Muusja Mailing List: E-UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 15, 2006

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA  E-EVENT UPDATE September 15, 2006
 
Minnesota UU Social  Justice Alliance--Bringing  together UUs to work
collectively for social change.
 
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This  update includes announcements about: 
 
A. Local Social Justice News
B. National UU Advocacy
C. Social Justice Links

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A. LOCAL SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS

1.
WED, SEPT 20TH
6:30 PM 
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, CUMMINS ROOM

FIRST UNIVERSALIST ECOMINDS A one hour TV special on Global Warming by Tom
Brokaw, broadcast earlier this year, will be shown.  Bring snacks to share.
EcoMinds hopes to continue efforts at responding to issues of global warming
through education, discussion and action.  There are moral and ethical
issues that we, as a faith based group, can have positive impact on for the
larger community.  Call Bob Friedman 612- 722-4705 or Cecelia
Newton,612-929-0372 for more information.

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2.
THUR, SEPT 21
7:00 TO 9:00 PM
FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY, 900 MOUNT CURVE AVE, MINNEAPOLIS

THIRD THURSDAY GLOBAL ISSUES FORUM--HONORING THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE
Free and open to the public. APPROACHES TO A CULTURE OF PEACE
How do we transform a culture that glorifies and legitimizes war into a
culture of peace? How do we bring a commitment to Peace into our daily lives
and teach the art of peaceful conflict resolution?  Our panel will present
five inspiring approaches to answering these questions and offer ample
opportunity for group discussion.

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3. 
SEPT 29-30
CLEVELAND, OH 44115
A CONFERENCE ON FAIR ELECTIONS SPONSORED BY WE COUNT

Conference Objectives

EDUCATE: We will warn conference participants about the dangers of
electronic voting machines, the privatization of elections and the many
other ways that the will of the people has been, and will continue to be,
subverted...unless we act.

ACTIVATE: We will provide opportunities for election-integrity and democracy
activists to collaborate and organize to build a grassroots
election-integrity and democracy movement.

MOTIVATE: Our speakers will inspire participants to "get educated and get
involved" to take our elections back and thereby to take our democracy back.


PREPARE: Movement leaders will be on hand to recruit and prepare volunteers
to monitor, gather information, investigate and perform other roles needed
for the Nov 2006 elections. They will provide educational materials,
templates and other resources to citizens so they can play key operational
roles in ensuring our votes count in all elections.

CONNECT: The conference will help people "plug in" to the election-integrity
and democracy movement at both local and national levels. We will provide
opportunities for citizens to become part of the movement-as organizers,
monitors, investigators, analysts, independent journalists and more.

PROMOTE: We will use the conference to spotlight national attention on the
justifiable and growing concern about the fate of our nation, focusing on
the paramount role of elections as the foundation of democracy.

INSPIRE: The conference will inspire us to remain activist in this crucial
and profoundly important civic issue and to stay strong in the struggle to
reclaim our once-great nation.

FFI: http://wecount2006.org/

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4.
TUES, OCT 24
7:30 AM
COLONIAL CHURCH, EDINA
AFFORDABLE HOUSING BREAKFAST EVENT

This annual interfaith breakfast gathering, organized by Metropolitan
Interfaith Council for Affordable Houisng (MICAH), will include inspiring
speakers, informative updates on policy issues, and hundreds of affordable
housing activists from congregations around the metro region. 


Carol Koepp and Jo Haberman are coordinating UU participation.  UUs have had
a good presence at this breakfast event for the last few years, and it's
great to be in a room full of people who are all pulling together for
affordable housing around the region and state!  It's an important way for
MICAH to raise needed funds as well (but there is no big pressure about a
monetary amount -  small, medium, large contributions are all fine...it's
just the one event each year for individuals rather than whole congregations
to consider a gift to MICAH...)

We hope you can join other UUs on October 24th, 7:30am, Colonial Church in
Edina - please RSVP by contacting Jo Haberman jojane [at] juno.com or Carol 
Koepp
ckoepp [at] mn.rr.com.  THANKS!

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5.
MANY MEMBERS FOR UU ECOMINDS were key in producing, setting up and staffing
the Energy Challenge/Congregations Caring for Creation booth in the Eco
Experience Building at the State Fair this year.  We were so busy we
couldn't get to e-mailing you before hand...but if you didn't see it, you
can see just some of the media coverage of the booth and the whole Building
at these links... 

http://wcco.com/energy/local_story_243230607.html  

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/08/23/lightbulbs/

Thanks go to Center for Energy and Environment too...VERY important partners
and creators of the Minnesota Energy Challenge. Word is that over 1,900
people took the challenge to replace 5 old lightbulbs with CFLs, and 300
folks signed up to join Congregations Caring for Creation.  

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6.
E-SPIRITUS NEWS is an e-newsletter promoting events happening in and around
the Twin Cities of possible interest to GLBT people of faith, our families,
friends and allies. To subscribe to this FREE e-newsletter, send a blank
e-mail to: espiritusnews-subscribe [at] yahoogroups.com
 
E-Spiritus comes out 1-3 times a month, based on need.  Currently there are
nearly 400 subscribers, with a goal to grow to 500 by the end of the year,
and then double again in the next year. 

B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

1. 
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THE UUA WASHINGTON OFFICE FOR ADVOCACY IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE The launch of
our online action campaigns, making it easier for you to make your voice
heard in the halls of Congress.  Through this system, you're able to send
email and faxes directly to your legislators--visit our website at
www.uua.org/uuawo to take action on government surveillance, DC Voting
rights, comprehensive sexuality education and the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

Look for more new online features coming soon, including a switch to a more
readable email format.  As we make these changes, please let us know about
any problems you encounter and feel free to contact us with suggestions.  

C. SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS

To find out about other local and national social justice events, check out
these websites.  

UU SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER UU LINKS:
Unitarian Universalist Association:  http://www.uua.org/

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee:  http://www.uusc.org/

UUA Washington Office for Advocacy http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/

UUA Congregational Advocacy and Witness:
http://www.uua.org/programs/justice/

Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA):  http://www.muusja.org/

Prairie Star  District: http://www.psduua.org/

FOR UU SOCIAL ACTON CHAIRS, sign up for regular e-news from the UUA, called
Sac-news www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo
 
UU Ministry for Earth http://uuministryforearth.org/index.shtml

UUs for a Just EconomicCommunity http://www.uujec.net/

UU Committee for Socially Responsible Investing
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/ 

UU Gulf Coast Advocacy http://www.uua.org/news/gulfcoastrelief/advocacy.html

OTHER SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS: 
*note: if you ara  member of a group who would like us to list your web
site, send it to muusja-editor [at] muusja.org
 
Minnesota  Alliance of Peacemakers  http://www.mapm.org/
 
Women Against Military Madness at  www.worldwidewamm.org
 
Progressive Calendar subscribe by emailing  shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu.
  
Planned Parenthood of Minnesota:   www.ppmns.org
 
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota:   www.prochoiceminnesota.org

Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH):
http://www.micah.org/
 
Code Pink: www.codepink4peace.org

Center for Victims of Torture: http://www.cvt.org/main.php