UUFR Social Action Committee
The
UUFR Social Action Committee serves as a catalyst for peace and social
justice to realize the seven UU principles within our Fellowship and
the global community.
The committee meets
in
the Music Room
in Fellowship Hall from 7-9PM on alternating 4th Mondays and 4th
Tuesdays. Next
meeting dates: Feb 26, Mar 24, Apr 22, May 26, June
24, July 28, Aug 26, Sept 22, Oct 28, Nov 24. Contact Sonia
Ensenat
for more information at se@nightsky-systems.com
From
one of our members: "As a Unitarian Universalist, social justice work
is spiritual to me because it brings people together to address our
common problems and in so doing it builds community, understanding and
respect for one another."
On-Going Groups and Initiatives (pdf)
On-Going Events
Special Events
What have we done lately?
Links to other
social justice
websites Join
our e-mail list
Forms
What have we done lately?
Submit
your stories to se@nightsky-systems.com
We're sad to
say good-bye to Ken and Mary Alice
Knight, who are moving to Greensboro this June. Ken has
been a leader in social action at our church as long as he's been a
member, taking on the job of chair of the social action committee for 4
years. Greensboro is not that far, so we expect to see you around
here, Ken !
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Congregations for Social Justice
(CSJ) continues to be in contact with the City of Raleigh about the
role of affordable housing in
the city's Comprehensive Plan. Bob
Moxley and Sonia Ensenat worked with other CSJ members to write
our official comments to the city's draft plan. Our comments
included support for the city's proposal to set city-wide affordable
housing targets and called for looking at a broader range of strategies
with special attention to renter households, which make up
approximately 80% of the households that lack affordable housing.
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Thank you to
the committed UUFR group that traveled to New Orleans in May to help with the
rebuilding effort there. Mary
Lovelock, Robin Allen, Jim VanKirk, Ray Gonzales and Myrtle Hepler
were among the UUFRians who devoted a week to building, painting and
general cleanup.
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May 10 - Thank
you for helping us raise $4000 to build a school in San Ramon,
Nicaragua! The Sister
Communities of San Ramon (www.san-ramon.org) is the developer and
owner of Finca Esperanza Verde Ecolodge (FEV), Organic Coffee Farm and
Private Forest Reserve. FEV is self-sustaining through revenue
from tourism and coffee sales; it has received international
recognition as a model of poverty alleviation through sustainable
tourism. This fund-raiser was sponsored by Sacred Heart
Cathedral,
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and UUFR.
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May 3 - It was
messy
but fun. Lots of kids (and some adults) helped paint a tent of
hope at the UUFR block party. Laura
Martin, Jane Hunt and Sonia Ensenat were there to contain the
mess. The tents are part of the Tents of Hope project to bring
attention to the plight of the people of Darfur. The tents are
being painted all over the country and will be displayed in Washington
D.C. in November.
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April 22 - Carmen White and Christina Stableford were hard at
work at Raleigh's Earth Day
celebration. Christina says: "I worked at the NC Climate Action
Network (NCCAN) booth, capturing photo petitions - people would write
on a small white board the first thing they want our new Governor and
President to do about Global Warming, hold it up in front of them and
we'd take a digital picture. All will be compiled on a web-based
photo gallery. Kind of a cool idea !"
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We did it ! Several of
us attended the Raleigh City Council meeting of April 1 to lobby for affordable housing as part of Congregations
for Social Justice (CSJ). Some of us there were: Kate Dennis, Diann Irwin, Sue Marshall,
Chris and Cherie Estes, Laura Martin, Robin Allen, Bill and Libby
Isler, Chary and Bob Sunstrom and Lois Borresen. Many
churches and civic groups participated - the overall CSJ turnout was around 175! Rev.
Bill McKinney of Pullen Baptist Church addressed the Council on behalf
of CSJ requesting that the council create a special task force for
affordable housing. Discussion followed about the appropriateness
of the timing since the first draft of Raleigh's Comprehensive Plan is
to come out in October. It was resolved when Michelle Grant,
director of the Community Development Department volunteered to present
a proposal for the creation of the task force in two weeks time.
Two weeks later, the city council
unanimously approved the formation of the task force.
Well done !
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The Journey
Toward Wholeness (JTW) Antiracism group provided lunch and a viewing of
the documentary "Mirrors of Priviledge; Making White Visible" for 38 people on Sunday March
30th. Myrtle Hepler led
the discussion after the film. JTW hopes to sponsor additional
films and discussions in the future.
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The UUFR
social action committee has nominated
Jim and Jane Hunt for the UUSC's
Social Action Leadership Award. The award honors creative,
inspiring and effective leadership by an individual or group working
for justice. The recipient(s) must have demonstrated an
outstanding model of committed and effective action relating to UUSC
programs & priorities. Jim and Jane certainly represent this
with all their work against torture, the death penalty, the Iraq
occupation and the humanitarin crisis in Darfur.
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Was that our Jane Hunt on the radio? It
sure was! Jane was on "Traces of Faces and Places" (WSHA 88.9FM)
with Margaret Rose Murray on March 22nd to talk about "Sister Patricia", who almost
single-handedly founded three orphanages in
Rwanda, following the
genocide there. Sister Patricia will speak in Raleigh on April
12th
- check our Special Events section for
details.
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It was pink
all over in the latest episode of Independent Voices'
documentaries. Among other things, it covered the March 15th peace vigil at the NC
State Capitol grounds led by the Code Pink
ladies. The vigil commemmorated the 5th anniversary of the
start of the Iraq war/occupation.
Our Own Christina Stableford
spoke movingly about how false claims about links between Al-Qaeda and
Saddam Hussein led us into war and how the war is draining resources
that could be otherwise used for schools, health care and other
pressing needs at home.
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| On Saturday,
March 15, several members of the Middle
School Youth Group and some parents spent the afternoon at
Operation Sharehouse, the warehouse facility for Stop Hunger Now, packaging meals for
hungry people in Central America. This hunger relief project was funded
by the Social Action Committee. The participating members (and their
parents) were: Peter Devore (and
Laura Devore), Josh Dickerson, Benjamin Hames (and his dad), Eileen
Harvey (and Grace Harvey and Aunt Ann), Katie Howell (and Cheryl and
Mike Howell), Robert Lagle (and Jamie Kearney and two friends), and
Breanna Smith-Kerr (and Wendy Kerr). The Youth Group and the SAC
were responsible for packaging 3000
meals. |
Lisa & Jeff Stratford, Jennifer Wallace, Bob Fitzgerald and
Les Seitz
were among the many UUFRians who attended the Triangle UU Social
Justice Empowerment Workshop on March 8th. Approximately 100 UU’s
from the Raleigh, Durham, Hillsborough, and Chapel Hill fellowships
gathered at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship to share a
day-long workshop on social justice. The workshop gave us an
opportunity to consider the linkages between our spirituality and our
commitments to social justice work. In the afternoon break-out
groups, we developed proposals for 1) congregation-wide projects; 2)
cluster-wide projects (Triangle-wide project); 3) optimal structure for
our social justice programs; and 4) ways to more fully engage our
respective congregations in social justice consciousness and
work. We hope you’ll help us leverage this awareness and
groundwork to move to a new level of social justice consciousness and
action at UUFR.
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UUFR hosted a
lecture by linguist George Lakoff, author of "Don't Think of
an Elephant", on March 1st. Blueprint NC sponsored the event
for leaders of progressive organizations throughout the Triangle.
Lakoff explained how language can be co-opted to serve a political
agenda. He then showed us how to move terms like "freedom" or
"justice" back toward their original meanings as we advocate for causes
that align with our UU principles.
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As the drought
continues, we're all doing our part.As an example, Mary Lovelock and Bob Chapman have two rain barrels
and use run-off water from the shower or doing the dishes to flush the
toilet. On average, residential use accounts for 56% of the water
use state-wide, so any water conservation we do at home, does make a
difference. If you haven't yet, check out the state's water use
calculator - it lets you see how much water you're using and where
conservation will be most effective. In my household, for
example, most of the water use comes from showers and flushing the
toilets.
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Congratulations
to Laura Martin who after a
lot of hard work made the transition from the better-paying private
sector to the more-rewarding non-profit sector. Laura starts work
on March 3rd as the Employment Liasion for the Ten-Year
Plan to End Homelessness.
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Christina Stableford, Lois Borresen, Bo
Peeples, Steven Waters and other UUFR members joined
approximately 200 fellow Wake County residents and government
representatives at the community forum titled ¨Will the Water Run Out¨ on
February 23rd at NC State University´s McKimmon Center. The
event was designed to educate residents and spur debate about how
Raleigh and other Triangle communities can better manage the
region´s water resources and was supported by UUFR Social Justice
funds. Some of you may have caught Lois on News 14 !
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Diane Chen, Lynda Hambourger, Tracy Morris
and Jim Vankirk just
got back from Nicaragua. Diane writes about the trip: "We were so
pleased and encouraged to learn about the positive impact from UU
congregations to the Sister Communities. The evidence of changes
was everywhere: more schools were built, better qualified teachers were
hired; the water quality was improved with a water treatment system,
and they even hired a part time therapist to work in the town's
disabled children center." The UUFRians enjoyed some
bird-watching, hiking and just being away from phones, TVs and hot
showers for a few days.
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Historic Thousands march on Jones street (HKonJ), led by the NAACP and over 60
partner organizations, to ask legislators to support a broad 14-point
agenda
covering issues such as a livable wage, increased access to health care
and immigration reform.
Among the thousands, marched 21 UUFR members including Linda Watson, Jeff Bruton, Mike Howell,
Carmen & Mark White and Rev. Tom and Ticie Rhodes. We
also spotted members of the Community
Church of Chapel Hill, Unitarian Universalist, Code Pink, People of Faith Against the
Death Penalty and members of Pullen
Baptist and Raleigh Mennonite
Church who work with us in Congregations
for Social Justice.
Chris Estes,
UUFR member and executive director of the NC Housing Coalition spoke at the
event, emphasizing the need for safe, affordable housing. Click here to
read the 14-point agenda.
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Still doing
well: the 3 clients of Derrick's
Renaissance House
that got their own supportive housing units back in September(?) thanks
to security deposits provided by UUFR's social action
funds. Derrick's Renaissance House provides services to
improve the quality of life of adults with mental illness.
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Along with
many other congregations, we were recognized by the UUSC for our
commitment to justice and human rights. UUFR received the 2007
James Luther Adam award, given to congregations that contribute at
least $1/member to the UUSC out of their line-item budgets. Click
here for the full
list of awards.
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Seen around
town: Laura Martin & Sonia Ensenat
along with many other Congregations
for Social Justice members
helped with Wake County's Point in Time Count of the homeless on
January 31st. The Point-in-Time count is a count of the homeless
population on a given night of the year. Click here
for the United Way's summary of the event.
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Congratulations
to Diann Irwin, Bill Isler and
the rest of the Journey Towards
Wholeness
folks who, along with other Raleigh activists successfully lobbied the
Raleigh city council to enforce the Fair Housing Act at the city
level. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discriminatory housing
practices (e.g. based on race or disability) and the act was being
enforced at the state level, which makes it easier for law-breaking
landlords to "fly under the radar". We're proud of you !
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At least 30
UU's marched behind a UU banner on January 21st in the Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial March in downtown Raleigh. We wore our
UU Social Action buttons, sang and huddled together for warmth !
Spotted in the UU crowd were Mary
King, Rand & Diann Irwin, Lynda Hambourger, Dev Munn, Bill Isler,
Lynne Myers, Wally Myers & Margaret Peeples, Tom Karches, Jule
Shanklin, Jane and Jim Hunt, several members of the newly revived young
adult UU group and Rev. Tom, Ticie & Alden Rhodes.
Come join us again on February 9th for the HK on J event and let's hope
for warmer weather.
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On-Going Events
All
events are at UUFR, free and open
to the public unless otherwise noted. To add or update any event
listed here, please send an email to se@nightsky-systems.com.
Anytime - Drop off food in the food
barrels in Fellowship Hall. The food is donated to Urban Ministries'
food pantry. Only canned food and non-perishables like
rice. No glass and no baby food, please. Questions?
Contact Carmen White or Lois Cavanagh-Daley.
Most every Sun, noon-12:30PM - Social
Action Table Drop by the social action table during coffee
hour to chat, sign up for events or pick up articles of interest.
Most every Sun, noon-12:30PM - Buy fair
trade coffee and tea (by the pound) during
coffee hour - look for Ken Knight (tall guy usually with a funny
hat). 80% of the proceeds go to support clean water projects in
Nicaragua. The other 20% is usually allocated for
sustainable projects - last year, part of the coffee /tea proceeds went
to buy green (renewable) energy credits to offset UUFR's energy
consumption. You can contribute to green power in your monthly
electric bill ($4/month buys 100kW-hrs), click here
for more information.
Every Mon, 5-6PM - Vigil to oppose the
death penalty. In front of Central Prison, 1300 Western
Blvd., Raleigh. Questions? Contact Jane Hunt.
1st Wed, noon - 1PM - Vigil to end the arms race.
This vigil has been going on for over 20 years! In front of the
post office on Fayetteville Street (300 Fayetteville St), Raleigh.
2nd Mon, 7-9PM - Congregations for
Social Justice (CSJ) Affordable
Housing Task Group meeting. Rotating locations.
Contact Laura Martin or Sonia Ensenat for details.
2nd Wed, noon - 8:30-10AM - Congregations for Social Justice (CSJ)
meeting. Rotating locations. Contact Laura Martin or
Sonia Ensenat for details.
3rd Sat, 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM - Source Force
lunch party. Source
Force is an event that helps people in our community living with
AIDS or cancer that are at or near the poverty level.
Work hours are from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM, but clients are there from
10-1. Volunteers are welcome but must attend a 2-hr. training and
volunteers under 18 must have a parent present. Contact Suzanne
Lewis Brown (942-0442) or Claire (772-9539) to volunteer (or for more
information).
3rd Sun, 11:30-1PM - Help provide lunch for the women at the
Helen Wright Center, a homeless shelter run by Urban Ministries of Wake
County. If you'd like to help, contact Lois Cavanagh-Daley at returned54@yahoo.com.
4th Sun, 10:30 AM-noon - Fourth Sunday
collection during Sunday services goes towards social justice
projects.
4th Sun, 6:30-8:30PM - Independent Voices film
screenings.
Independent Voices is a cable access television show that focuses on
the stories that the mainstream media ignores. It is produced
solely by volunteers and can be seen on Channel 8 in Durham (9PM
Fridays). Clara Barton room.
Alternating 4th Mon and 4th Tues, 7-9PM -
Social Action Committee
meetings
in the Music Room. All are welcome, but please contact Sonia
Ensenat at least 2 days prior to meeting if you have agenda items.
Exact meeting dates: February 26th, March 24, April 22, May 26th,
June
24, July 28, Aug 26, Sept 22, Oct 28, Nov 24.
5th Sun, 10:30 AM-noon - Fifth Sunday
collection during Sunday services goes towards a charitable
cause chosen by the congregation at the beginning of each year.
Monthly - NC
Stop Torture Now meetings.
Contact Roger
Ehrlich for more information.
Special Events
All events are at UUFR, free and open
to the public unless otherwise noted. To add or update any event
listed here, please send an email to se@nightsky-systems.com.
June 14, 9:30-10:30AM or June 17, 6:30-7:30 PM – June is Affordable
Housing Month. Habitat Wake has a great way for you to take
action to create homeownership
opportunities for neighbors in need. The Habitat Wake
homeownership program gives a hand up to people who earn modest incomes
and pay expensive rent or live in substandard housing. Someone
you know may qualify to build and purchase a home built by Habitat
Wake. Suggest this person attend a homeownership information
session. These are held at Habitat Wake offices the 2nd Saturday
and 3rd Tuesday of each month. No RSVP required, no fee to apply.
2420 Raleigh Blvd. Call Mary Constantino 833-1999 x249 with
questions or visit www.habitatwake.org/homeowners.
June 21,
3-7PM – Triangle Land Conservancy's Green Jamboree at the Irvin
Farm with musical guest: The Bluegrass Experience. Enjoy a BBQ
dinner (vegetarian options), bluegrass music, guided hikes,
catch-and-release fishing in the small farm pond (bring your own bait
and tackle) and lawn games (we'll have some but please bring your
favorites too !). There will be a large tent with tables and
seating available but you may also want to bring your favorite picnic
blanket or your camp chairs. At 4PM, outdoor retailer REI will
put on their PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) program
for kids. Green Jamboree is also serving as TLC's annual membership
meeting. The Irvin Farm is a 269-acre mix of farmland and forest
in Orange County; the farm was bequeathed to TLC by Logan and Elinor
Irvin. Tickets $10 in advance/$15 day off (kids under 12 free).
Click here
(www.tlc-nc.org/news/calendar/jamboree08.shtml)
for full details & to purchase tickets.
June 26, 7-9:30 PM Transit: Is Wake County
Ready for it? A
public forum to discuss the issue of transit in Wake County and the
Triangle. Keynote speaker: Carol Coletta, CEO - CEO for Cities,
national urbanism expert and host of NPR syndicated program Smart
Cities. The forum also includes comments from Keith Parker, CEO,
Charlotte Area Transit System, discussion by community business leaders
on how transit can provide economic opportunities for Wake County and
an overview of a new proposal for regional transit in Wake County and
the Triangle. NCSU McKimmon Center. Registration begins at
6:30.
See www.wakeupwakecounty.com
for more details. UUFR is a community supporter of this event.
July 13, 12:30-2:30
PM – Documentary: "Love Lived on Death Row"
The film chronicles how the children of Elias Syriani forgave him for
killing their mother and their attempt to convince Governor Easley to
grant Mr. Syriani clemency in 2004. Viewers have described the
film as
a "powerful portrayal ... of true forgiveness and love" that "addresses
the issue of capital punishment from several angles". For more
information about the documentary, please see www.lovelivedonedeathrow.com
and for more information about the showing, contact Mike Howell at
303-9923. The film lasts 84 minutes. Event is at Founder's
Hall, at
UUFR.
July 20-Aug 2 – Hiroshima-Nagasaki Atomic
Bomb Exhibit Sponsored by NC Peace Action
(www.ncpeaceaction.org). Cameron Village Regional Library, 1930
Clark Avenue, Raleigh.
Links
Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) -
The UUSC is a nonsectarian organization that advances human rights and
social justice. Our programs are based on Unitarian Universalist
principles that affirm the worth, dignity and human rights of every
person - but one need not be a Unitarian Universalist to join the UUSC.
Unitarian
Universalist for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) - Our
mission is to engage, educate and activate Unitarian Universalists to
work for economic justice, recognizing that as people of faith in the
struggle for justice, we are supporting and renewing our spiritual
lives.
NC Council of
Churches - The North Carolina Council of Churches is a statewide
ecumenical organization promoting Christian unity and working towards a
more just society. The Council enables denominations,
congregations and people of faith to individually and collectively
impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development,
human well-being, equality, compassion and peace.
Community United Church of Christ
(on Dixie Trail & Wade Ave, up the hill from UUFR) - Community
Outreach Ministry, Global
Climate Initiative and Social Justice
Ministry.
Pullen
Baptist Church Missions - We are a people on the journey, open to
all without distinction, pursuing peace and justice with a passion.
Sacred Heart
Cathedral Social Concerns Ministry
- The Social Concerns Ministry of Sacred Heart
Cathedral is called to engage the parish community in works of social
justice and charity, in accordance with the Gospel message and Catholic
Social Teaching through awareness education and action.
St. Francis
of Assisi: The Franciscan Coalition for Justice and Peace - The
Franciscan Coalition for Justice and Peace is the organizing vehicle
for all justice and peace ministries in the Catholic Community of St.
Francis of Assisi.
Join
our
E-mail list
Want to get up to the
minute announcements on upcoming social justice events or
articles of interest? Join our list-serve. Only
members can send email to the list, which means no spam. You can
also choose to combine notices sent in the same day so as to receive
fewer emails. To subscribe, visit our list-serve
website.
Forms
To request funds
for a social justice project or donation to an organization, please
fill out the form below and return it to se@nightsky-systems.com
or to the Social Action folder in the church office. Note that
only UUFR members and friends may request social justice funds.
Downloadable forms coming soon ....
To request the
sponsorship of the Social Action Committee for an event to be held at
UUFR, please fill out the form below and return it to se@nightsky-systems.com
or to the Social Action folder in the church office. You can
leave the "Event Host" question blank.
Downloadable forms coming soon ....
Last updated: June 12, 2008
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