appointed leaders who were promising to bring the voice of the people into the White House and Congress. The new administration is promising to host town hall forums across the country and use e-mail lists and cell phone texting in the same way that the campaign did to invite people’s input. [In fact, since the gathering, Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services, held a phone conference on his blueprint for health care that included randomly chosen people from the campaign’s cell phone list!]

The agenda focused on three major concerns: health care, economic recovery, and immigration reform. Clearly, the intent was to bring the power of the coalition that elected the new President and Congress to the table of a new governing coalition.

The tone was very reminiscent to me of our 2008 General Assembly Ware Lecture Van Jones’ talk on ‘Preparing to Govern.’ Speaker after speaker talked about, and modeled, how to move from the politics of protest, to the politics of power. They described a new challenge of being at the table, being part of making change happen, developing creative proposals and delivering the grassroots to make it happen!

That’s a tall order, but isn’t it great to be putting our energies into making things happen and achieving justice? We’re excited here in our UUA Advocacy & Witness Offices that there will be real opportunities to move forward on our UU social justice values and bring our legislative objectives into being in the coming year! Of course we know that the current economic crisis will limit some of our opportunities, but nevertheless there is much that can be accomplished.

You can read my report on the Fulfilling the Promise gathering -- Faith Based Community Organizations Prepare to Govern.

And you can read about and view Van Jones’ Ware Lecture on Preparing to Govern.

See the UUA’s 2009-2010 Legislative Objectives and our plan for achieving them through UU Action of the Month Campaigns at our website.

UUA's Advocacy & Witness is now on facebook.

While all UUA staff (and most UUs) are committed to helping to build a more just and equitable world, it is the express purpose of the Advocacy & Witness staff group to take Unitarian Universalist values out into the broader world - to advocate for issues that are important to UUs, to represent Unitarian Universalist values, and to empower UU congregations and individuals to do the same. This staff blog, Inspired Faith, Effective Action, is part of our efforts to communicate information to you in more timely and diverse ways. (We've been going for over a year now!) In addition, we maintain the social justice pages of uua.org, where you can find important dates, resources, and suggested actions, as well as several email lists. However, even though we ask for feedback, most of this communication is one-way.

This week, we are pleased to announce that the Advocacy & Witness staff group is now on facebook. Find us under Advocacy & Witness Initiatives of the Unitarian Universalist Association. From this page, you can read our blog, see other announcements including events, and view photos and videos. But more than that, facebook allows you to communicate with Advocacy & Witness and with other UUs engaged in social justice by leaving messages on the "Wall," starting "Discussions," and sharing photos of your social justice actions. Please join us on facebook, become a "fan," invite other UUs engaged in social justice work to become fans, and share your work with Unitarian Universalists across the continent (and world).

New International Opportunities for UU Clergy and Seminarians

Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship Program

The Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship is available to Unitarian Universalist seminarians (in candidate status) attending non-UU theological Schools who have an interest in international and interfaith engagement. Scholarship recipients will be provided with expenses for travel to the Tsubaki Grand Shrine (TGS) in Suzuka, Japan, as well as room and board at the Shrine for two to three weeks. Starr King School for the Ministry has a similar program, and Meadville/Lombard is in the process of developing one.

TGS is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, dating back to the first century BCE. The long-standing relationship between Unitarian Universalism and TGS has its roots within the International Association for Religious Freedom.

This scholarship was established by Guji Yukiyasu Yamamoto, the 97th guardian priest of the shrine, to:

• promote international and interfaith understanding,
• provide opportunities for Unitarian Universalist seminarians to develop a deeper understanding of shrine Shinto tradition, customs, and practices, and
• further develop close relationships between the Tsubaki Grand Shrine and Unitarian Universalists.

Find out more information about the scholarship and its application process!


UUCP Sabbatical Program

Experienced UUA ministers are invited to consider applying to spend 3- 4 months of a sabbatical with the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP), providing skill development in these and other areas:

• Nurturance of the UU faith through teaching and articulation of theological concepts.
• Youth and Young Adult Ministry
• Project development, management and community work.
• Church administration, leadership and financial management.

Successful applicants should expect to be engaged in this ministry for approximately 20-hours/week. Contexts will include worship services, traditional classes and less formal discussion groups. The unique skills that a successful applicant brings to this ministry will also be integrated.

The organizing and implementing body for this program will be the UU Church of the Philippines' Religious Education Committee. The UUCP will provide sabbatical program participants with housing and local transportation. Other expenses will be the responsibility of the applicant, with some assistance available from the UUA.

Read more about the UUCP Sabbatical Program and how to apply!

Photos from the December 2008 UUCP Youth Conference

Bipartisan Interfaith Prayer Service: Praying with Pelosi

This morning, I joined Shelley Moskowitz of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) in attending the 111th Congress Bipartisan Interfaith Prayer Service at the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church. For many members of Congress, the prayer service is time of reflection and centering before taking the oath of office.

Prior to the service Shelley introduced me to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, whom she has known for twenty years when they were both working towards peace and justice in Central America. It was a great honor.

The service appropriately began with the hymn My Country ‘Tis of Thee, followed by Republican and Democratic Members of Congress reading from the Qur’an, Hebrew Bible, and New Testament. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) offered the first reflection on the story of the Good Samaritan. He called upon his colleagues to put aside their differences, get off their high horses, as did the Samaritan, and remember their obligations to their constituents, especially the least among them.

Rep. John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, offered a Litany of Intercessions, which included a call for peace on earth and an end to violence, words that had deep meaning for me as I thought of the violence in Israel and Gaza. The Lord’s Prayer was then recited in Spanish by Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX).

Rep. Nancy Pelosi offered the final reflection on the story of the loaves and the fishes. She affirmed the miraculous nature of Jesus the Shepherd feeding 5,000 people, not counting women and children, with five loaves and two fish. But she added a belief that the miracle alone did not feed all gathered; the miracle itself was multiplied as it inspired others within the crowd to produce and share what little they had as well. Her interpretation was poignant in this time of economic turmoil.

It was a poignant service, moving many to the verge of tears. In the middle of the service, a soprano, Andrea Trusty, sang a soulful version of Let There Be Peace on Earth. When she finished, Shelley leaned toward me and said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if they opened each day with that song?”

With the Representatives gathered facing an economic crisis, war in the Middle East, and global climate change, I got the sense that they wouldn’t mind that at all. The 111th Congress has huge challenges to face; inspiration and prayer is needed. Let us remember that in the months ahead.