Dear friend,
The other day was tremendously breezy where I live in Austin, TX, presumably because I was on the outskirts of a massive storm front that rained down hail and tornadoes across the Southern United States. I find I am already bracing myself for the likely heartaches of the upcoming fire season and hurricane seasons… The magnitude of harm and uncertainty feel so large right now…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our lives and communities in profound and challenging ways, I send you my blessings and well wishes that you and your loved ones may feel health and the love of community as anchors or points of return.
To find my grounding and lift my spirit, I’ve been opening my windows or going into my yard to witness the cool breezes and soft sun rays of Spring; even while holding the duality that sometimes a breeze that feels liberating to me is bringing fear or destruction to others a few hundred miles away.
With so much change in the air, may we be blessed with wisdom, attentiveness, and fortitude to navigate and shape change for the healing and flourishing of Earth, all species and all of humanity.
“All that you touch You Change.
All that you Change Changes you.
The only lasting truth Is Change.
God Is Change.”
-- Octovia Butler, Earthseed: The Books of the Living
In faith,
Aly Tharp
Program Director, UU Ministry for Earth
INSPIRATION
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UU Ministry for Earth & UU Young Adults for Climate Justice have been active participants in the multi-faith working group of the US Climate Strike coalition. This is culminating in a very exciting Faith Call to Climate Justice Web Summit that will be a part of the Earth Day Live 2020 program.
The full schedules of events will be published very soon! For now, here are some highlights of what UUs are offering:
The Condor & The Eagle Documentary Screening
Wednesday, April 22nd @ 6-8 pm PT / 7-9 MT / 8-10 CT / 9-11 ET
Hosted by UUMFE, Side With Love, the InterNātional Initiative for Transformative Collaboration (INITC) & the film impact campaign
NOTE: there will be an interfaith prayer and a blessing from Casey Camp-Horinek directly prior to the film screening on the Earth Day Live 2020 “main stage” --- you’ll definitely want to tune in for that too!! Details being finalized - stay tuned for updates.
Write Here! Write Now! Letter Writing Advocacy Session
Friday, April 24th @ Noon PT / 1 MT / 2 CT / 3 pm ET
See details below in the ACTIVATION section.
The Earth Day Network also has a great map of events to choose from!
ACTIVATION
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Letter-Writing Campaign - Tell your Senators to Act Now Against Dangerous “Super Pollutant” HFCs
UUMFE is partnering with the Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ) to collect as many personally written letters by UUs as possible to deliver to the US Senate in support of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM), S.2754, a bipartisan bill to reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 85% over 15 years.
- Organize – Please invite & organize members of your congregation to participate in this Write Here! Write Now! (WHWN) letter-writing campaign. See full details via the button below.
- Letter writing party -- Friday 4/24 at Noon PT / 1 MT / 2 CT / 3 pm ET
UUSJ and UUMFE will host a letter-writing event for this campaign as a part of the Earth Day Live 2020 interfaith online convergence for climate justice. Register Here.
CONNECTION
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National Multi-Faith Earth Day Service
Sunday, April 19th @ 11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET
UUA Co-Moderator Elandria Williams and UUMFE Program Director Aly Tharp will be giving a 2-minute recorded reflection as a part of a national Earth Day worship service hosted by Interfaith Power & Light and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Leaders from Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Unitarian Universalist, Christian, and other spiritual communities will share their tradition’s gifts through sacred text, commentary, and song. This event will be broadcast on the National Cathedral website at the following link:
EDUCATION
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Watch the Recording -- Book Discussion with Dina Gilio-Whitaker
The Environmental Justice Practitioners Network webinar with Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) last week was a tremendously rich discussion about pandemics, Indigenous legal struggles, and more. Please give the webinar recording a listen --- and read her book As Long As Grass Grows --- if you have the time. It’s worth it!
Dina Gilio-Whitaker is the policy director and a senior research associate at the Center for World Indigenous Studies and teaches American Indian Studies at California State University-San Marcos.
You can purchase As Long As Grass Grows at Beacon.org — OR– be one of the first ten new monthly sustaining donors to UU Ministry for Earth (of any amount), and you will be mailed a free copy of the book! Visit www.uumfe.org/giving.
Bonus Recipes
Glowing Green “Pasta” Primavera
Visit UU Ministry for Earth online at uumfe.org
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