|
Our partner organization, Move to Amend, is meeting in cities around our state starting on December 5th. This is the kick off to their Democracy Movement organizing effort. It's purpose is to safeguards our citizen's rights from the undue influence of corporations and money in politics.
Recent supreme court rulings elevate corporations to the level of a person. They also treat money as if it is speech. Both of these have a distorting effect on our democracy. This is a root issue -- it strikes at the heart of where our democracy has become corrupt. As I have written before, our faith has a special place for democracy. We "affirm and promote the use of the democractic process within our congregations and in society at large." The action of the week is to attend one of these kick-off meetings featuring Move to Amend Executive Director, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap. Many of these meetings are being held in UU Congregations. The schedule of events (For more on these events, click this Link and scroll down ): 12/5, Tuesday, 7:00 PM, Corvallis Benton County-Corvallis Public Library 12/6, Wednesday, 6:30 PM, Bend The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon 12/7, Thursday, 7:00 PM, Portland First Unitarian Church, Eliot Chapel 12/8, Friday, 7:00PM, Astoria Alderbrook Hall 12/9, Saturday, 1:30-4:30pm, Eugene "Defend Equality to Defend Democracy" Conference The Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene If you can't be at one of these events, you can still help with the effort. Please join over 440,000 people who have signed an online petition supporting a constitutional amendment at MoveToAmend. In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell
0 Comments
Giving Tuesday!
#GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring about real change in their communities; it provides a platform for them to encourage the donation of time, resources and talents to what they care about. What Do You Care About? As a Unitarian Universalist you care about living out your faith in the world(right?). Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice gives you a way to do that. UUs live their faith through their congregations, and through favorite social justice organizations. So why give to Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice? Living Out Your Faith We bring together the resources, the congregations and the activists to work together to create a better Oregon in your name as Unitarian Universalists. We bring you together at our annual conference, at rally's, to lobby and with other faith partners. You do social justice from your own home with our Actions of the Week and drill down into being a complete activist through LiFT (Legislative Focus Team). Check out our website and join one of our Campaign teams. Keep in Touch Give today on Giving Tuesday! As it says under the Donate button to the right, we have a matching grant. Please use that donate button! Every dollar you send between now and the end of the year is matched by the UU Funding Program. In Love and Faith, (And Generosity!) Rev. Katie Larsell Action of the Week!
Give thanks on this day: Today, fellow UUs, we have a whole day devoted to giving thanks. And the thanks can be for anything. Most of my thanks this Thanksgiving are for my parents. They are growing old and are now struggling with all kinds of bodily afflictions, but they still love to see their children and get a kiss from their grandchildren. How can I not be grateful for that? The Action of the week, during this Thanksgiving week, is not a click away. It is to give thanks today. As Religious Liberals we are dedicated to the truth. We know enough of history to know that our country has done many things that make us weep. It isn't all the past either, we see injustice now. And yet ... one part of a spiritual life is that we strive to live without bitterness. On this day your justice task is to hold thankfulness in your heart while knowing the imperfect nature of our world. We need to live in hope. Not a hope based on made up stories, but an eyes-wide-open hope. We see clearly that much is wrong, but we know that the future is not certain and we can be part of it's change. This eyes-wide-open hope balances between the two truths of the world's terribleness, and its wonder. It is a middle path and a discipline. Love the world while knowing it. Love what is, while changing it. When we discover the middle path, we neither remove ourselves from the world nor get lost in it. We can be with all our experience in its complexity, with our own exact thoughts and feelings and drama as it is. We learn to embrace tension, paradox, change. Instead of seeking resolution, waiting for the chord at the end of a song, we let ourselves open and relax in the middle. Jack KornfieldIn Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell Housing for Columbia River tribes
The Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget recently reached across the country to mess with the lives of Native Americans who live and fish along the Columbia River. It started with the big Columbia River Dams that were built during the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's. People had to move to make way for the rising water. The federal government promised to build houses for displaced people. That promise was fulfilled for white people. yet after 50-70 years, Tribal people still don't have the promised housing. The four Columbia River Treaty Tribes have worked for years to bring attention to unsafe, unsanitary housing at traditional fishing sites. After years of persuasion, this was the year housing at fishing sites along the Columbia River would be funded by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. A few weeks ago Director Mick Mulvaney of the Office of Management and Budget for the Trump administration--took away the funding without giving a reason. This week's ACTION OF THE WEEK is to call Director Mick Mulvaneyand tell him you want funding restored for Tribal housing on the Columbia River. Click CALL DIRECTOR MULVANEY for instructions on how to place this easy call. Tell him you want the United States of America to keep the promises it made to Tribal people decades ago In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell Vote on Tuesday, November 7thDon't forget to vote in Tuesday's Special Election! If you got a ballot in the mail and it is still sitting on your kitchen counter, or on the hall table where your mail tends to collect, then sit down and fill out that ballot. Find out where you need to drop it off and then do it.
This Tuesdays election is so quiet and so under the radar that it is easy to forget. Many of us are not even being asked to vote. If you DID NOT get a ballot, you probably live in a district that does not have anything up for election. If you got a ballot -- take the time to vote. Portland Community College has a bond measure on the ballot. Other School districts, Phoenix Talent and North Marion are two, are asking for your support. There are City Charter changes, Fire District Levys,Libraries, and Road Improvement Districts being formed. If you already voted -- Good for you! Our faith has a special place for democracy. We "affirm and promote the use of the democractic process within our congregations and in society at large." Voting can be a spiritual practice when it is done thoughtfully and with faith. We have faith in our local institutions and we support them. Not blindly, or without thought or critique, but knowing they aren't perfect, but we need them and they need us. In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell |
Printable PDFs of
Action of the Week here. Archives
August 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
