UUs gather for #LoveKnowsNoBorders protests at San Diego-Tijuana border
More than 400 people of faith gathered in San Diego in support of migrants seeking refuge in the United States, including more than fifty Unitarian Universalist clergy and leaders from every district of the Pacific Western Region. The event was coordinated by the American Friends Service Committee and is part of a week of action from December 10-18th. The campaign is calling on the U.S. to respect the human right to migrate, end the militarization of border communities, and end the detention and deportation of immigrants.
After hearing from numerous speakers, including UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray and Rev. Shawna Foster of Colorado's Two Rivers UU in Carbondale, the group processed to the border. There they were stopped by Border Patrol agents in riot gear and more than thirty people were taken into custody, including four UU clergy from the Pacific Western Region: Rev. Megan Dowdell, Starr King School for the Ministry; Rev. Sara LaWall, minister of the UU Fellowship in Boise, ID; Rev. Ranwa Hammamy, community minister with the Mt. Diablo UU Church; and Stevie Carmody, the intern minister at the First UU Church of San Diego.
"Our goal actually was for all the faith leaders to bring a blessing to the fence," Rev. Sara LaWall said. "We just stayed there and knelt down and prayed and sang and eventually after some warnings border patrol pushed us back."
LaWall says she knew without a doubt this was the right opportunity to go; she’d been watching the situation unfold from afar and has wanted to do something regarding immigration justice for months. She was one of the 32 arrested, and was cited but not jailed.
"I was apprehensive of course and nervous but kept reminding myself of what the migrants on other side were going through," LaWall said. "It was powerful, it was overwhelming."
The Rev. Gretchen Haley of Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, CO wrote about her experience on her blog, in a post titled, "When We Go Together: On Fear and Courage at the Border." In it, she writes, "It is the work of the religious community to keep alive our moral imagination. It is the work of our religious community to refuse to forget that the injustice we see today is not inevitable. That it is human made, and so can be human unmade. And to claim both our capacity and our responsibility to create a different future."
Media coverage of the protests:
PWR Staff Update
Please join us in congratulating our Communications Specialist, the Rev. Christopher Wulff, on his recent ordination. Christopher was ordained November 4 by his home church, First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto. We are delighted to have Christopher in the Pacific Western Region and are proud of his achievement.
We are also sharing the news of three staff departures at the end of this month.
Administration team member Sarah Fulton, former District Administrator for the Pacific Southwest District, is moving to Edinburgh. Since the formation of the Pacific Western Region, Sarah has managed the four districts’ Chalice Lighter programs, wrapped up the PSWD office, and provided valuable support as an integral part of our administration team.
We are also saying goodbye to Sharla Wipplinger, our PWR Office Assistant. Since September 2016, Sharla has provided excellent customer service to the more than 2700 PWR Chalice Lighters, generated reports, and processed data entry and payments (nearly 3700 annually!) for the four districts.
In fall 2017 when we found ourselves suddenly without an Events Coordinator while deep in 2018 Regional Assembly planning, Andy Chirch appeared. He successfully planned this event for over 700 registrants with expertise and a fierce dedication to accommodate every attendee. Andy has also managed the multitude of smaller PWR events since joining us a year ago. Andy is completing his Master of Divinity at Starr King School for the Ministry, will begin his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in January, and looks forward to his ordination in March.
We are sorry to see Andy, Sharla, and Sarah leave us and wish them all the very, very best.
The Events Coordinator position has been expanded to include management and oversight of event registrations. Amanda Radak, current PWR Registrar, will be moving into the full-time Events Coordinator position in January. Amanda began serving as registrar for our districts over four years ago and later moved seamlessly into the position of PWR Registrar. Amanda has worked very closely with Andy on all recent PWR events and will transition easily into this role that encompasses both registration and event coordination.
PWR District Chalice Lighter Programs
The four boards are currently re-examining the districts' Chalice Lighter Programs and are putting the programs on hold as they figure out a new structure and a staffing model for these programs. Donors should know that any funds received from automated withdrawals continue to go into their district’s Chalice Lighter fund. If you have questions or concerns, please contact members of your district board at one of the following addresses: mddboard@pwruua.org, pcdboard@pwruua.org, pnwdboard@pwruua.org, pswdboard@pwruua.org.
APF Webinars
The UUA Congregational Giving Office recently distributed a detailed information booklet about the New APF to our congregational leaders. They have also scheduled the following informational webinars:
- Open Zoom Room every Monday: 2-3 pm Pacific Time, https://zoom.us/j/6179486514. Norrie Gall (Congregational Giving Manager) facilitating.
- Webinar for Ministers, Friday, December 14: noon-1 pm Pacific Time, Rev. Vail Weller (Congregational Giving Director) facilitating.
- Intro to the New APF Webinar, Wednesday, December 19: 6-7 pm Pacific Time, Norrie Gall (Congregational Giving Manager) facilitating.
- Intro to the New APF Webinar, Wednesday, January 9: 6-7 pm Pacific Time, Norrie Gall (Congregational Giving Manager) facilitating.
- Intro to the New APF Webinar, Wednesday, January 16: 6-7 pm Pacific Time, Norrie Gall (Congregational Giving Manager) facilitating.
- Intro to the New APF Webinar, Wednesday, January 23: 6-7 pm Pacific Time, Norrie Gall (Congregational Giving Manager) facilitating.
Additionally, you can reach out directly anytime to the Congregational Giving Office at apf@uua.org or Norrie Gall, Congregational Giving Manager, at ngall@uua.org.
Annual Certification
All member congregations are required to certify their official membership numbers to the UUA. This annual reporting process also serves to update congregation information for the UUA database. Only certified congregations may send voting delegates to the 2019 General Assembly in Spokane, WA. Please be sure your congregation completes the online certification process before 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on February 1, 2019.
UU-UNO 2019 Intergenerational Spring Seminar
"Equity in Action: Gender in an Intersecting World"
New York City, April 11-13, 2019
Registration is open through February 25; rates increase after January 21. Applications are also open to apply for reduced registration rates. We also have a special discount rate for young adult participants (ages 18-35) which includes lodging at the hostel where youth and their sponsors stay.
The UU United Nations Office is excited to host this year’s Intergenerational Spring Seminar on gender equity in collaboration with the UU College of Social Justice. Programming will be interactive and intergenerational, encouraging participants to challenge their assumptions, connecting their activism with grounding in UU faith, and empowering them with the tools to bring back to their communities to make change locally and globally.
Learn more at uua.org/unspringseminar
Homestay at GA
Greetings to our Pacific Western Region neighbors from Spokane!
Our UU Church of Spokane is excited to have 2019 General Assembly held in our city. We have arranged over 20 homes to house visitors at rates well below hotel rates and we are offering them to our Northwest churches prior to going on the UUA website in February. The link to go to our church website and find an appropriate lodging is homestayspokane.com. All of the listings include photos, what is available, and how far you will be from the convention center as well as whether you will be close to a bus line. Please consider this option; not only is it affordable, you will have a breakfast provided and meet a great UU from Spokane.
The Charles White Memorial Seminary Scholarship 2019
The White Memorial Scholarship is a one-time annual scholarship of at least $1000 available to help support Unitarian Universalist Ministerial students, with preference given to those who have a connection to the Pacific Southwest District. Any seminary student with connections to the PSWD is encouraged to apply online.
More information can be found on PSWD’s White Memorial Scholarship page. Applications for the 2019 scholarship are due by Feb. 15, 2019 and can be submitted online.
The winner of the 2019 scholarship will be announced at the PSWD business meeting at District Assembly in Long Beach at the end of April, and be given the funds to use to defray costs of their schooling. Applications are now open!
If you have any questions regarding the scholarship or the application, please contact pswdwhitememorial@gmail.com.
Solidarity with the Central American Exodus: Ways to Take Action
Multiple faith, human rights, and immigration justice partners have collected a list of concrete and immediate ways that you and your community can respond to, welcome and support families and individuals migrating from Central America. This is a crowdsourced list that includes various ways to take action and is updated frequently.
UUCSJ - Border Witness for Religious Professionals
The UU College of Social Justice is leading a Border Witness for Religious Professionals trip from February 11 through the 16. The registration deadline is December 10 and they have generous financial aid and travel stipends available (the financial aid is available to everyone, but the travel stipends are meant specifically to help seminarians and religious educators).
Learn more at UUCSJ.org/theologyandmigration.
Registration is Open for Spring Online Leadership Courses
Deeper than a single webinar or workshop, the UU Leadership Institute offers core leadership courses online with on-demand materials. They are perfect for the congregation who wants to learn together at an affordable cost—only $30 per course per semester. Courses open on January 25, 2019. For more information contact info@uuinstitute.org
New UUA Job Board
There is a new UUA job board which advertises ministry positions, as well as job openings for religious educators, membership, music directors, administrators, and others. Currently, position openings in the PWR are posted at https://www.uua.org/pacific-western/job-postings, but they are being migrated to the new job board in the coming weeks.
Congregational staff and board members may submit a listing to the UUA's Jobs Board by completing this submission form.
PWR Job Postings
Looking for job postings in ministry? Visit the UUA's Jobs Board.
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