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Become a Fan of the
Clara Barton &
Mass Bay Districts
on Facebook!
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DISTRICTS ASSEMBLY
April 28: 1 to 5 pm |  MARK YOUR CALENDAR! For the first time, Clara Barton and Massachusetts Bay Districts will hold a joint assembly!
Everyone is welcome: congregants, delegates, lay leaders, religious professionals, UUs at large.
Highlights include
- a virtual banner parade
- phenomenal worship that invites us into dialogue about the future of our faith led by the Revs. Kim Crawford Harvie and Tom Schade
- music led by Beth Norton among others
- conversations with congregants and leaders in other congregations
- brief annual meetings
- good food, fellowship and fun
Registration will open soon.
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Immigrant Rights:
workshop times and locations
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See column to the right for content details about the workshop.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
- Sat, March 3, 10am-1pm: Unitarian Universalist Church of READING
- Sat, March 10, 9am-12pm: First Parish Church DUXBURY
- Sat, March 17, 10am-1pm: First Unitarian Church WORCESTER
- Sun, March 25, 3pm-6pm: BERNARDSTON Unitarian Church
- Wed, March 28, 7-9pm: First Parish MILTON
- Sat, March 31, 9am-12pm: First Parish CAMBRIDGE
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| Other District Programs Coming Up | |
March, 2011
April, 2012
May, 2012
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Justice GA 2012: historic and unique
| Social justice witness and General Assembly have always gone together, but after the state of Arizona passed SB1070 in the spring of 2010, Unitarian Universalists were inspired to a whole new level of action. Immigration activists called for a boycott of Arizona tourism in the wake of the law, which makes the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and gives the police broad powers to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally.
At the 2010 GA, UUs engaged in a soulful discernment process about whether we should subscribe to the boycott or accept our local partners' invitation to come bear witness. Together our congregations decided to bring General Assembly to Phoenix as planned, but to decline business as usual and instead focus all of our time together learning, acting, and partnering around justice and immigration. Justice GA was born.
This GA has the potential to move us to a higher level of involvement in our communities and the world, not just this year, but into the future. It is being designed to be multi-generational, actively involving youth, young adults and families of all ages.
In a time when our country is experiencing a host of injustices this General Assembly calls us:
- To learn about and bear witness to some of the major civil rights and economic justice issues of our time in Arizona and around the country
- To become partners with human rights organizations in Arizona who have invited us to work with them to defend human rights
- To learn ways to bring our learning and experience home to create a more just environment for all in our own congregations, communities and states
Below, we have compiled a variety of opportunities for you to begin preparing for GA as well as other ways to more fully participate in this historic event. Plan now to be there in Phoenix!
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 This event series, cosponsored by the Districts and UU Mass Action (the UU advocacy network for Massachusetts), looks at immigration as a moral issue and what we can do to stand with immigrants both locally and nationally.
Come together with other Unitarian Universalists to
- watch the Frontline documentary Lost in Detention
- hear local immigrant rights workers talk about immigrant needs and concerns right here in Massachusetts
- learn more about what will be happening at Justice G.A. in Phoenix
- strategize about how you and your congregation can get involved in immigrant justice (including break-out groups for youth and young adults)
Look for time, place and registration information in the column at left. Click here to download a flyer about this series to post in your church.
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Plan to Attend Justice GA
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This GA there will be less business and more worship, learning, networking, and public witness. Along with workshops and events addressing justice issues there will be many traditional features that make every GA memorable - the Service of the Living Tradition, the Ware Lecture, the GA Choir, the Exhibit Hall, daily and Sunday worship services, prominent speakers, presentations and workshops.
Joining with the people of Arizona, we will worship, witness, learn and work together. We will leave General Assembly grounded in our faith, energized for justice and with resources to bring this work home.
Our time together this June will offer opportunities for deepened understanding of our religious call to justice and human rights, for profound transformation, and for building capacity in congregations, regardless of size or geographic location, to become more engaged in this work.
Click here to see the 2012 GA Schedule.
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Looking for more information about how immigration impacts our communities? Check out the following resources.
READ
- Stories about Youth and Young Adults and GA are regularly presented on the Blue Boat blog.
STUDY
- Use the Study Guide for "Immigration as a Moral Issue" which includes a six-week adult education course and a Worship Resource Supplement.
WATCH
- Gather for a potluck dinner and host a movie and discussion night in your congregation. Click here for the Multicultural Growth and Witness Staff Group film list.
LISTEN
- Webcast live each Saturday from 4-5pm, "The Journey Toward Phoenix" is a talk-radio program to learn more about immigration issues and to prepare for Justice GA.
ADVOCATE
ORGANIZE
Partner with one or more of the following organizations to work with your congregation on immigrant rights
- In Massachusetts
- UU Mass Action, a UU statewide advocacy network in Massachusetts
- Centro Presente, a member-driven, Latin American immigrant organization dedicated to the self-determination and self-sufficiency of the Latin American immigrant community of Massachusetts
- Student Immigrant Movement, working to ensure that immigrant students are not discriminated against based on their immigration status
- Refugee Immigration Ministry, an interfaith, a community-based organization offering resettlement to asylum seekers and refugees, job preparation, and spiritual care
- In Connecticut
- Junta empowers the Latino and low-income community to take control of their economic and social well being, while civically engaging in the community.
- Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services which resettles refugees and provides some services to asylees and other immigrants
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GA Social Media
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Track General Assembly updates with these social media links:
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