Muusja Mailing List: E-EVENT UPDATE FEBRUARY 22, 2007

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA E-EVENT UPDATE FEBRUARY 22, 2007
 
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. MUUSJA Progress Report
D. Social Justice Links

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A. LOCAL SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS

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1.
FRI, FEB 23
6:30 TO 8:30
MINNEAPOLIS URBAN LEAGUE
2100 PLYMOUTH AVENUE NORTH
MINNEAPOLIS

FILE, FUN, FOOD, AND FREE!!!
TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE - This primer on global warming shows how businesses,
local governments, and citizens are taking positive actions to reduce global
warming emissions. www.hbo.com/docs/programs/toohot/index.html

Karen Monahan, EJAM Organizer 
Office # 612-436-5402 

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2.
SAT, FEB 24
NOON
STATE CAPITOL MALL, ST. PAUL

STAND TOGETHER AT THE STATE CAPITOL IN SUPPORT OF WICCAN VETERANS' RELIGIOUS
RIGHTS--a community ceremony at the State Capitol to raise awareness about
religious discrimination at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.  

The Department of Veteran's Affairs has been actively pursuing policies that
are discriminatory and harmful to veterans and infringe on the religious
freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.  The VA has been denying
religious designation to adherents of the Wiccan faith by not allowing the
emblem of their faith to be placed on the headstones and memorial markers of
deceased veterans.

Although the VA has approved the emblems of 38 other religions and belief
systems to be included on the headstones of deceased veterans, including
symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, Eckankar, Izumo, Taishakyo, Sufism
Reoriented, and even Atheism, it refuses to approve the use of the Wiccan
symbol, the pentacle, an interlaced five pointed star within a circle.

During the public ceremony at the Capitol, participants will add cloth ties
to a pentacle sculpture, which will be later displayed in regional
businesses. Following the ceremony, those present will form a large Human
Pentacle to show support for religious freedom, honor veterans, and raise
public awareness of this issue.

Participants representing many different faith groups and organizations from
around Minnesota and other states will be present to help support the
religious freedoms for all our veterans. The Pentacle Rights Ritual is open
to the public. 
All who honor our veterans and the rights they have guarded with their lives
are invited to attend.

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3.
TUES, MARCH 6
6:30 TO 8:45 PM
UNIVERSITY LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY
390 4TH AVENUE SOUTH, ST CLOUD
 
KEEPING THE FAITH FOR CHOICE
FREE! Cookies and Coffee
Host:  MN Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
RSVP: Kiely Todd Roska (612) 870-0974 Kiely [at] mnrcrc.org
 
You are invited to:
- Ask questions and get answers from clergy of different faiths!
- Get a deeper understanding of reproductive issues!
- Talk respectfully about reproductive choices!
 
For AUW carpool from First Universalist Church contact Cathy
Apostle,(952)941-0642/ caquilt51 [at] aol.com 
For directions  (320) 252-6183

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4.
SAT, MARCH 10
TROCADEROS NIGHTCLUB AND RESTAURANT

OUT SINCE '87: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF OUTFRONT MINNESOTA. OutFront
Minnesota is pleased to announce that nationally renowned activist Donna Red
Wing will be a featured speaker at Out Since '87: Celebrating 20 Years of
OutFront Minnesota. Red Wing has spent most of her life advocating for
fairness and equality for GLBT people. Recognized across the country as an
expert in field organizing and capacity building on the grassroots level,
Red Wing currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Program & Development at
The Interfaith Alliance, a national advocacy organization founded in 1994 to
challenge the radical religious right's manipulation of religion to
influence public policy. 

Out Since '87 is a celebration of OutFront Minnesota's 20th anniversary. You
are invited to celebrate the great strides this community has made in 20
years. Reserve your tickets today at
http://www.outfront.org/events/out_main.html.

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5.
SUN, MARCH 11
9:30 AM
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH
900 MT. CURVE AVENUE, MINNEAPOLIS

ENERGY-EFFICIENT, HEALTHY, AFFORDABLE HOMES FOR ALL MINNESOTANS Building
more homes and apartments isn't enough to ensure long-term affordability for
individuals and families lacking affordable housing. Affordable housing must
be healthy, energy efficient and durable. Minnesota Green  Communities is
working to ensure all affordable housing built in Minnesota meets these
standards.  Come to learn why green is such an important part of affordable
housing and one affordable housing-specific definition of "green."
Speaking: Janne Flisrand. Janne is the Program Coordinator for Minnesota
Green Communities. 

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B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

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1.
MARCH 30, 31 & APRIL 1, 2007
COLUMBUS, OHIO
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION MARCH 1

Workshop: From Empire to Earth Community:
Navigating the Great Turning: A Leadership Gathering 

Co-sponsored by Unitarian-Universalists for a Just Economic Community.  Come
share ideas and energy with others working toward the Great Turning - From
Empire to Earth Community (title of  David Korten's recent book). Featuring
David Korten, David Cobb, and rich tapestry of discussion and organizing to
transform global crises into global vision. Columbus State Community College
in Columbus Ohio.  We'd like to recruit a UU contingent to attend this
important gathering. Airfares are as low a $229 or we could consider driving
(someone has already volunteered to drive up to 7 people in her van.)  Find
out more at www.greatturninggathering.org or contact Betsy Allis at
612.871.6946 or erallis [at] aol.com

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2.
POSITIONS OPEN AT THE UUS WASHINGTON OFFICE
1. Legislative Assistant for Civil Rights and Religious Liberty 
2. Legislative Assistant for Women's Issues, UU Women's Federation Clara
Barton Internship 

Primary Role: Advocacy on federal public policy issues within the portfolio,
including monitoring legislation, working in coalitions, lobbying,
mobilizing and supporting UU congregations and activists. 
Term: Aug 2007- Aug 2009 
Applications must be received by noon EST on Monday, April 2, 2007 

The internship experience for all positions includes: 

Connecting your experiences "on the job" with your Unitarian Universalist
beliefs through theological reflection led by a UU minister. Anti-racism and
other trainings and travel; including to the UUA headquarters in Boston and
to General Assembly A starting salary of $29,500 with full benefits. 
Qualifications. Unitarian Universalists, and 18 years old by the start of
the internship. Applicants for the Legislative Assistant positions must be
US citizens. Priority will be given to young adults, students and
seminarians. People with disabilities and candidates who identify as a
person of color, Hispanic/Latino and/or B/G/L/T are encouraged to apply.
Successful applicants will have good writing skills; passion for both
advocacy and theological reflection; the ability to work independently; and
some experience with both a UU congregation or organization and some type of
lobbying or justice organizing. 

See www.uua.org/uuawo for the full application. 

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C: MUUSJA PROGRESS REPORT

January, 2007
Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA)

In 2006, MUUSJA moved on opportunities to successfully organize UU
involvement in two key issue areas - marriage equality and global
warming/renewable energy.   We focused our energies and resources on these
opportunities, achieving many of our goals through work on these issue
campaigns...

 1. Please describe the major activities of the project.  If there were
significant changes in your activities, please share with us the reasons you
needed to make changes.

A. Developing capacity of MUUSJA members & leaders through training.

- Worldview training - in the last quarter of 2005, and the first quarter of
2006, a successful three-part "Worldview"  training was completed with 35
UUs from several metro-area congregations, including three ministers (Kendyl
Gibbons - FUS; Mary Samuels - MVUUF; and Kate Tucker - First Universalist),
and many members of MUUSJA issue working groups. Training focused on "The 3
Faces of Power" materials developed by the Grassroots Policy Project &
worked well with the growing interest among  UUs in George Lakoff's analysis
of worldview and framing in political discourse.

- Racial Justice Training - a second excellent training opportunity arose in
2006, in partnership with First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis Social
Action Committee - working with Gary Delgado (then executive director of
Applied Research Center) on racial justice training. Gary addressed about 75
UUs and others at First Unitarian Society in May, on the subject of
understanding and working for racial justice.  Following his address, a
training session was held with 25 UUs from around the metro area, focused on
distinctions between interpersonal racism, institutional racism, and
structural racism.  

 B.    Organize learning & planning opportunities re: our analysis of social
change and what it means for MUUSJA and the larger metro community of UUs.

General (quarterly) MUUSJA meetings attracted 35-50 UUs at each meeting and
provided a venue for deepening our faith connections & energy for social
change work. 

2. What were the project's major accomplishments?  In what ways, if any, did
you feel you didn't meet your goals?

Major accomplishments
A. Successful general membership meetings - inspiration, training,
deepening.

January, 2006 -  First Universalist Church, Minneapolis - A panel of MUUSJA
leaders addressed two key issues areas -  global warming/renewable energy,
and marriage equality - in preparation for mobilizing UU activism in the
legislative session. We also gave a tribute to activists and leaders of the
UU Affordable Housing Partnership, for five years of great work. 

June, 2006 - Unity Church-Unitarian, St. Paul - Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs gave a
wonderful presentation, using Richard Gilbert's social justice model as a
base of concepts from which to launch discussion of the "Eller-Isaacs model
of UU social justice work".  Attendees reported they particularly
appreciated Rev. Eller-Isaac's focus on personal transformation through and
in social change work.

October, 2006 - First Unitarian Society, Minneapolis - Rev. Meg Riley gave
an excellent presentation about the priority social justice issues of UUA
and UUSC, and the many important coalitions and partnerships we are part of
nationally.  She shared her perspective about what works & what doesn't in
regard to engagement with interfaith coalitions.  Attendees reported the
value of hearing a national perspective, and continuing to learn about
working well in interfaith coalitions.

January, 2007 - A planned December MUUSJA holiday celebration and general
meeting was rescheduled and happened in January - with Mark Ritchie, UU and
new Minnesota Secretary of State speaking about his personal journey from
issue activist and democracy-movement-campaigner to elected official. The
meeting was held at Mark's home congregation, First Universalist Church of
Minneapolis, and he was awarded a framed certificate of appreciation from
MUUSJA - which will hang on the wall in his state office.  Tributes were
also given to Wendy Jerome and Betsy Allis, two of MUUSJA's three
co-founders who retired from the steering committee/board this year; and
Madalyn Cioci, for two years chairing the UU EcoMinds working group.  It was
the first annual meeting of the newly renamed and incorporated Minnesota
Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance.

 B.  Strengthened MUUSJA's issue work.

Two of our issue working groups experienced outstanding success, while
helping UU activists and leaders engage strategically with community
partners, creating highly effective learning & leadership development
opportunities resulting in real social change.

i. UU EcoMinds - a MUUSJA working group with 15 core group members from five
metro UU congregations - focused on passage of a Renewable Energy Standard
for Minnesota, with a longer-term vision of ending global warming and
advancing renewable energy & energy conservation.  While a Renewable Energy
Standard did not pass in 2006, the excellent work of UU EcoMinds and allied
groups laid the groundwork for what looks like certain policy change in the
2007 legislature.  UU EcoMinds worked with a key interfaith coalition
partner, Congregations Caring for Creation (C3) - a new group UU EcoMinds
members helped found and nurture; and, a key secular coalition partner,
Fresh Energy - a highly respected and effective state-wide policy advocacy
organization that includes faith-based partners.  During the 2006
legislative session, UU EcoMinds: 

organized UUs from several metro congregations to do door-knocking over five
weekends in strategically targeted districts, collecting 800 signed
postcards to legislators encouraging support for a state-wide renewable
electricity standard 

organized Earth Day programs & educational presentations by renewable energy
experts in several UU congregations 

organized sales of compact florescent lamps (light bulbs) in several UU
congregations & reported the energy savings resulting from the use of CFLs 

worked with C3 to create & staff a successful exhibit on energy conservation
at the MN State Fair, reaching hundreds of people per day over 10 days 

acted on a strategic opportunity to bring a UU moral voice to our work with
interfaith partners, when UU EcoMinds chair, Madalyn Cioci, was invited to
represent the faith community in a meeting with the Governor's staff person
for energy issues. 
 
ii. UUs Out For Marriage (UUO4M) - a MUUSJA working group with 18 core group
members from nine UU congregations - focused on stopping a constitutional
amendment to ban same-sex marriage, with a longer-term vision of advancing
GLBT & marriage equality.  UUO4M worked with a key interfaith coalition
partner, Faith Family Fairness - a group UUO4M members helped found and
nurture; and, a key secular coalition partner, OutFront Minnesota - a highly
respected and effective 20 year-old state-wide policy advocacy organization
that includes faith-based partners. During the 2006 legislative session,
UUO4M:

organized 300 UUs from around Minnesota to mobilize and attend two key
events with legislators,  a faith-based rally (Rev. Victoria Safford - White
Bear UU Church - was a key speaker),  and a "Day on the Hill" citizen
lobbying event that attracted 5,000 participants 

organized a "UUs Power UP!" event, attended by 60 UUs, the evening before
Day on the Hill, with a shared meal, service (led by Rev.  Meg Riley and
Rev. Kate Tucker), and testimony from (now Member of Congress) then State
Senator Michelle Bachmann's step-sister - a lesbian who spoke in public for
the first time about the division created in her family by Bachmann's
fundamentalist attacks on GLBT people. 

created and distributed to all 26 UU congregations and all UU ministers in
Minnesota, a UUO4M informational packet about the issue, sermon materials,
and organizing tools - including a model congregational statement of
opposition to the constitutional amendment, which 18 of our 26 congregations
passed 

created a first-ever UU "Buddy System" - connecting metro-area activists and
leaders in UUO4M's core group with UUs from congregations in greater
Minnesota, for information-sharing, mobilizing, and accountability regarding
campaign goals 
held monthly campaign strategy meetings, involving two to three dozen UUs 

organized National Coming Out Day programs & educational presentations in
several UU congregations 

worked with Rev. Meg Riley to organize a wonderful evening of celebration
and discussion with Rev. Bill Sinkford, several UU ministers, and many UUs
who had supported the UUO4M campaign. 

C.  MUUSJA working group transitions - beginnings and endings.

At the October general meeting, two new MUUSJA working groups were accepted
- Reproductive Rights and Voting Rights, both organized by the Association
of Universalist Women at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis. These are
exciting new areas of work for MUUSJA.  The challenge that comes with new
working groups, as with all MUUSJA working groups, is how to make the work
state-wide and focused on issue campaigns that create social change and
build the participation and leadership of UUs.

As noted above the Worldview Working Group ended in 2006.  

The UU Affordable Housing Partnership also ended in 2006.  It was very tough
for core group members to end their work together, since UUAHP was the first
metro-wide, multi-congregation UU social justice effort.  UUAHP started in
July, 2000 and enjoyed the participation of UUs from ten of the twelve
congregations in our metro area.  Although UUAHP folded, many UUs continue
to be very concerned about affordable housing issues - especially since our
metro area is projected to grow by 500,000 households by 2030.

D. Additionally, MUUSJA members have experienced the excitement,
inspiration, and practical help gained by connecting with several UU
organizations:

UU State Advocacy Network - MUUSJA is a founding member of UUSAN, founded
with support from UUSC (and UUA). We attended the August, 2006, planning
retreat, and participate in monthly conference calls to build this very
exciting new network of UU state-wide organizing and policy-change groups
like MUUSJA. MUUSJA members are hugely inspired by the emergence of UUSAN. 

Prairie Star District Social Justice Network - MUUSJA continues to
participate in this group, to promote information-sharing and collaboration
among UU social justice activists in PSD. We participate in presentations on
social justice work at PSD's Annual Meeting (and will again in 2007
co-sponsor with PSD a leadership training opportunity). 
 
UUA, GA, and Study/Action Issues - MUUSJA distributes information and
promotes ongoing communication, participation, and collaboration with UUA
social justice work, GA, and SAI processes. 
 
Ways that we did not meet our goals:

MUUSJA/UU Worldview document

The MUUSJA Worldview Working Group (eight UUs from four metro
congregations), worked with the MUUSJA steering committee to design and
implement the three-part Worldview training series, and took on the task of
drafting a document that could serve both as a "MUUSJA Worldview" and "UU
Worldview" discussion paper.   UU values, visions, and commitments would be
clearly articulated in creating something that MUUSJA - and UUs not
connected to MUUSJA - could refer to in our social justice work, whether
within MUUSJA issue working groups or in our congregations.

Soon after the training series was completed, the MUUSJA Worldview Working
Group folded, as the chairperson shifted her energy to involvement with
developing the local chapter of Network of Spiritual Progressives - an
exciting development in our community, and another potential partner for
MUUSJA.   While a draft UU/MUUSJA Worldview document was created by
remaining working group members, it has not been widely circulated.  MUUSJA
issue working groups apply the lessons of the worldview training - and as
MUUSJA moves forward with strategic planning in 2007, the draft document
will be brought forward for further discussion and development.

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D. 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/