Posts Tagged ‘UUA Witness Ministries’

A Mother’s Day for All

No Comments | Share On Facebook| A Mother’s Day for All Share/Save/Bookmark Apr 20, 2013

In some ways, Mother’s Day is an easy holiday, right? Lots of people have important “mother” figures in their life, for whom they can find something in the greeting card aisle, buy flowers, or make breakfast in bed. We celebrate these women because we love them. Setting aside a special day for them acknowledges the critical and often underappreciated role they play in our lives and in our communities.

And yet, some experiences of motherhood aren’t so easily found in the greeting card aisle, such as families with queer or trans or two mothers. It might be impossible to make her breakfast in bed if she’s incarcerated or recently deported. While many of us already celebrate those women who raised us (whether she was our nanny, our grandmother, our aunt, our foster mother), how do we acknowledge the experiences of women who wanted children but couldn’t, due to economic circumstance, medical condition, unjust adoption rights, or any other reason? How do we stand on the side of love with all those who “mother” and their families?

This year on May 12, join me in celebrating a more inclusive “Mama’s Day.” Click here to learn more.

Mother’s Day was originally founded as an antiwar rallying cry by Unitarian Julia Ward Howe. This history reminds us that Mother’s Day is more than a day for flowers and pancakes. It’s a call to honor the resiliency of all those who mother, especially those who bear the brunt of hurtful policies or who are weighed down by stigma in our culture. It’s an opportunity to take action to create conditions that enable all families to thrive.

This year, transform your Mother’s Day into “Mama’s Day:” a multicultural, justice-oriented celebration of all those who “mama.” For the first time ever, the UUA has partnered with Strong Families, to offer beautiful e-cards and resources for advocacy, worship, and more.

Let’s do “Mama’s Day” on the side of love. Click here to find out how to transform your celebration this year.

Faithfully,

Jessica Halperin
Witness Ministries Program Associate
Unitarian Universalist Association

The message above went out on Saturday, April 20, 2013 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.

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Living Our Love Out Loud

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Living Our Love Out Loud Share/Save/Bookmark Mar 28, 2013

SSL Campaign Manager Jennifer Toth with post author Jessica Halperin at the Supreme Court.

“What do we want?”
“EQUALITY!”

“When do we want it?”
“NOW!”

I’m sure the walls of the Supreme Court’s building were built to withstand the roar of a crowd. I’m also fairly confident that, unfortunately, the nine justices inside couldn’t hear our dance party, our chants for justice, and the noisy conflicts between those for and against marriage equality. Nonetheless, the steps of the Supreme Court felt like a very important place to be. As the Court heard oral arguments on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, hundreds gathered on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to send a message to the world: Marriage is a right that should be available to all people who love each other.

With two full-size Standing on the Side of Love banners and prime real estate on either side of the road in front of the Supreme Court, Unitarian Universalists showed up in numbers. I had a great time chatting with UUs from around the region about why they had taken the morning off work, why they decided to take their kids out of school for a few hours, and why marriage equality is important to them.

Prime real estate in front of the Court. (Credit: Jessica Halperin)

As a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Witness Ministries team, one serious perk of my job is the opportunity to live our faith – live our love – out loud. I was proud in ways I can’t fully express to know that our entire faith community was behind us. We arrived in numbers because of our faith, not just in spite of it, because we know that love and sexuality and diversity are sacred gifts that draw us together into more full humanity. My day-to-day work on reproductive justice gives ample opportunity to live into this call of ours, but it was truly a special few days at the Supreme Court, to publically offer Unitarian Universalism and religious and spiritual affirmation to the movement for justice and liberation for all people who love each other.

I was also very proud to be holding up a corner of the Standing on the Side of Love banner, especially during the tense moments that the National Organization for Marriage rally paraded down the street between the pro-equality crowds.

“2, 4, 6, 8! Kids do better with love, not hate!”

They had a permit for the street, and we were crowded onto the sidewalks and the public space in front of the Court. The SSL banners had front-row seats as the NOM supporters marched by – one of our banners even got in front of the NOM rally! – and it was unnerving to look into their faces and signs. We were literally standing on the side of love. We were also standing on the side of justice and the right side of history. As much as I feared their bigotry, I felt sorry for the NOM marchers. It must be so much less fun to be fighting a losing battle for discrimination than propelling forward a movement all about love.

Calling for LGBTQ-inclusive immigration reform. (Credit: Jessica Halperin)

Speaking of love, this post would be incomplete if I didn’t give a shout out to the folks near us who were witnessing at the intersection of immigration reform and LGBTQ advocacy. We were lucky enough to stand right next to them at the Supreme Court and offer our support and cheers, as the Standing on the Side of Love campaign has before. Their presence was a great reminder that justice is interconnected, intersectional, intertwined.

This post was written by Jessica Halperin, a lifelong Unitarian Universalist from Pittsburgh and the UUA’s Witness Ministries Program Associate. Jess holds the environmental justice and reproductive justice portfolios for the UUA.

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Forward on Climate!

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Forward on Climate! Share/Save/Bookmark Feb 26, 2013

Post author Rev. Craig Roshaven and other UUs march under the SSL banner at the Forward on Climate rally. (Credit: Jennifer Toth)

Last Sunday I joined hundreds of Unitarian Universalists and tens of thousands of other concerned citizens at the largest ever gathering in the United States on climate change: the Forward on Climate Rally. One of the major demands of the day was urging President Obama to not approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

Before the estimated 40,000 participants encircled the White House, we heard a number of inspiring speakers, including Bill McKibben of 350.org, Michael Brune of the Sierra Club, Chief Jacqueline Thomas of Saik’uz First Nation, and Crystal Lameman of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation.

Many oppose the pipeline because of the threat that extracting all that oil presents to the climate. Others oppose it because of the threat of a major spill from the pipeline and the potential for increased air pollution from refineries processing the tar sands in impoverished communities. While I share these concerns, my principal focus is the effect approving the pipeline will have on the First Nations people whose health and way of life are currently at risk from the impacts of tar sands development. If the pipeline is approved, the rate and extent of extracting oil from the tar sands will increase dramatically. Already people living downstream and downwind are suffering from an increase in rare forms of cancer. Fish in the Athabasca River are often visibly deformed and unsafe to eat.

Mikisew Cree First Nation leaders believe that water pollution from tar sands development may be linked to an increased incidence of cancers found in the population of Fort Chipewyan located directly downstream from the most intensive tar sands development. In 2006, these concerns were brought into the public eye when Dr. John O’Connor, who serves small First Nations communities in the regions where the are sands are extracted, reported a high number of cases of unusual cancers, particularly a rare form of bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma. Despite these and other alarming findings, the Canadian government continues to deny these illnesses are a result of extracting oil from the tar sands. Concerns have also been raised that the amount of water being withdrawn from the Athabasca river system will threaten fish populations and the health of the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

In the face of this denial, First Nation leaders have been forced to turn to the courts to assert their constitutionally protected rights. According to Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation: “The federal government is neglecting its environmental responsibilities and ignoring our concerns. When the government fails to engage with First Nations about our concerns, and fails to respect our rights, these things have nowhere to go but the courts.”

It is because of these concerns that I am standing on the side of love with First Nations people in Canada, and adding my voice to theirs in opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. While the rally might be over, our work continues. Learn more about our work on environmental justice here.

This post was written by Rev. Craig C. Roshaven, Witness Ministries Director at the Unitarian Universalist Association.

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Taking Our Voice to the White House for Immigration Reform

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Taking Our Voice to the White House for Immigration Reform Share/Save/Bookmark Dec 19, 2012

Members of the IIC coalition including Rev. Roshaven (center) with Ms. Rodriguez.

Yesterday, I went with fellow members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) Steering Committee to meet with Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Associate Director of Latino Affairs and Immigration in the White House Office of Public Engagement, and present our list of key principles for compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform to the Obama Administration. I felt honored to represent the Unitarian Universalist community and proud of the good work that so many of our congregational and community leaders have done for migrant justice and the Beloved Community.

For us, any immigration reform that does not include a pathway to citizenship and prioritize keeping families together is unacceptable. As people of faith, we are calling for compassionate immigration reform legislation that:

• Addresses the root causes of migration,
• Creates a process for undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship,
• Keeps families together,
• Enacts the DREAM Act,
• Protects workers’ rights including agricultural workers,
• Places humanitarian values at the center of enforcement policies, and
• Protects refugees and migrant survivors of violence.

What can you do to help support our work for compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform? Local congregations and individual faith leaders can sign on to our letter to Congress listing key principles of immigration reform. Click here to learn more.

Additionally, your congregation or community group can participate in the upcoming Breaking Bread and Building Bridges campaign—a program to create and strengthen relationships between people of faith, impacted communities, and immigrants’ rights groups, and increase local capacity to effectively advocate for just immigration policies.

Keep your eye out in the coming weeks—we are also organizing a national immigration reform call-in on the day after Inauguration (January 22). Join folks from across the country in asking President Obama and Congress to enact compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship and keeps families together. The IIC Steering Committee will be visiting key members of congress on that same day. Add your voice to ours and help ensure that the faith community is heard!

Rev. Craig C. Roshaven

This post was written by Rev. Craig Roshaven, Unitarian Universalist Association Witness Ministries Director and a leader in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) Steering Committee.

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Changes at Standing on the Side of Love

No Comments | Share On Facebook| Changes at Standing on the Side of Love Share/Save/Bookmark Aug 07, 2012

As the Unitarian Universalist Association bids farewell to Dan Furmansky, we are moving quickly to find our next outstanding Standing on the Side of Love Campaign Manager. On August 1st the position was posted on the UUA website under “Careers” and “Callings/Job Openings.”

Click here to access the position description and share it.

The purpose and principal responsibilities of the position remain the same, and it will continue to be based in Washington, DC.

We will be interviewing candidates in August. If you know someone you think would be an outstanding candidate for this position, please encourage them to apply.

Last month, we significantly expanded the capacity of the campaign by hiring a full-time program assistant. Meredith Lukow has served as both a summer intern with the campaign, as well as a part-time employee over the past year. A recent graduate of American University, Meredith brings a great deal of skill, initiative, and enthusiasm to the newly created position of Standing on the Side of Love Program Assistant.

Rev. Craig C. Roshaven
UUA Witness Ministries Director

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