Posts Tagged ‘First UU Church of Columbus’

Day 15: We Are the Love People

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Day 15: We Are the Love People Share/Save/Bookmark Feb 02, 2013

Today is Day 15 of the Thirty Days of Love. Today’s action is to share our new Standing on the Side of Love video  with your friends and family. Click here for resources, family actions, and more! Click here to sign up for the daily Thirty Days of Love emails.

Have you ever struggled to explain our campaign to your friends and family as you encourage them to get involved? Ever felt stumped by what exactly it means to “stand on the side of love”?

Well, we’ve got you covered! Standing on the Side of Love produced this fun, inspiring message about who we are and what we do:

For today’s action, share the video with your friends and family, and encourage them join us on our spiritual journey for social justice! We are only halfway through our Thirty Days of Love, and there are plenty more great actions coming up, including getting involved in compassionate immigration reform, exploring how creativity lifts up our work, and of course, celebrating National Standing on the Side of Love Day!

In faith,

Jennifer Toth
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love

PS: Save the date for our Thirty Days of Love closing service! We’re partnering with the Church of the Larger Fellowship to come together online to celebrate the Thirty Days on Sunday, February 17 at 8:00pm ET and Monday, February 18 at 9:00am and 1:30pm ET. Stay tuned for more details!

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Celebrating “Freedom to Love, Freedom to Marry”

2 Comments | Share On Facebook| Celebrating “Freedom to Love, Freedom to Marry” Share/Save/Bookmark May 03, 2012
freedomtoloveohio

Clergy and speakers gather before the "Freedom to Love, Freedom to Marry" service at the First UU Church of Columbus.

In February, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio held an interfaith “Freedom to Love, Freedom to Marry” service attended by over 300 people and described by Robert Rice, Jr., co-chair of the congregation’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), as “a whopping success!” The service was funded in part by a grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Freedom to Marry Fund, which gives grants to Unitarian Universalist congregations and groups across the country for work in lobbying, advertising, and educating about marriage equality.

Clergy from seven religious denominations participated including representatives from the Unitarian Universalist, Baptist, United Church of Christ, Episcopalian, and Jewish faith traditions. The service affirmed the congregations’ commitment to marriage equality and gave participants the opportunity to rededicate themselves to a partner or spouse. In addition, a collection taken at the event enabled the congregation to make a donation of over $500 to the Equality Ohio Education Fund.

The planning committee, based primarily out of First UU Columbus, used a multi-prong approach to publicize the event that combined social, print, and mainstream media. Their amazing efforts garnered them an op-ed in Outlook, an interview on the local radio program “All Sides with Ann Fisher,” an article in the Columbus Dispatch, and coverage by the Columbus NBC affiliate.

Rice said of the event, “I would like to thank the Unitarian Universalist Association for the support of the wonderful event. The GSA and the Justice Action Ministry at First UU Church will continue to work towards marriage equality in Ohio.”

You can watch highlights from “Freedom to Love, Freedom to Marry” here:

In 2012, monies have also been donated from the President’s Freedom to Marry Fund to the UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland to support a marriage equality prayer breakfast at the height of the legislative session and to the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance to support their organizing efforts against a proposed constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

Get more information on UUA Freedom to Marry grants here.

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Report by Jolinda Stephens from the Phoenix Courtroom

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Report by Jolinda Stephens from the Phoenix Courtroom Share/Save/Bookmark Jan 24, 2011

Jolinda Stephens of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus was in the courtroom in Phoenix on Thursday to support her fellow protesters. She reports:

Defendants Colin Bossen and Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, both Unitarian Universalist ministers from Ohio, testified for the defense. Rev. Bossen indicated that he was in the street in Phoenix because he felt it was important that he, as a religious leader, testify to love, rather than the fear that gave rise to SB1070. Rev. Carvill-Ziemer testified that she felt compelled to speak out against laws, such as 1070, that are unjust and immoral.

A key element for the finding of guilty under the statute that the group was charged with violating is recklessness. The prosecutor tried to get both to indicate that entering a major street was reckless. Rev. Bossen spoke with authority from his experience in speaking up for justice. He said he has never witnessed any instance of vehicles entering a street crowded with people. That was his experience whether they were cordoned by the police or not.

Additionally, Rev. Carvill-Ziemer emphasized the fact that compared with the seriousness of the violations of human rights she was protesting, she would not think having to walk or drive a block or two out of way could not be a substantial inconvenience.

I think that the judge’s ruling was largely based on the fact that we did not act recklessly, and there seemed to be a real recognition that 1st Admendment rights must be given considerable weight.

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