Side with Love
In Austin, when I go to an action or rally or training with any of our UU partners at the state level, immediately I am able to identify our UU activists from around the state by our bright yellow “Side With Love” T-Shirts. About three years ago, we ordered our own for UUCBV with our church’s name emblazoned across the back. Some of those we work with have started calling us the “Love People”.
Last year, a realization arose within the Unitarian Universalist Association that there were overlapping concerns, priorities, needs, and activities with different justice-seeking organizations within the UU sphere. To mention a few, there was Side With Love, UU Ministry for the Earth, UU the Vote, the Organizing School, UU Social Justice…
To provide more clarity and prevent duplication of efforts, SWL was chosen as an overarching concept to tie these together for purposes of branding and efficiency. As Audre Lorde put it, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”
SWL has set out four intersectional justice priorities:
Climate Justice (inclusive of Indigenous sovereignty and Climate Resilience)
Decriminalization (inclusive of Racial Justice and Immigration Justice)
Democracy and Electoral Justice (inclusive of Voting Rights and electoral participation)
LGBTQIA+ and Gender Justice (inclusive of reproductive justice and abortion access)
These priorities to a large degree reflect what MSJE is already doing, though admittedly, at times we give some short shrift. The Texas UU Justice Ministry Advisory Council has decided these will form a framework for our efforts at the state level.
I urge you to visit the SideWithLove.org website. From MLK Day through St. Valentine’s Day, there are special events and actions as we observe 30 Days of Love. MSJE will no doubt explore ways we can utilize the SWL resources to improve the way we do justice work over the coming months.
MSJE Sunday and Family Promise Retraining
On February 20th, our Sunday morning service will be spotlighting direct service projects by members of our congregation, especially Hope Crossing and the Family Promise non-profit which aids families experiencing homelessness in our community. Our special guest will be Dr. Phebe Simmons, the Director.
Brazos UU’s got involved in Family Promise when some of our members in conjunction with another organization painted and decorated one of the family rooms at the facility. We then decided to adopt a week-long volunteer rotation several times a year to provide hosting services, including meals and taking evening and overnight hosting shifts.
If you are a Family Promise volunteer or would like to become one there is a special retraining that will follow Coffee Hour and Dr. Simmons’ presentation. Due to changes in procedures at the facility, if you were trained before you will need to undergo retraining. This should take less than one hour.
Tiny Hope Village House
For the first quarter of 2022, our Split the Plate offering will be going to cover expenses for furnishing one of the tiny houses in Tiny Hope Village in Hearne. Our donation will buy appliances for one of the twenty-four homes which are part of an intentional community for those experiencing chronic homelessness in the Brazos Valley.
In the past, the Executive Director Dan Kiniry has given a presentation for us on how the project grew out of a weekly potluck for individuals who were homelessness as well as their allies and friends in Neal Park (adjacent to where we meet in person). The architect for the project is Brian Gibbs, who is also the designer of our new building. For further information, please visit their website: https://tinyhopevillage.org/
100% Voting Congregation
As you are likely aware, this is an election year for the U.S. Congress and many state offices. To begin with, you should be receiving a new voter registration card. Please check it to ensure the information is correct. The League of Women Voters has a website, Vote411.org, with all sorts of information on registering, correcting information, and a wealth of other helpful personalized data, such as your state and federal districts, who and what is on your ballot, and much more election related material.
Many UU congregations are pledging to become 100% Voting Congregations. There is a movement underway, led by groups whose agenda conflicts with our UU Principles, to take over local city, school, board, and county offices. It is especially important to stay informed on local elections and turn out at the polls, since these generally have low voter participation so a few people can may a big difference in the outcome, for better or worse.
I would like to hear from folks with their ideas on what we can do to bend the Brazos Valley toward justice this election year.
Jerry Wagnon