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Zephyranthes drummondii (Evening Rain Lily), photo by Aly Tharp
Dear UU Ministry for Earth Community, It is with a mixture of deep excitement, gratitude, and sadness that I announce I am transitioning out of my role as Co-Director of UU Ministry for Earth, and beginning a new role as Senior Organizer at GreenFaith, focusing on multi-faith mobilization with the People vs Fossil Fuels Campaign (formerly known as Build Back Fossil Free). I have officially begun working full time at GreenFaith. I am also maintaining my role with UUMFE in a much-reduced capacity, now through the UUA General Assembly (I will be attending the UUA GA in full, in person). My last day as outgoing UUMFE Co-Director will be in early July.
When my friend and fellow Keystone pipeline blockader Benjamin Franklin Sequoyah Craft-Rendon encouraged me to apply to be the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice (UUYACJ) Network Coordinator in 2014, I had no way of knowing that my life would be so deeply shaped and transformed by this ministry!
It has been a great honor and privilege to serve UUYACJ, UUMFE and the entire UU faith community over the last eight years.
I am so proud of the work we’ve done together — the many national and global mobilizations; being an executive producer and screening partner of The Condor & The Eagle documentary; organizing congregations to create eco-artwork for the 2017, 2019 and 2022 General Assemblies; the hundreds of webinars and networking calls to strengthen the UU climate and environmental justice movement… It has been hard, beautiful, meaningful work. Thank you for your faith, support, and collaboration over the years.
My heart is full of gratitude, hope, and anticipation for the continued growth and evolution of UU Ministry for Earth, our denomination-wide UU climate justice efforts, and the broader movement.
Given that both the UU Ministry for Earth and UUA are active in the People vs Fossil Fuels coalition — and given how many UUs are engaged in grassroots multi-faith action for climate justice — I have no doubt that this transition is not truly a goodbye! Our paths will continue to intersect and unite often, as we do the sacred and important work of showing up for Life, Love and Justice.
Onward, in faith and solidarity,
Aly Tharp (she/they), Co-Director, Programs & Partnerships
P.S. As part of Spring for Change: A Season of Sacred Activism this year, UU Ministry for Earth produced a robust and beautiful virtual worship service to "Get Rooted, Get Ready" - first offered on Earth Day. The service can be used in full or in part by participating congregations throughout the Spring and Summer.
Upcoming: May 19, 1pm PT / 2pm MT / 3pm CT / 4pm ET
For Ministers, Seminarians, Religious Educators & Lay Leaders
These facilitated support calls are opportunities to explore our community responses to the climate crisis, and to explore practices that can inspire local and global actions.
UUs for Social Justice, UU Ministry for Earth and UUs for a Just Economic Community are jointly advocating to increase financial resources available to countries most impacted by climate chaos, supporting the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Despite the efforts of advocates last Spring, the U.S. FY 2022 budget provided no money for the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
As the US Congress focuses on the FY 2023 budget, Unitarian Universalists have an opportunity to demand that Congress redress its past failure to support the Green Climate Fund and share the power of our voice with those who have less recourse to influence decision-makers.
Join Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, Side with Love, and UU Ministry for Earth to keep advocating for Water Equity.
The US Congress has begun work on the 2022 version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2022. This biennial legislation provides an opportunity to up the bar for ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and environmental justice in communities that historically have been disparaged when flood control and water infrastructure projects were developed. Demand increased equity and more nature-based solutions in the upcoming 2022 WRDA and in project planning and implementation nation-wide. Your advocacy can make a difference. Please share this appeal with your congregation's newsletter.
Rachel Myslivy, SideWithLove Climate Justice Organizer as well as UU leaders such as Rev. Karen Hutt, Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry; Halcyon Westallwith the UUA Disaster Relief Fund and Faithify; and Rev. Cynthia Cain.
From wildfires to floods, climate disasters impact our communities. How do we cultivate community care in response to climate disasters? With this event, we hope to better understand the threats to your community and the resources available to help UUs show up for their communities.
Elaine McArdle at UU World writes:"A new Unitarian Universalist Association president—the public, spiritual, and executive leader of the UU movement and the UUA organization and staff—will be elected at General Assembly 2023, for a six-year term.
The person elected will succeed President Susan Frederick-Gray, who was elected at the UUA’s General Assembly in 2017.
The Presidential Search Committee (PSC), which the General Assembly created in 2010, is tasked with evaluating applications for president and selecting at least two nominees.
The PSC posted the application form online on Monday, April 4, 2022. From this day on, it began accepting applications. The deadline to submit applications is July 15, 2022. Nominees will be announced on November 15, 2022."
Your actions can be amplified into collective solutions. The tree you plant, the meal you eat, the contact you make with your elected representatives; all these actions build upon the THOUSANDS UUs are already taking. Follow the lead of Project Drawdown with 80 Science-Based Solutions, the national efforts to Strengthen Local Climate Commitments (SLCC), and other Solution RE-Surging starting in April through November as we join the next Climate talks, COP 27 in Egypt. Register for the next SLCC gathering in June!
Interested in the intersections of racial and economic, environmental, and climate justice? Be sure to register for upcoming UUMFE BIPOC Caucus Gatherings!
Join JOANNA MACY for Climate Change As Spiritual Practice
Transforming Anxiety into Empowerment
Rescheduled:Now Tues, May 31 | 12pm-2pm PT/1pm-3pm MT/2pm-4pm CT/3pm-5pm ET
Join in this sacred council with Joanna Macy, author of Active Hope, and PGI Founder Jonathan Gustin, to discover your authentic place in the world and to offer your soul-level purpose as a gift of service to life in this time.
A powerful and unlikely spiritual teacher has arrived, sweeping everyone into the shadows of its cloak. This teacher has begun to interrupt life as we know it, showing us the impermanence and fragility of our lifestyle and our way of seeing the world. This teacher goes by the name of Climate Change.
An invitation to join in imagining a new future together. Join in this special gathering to discover your authentic place in the world and to offer your soul-level purpose as a gift of service to life in this time.
Sabrina Louise, a plant-based chef extraordinaire (and UU Ministry for Earth's Administrator!), writes:
"This recipefocuses on tofu only for the ricotta (making it more affordable), adds lentils, skips the noodles, and uses eggplant instead, which means it's nut free and gluten free! YUM."
Curious for more? Sabrina recommends these delightful plant-based Lasagna recipes - the lentil and eggplant lasagna described above, a version with hummus, and with cashew ricotta (which is a seed not a nut)! Experiment and enjoy!
GRATITUDE
"It has been a great honor and privilege to serve UUYACJ, UUMFE and the entire UU faith community over the last eight years. I am so proud of the work we’ve done together — the many national and global mobilizations; being an executive producer and screening partner of The Condor & The Eagle documentary; organizing congregations to create eco-artwork for the 2017, 2019 and 2022 General Assemblies; the hundreds of webinars and networking calls to strengthen the UU climate and environmental justice movement… It has been hard, beautiful, meaningful work. Thank you for your faith, support, and collaboration over the years.
My heart is full of gratitude, hope, and anticipation for the continued growth and evolution of UU Ministry for Earth, our denomination-wide UU climate justice efforts, and the broader movement." - Aly Tharp
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