Posts Tagged ‘election’

A 30-Day Spiritual Journey for Social Justice

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Nov 27, 2012

The election is behind us, but I’m still smiling when I think of all of the ways love won out at the polls. I’m thrilled that in just a few weeks, same-sex couples will finally begin marrying in my home state of Maryland, and a bill offering in-state tuition for young DREAMers—affirmed by a popular vote—will become law. I’m also really excited by another development that has emerged since November 6th: commitments by both Democrats and Republicans to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform. Within our grasp is the promise of a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented individuals in the United States who currently live in the shadows. This is a tremendous opportunity!

The wheels in my brain are turning as I think about all the ways I might work with local congregations and community leaders to push Congress to make lasting, humane immigration reform a reality. Fatefully, National Standing on the Side of Love Month, our Thirty Days of Love, will begin just as Congress reconvenes in January. Our Thirty Days is a spiritual journey for social justice, and the ideal time for us to lift up our voices together for a law that focuses on real people, and on keeping families together.

Please start thinking now about how you can work with your congregation, local advocacy organizations, and migrant rights groups during the Thirty Days of Love, January 19-February 17, to make a difference.

If you belong to a UU congregation, apply for a Standing on the Side of Love Matching Grant now to support your congregational efforts ahead. Click here to learn more about these grants.

The Fund for UU Social Responsibility makes funds available as matching grants of $500-$1,500 to UU congregations participating in the Standing on the Side of Love campaign. These grants are an ideal way to augment your social justice efforts during the Thirty Days of Love, whether your focus is marriage equality, anti-discrimination laws, or migrant rights. One year, our UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland received a grant that enabled us to make a video showcasing the breadth of religious support for marriage equality, and deliver the video to every legislator in the state. Another year, the grant supported a prayer breakfast for LGBTQ equality right near the State House, with legislators and press invited to participate.

As the New Year approaches, I make commitments to dedicate and rededicate myself to building the beloved community. I ask myself what more I can do for the underprivileged, marginalized, and oppressed. I love that shortly after the New Year we have a dedicated period called Thirty Days of Love where we actively strive to make the world a better place by centering ourselves, connecting with others, examining where we have been and would like to go, and engaging in sharing the love that speaks to our core values.

Please join me in making commitments now for Thirty Days of Love, January 19-February 17. Learn more about Standing on the Side of Love Matching Grants and make a plan to apply for one today. Questions? Email love@uua.org.

In faith,

Rev. John Crestwell
Annapolis, Maryland

The message above went out on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

Tags: 30 Days of Love, election, grant, LGBTQ, Maryland DREAM Act, National Standing on the Side of Love Day, National Standing on the Side of Love Month, Rev. John Crestwell, UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland

Love Wins Big at the Ballot Box

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Nov 07, 2012

Pinch me! I, like many of you, still can’t believe that this moment has finally arrived.

Yesterday, voters in Maine and Maryland affirmed marriage equality at the ballot box. Minnesota became the first state in the country to reject writing discrimination into its state constitution. And, while the ballots are still being counted, marriage equality appears headed for passage in Washington State. These outcomes may influence the U.S. Supreme Court when it considers the constitutionality of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. After working for more than a decade for LGBTQ equality, I’m ecstatic to say that the United States has reached the tipping point. We are poised to take our place among the other nations of the world who stand on the side of love.

But wait–there’s more! Wisconsin voters elected Tammy Baldwin–the first openly-LGBTQ American, and a woman of profound integrity–to the U.S. Senate, offering new hope and a shining example of success to young people who are hoping that it will get better, who will know they can achieve anything. Electoral outcomes in New Hampshire and Iowa mean marriage equality is most likely safe in those states, and the composition of Colorado’s legislature could mean new possibilities for relationship recognition for same-gender couples. Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins has retained his seat after anti-gay forces tried to oust him for joining in a unanimous 2009 decision for marriage equality.

Of course, whether we are Republicans and Democrats, all of us understand that when it comes to advancing equality for LGBTQ people in our nation, there was simply no contest between President Obama and Governor Romney. Hopefully, with President Obama’s leadership, we will never again have a sitting president who does not support full equality for LGBTQ people in our country.

Friends, Election 2012 is our moment. Love wins big!

Of course, our victories go much further than just LGBTQ equality. Voters in my home state of Maryland became the first in the nation to ever vote on a DREAM Act measure at the ballot, signaling resounding approval for providing in-state tuition to undocumented residents. Minnesota voters rejected a regressive voter ID amendment. And voters in two states–Colorado and Washington–said yes to decriminalizing marijuana. In an ideal world, this could indicate a shift in our national conversation about drug laws that disproportionately affect poor communities of color.

As these victories set in, however, we remember that this is really about people, and our love for one another. “Gratitude” is the number one word I am hearing emerge from the mouths of those who had so much invested in outcomes yesterday.

So today, let us all offer our gratitude to one another for our collective work to bend the arc of the world towards greater love and justice.

In faith,

Dan Furmansky
Former Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

The message above went out on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

Tags: ballot measure, Constitutional Amendment, Dan Furmansky, decriminalization, election, Election 2012, Election Day, Maine, marriage equality, Maryland, Maryland DREAM Act, Minnesota, Tammy Baldwin, voter ID, voter suppression, voting rights, Washington State

Speak, Act, Vote with Love

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Nov 02, 2012

With just a few days remaining until Election Day, we’re all at the breaking point–waiting has become excruciating, our patience is flagging, and we’re moments away from throwing the television out the window to avoid another campaign ad. Amid this climate of dual frustration and anticipation, it is easy to lose sight of what truly matters.

This inspiring video, created by Elliott Cennamo, reminds us that LOVE is the true antidote for the fear and hate that is so widespread during this election season:

Please help us spread this message of love before the election on Tuesday. Simply click here to share the video with your friends on Facebook, or click here to share via Twitter.

Many of us care about the same things. Who will be elected President? Who will hold majorities in Congress? Will Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin become the first openly gay individual to be elected to the U.S. Senate? Will various ballot initiatives across the country—on marriage equality, voter ID, animal welfare, reproductive justice, health care, the death penalty, and so much more—become law or be rejected?

No matter the outcome of these social justice issues that we care so deeply about, what gives us hope is that people like you all over the country will never stop working to make our society a more compassionate, loving, just place. Of all the things people in the world choose to worship, LOVE is right there at the top for all of you.

Thank you for all you do to promote justice in the world. And as Elliott’s video reminds us, may we all remember during this trying time to speak, act, and vote with love.

In faith & justice,

The Standing on the Side of Love Team

The message above went out on Friday, November 2, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

Tags: ballot measure, election, Election 2012, Election Day, Elliott Cennamo, marriage amendment, marriage equality, Voting on the Side of Love

Erring on the Side of Love (Theologically Speaking…)

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Oct 24, 2012

This post was written by Rev. David A. Miller, minister of the UU Fellowship of San Dieguito and SSL Creative Advisory Team member.

As I listen and view the debates on marriage equality and all the issues during this election season, I cannot help but remember a conversation I had with a professor while attending seminary. She said, “do not get into a debate about whose interpretation of scripture is wrong or right, it is a discussion that you will never win.” I think she said this because there are so many chapters in the Bible, so many verses that can be read one way or the other, that is possible to “proof-text,” or pull out what one needs to prove one’s point.

Some say that the bible is inerrant, that each verse is the word of God–but is that not easier for the issues that one wishes to highlight and a little more difficult for those verses that time, customs, and culture have changed? I love that line they use in The West Wing from Leviticus 11:6-8 about how one should not be touching the skin of a dead pig because it makes one unclean, but I sure know a lot of deeply religious people of all denominations that love football. Another favorite is Exodus 35:2 – “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.”

My point is it is not just about the words, but about the spirit of the whole idea–what is the overall message of the Bible? Since we all choose passages, here are my two texts I would like to “proof:”

Matthew 22:37-40:
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

And,

1 Corinthians 13
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

As a raised-Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, agnostic, mystic, post-Christian Jesus appreciator, I am really far from a biblical scholar, which detractors would be happy to point out, but this seems pretty clear to me: “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” I can have all the faith in the world, but it means nothing if I do not have love. Love is the be-all and the end-all message of almost all of the wisdom traditions. Relationships of mutual love, of mutual respect, of mutual understanding, and of mutual commitment are heralded in the wisdom literature.

So whether or not I read or understand the Bible as detailed poetry, incredibly wise metaphoric lessons, or literal interpretations, I choose to err on the side of love. I choose to spend my time on earth praying that love conquers all, not praying with others that love be kept on the sidelines of that football stadium, (with perhaps the pigskin). I choose to spend my time on this earth taking from these wise and timeless lessons, that love is the request, love is the rule, and love is the reason. That is why I intend to be kind to those who hold views in opposition to mine, support love everywhere possible, support the right for two people who love each other, whoever they are, to marry and, in this and all elections, intend to cast my vote on the side of love.

Tags: Bible, election, Election 2012, Election Day, LGBT rights, LGBTQ, love, marriage equality, Rev. David A. Miller, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of San Dieguito, vote

Take Action for Marriage Equality

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Oct 23, 2012

When my wife and I were married in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond, VA, two years ago next month, we celebrated our love and our commitment openly with our family and friends in our spiritual home. At the same time, we knew that we would not be receiving any of the benefits and protections from the state and federal government we would have received had we been a man and a woman. So in lieu of gifts, we asked our guests to make donations to support Equality Virginia.

With just two weeks left until Election Day, there is great hope that 2012 could be a tipping point for LGBTQ equality at the ballot box. Voters in Washington, Maine, and Maryland have the opportunity to approve marriage equality laws, while Minnesota voters will hopefully vote “no” to writing discrimination into their state constitution.

No matter where you live, you can take action to support marriage equality. Click here to get involved.

There are several innovative programs that allow marriage equality supporters across the country to take action. The Human Rights Campaign has developed a revolutionary “Call4Equality” tool that harnesses the power of Facebook to connect you with people you know in these states. The tool automatically creates personalized call lists and scripts for you to drum up votes and volunteers. For the more travel-inclined, you can work on one of the equality campaigns through United for Marriage’s “Volunteer Vacation” program.

Please join me in standing on the side of love this election season. Click here to find out how you can speak out for marriage equality no matter where you live.

Two years ago, my wife and I knew that Virginia was, and still is, a long way from voting to approve marriage equality. But this year in Washington, Maine, and Maryland, we have a real chance – a chance to make it clear that attitudes have changed – that the majority of Americans now support the right of everyone to marry the person they love. And, in Minnesota, we have a shot at saying “no” to defining marriage according to a few people’s view of what love should be. Help us seize this opportunity. Please take action for marriage equality today.

In faith,