Muusja Mailing List: E-EVENT UPDATE FOR MARCH 16, 2007

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA E-EVENT UPDATE FOR MARCH 16, 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. Social Justice Links

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A. LOCAL SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS

1.
SAT, MARCH 17
9:30 AM
UNITY CHURCH UNITARIAN,
PORTLAND AND GROTTO AVENUES, ST PAUL

GLOBAL WARMING: A MORAL AND ETHICAL ISSUE. Reverand Sally Bingham Reverend
Sally Bingham is a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of California, and the
founder and co-director of the Regeneration Project. Free of charge. All are
welcome - open to the public. The lecture will be a springboard for
discussion. Refreshments will be available. FFI: Bill Curtis, Green
Sanctuary Team  651-415-1404

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2.
SAT, MAR 17, MAR 31, APR 14, APR 28
10 AM TO NOON
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, 
3400 DUPONT AVE SO, MINNEAPOLIS

UU FAITH & CHOICE DISCUSSION GROUP. This four-part discussion will foster
conversation, reflection, and deep listening about reproductive rights as a
sacred choice and how our UU principles and faith guide us in our choices.
Led by Connie Diercks, a long time nurse midwife and Johannah McMullen
Krueger, a member of U. of M. Medical Students for Choice.  Both are members
of First Universalist Church. Co-sponsored by MUUSJA's Reproductive Rights:
Sacred Choices Campaign and its key community partner, the Religious
Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).  Contact Johannah  at
612-803-6560,  johannah.krueger [at] alumni.tufts.edu or Sara McMullen at
612-729-2028, mckru [at] comcast.net about the program and potential childcare
arrangements for 2-6 year olds.

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3.
SUN, MARCH 18
1:00 PM
WALKER LIBRARY AT HENNEPIN AND LAGOON
TWIN CITIES ANTI WAR PROTEST

Walker Library at Hennepin Avenue at Lagoon (Minneapolis Uptown)
Join UUs and thousands of others in protesting the US War in Iraq. as part
of the Global Days of Protest marking the 4th anniversary of the war. Gather
at 1 PM with other UUs under the large blue "UUs for Social Justice" banner
at the Walker Library on Hennepin at Lagoon Avenue in Minneapolis. The march
will start at 1:30 PM and proceed to Loring Park.. Fortify yourself first
with lunch and conversation at Calhoun Square. Meet at Famous Dave's at 12
Noon.-look for the UU sign! Let's act on our religious imperative to promote
peace, liberty, and justice for all-and stop the war before it spreads to
Iran!  Bring your entire family, friends, along with colorful bandanas,
rattles, drums, and a strong voice! And bring your congregational banner.
Watch for details about an Earth Day presentation by noted peace activist,
writer, and academic, Jack Nelson Pallmeyer. Questions? Contact Jenny
Thomas, co-chair of MUUSJA's working group on voting rights at
jjthomas [at] skypoint.com. If you're interested in organizing a UU workshop on
peace with Jack Nelson Pallmeyer, contact Jo Haberman at jojane [at] juno.com

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4.
SUN, MAR 18
6:30 PM
EDINA COMMUNITY LUTHERAN CHURCH
4113 W 54TH STREET
EDINA, MN 55424
Edina Community Lutheran Church

ONE NATION UNDER GOODS. Professor Jim Farrell is Professor of History,
American Studies, Environmental Studies and American Conversations at St.
Olaf College. As "Dr. America," he was also curator of the magnificent (but
wholly imaginary) American Studies Museum on public radio station WCAL. And
recently, as a member of the college's Sustainability Task Force, he's had a
hand in the greening of St. Olaf.

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5.
MON, MARCH 19
7:00 to 8:30 PM
ST JOAN OF ARC CHURCH
4537 3rd Ave. So. MINNEAPOLIS

ACTIVIST PAUL LOEB WILL SPEAK to activists on how to sustain their
commitment over the long haul. Paul is the author of Soul of a Citizen:
Living with Conviction is a Cynical Time and The Impossible will Take a
Little While: A Citizens Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear. FFI Faith Kidder
faith.kidder [at] gmail.com or 612-760-2512

"Paul Loeb brings hope for a better world in a time when we so urgently need
it."--Millard Fuller, founder, Habitat for Humanity

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6.
TUES, MARCH 20 AND MARCH 27
BETWEEN 9AM AND 5 PM
LOCAL CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES

CONGRESSIONAL PEACE VIGIL. Occupation Project is a local campaign of
sustained nonviolent action to end the Iraq war, organized by Twin Cities
Peace Campaign - Focus on Iraq.  Join a peace vigil in the office of one of
Minnesota's 7 US Representatives and 2 US Senators who have not yet agreed
to vote to stop funding the war in Iraq and to bring the troops home.  Rep.
Keith Ellison has agreed to these goals; his constituents are encouraged to
go to Senator Klobuchar's or Senator Coleman's office.  Let's get a good
turnout to show Congress that we are serious about ending the war in Iraq.
Details are below:

This 8-week campaign has 2 weeks remaining: 3/20 and 3/27. 
Stop by your House member's or Senator's Twin Cities Congressional office
ANYTIME between 9 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Stay 10 minutes, one hour or all day -
the key is having a big turnout. 
Sign in each day with the organizers at your site so they can report how
many people participate.  
Take someone with you - a big turnout will help get renewed publicity. 
Senator Klobuchar's office is in the Federal Bldg at Ft. Snelling (exit
South on Hiawatha from Crosstown and cross the light rail tracks).  Senator
Coleman's office is on University Avenue. 
FFI: Twin Cities Peace Campaign - Focus on Iraq 612-522-1861; Jenny Thomas
jjthomas [at] skypoint.com
 
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7.
SAT, MAR 24
10:00 AM
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA
1694 COMO AVENUE, ST PAUL

DR. GAO YAOJIE IS CHINA'S MOST OUTSPOKEN AIDS ACTIVIST. She is visiting
Minneapolis on March 23-24 as guest of the China AIDS Orphan Fund, a local
charity that has raised $200,000 for orphans and families in central China,
a region that has been devastated by an AIDS epidemic resulting from tainted
blood.  Dr. Gao received the Vital Voices Global Women's Leadership Award in
Washington, D.C. Dr. Gao will speak, describing her humanitarian work and
reporting on the current status of AIDS prevention and treatment in China.  

Dr. Gao was the first person to publicly expose the tainted blood selling
programs that led to widespread H.I.V. infection in rural Chinese villages.
During the early and mid-1990s, village and provincial officials established
programs to pay poor farmers for blood, which was often collected with
unsanitary practices.  Estimates vary as to the extent of the resulting AIDS
epidemic, but in some villages much of the adult population has died or is
infected.  In the province of Henan, AIDS orphans number in the tens of
thousands.

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8. 
SUN, APR 15
1 PM TO 6 PM
PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
1900 NICOLLET AT FRANKLIN

MAKE PLANS NOW FOR GENEROSITY WEEKEND. April 15th is the symbolic date for
the paying of income taxes in the United States.  Make a statement about the
uses of those taxes that we all pay. 

Generosity Weekend is a national weekend of action, held on April 13-15,
2007, and dedicated to a new way of achieving national security for the
United States. Today, most of our elected officials believe that the way to
make the U.S. safe is to dominate and control the rest of the world. We
believe a more effective way to make the United States secure would be to
work with the rest of the world to eliminate poverty and repair the damage
to our environment. In doing so, we would address the root cause of
terrorism while drying up the anti-American sentiment on which it feeds. 

The Minnesota Chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives invites you
to participate in Generosity Weekend, culminating in a Generosity Sunday
Rally at Plymouth Congregational Church from 1-6 pm on Sunday, April
15th.Come to the rally, and bring your friends and colleagues.
http://www.nspmn.org/gensunday.html

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B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

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1.
ACTION OPPORTUNITY: WAR TIMETABLE
This weekend we will reach the forth anniversary of the Iraq war. For the
first time since the invasion legislation is being introduced that would set
a firm timetable for withdrawal that could actually pass Congress. Friday
the House Appropriations Committee will finish marking-up the Emergency
Supplemental bill, proposing funding for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf
Coast. Among those, Iraq will consume the majority of the funding and is by
far the most controversial. 

It is likely that the emerging bill will increase funding for troop
readiness and veterans health and that a firm deadline for troop
redeployment will be adopted. This initiative is causing a big stir on
Capitol Hill as legislators search their souls and minds, and try to
determine the most logical and most just way to address the tragic reality
of our current Iraq policy. 

To assist our legislators in that search, the UUA has developed a Moral
Balance Sheet. By assessing the human and financial costs of the war thus
far and comparing them to what might have been, we hope to provide a lens
through which legislators can view this war. You can read William Sinkford's
letter to Congress and the Moral Balance Sheet at www.uua.org and you can
send your own message to Congress by clicking here. 

This is a crucial time in the development of our national policy on Iraq,
your legislators need to hear from you. Adam Gerhardstein, the Legislative
Assistant for International Issues, will be spending much of the next week
on the Hill directly lobbying Congress, sharing the Moral Balance Sheet. If
you would like him to carry a message to your Representative - or if you
would like to partner with him in advocacy - please contact him at (202)
296-4672 Ext. 21 or at agerhardstein [at] uua.org. 

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2.
SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION On Monday, March 26th , UU and
United Church of Christ youth, young adults and adult allies will be
lobbying their Members of Congress in Washington DC in support of
comprehensive sexuality education as part of the 3rd annual Sexuality
Education Advocacy Training. We're asking UU and UCC activists from across
the country to join our lobbying efforts by calling in with the same
message. Our advocacy will be VERY effective if Congressional offices hear
from us both in person and via phone on the same day! 

To help prepare those who plan to call in, we've set up a telephone briefing
for Monday, March 19, at 8:30 PM Eastern time. UCC President the Rev. John
Thomas, along with UUA and UCC staff, and young advocates will be hosting
this free phone briefing. Learn about our religious grounding for this
issue, the current political and public health situation and how you and
your congregation can speak effectively on this issue as people of faith!
You can learn more and sign up at
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/UUA/signUp.jsp?key=196
3. You also have the option on that page to sign up for regular updates on
sex ed advocacy, which we hope you'll do. For example, the main bill we'll
be supporting this year--the REAL Act--hasn't been introduced yet, and we'll
use the list to let folks know when that happens and how they can support
it. 

If you have any questions about the phone briefing, call in day or UUA work
on comprehensive sexuality education, please contact Meredith
Schonfeld-Hicks. 

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3.
MAR 30, MARCH 31, APR 1
COLUMBUS, OH

THE GREAT TURNING. A Leadership Gathering sponsored by Unitarian
Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC) and People Centered
Development Forum, featuring David Korten and David Cobb, will take place
March 30, 31 & April 1, 2007 at Columbus State Community College in Columbus
Ohio. 

Come share ideas and energy with others working to articulate and accelerate
the Great Turning. Using the framework presented in David Korten's book, The
Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, we will be working together
to advance our understanding of The Great Turning, strengthen our individual
works, foster critical connections and further create Earth Community. 

For more information or to register go to
http://www.greatturninggathering.org/ or call UUJEC National Board Member
Marcia Meyers at 503-665-3957 

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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/