Muusja Mailing List: E-EVENT UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 15, 2006

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA E-EVENT UPDATE DECEMBER 15, 2006
 
Minnesota UU Social  Justice Alliance--Bringing  together UUs to work
collectively for social change.

EDITOR'S NOTE: IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION THAT TODAY is the anniversary of the
Bill of Rights which was ratified on December 15, 1791. Let's continue to
fight the good fight to keep the Bill of Rights intact well into the next
millennium.

ANOTHER NOTE: The holidays are offering a small break in social justice
activities, but SEE NEXT WEEK'S E-UPDATE FOR items with which to fill your
January calendar!
 
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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

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1.
SAT, JAN 6, 2007
3:00 TO 5:30 PM
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF MINNEAPOLIS
3400 DUPONT AVENUE SOUTH, MINNEAPOLIS

MINNESOTA UU SOCIAL JUSTICE ALLIANCE ANNUAL MEETING AND CELEBRATION!
(RSVP to Jo Haberman jojane [at] juno.com)

Welcome the New Year with MUUSJA & Minnesota's newly elected Secretary of
State - (and UU) - Mark Ritchie!

-Mark Ritchie - "Renewing Our Democracy: new hope, new vision"
-(short) MUUSJA business & appreciation of MUUSJA leaders
- enjoy delicious appetizers and socialize with UU activists from around the
state!

Mark Ritchie, long-time member of First Universalist Church of Minneapolis,
is the newly elected Minnesota Secretary of State.  After 20 months of
traveling extensively around the state, hearing from and talking with people
in all walks of life about their concerns for our democracy, Mark has many
insights to share! 

For 20 years Mark served as president of the Minneapolis-based Institute for
Agriculture and Trade Policy, a nonprofit organization working to foster
long-term sustainability for Minnesota's rural communities. Two years ago he
took a leave of absence to lead National Voice, a new national coalition of
more than 1,000 non-partisan organizations that registered and turned out
more than five million new voters nationwide - one of the largest
non-partisan voter mobilizations in history.

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2.
SIGN UP BY JANUARY 31ST
SOCIAL JUSTICE TRAINING FOR UUs

-Limited to 35 UUs in Prairie Star District
-Friday, April 13th,1:00 - 5:00 pm (right before Prairie Star District
Annual  Conference starts Friday evening...)
-Location: First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis,900 Mount Curve (up the
hill from the Walker Art Center)
-$35 per person

Strengthening UU Justice-making: linking community service & social change,
and deepening UU leadership
Trainer:  Rev. Valerie Ackerman

Whether members of your congregation are active in service work in the
larger community, or doing social change organizing and policy work - or
both! - this training is for you.  Join UUs from across Prairie Star
District in learning about connections between community service and social
change work; deepen your understanding of the role of reflection in finding
our UU moral voice; & look at ways UU leadership can be strengthened for
more effective social justice partnerships and outcomes.

Trainer: as a UU community minister, Rev. Valerie Mapstone Ackerman provides
spiritual support to domestic violence victims, directs Peace House-Tulsa,
organizes the Oklahoma Rural Freethinkers, serves as president of Oklahoma
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and consults with congregations
and social change groups.  She has been a parish minister, social worker,
adjunct professor, politician, therapist, counselor and life-long dissident
and heretic. 

This training is co-sponsored by Prairie Star District Social Justice
Network, Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance, and First Unitarian Society
Social Action Committee.
To register - contact Jo Haberman, jojane [at] juno.com, (612-822-8870)
Remember....sign up by January 31st.

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B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

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1.
A GIFT FOR OUR VETERANS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
While the war in Iraq continues ever more soldiers are returning to the
States with serious, permanent injuries, many missing limbs. While the UUA
has opposed the war in Iraq our sympathies and prayers are with those who
serve our country. As the Bush administration has downplayed our casualties
it would be easy to forget these brave women and men. Please don't let that
happen. 

Working Assets, Veterans for Peace, CodePink, and Iraq Vets Against the War
are coordinating in order to deliver phone cards to veterans in VA hospitals
all across America so that they can call their families over the holidays.
If you wish make a veteran's holidays a little brighter in a meaningful way,
please consider a donation $10, $20, $33 or $100 to purchase the phone
cards. Donations will be collected on this page:
http://www.workingassets.com/phonecardsforveterans 

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2.
MURDERS OF GENDER NON-CONFORMING YOUTH DOCUMENTED IN A NEW REPORT
UUA signs on to public education campaign condemning violence 

The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GPAC) released a report today, 50
Under 30, which documents the epidemic of violence against gender
non-conforming young people in the United States. 50 Under 30 cites
masculine aggression as a key underlying factor in the violence, which
includes the murder of 50 young people under 30 in the last decade. GPAC,
along with a coalition of civil and human rights organizations including
Amnesty International (USA), Global Rights, Human Rights Campaign,
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Organization for Women, The
Interfaith Alliance, International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission,
and the Safe Schools Coalition, has launched a public education campaign
publicize and condemn the violence. The UUA has signed on as a partner in
this campaign; there is a link to the report on our website. Please join us
in spreading the word on this under-reported wave of violence:
http://www.50Under30.org. 

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3.
SEXUALITY EDUCAITON ADVOCACY TRAINING 2007--REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE

Does your congregation offer Our Whole Lives for its young people? Have you
or your children benefited from comprehensive sexuality education? Join us
in Washington DC as we bring our values out of the congregation and into the
community. The 3rd annual Sexuality Education Advocacy Training will be held
March 24-27th 2007 in Washington DC. SEAT brings together UU and United
Church of Christ youth, young adults and adult allies to learn how to be
effective religious advocates for comprehensive sexuality education. 

The training includes interfaith worship and sharing, Sunday service with
UUA President Bill Sinkford, community organizing training, a briefing on
federal legislation, lobby visits with your congressperson,
anti-racism/anti-oppression training and sightseeing opportunities. 

We seek to create a conference community that is diverse in terms of
religion (UU and UCC), race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age,
geography and other identities. We strongly encourage youth, young adults,
youth directors, OWL facilitators, parents, social action chairs and
ministers to attend. 

Registration forms and more information are now available on our website:
http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/article.php?id=703 Generous funding is
available to offset travel costs. Please contact Meredith for more
information: mschonfeldhicks [at] uua.org or 202-296-4672 x13 

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C. SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS

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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 Economic Community 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 are  member of a group who would like us to list your web
site, send it to muusja-editor [at] muusja.org

Alliance for Sustainability www.afors.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

Network of Spiritual Progressives: http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/

Network of Spiritual Progressives, local chapter http://www.nspmn.org/