Posts Tagged ‘Maine’

Day 25: The Power of Truth & Reconciliation

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Day 25: The Power of Truth & Reconciliation Share/Save/Bookmark Feb 12, 2013

Today is Day 25 of the Thirty Days of Love. Today’s action is to learn more about truth, reconciliation, and how the power of forgiveness can lead us to better stand on the side of love. Click here for resources, family actions, and more! Click here for resources, family actions, and more! Click here to sign up for the daily Thirty Days of Love emails.

Esther Attean and Denise Altvater receive Courageous Love Awards

Today is a new day for the people of Maine. This very morning in the city of Bangor, the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is swearing in five newly selected commissioners.

In May 2011, Gov. Paul LaPage and the chiefs of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Indian Nation, the Houtlon Band of Maliseet Indians, and the Aroostook Band of Mickmacs signed an agreement to initiate a process of truth and reconciliation with regard to the child welfare practices in Maine where native children are 20 times more likely to be removed from their home and tribal community and placed in foster care. Maine is the first state in the country to initiate a process of truth and reconciliation with our indigenous communities.

Esther Attean and Denise Altvater, Passamaquoddy tribal members and founding staff of the TRC, were recently honored with Courageous Love Awards at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speaker Breakfast in Winthrop, Maine. Denise and Esther have worked countless hours to bring forward this historic and unique partnership. With numerous speaking engagements behind them and 3 years of work in front of them, they are changing lives and bringing the power of healing and transformation to people throughout Maine.

Esther and Denise have the rare ability to speak truth to the actions of Columbus, the colonization of the Americas, the Doctrine of Discovery, and the forced assimilation of native people, while owning their power and asking a room full of white folks to examine their privilege. And the truth telling doesn’t stop there. With undaunted courage, they bravely share their personal stories of generational trauma and imagine a new tomorrow for their people and the people of Maine.

Each time I hear Esther and Denise, I walk away empowered to enter more deeply into an honest openhearted engagement with my role as a colonizer and my life as the colonizers’ legacy.

Their work invites us to ask the question: how might the process of Truth and Reconciliation be implemented in a way that furthers the most pressing social justice issues of our time? How might it play a role in your own communities? Click here to learn more about Truth & Reconciliation.

In faith,

Rev. Carie Johnsen
Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, Maine

PS: This morning, you can also watch a livestream of the Wabanaki Truth & Reconciliation Commission seating ceremony via their Facebook page.

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A Celebration Worthy of Cake

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| A Celebration Worthy of Cake Share/Save/Bookmark Dec 27, 2012

Here at Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine, we recently celebrated our state’s vote for marriage equality during our Sunday services–an event complete with Standing on the Side of Love-themed cakes!

Standing on the Side of Love cakes!

We had two wedding cakes with same-sex edible marzipan couples as toppers, which the congregation shared during coffee hour. During the service itself, we danced around the sanctuary to commemorate the occasion.

Maine approved marriage equality by ballot measure in November. We are excited to begin having same-sex weddings here at our congregation in the new year!

Meret with her cake.

This post was contributed by Meret Bainbridge, a member of Allen Avenue UU Church.

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Love Wins Big at the Ballot Box

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Love Wins Big at the Ballot Box Share/Save/Bookmark 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.

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Take Action for Marriage Equality

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Take Action for Marriage Equality Share/Save/Bookmark 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,

annette_marquis

Annette Marquis
LGBTQ & Multicultural Ministries Program Manager
Unitarian Universalist Association

The message above went out on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Weddings, Funerals, & Marriage Equality

1 Comment | Share On Facebook| Weddings, Funerals, & Marriage Equality Share/Save/Bookmark Oct 15, 2012
sue_gabrielson

This post was written by Rev. Sue Gabrielson, pictured above with Mainers United for Marriage Campaign Director Matt McTighe.

As the Faith Director for Mainers United for Marriage, I am constantly called upon to tell my story. The folks I encounter working to bring marriage equality to Maine inevitably ask, “Why do you want to work on marriage for LGBTQ couples?” Many assume that I will share my desire to marry couples in my congregation, or friends of mine who have been in long-term loving relationships for many years. They think I will lift up the joy of performing marriage ceremonies and hosting weddings in the beautiful Unitarian Universalist church in southern Maine where I have served as minister for 10 years.

But, for me, marriage equality is more about funerals than about weddings. It is about the lives that are shattered when someone dies and they do not have a legal contract that binds them together. I tell the stories of grumpy families of origin who show up and claim custody of estranged grandchildren or demand the rights to their children’s home and money, leaving the deceased’s partner with nothing but grief and exponential loss. I tell the stories of partners who are left behind with no pension benefits or insurance. I tell the stories of families who claim the body of their loved one, plan a funeral, and exclude the lifelong partner because they “never agreed with their lifestyle anyway.”

If you think the issue of marriage equality does not belong in church; you’ve forgotten that it is already there. LGBTQ advocacy, including marriage equality IS a religious issue. It’s an issue about love, inclusion, and non-judgement. It’s about the greatest commandment that Jesus issued, to “Love one another, as I have loved you.” It’s about the Golden Rule, a variation of which appears in every major religion. It is about the Unitarian Universalist first principle of honoring the inherent worth and dignity of all people. It is about the oft-recited covenant: “Love is the spirit of this church, service is its law; this is our great covenant to dwell together in peace, seek the truth in love, and help one another.” Each and every time we talk to someone about the freedom to marry, we should think of our conversation as a prophetic encounter, inspired from the Holy that is within each one of us.

Here in Maine, people of faith are hard at work across the state advocating for marriage equality and “Yes on 1.” We kicked off the summer with an amazing Pride Parade in which some 400 people of faith marched through the streets of Portland. Many congregations are lending the campaign office space and organizing phone banks, door-to-door canvasses, and so much more. We are “Standing on the Side of Love” in ways that we never have before.

Even if you don’t live in Maine, Washington, Minnesota, or Maryland (the four states with marriage-related ballot measures), you can still get involved in the work for marriage equality this election season. Through the Vacation for Equality program, you can spend a week, two weeks, or a month—the time commitment is up to you—working on one of the equality campaigns. You can also use HRC’s revolutionary Call4Equality tool that uses the power of Facebook to help you get in touch with the people you know in these states. Please join me this fall in standing on the side of love for marriage equality.

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