Rev. Peter Morales, the new President on the Unitarian Universalist Association, invites everyone to stand on the side of love.
Archive for June, 2009
Standing on The Side of Love With Immigrant Families
Yesterday, over 1000 people from General Assembly and residents of Salt Lake City met together to stand in solidarity with immigrant families. We heard from interfaith leaders in the Catholic, Episcopalian communities and from Mr. Larry love, a local resident of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) whose Guatamalan wife is soon to be deported for being an undocumented immigrant. We also heard from activists working for fair treatment of Utah’s Latin American immigrants
The stories we shared and the presence of every one there was a moving and powerful experience.
Today, members of the Standing on the Side of Love team debriefed our experiences, each sharing a powerful and moving moment from the day. We shared laughs and tears as we heard each other’s stories. Rev. Meg Riley said, “I feel like I just went through worship.” We hope to share some of those stories this afternoon with video testimonials. We will also share clips and pictures from the event.
In the mean time, the local coverage of the event is amazing. Below is a selection of news stories about the event we sponsored.
The Salt Lake City Tribune put us on the front page. It gives an excellent account of the day’s event.
The Deseret News also gave an excellent description of the event (even if they underestimated the size of our crowd). It includes some excellent pictures.
The local affiliates of CBS and ABC helped put our rally in context of local immigration policy.
In other news:
The Standard Examiner helped invite the local community to our worship service on Sunday. All the proceeds from Sunday’s offering will go to support Utah Pride, a resource center for Utahns in the BGLTQ communities.
And the local NBC affiliate reported on the the thunderstorm last night that tore down our beautiful banner on the Salt Palace.
UU General Assembly Day 2 Report
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Jun 25, 2009
Jun 25, 2009
Adam Gerhardstein, Campaign Manager of SSLove, checks in from campaign headquarters on Thursday of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly.
Life and Love Abundant
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Jun 25, 2009
Jun 25, 2009
Megan Lloyd Joiner
Salt Lake City
As a recent seminary graduate, I was thrilled to join the Standing on the Side of Love team at the 2009 UU General Assembly. Last week, I participated in a conference call briefing from rain-soaked New York City. On my way to another meeting, I sat in my car on a bridge overlooking the Hudson River and listened to Meg Riley and Adam Gerhardstein outline the power and potential of the Standing on the Side of Love campaign now being launched here in sunny Salt Lake City. I was blown away.
When we ground our social witness, our spiritual and political practice, and our ethical action in our theological imperative—to love all people and profess the unity of all being—we become relevant in a world desperately seeking the voices of Unitarian Universalists and people of faith of all denominations who proclaim that love, not hate, guides us in all we do.
There has been much talk of prophets during my journey to and sojourn here in Salt Lake City. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible tell us that without vision, the people perish. Joseph Smith, proclaimed prophet of the Mormon Church, strove for a renewal of Christian life that was founded in the love of God, a love that would bring people peace. Standing on the Side of Love is our vision; Living on the Side of Love is our peace.
This morning, Rabbi Sandy Sasso, author of God’s Paintbrush, told a story about another Salt Lake:
There are two lakes in the land of Israel, the Rabbis say. One is filled with fish; water flows in and out. Life is abundant. The other is salty, stagnant. Water flows in, but not out. No fish swim there; there is no life of any kind. This second lake is known as the Dead Sea. There are two lakes in the land of Israel, these prophets tell us. There are two kinds of people in the world.
Now, I believe that there are many more than two kinds of people in the world. But I do know what it means to be stagnant. I know what it means to have love flow into my being and not have the energy, the time, or the courage to let anything flow out. And, blessedly, I know what it means to truly be alive. To live and love abundantly means that we are motivated by the deepest love imaginable. It means living out—every day, every moment—our understanding of each human being as sacred, that we are called to witness to our cherished belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all souls. We are called to let Life and Love flow through us. This is a sacred challenge.
Living abundantly means to Stand of the Side of Love. This campaign is the beginning of something big. Now is the time for people of faith, committed to Love above all else, to ground our action, our social justice work, our very lives, in a theological message of love and hope for all people. I am enthusiastically on board. Won’t you Join us on the Side of Love?
Sonia Sanchez Stands on the Side of Love
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Jun 24, 2009
Jun 24, 2009
Poet/Activist Sonia Sanchez gave the keynote address to the UU Ministers Association gathering yesterday. Standing on the Side of Love caught up with Ms. Sanchez to ask her what standing on the side of love means to her.
