Social Justice News & Initiatives - St. Lawrence District of the UUA

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Social Justice News
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"The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Theodore Parker

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

St. Lawrence District Social
Justice Council

• Social Justice Coordinator:
Rev. Dick Gilbert
70 Harper St., Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 244-7403
rsgilbert@uuma.org

• Social Justice Committee Chair: Harsey Leonard
(315) 446-6795
harsey.leonard@verizon.net

• S J Council brochure (pdf format)

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

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