UUA Top Stories The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has partnered with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) on a joint JustWorks volunteer service trip to Haiti this December. Read the latest blog post as participants share their thoughts on the journey to help rebuild the community and lives of earthquake survivors in Haiti.
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is partnering with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) on a joint JustWorks volunteer service trip to Haiti starting December 3. In the first blog post about this JustWorks experience, trip leaders Nicole McConvery of the UUA and Evan Seitz of the UUSC share their thoughts on the journey to help rebuild the community and lives of earthquake survivors in Haiti.
UUA Witness Ministries Director Rev. Craig C. Roshaven has announced a new resource to help interfaith teams advocate for changes in local policy on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests. This toolkit provides information on how t…
Witnessing the living conditions in the Zulu village of Inzinga—in the midst of hospitality like none that Unitarian Universalist father and daughter Tom and Miranda Lynch had ever experienced—altered the course of Miranda’s teen years, Tom’s career, and the villagers’ nutrition and educational opportunities.
In each of the past five years, the Unitarian Universalist Association has filed a shareholder resolution asking Wal-Mart to add Gender Identity or Expression to its non-discrimination policy. Recently, the UUA was notified by Wal-Mart’s Office of Diversity that they were adopting this policy and were disseminating it throughout their network of stores and distribution centers. Fittingly, this news came not long before Sunday, Nov. 20, the International Transgender Day of Remembrance.
On Veteran’s Day, we remember with gratitude the men and women who have served our country in the military. To honor their service, free copies of Bless All Who Serve: Sources of Hope, Courage and Faith for Military Personnel and Their Families are av…
On Monday, Nov. 7, interfaith allies and immigrant justice groups held a press conference at Church of the Covenant in Boston. The press conference was in response to a recent wave of anti-immigrant activity and a draconian anti-immigrant bill introduc…
In recent years, venues such as hotel chains and convention centers have worked to create solid environmental policies that satisfy even the ‘greenest’ gatherings. In this month’s Meetings and Conventions magazine, the Unitarian Universalist Associati…
The Minns Lectureship Committee is kicking off its 2011-2012 lecture series with “To Be an Effective and Justice-Seeking People,” to be held at King’s Chapel in Boston and led by former UUA President, the Rev. John Buehrens. Rev. Paige Getty and Rev. Nate Walker will be panelists at the event. The series will continue the conversation begun at the April 2011 Minns conference, “Composing Our Unitarian Universalist Future.” For details and registration information, visit http://www.MinnsLectures.org.
In April 2011, the Minns Lectureship Committee brought together Unitarian Universalist clergy, seminarians, lay leaders, and parishioners from across the country to reflect on the present state of Unitarian Universalism, as well as hopes and intentions…
In the past decade, seven Unitarian Universalist congregations in Massachusetts have reported at least 11 incidents in which rainbow flags were stolen or vandalized, including Bridgewater, Watertown, and Quincy.
Unitarian Universalists in Alabama have been on the front lines in the debate over immigration ever since state legislators there began drafting an oppressive anti-immigrant measure last winter. Unitarian Universalists have joined a wide array of opponents of the proposed measure, including many faith community leaders who say it would prevent them from being “good Samaritans.”
More than 1,000 people were arrested in the past two weeks in front of the White House for protesting the proposed construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. At least 15 Unitarian Universalists, including the Rev. Craig Roshaven, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Witness Ministries Director, were among those arrested.
Rev. Fredric John Muir, of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Annapolis, Md., Len Pellettieri of the First UU Church of San Diego, Calif., and Lee Boeke Burke of the Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, Wisc. have each donated their time and ta…
The Unitarian Universalist Association has been monitoring reports from congregations that were in the path of Hurricane Irene. Fortunately, there appears to have been very limited damage, with the exception of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of …
Religious activists and organizations are gathering August 29 outside the White House as part of a two-week protest called Tar Sands Action, which is aimed at pressuring President Obama to reject a proposed oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. T…
The United Nations has declared a famine in southern Somalia that is expected to spread in the next two months. With 3.2 million people — half of the Somali population — needing immediate lifesaving assistance, this is the world’s worst food security crisis in the last 20years. In light of this dire crisis, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) has opened the Somalia and East Africa Relief Fund.
In the middle of Iowa, where biological diversity can consist of fields of corn next to fields of soybeans, Linda Barnes wanted more. To make that happen, Barnes, a Unitarian Universalist, started a two-year degree program in Entrepreneurial and Divers…
On the one-year anniversary of his civil disobedience in Phoenix, while protesting Arizona’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants, UUA President Peter Morales stood trial in the Maricopa County Justice Court. With him in the July 29 trial were Salvador Reza, a lead organizer with the immigrant rights group Puente Arizona, and two others. On Friday, August 5, all four defendants were found guilty on misdemeanor charges of failing to comply with a police officer.
UUA President Rev. Peter Morales stands trial in Phoenix, Ariz., on Friday, July 29, for his nonviolent civil disobedience in opposition to anti-immigrant legislation in that state. Rev. Morales says he is ‘proud to be president of a religious movement…
From Rev. Chris Buice, minister at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville: ‘It is a paradox that good can come from evil. Acts of hatred can inspire an outpouring of love. Our congregation and the Westside congregation are empowere…
Rev. Julie Taylor and Rev. Laurel Koepf got married two years ago at Fourth Universalist Society in New York City. It was a ceremony that was deeply meaningful but without legal standing in the state of New York. Last month they got married again, and …
Unitarian Universalist minister, Rev. Jeff Jones, reflects on his decision to join two Cobb County, Georgia men, Salvador Zamora and Martin Altamirano, in protesting their state’s implementation of anti-immigrant legislation by fasting for seven days. Rev. Jones sees immigration becoming the moral question of the day and finds hope and strength in recent successes in the GLBT rights movement to continue fighting for meaningful immigration reform.
Rev. Jeff Jones joined two Georgia men, Salvador Zamora and Martin Altamirano, in protesting their state’s anti-immigrant legislation by fasting for seven days. “I want to stand in affirmation with them and the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” said Jones, minister of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Marietta. “We’re living the struggle of the civil rights movement. We have to keep lifting up what we value.”
In its July 17 edition, the Boston Globe Magazine delves into the 1965 murder of James Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, which helped usher in the Voting Rights Act but left lasting scars on the city of Selma, AL. When the FBI…
Annual sponsorships seek to boost nutrition, sanitation, supplies, and teacher salaries at the New Life School in Kkindu, Uganda, started by Ugandan UU minister, the Rev. Mark Kiyimba.
On July 1, Georgia’s new state immigration law went into effect, following a federal court judge’s decision to enjoin a couple of the provisions, but allowing for most of them, similar to the law passed in Arizona last year. In response, Unitarian Universalists took part in a protest march and rally beginning at the state capitol on Saturday, July 2. Many wore yellow Standing on the Side of Love t-shirts, and the crowd was estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 people.
The Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly 2011 is happening now through Sunday, June 26, in Charlotte, NC. Live video of business plenaries and major events will be available on UUA.orgs General Assembly 2011 page and on a dedicated channel at Livestream, at http://www.livestream.com/uuaga.
The 50th General Assembly of the UUA adopted a Statement of Conscience promoting “ethical eating” and approved 11 bylaw amendments, including one that will reduce the size of the Board of Trustees starting in 2013.
The Unitarian Universalist Association holds its 50th General Assembly this week in Charlotte, N.C. UU World will provide extensive daily coverage of the UUA’s annual convention and business assembly June 22–26 as well as meetings of the UUA Board of Trustees on June 21, 22, and 27.
Interfaith community leaders will gather in Charlotte, NC, on Friday, June 24, for a Faith Community Rally Against Homophobia & Transphobia. Hundreds of people are planning to march from the Charlotte Convention Center, the location of the UUA Gene…
In its continuing effort to persuade corporations to adopt policies protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees from discrimination, the UUA has assisted in a shareholder resolution urging a major defense contractor to protect i…
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick, Maine, suffered heavy damage in a fire that started in the early morning hours of Monday, June 6. The fire destroyed the entire rear of the building, gutting the first and second floors. The Northern New …
Recovery from last year’s devastating earthquake in Haiti has been painfully slow for the tens of thousands of Haitians who still sleep in tent cities in the capital of Port-au-Prince. But on a joint service trip of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in late May, there were signs of hope and action. Along with 10 UU seminary students, leaders of the UUA and UUSC travelled to Haiti’s Central Plateau to participate in a hands-on eco-village building project that will help 40 Haitian families rebuild their homes and their lives.
On Wednesday, June 8, Unitarian Universalist Rev. Sue Phillips, District Executive for the UUA Clara Barton and Massachusetts Bay Districts, testified at the Massachusetts State House in support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. In the latest post …
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have just returned from their joint service trip to Haiti. On this trip, seminary students were given an opportunity to develop a multicultural understandi…
For the past five years, First Unitarian Church in Rochester, New York has developed an amazing holiday tradition. Members tally up their planned holiday spending and then give half of that amount to the church. The children then decide what local and …
The Clara Barton District is working to support congregations and families affected by violent storms on Wednesday, June 1. Donations to the Clara Barton District’s Massachusetts Tornado Relief Fund will be used to provide immediate relief to congregat…
A group of Atlanta-area Unitarian Universalist ministers has signed a strongly worded letter condemning a Georgia immigration bill as “racist,” “bad for business,” and reflecting “spiritual blight.”
Our religious tradition was not planted yesterday. Its roots go deep: Forty-one of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s congregations are at least 300 years old. Many of our denominational institutions were first set up in the nineteenth century, including our publishing enterprises, one of our seminaries, and the delegate assembly we know as the General Assembly.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeast coast of Japan killed more than 12,000 people. Rev. Eric Cherry, director of the UUA’s International Resources office, was in Japan recently to meet with the partner groups. He said many members of these groups were directly affected by the disasters. “The Rissho Kosei-kai itself has 35 to 40 congregations that have been damaged terribly.’ As of April 8, Unitarian Universalists had donated $200,000 to Japanese relief efforts. Decisions about how to use these funds will be made in cooperation with our partners, Cherry said.
The Rev. Eric Cherry, Director of International Resources at the UUA, has just returned from meetings with our partners in Japan. While there, he learned of the latest recovery efforts in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami and delivered the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) message of condolence, spiritual support, and solidarity. To support the ongoing work of our interfaith partners, the UUA and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have created the UUA/UUSC Japan Relief Fund.
From the Rev. Peter Morales, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA): ‘I’m pleased to announce the public release of the new five-page UUA Strategic Plan for Professional Ministries. The plan, developed by our Professional Ministries …
Earlier this month Maryland came close to becoming the sixth state to approve same-sex marriage. In the end, the votes weren’t quite there, but one of the key reasons for the issue’s near-passage is Maryland state Senator Rich Madaleno, a member of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda.
Bruce Knotts, executive director of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, speaks out on the Standing on the Side of Love blog: ‘It’s time to end institutionalized discrimination based on sexual orientation in this country. Tell Congress it is time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and restore the rights of lawfully married same-sex couples to receive the protections of marriage under federal law.’
UUA President Rev. Peter Morales and former UUA President Rev. Bill Sinkford are the only initial signers from the faith community on Freedom To Marry’s letter to President Obama. The letter asks the president to support full marriage equality. Obama has spoken about his ‘evolving,’ attitude on same-sex marriage. Now, Freedom to Marry has joined with Hollywood celebrities, civil rights leaders, and others, to move Obama from ‘evolving’ to supportive.
The UUA has created a Japan Relief Fund to support the recovery efforts of our religious partners there. Rissho Kosei-kai, Tsubaki Grand Shrine, the Konko Church of Izuo, the Tokyo Dojin Church, and the Japan Chapter of the International Association for Religious Freedom are now considering the specific efforts they will be taking to support the work of recovery. Please join with UUs throughout the United States by contributing to the UUA’s Japan Relief Fund.
DeChristopher, a member of First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, UT, was convicted on March 3, 2011, of two felony counts of disrupting a federal auction of oil and gas leases. He faces up to ten years in prison for this act of civil disobedience.
Members of the First Unitarian Society of Madison have been at the Capitol every day since the protests began February 12 and continued to be involved, even after Gov. Scott Walker officially signed away collective bargaining rights on March 11. Now the protest goal has shifted to recovering workers’ rights.
Inspired by their minister’s story, activists at a New York Unitarian Universalist church launch an abortion hotline that offers support without judgment.
UUA President Rev. Peter Morales sent blog posts from India during his two-week journey to meet with partners of the UU Holdeen India Program and with leaders of the Unitarian Union of North East India. In this post, Rev. Morales reflects upon his visi…
The Cuba AyUUda group at the First Unitarian Church in Portland, OR, has made twenty-five trips to Cuba since 2003. Trip participants have built lasting friendships with Cubans while engaging in social justice work.
India’s Hidden Poverty
On February 14, Rev. Peter Morales, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, launched a two-week journey to India to visit with several partners of the Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program and with leaders of the Unitarian Union of …
Unitarians Turn Tragedy into Lesson in Tolerance
Faith Community Stands with Immigrants for a Halt to ICE Programs
The Monterey County Herald interviews UUA President Rev. Peter Morales and Rev. Greg Ward, minister of the UU Church of the Monterey Peninsula. Morales and Ward, both of whom were arrested in July 2010 protests against SB 1070, discuss the religious ca…
In response to a growing number of threats against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people in Uganda, the UUA has launched a fund to help human rights activists in that country.
The Phoenix Municipal Court has dismissed most of the charges against Unitarian Universalists who were arrested while protesting Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070 in July 2010.
Rev. Nate Walker and the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, PA, have engaged in a public dialogue with the Monsanto Company, the world’s largest producer of genetically modified seeds. Walker is advocating for a code of ethics for bioengineers.
Unitarian Universalist congregations around the country honored King’s legacy by participating in worship services and community events. This year’s observances were especially poignant in the wake of the tragic shootings in Tucson, AZ.
Many of the Unitarian Universalists who were arrested on July 29, 2010, during a religious witness against Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070, will appear in Maricopa County Court this month.
Paired, “sex education” and “church” still sound strange to some ears, but it needn’t be so. Religious leaders have guided young and old alike in sexual morality for millennia. Our Unitarian and Universalist forebears tended to affirm new understandings in science and psychology, leading us to think progressively on sexual matters. Our congregations are recognized leaders in comprehensive sex ed, grounded in UU values.
UU Legislative Ministries Now in Fifteen States
UUA Plans Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration
Unitarian Universalists Rally Against ICE Program
Unitarian Universalists Honor Transgender Deaths
Celebrating the Winter Holidays
Stirring Up Gratitude
Poverty and Thanksgiving: A Call to Close the Rich-Poor Gap
Unitarian Universalists Share Their Immigration Stories
The Bravery of Unitarian Universalists in Uganda
UUA Supports International Transgender Day of Remembrance
York Congregation Welcomes UUA President
Mark Your Calendars: It’s Time to Renew Our Vows
UUA Partners with Faithful Democracy to Encourage Voting
UUA President Addresses Interfaith Breakfast for New Sanctuary Movement
More Than 80 UUA Congregations Participate in 10/10/10 Global Work Party
UUA’s Socially Responsible Investing Featured in Los Angeles Times
One Sunday, Five Hundred Congregations, 100,000 Memories
UUA President Sends Condolences on the Death of Rev. Dr. Árpád Szabó
UUA and Standing on the Side of Love Support One Nation Working Together
UUA President Meets Dalai Lama
UUA President Issues Statement in Support of Religious Freedom
UUSC and UUA Launch Joint Pakistan Flood Relief Fund
UUSC, UUA Declare Support for Lower Manhattan Mosque
UUA President Applauds California Prop 8 Ruling
Witness to a Return Home: A Trip to Uganda
Human Rights Issues Dominate Annual Meeting
Unitarian Universalists Volunteer at Hope Community
Rev. Jane Rzepka Receives Prestigious Award from UUA
UUA’s 2010 General Assembly Meets June 23-27 in Minneapolis
A Struggle for America’s Soul: A Message from UUA President Morales
UUA General Assembly Leads the Way in Sustainability
UUA Moves Retirement Plan from Fidelity to TIAA-CREF
UUs Protest Arizona’s Anti-Immigrant Law
UUA President Condemns Anti-Latino Arizona Law
UUs Celebrate Earth Day and Commit to Ethical Eating
Unitarian Universalist Teens Advocate for Comprehensive Sexuality Education
UUA Holdeen India Program Partner, Ela Ramesh Bhatt, Receives Peace Prize