| |
|
Social
Justice News
& Initiatives
Social Justice News
including State & Federal Action Alerts
Agenda for Change:
The St. Lawrence District
Social Justice Monthly Newsletter
•
April 15, 2008
•
March 20, 2008
•
February 15, 2008
•
January 15, 2008
•
December 15, 2007
FAITH WORKS: A UU
PERSPECTIVE
In the words of the
early 19th century theologian Hosea Ballou: "There is one inevitable
criterion of judgment touching religious faith in doctrinal matters, can
you reduce it to practice? If not, have none of it."
Spirituality and
action for justice are a seamless garment. Action flows organically from
a spirituality of thanksgiving for being. It is a natural consequence of
who we are and the nature of our religious convictions. Faith and
action are part of the same motion.
While ours is a non-creedal
faith, we are united in the belief that we create life meanings in the
very struggle for justice in the community. We seek to become a
"spiritual center with a civic circumference” in the words of UU prophet
James Luther Adams. The holy for us emerges from engagement in the
search for Beloved Community.
Ultimately we are
joined by a mystical oneness that has informed all the prophets of
humanity — an interdependent web of being in which “thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself because thy neighbor is thyself.” (David Rhys
Williams)
How Faith Works in the St. Lawrence District
The Social Justice Council (SJC) of the St.
Lawrence Unitarian Universalist District (SLUUD) was authorized by the
2005 District Assembly to support the work of justice-making within and
among Unitarian Universalist congregations in the district. Its mission
is to make the collective voice of Unitarian Universalists heard in the
wider world.
The purposes of SJC are:
> To
connect our congregations and their representatives. Websites and
list serves will be created to share information, events and actions.
Issue-oriented groups will be facilitated.
> To
serve our congregations and their representatives by providing them
with information and education. This will be done through an annual
social justice conference, denominational training events and worship
services.
> To
grow our congregations both spiritually and socially to insure our
collective voice is heard more loudly and clearly on issues of
importance.
SJC is composed of seven members and a part-time
Social Justice Coordinator to facilitate the work of the districts and
the congregations. The Council provides consultative services, posts to
the SLUUD website, publishes the “Agenda for Change” newsletter
approximately monthly, connects UU’s to social justice resources and
sponsors an annual social justice conference, “Be the Change You Want to
See in the World” October 20, 2007, at May Memorial Unitarian
Universalist Society of Syracuse.
SJC is a member of and works closely with
Interfaith Impact of New York State (IINYS),
www.interfaithimpactnys.org a progressive coalition of Protestants,
Reform Jews, Unitarian Universalists and others who share our vision of
progressive religion in the public square. SJC works with other UU
social justice programs, including the Unitarian Universalist
Association, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and other
affiliated groups.
Specifically, it is the goal of the SJC to create
a Social Justice Network (SJN) among the district congregations. SJC
will coordinate communications among congregations and individuals. It
is hoped that there will be a social justice program in every
congregation in the district. SJC stands ready to consult with
individual congregations and clusters to hone organizational skills.
There is a renewed focus on advocacy in the
district. The District Executive, Tom Chulak, will be empowered to
speak on behalf of the St. Lawrence District. The Council will be
guided by the official social witness statements of the Unitarian
Universalist Association. While many of our congregations have programs
in social service and education, it is hoped that there will be
increased emphasis on social witness, advocacy and community
organizing. The foci of social justice work will be at the local, state
and national levels.
Richard S. Gilbert, Social Justice Coordinator
rsgilbert@uuma.org
Phone: 585-244-7403
|
Editorial
• The Earth has Moral Rights,
But How?
April 2008
Earth Day is April 22, a time when our Seventh Principle comes
into focus. You remember that Unitarian Universalists “affirm
and promote the interdependent web of all existence of which we
are a part.” It was that principle that motivated me to preach a
sermon “Does the Earth Have Moral Rights?” (e-mailed on
request). I answered in the affirmative.
However, while it is today’s conventional wisdom to be “green,”
I find the whole environmental ethic problematic. Herewith some
problems that I see.
With all the talk of global warming and energy crisis, one item
unaccountably left off the table is population. A Cornell
professor once determined that the optimum carrying capacity of
the earth is something like half what the actual population is
now. Without debating that point, it is clear that little has
been done about restraining population growth with its heavy
impact on earth’s temperature and energy resources. Progressive
development theory suggests that investing in the economic
well-being of women is the best plan for smaller families, but
this whole issue is not even hinted at by our presidential
candidates.
The UUA Green Sanctuary program has been embraced by many of our
congregations, but from what I read and hear, most of the effort
goes into “greening” our congregations and their buildings. That
is good insofar as it goes, and it is a good start. But if a
change in our congregational practices does not manifest itself
in advocacy for policy change of CAFE standards, controls on air
and water pollution, I fear it will be of relatively little
worth in the long run – and in the long run, said John Maynard
Keynes famously, “we are all dead.”
UU’s are buying the Prius and other hybrid and efficient cars
and "dissing" Hummers and the like. Again, unless our own green
lifestyle, important as it is, moves into advocacy for public
policy, it can easily become a feel-good exercise.
There are some real ethical conflicts in environmental activism.
Perhaps you read of two families who lived adjacent to each
other. One planted trees to promote shade (how many AC units
does one tree equal?), while the neighbors went to solar panels
on the roof of their house. As the trees grew they cast shade
over the panels, reducing their efficiency. The neighbors are
now in court over this conflict. There may be a pragmatic
resolution, but the issue is emblematic of the problem.
Conventional wisdom suggests we ought to increase the use of
bio-fuels to run our cars more cleanly and efficiently. However,
the rapid transfer of agricultural land to the quick-profit
ethanol products is one factor driving skyrocketing food prices
around the world – with tragic consequences.
As we celebrate Earth Day and advocate our Seventh Principle,
then, we do well to avoid too much self-congratulation and spend
more time and energy and resources digging into these perplexing
problems of living on earth.
Dick Gilbert
|
 
• Click on this logo
for all you need to know to access UU
Radio and listen to the Liberal Religious Hour online. |
|
|