RACIAL EQUITY
MLK Day events
Monday, January 16, 2012
MLK Day Community Breakfast
Monday, January 16th, 7-9am
White Bear UU Church
328 Maple Street, Mahtomedi, MN 55115.
Join with UUs and the community at the Northeast Area Community Breakfast at White Bear UU to commemorate the life and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hot breakfast and Simulcast of program from Mpls. Convention Center (limited tickets may also be available for the annual MLK breakfast at the Convention Center), featuring keynote speaker Nontombi Naomi Tutu, human rights activist and daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Northeast Area local program will include guest speaker James F. Cannon, Jr. from Amicus, a program that helps ex-offenders build successful lives. Tickets at the door, $5 per person/free for children under 12. FFI: Carol Salmon, 651-426-2369
Grassroots MLK March and Rally
March to honor King's human rights legacy
Harbor Light, 10th and Currie (1 blk N of Hennepin)
March to Minneapolis City Hall
Noon step off @ Harbor Light, rally to follow at City Hall
This march, organized by Occupy the Hood, will raise up issues of inequity and injustice that face people of color primarily in urban neighborhoods in the Twin Cities, and honor the human rights and economic justice legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
VOTING RIGHTS
MUUSJA/AUW Voting Rights
Saturday, Jan. 14th
10am to noon
First Universalist Church in Minneapolis, room 202
Learn about the issue of Voter ID, which is expected to be on the 2012 Minnesota ballot. We'll show a new video prepared by the League of Women Voters Minnesota and provide the talking points on the key issues of this anticipated constitutional amendment.
AUW/MUUSJA is a state leader in demonstrating that Photo ID is unnecessary via this report published a year ago , showing that cases of ineligible voting are non-existent for voter impersonation. While not needed to secure our elections, a Voter ID requirement would make it much harder to vote for about 12% of eligible citizens, particularly older and younger voters, the disabled, and people of color.
A February 4th Day of Service event for Voter Rights is also planned.
FFI: Carol Johnson 612-825-3322 or Jenny Thomas jjewell.thomas@gmail.com.
UUs FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
Healing Minnesota
Sunday, January 22nd, 5:00 p.m.
Plymouth Congregational Church
1900 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
Everyone is invited to services of song, speakers and spiritual reflection that inspire love, respect and healing in a time of division about the proposed constitutional amendment on marriage rights. You can read the Plymouth ministers' op-ed, "A Call for Healing," in the Southwest Journal.
Healing Minnesota services take place at 5 p.m., fourth Sundays of the month. Upcoming dates: Jan. 22: Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak; Feb. 26: State Senator John Marty. Mobilizing UU Marriage Equality Advocates
Sunday, January 22nd, 6:30-8:00 pm
First Universalist, Library
3400 Dupont, Minneapolis
Our regular meeting to gather congregational leaders - and potential leaders - to implement our plan for how UUs can support and contribute to the interfaith work to defeat the 2012 anti-marriage amendment. We continue to call for representatives from as many Minnesota congregations as possible to attend, either in person or via phone or web conferencing.
Can't make it to Minneapolis on Sunday evening?
You can join the meeting by web conference streaming video & audio, at BigMarker.com Please
e-mail Ralph to receive a link and login instructions.
Trainings and additional events
MUUSJA is developing a speakers bureau! We can offer a basic 1 1/2 to 2 hour training event on messaging and simple storytelling to help you feel comfortable talking to friends, family and co-workers about why marriage matters to you and why you oppose the amendment.
Contact us for details - or to find out about a train-the-trainer event so
you can lead this easy but informative talk at in your community/congregation!
Phone banking:
Now under way at Minnesotan's United for All Families, Sunday-Thursday evenings. Excellent training to start your evening - and as a UUC colleague of ours tells us from phone banking this week, this training will really help you have conversations in your every day life about the amendment.
Info and sign up here.
ENVIRONMENT
A Hopeful Earth: Faith, Science, And the Message of Jesus
Sunday, January 29th; 1:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Hamline University, Klas Center
1535 Taylor Avenue, St. Paul, MN
Join MUUSJA partner Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light and co-sponsor Hamline University for this intriguing look into the intersections of spirituality and environmental issues.
As Minnesota's advocacy organization Fresh Energy recently reported, the environmental movement and evangelicals must engage more actively together to fend off the worst of climate change. Attending this gathering can help UUs gain grounding to work in interfaith contexts.
Conversation will center on the book A Hopeful Earth: Faith, Science, and the Message of Jesus. Authors Rev. Sally Dyck, Bishop of the Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church and her niece, Sarah Ehrman, an Environmental Science educator will be there and help lead the discussion.
Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline!
MN350.org has asked us to mobilize UUs to Call the White House at 202-456-1111 to share your message of opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. When you call the White House, be sure to leave your name, city and occupation.
Sample message: "My name is ___ and I am from Minnesota. Now is the time to act and put the health and safety of the American people first by stopping any work of the Keystone XL pipeline. Granting approval to this project will release so much carbon that we may be at "game over" for the climate. Mr. President please speak in the long term interest of our people and our children and say no to the Keystone XL pipeline."
OThe Sacred Choices-Reproductive Rights group invites you to an Intergenerational Film & Discussion Night. Anybody aged 13-100+ yrs is welcome and encouraged to take part! "The Fragile Promise of Choice" by award-winning filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman examines how worsening socio-economic, political and legal conditions for reproductive justice have affected the lives of providers and the women who seek their services. The film also looks at the complexity of religious issues and ways faith can lead to supporting a pro-choice viewpoint. Evening starts with pizza dinner followed by the film and discussion. RSVP not necessary but helpful; contact Cathy Apostle at caquilt51@aol.com
