If you're having trouble viewing this email, you can see it online.
Dear Friends,
This February, as Unitarian Universalists across the continent celebrate 30 Days of Love, we at Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth are deeply grateful for the ongoing support so many of you, in ways public and private, are working to support this ministry and our faith’s unfolding call for climate justice.
In shared spiritual practice and renewing worship, at zoning board meetings and interfaith gatherings, through UU the Vote, and your local congregations, you are working to make real our faith’s commitment to put love at the center in this more than human world. As the NAACP reminds, lest there be any doubt, “Environmental and climate justice is a civil rights issue.”
What prayers, songs and poems are you finding inspiring for your work for climate justice? Email us with your insights, and let us know if we can share them on our social media channels:comms@uumfe.org.
As Unitarian Universalists, we affirm a comforting and liberating love. Together, we prepare for the coming 2024 Spring for Change! From World Water Day to our Young Adult Skill Building workshops, please be sure to register today to attend or share the plate to support our work. Your presence and support make a difference!
P.S. In these difficult times, enjoy this rendition of Spirit of Life by Carolyn McDade, offered by the George Washington Vibes an a cappella group.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Full Moon Gathering
February 22, 2024 7:00 pm EST - 8:00 pm EST Join UU Ministry for Earth on the Full Moon so we may all find time to ground, recenter, and imagine what is possible in a world in need of repair. There are readings, a short reflection, time for individual contemplation, and sharing in small groups. Together, we nourish our spirits for the work of environmental justice. To draw us more closely into alignment with Earth-based philosophies, we follow the Lunar Calendar and gather, via Zoom, on (or near) the Full Moon.
Spring for change is our slate of events for the 2024 Spring season. More information on each event below. ⬇️
World Water Day: Water is Life
March 21, 2024. 7:00 pm ET |6:00 CT| 5:00 MT| 4:00 PT / 90 minutes long
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness that 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water. We are honored to welcome Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs and Rev. Karen Van Fossan into a conversation on this important and sacred day. They are defenders and protectors of water; two spiritual leaders in our UU movement who will help us build a heart-centered approach to a right relationship with Mother Earth and her waters.
Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served congregations in Indiana, Quebec, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and California. He honors his Native American heritage (Texas Cherokee) which informs his spiritual understanding and practice, and his anti-racist and anti-oppressive commitment He has worked for peace, justice and equality since he was in the Unitarian Universalist youth movement, Liberal Religious Youth.
Rev. Karen is also a Unitarian Universalist minister and author of A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector. She is an abolitionist, licensed professional counselor, and former defendant in the Line 3 pipeline resistance. She is pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry specializing in abolition through Pacific School of Religion. Clyde is on her dissertation advisory committee. Karen lives in Fargo, North Dakota, on the traditional lands of Anishinaabe, Lakota/Dakota, and many Indigenous peoples.
Full Moon and Earth Day Gathering
April 23, 2024. 7-8 pm ET| 6-7pm CT| 5-6 pm MT| 4-5 pm PT. Join UU Ministry for Earth on the Full Moon closest to Earth Day so we may all find time to ground, recenter, and imagine what is possible for Earth. There will be time for reflection and small group sharing.
Saturdays in April! 2pm PT/ 1pm MT/ 2pm CT/ 3pm ET, lasting for an hour and a half.
UUYACJ is hosting its third annual movement training workshop series! This workshop series seeks to support, resource, and empower young adults in their activism and organizing. Over the course of four Saturdays, participants will gain skills and knowledge relevant to all justice movements, such as how to build deep relationships, crafting direct actions, incorporating art, and using herbalism to care for ourselves and each other. Justice work asks so much of organizers and UUYACJ is grateful that we get to offer these free workshops as a gift in return. You can attend just one, or all of them!
These live, virtual workshops are open to all young adults (ages 18-35). They will be happening every Saturday in April over Zoom.
For those that are not young adults, we ask that you do not register and respect the importance of having a space for YAs to learn together. The recordings will be made available for everyone's viewing after the series has concluded.
Workshop Information
Saturday, April 6th -- Building Trust in the Community: Relationships in Movement Work. Presenters: Micaela Lattimer (they/them/elle), Destini Philpot (they/them), and Lucia Gambino (open pronouns)
Saturday, April 13th -- Making the Movement Irresistible: Creative Non-Violent Direct Action Strategy. Presenters: Martha Durkee-Neuman (she/her) and Alice Kurima Newberry (she/they) Description: Creative non-violent direct action such as street theater, die-ins, flash mob, guerilla projection, light brigade, banner drops, etc, can be key strategic tactics in movements for social justice. Come join us to learn about the action logic theory behind these actions, why we do them, and have the opportunity to brainstorm your own creative action.
Saturday, April 20th and 27th -- To be Announced Soon
International Day of Biodiversity
7:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm CT/ 5:00 pm MT/ 4:00 pm PT Join UU Ministry for Earth for poetry, song and story to honor International Day for Biological Diversity with Dr. Lyla June Johnston
Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.
We will collect donations, half of which will go to National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. https://www.niwrc.org/
This Month we have three FREE resources to support Earth Day worship and small groups. View them individually below or all on our website at: https://www.uumfe.org/spring-for-change-2024/
Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have a practice of sharing their Sunday offering with community organizations, causes and groups. The logistics vary, but the core practice is to give part of the community offering to a cause beyond the immediate congregation that reflects our values and aspirations. Would you consider sharing the plate for Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) during this sacred Spring for Change?
Take Action During Spring for Change: The Environmental Justice for All Act- From Our Partners UUSJ
Let’s Remind Congress, We Still Need the Environmental Justice for All Act
We still want Congress to act on "the moral principle that all people have the right to pure air, clean water, and an environment that enriches life." We still agree "Federal policy can and should seek to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all underserved communities," let's urge them to do so.
Our Partners at Blessed Tomorrow offer The National Faith + Climate Forum
This is an inspiring and transformative event designed to strengthen local congregations through care for creation – TheNational Faith + Climate Forum on April 16th from 12:00 pm - 5:15 pm ET / 11:00 am - 4:15 pm CT / 10:00 am - 3:15 pm MT / 9:00 am - 2:15 pm PT! Join other faith leaders in your area to hear inspiring national speakers and participate in purposeful discussions, practical workshops, and energizing collaborative sessions. All clergy and lay leaders, younger and older congregants, are welcome to join, whether you have been caring for creation for some time, or just getting started. We all can be part of the solution in our congregations and our community.
Our Partners at Side with Love offer 2024 Green Sanctuary 2030 Meetings
Third Wednesdays at 4pm PT / 7pm ET Beginning with the Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration and ending with the Climate Justice Brainstorm, these meetings will celebrate success, build capacity for teams, elevate how the local context of oppression shapes our climate action, and the ways the Green Sanctuary 2030 process supports our work on climate justice, community resilience, congregational transformation, and mitigation - all balanced the faith-filled call to impactful action on climate.
February 21 - Renewing Environmental Justice Commitments with Green Sanctuary 2030, UU Fellowship of Raleigh, NC
March 20 - Climate Justice & Racial Reconciliation in a Predominantly White Community - UUs of Grants Pass, OR and Pursuit Church of the Nazarene
April 17 - Nourishing Impactful Teams with Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, Side With Love Leadership Development Specialist
Get to know the new Green Sanctuary! Join the monthly orientation session to get a better understanding of the program and learn how your congregation can engage in ongoing climate action. Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice can transform your congregation through climate justice! Register to join us.
Inflation Reduction Act Peer Learning Circle
February 28 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET
We’ve all heard about the funding available for congregations to advance clean energy through Inflation Reduction Act Funding, but…really…don’t we all still have questions about how it works?! If this sounds like you, we invite you to join the Inflation Reduction Act Peer Learning Circle to learn with other UUs figuring out how to put these opportunities into action in our communities. Get up to speed by reading this short primer on the opportunities available for congregations, then bring your questions and good ideas to the PLC! Register to join us.
RECIPE TO SHARE
PEANUT BUTTER STUFFED CHOCOLATE COVERED DATES
This delicious and healthy snack is also vegan and gluten-free!
.png)
%20(1).png)
.png)
