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Dear Friend, 

In my first few weeks at Starr King School for the Ministry, I preached a practice sermon about reproductive rights. I wanted to explore a topic that was spiritual and theological in nature, and also relevant to real people in discernment about how to live a faithful life.

The sermon itself was lousy as I recall, but the writing of it was transformative. I explored the theological roots of “the right of conscience” in our UU fifth principle, which affirms the authority of human beings to discern moral truths, to question, investigate and choose.

In addition, I listened to the stories of three friends who experienced unexpected pregnancies at the same time, friends who supported one another as each made her own decisions. I will never forget the beauty of that cohort of women, offering one another unconditional love and the spaciousness to find their own wisdom.

Reproductive rights are human rights. The space to engage in discernment, prayer and conversation is sacred space, to which every pregnant person has a right. I am grateful that our faith has supported legalized abortion overwhelmingly, even as individual Unitarian Universalists are free to believe and do as they choose.

I am grateful, too, for our UUA’s investment in organizing capacity. On Tuesday, not 24 hours after the Supreme Court draft decision was leaked, our Side With Love staff issued a statement with actions UUs can take immediately. Our Organizing Strategy Team creates opportunity after opportunity for UUs and congregations to learn, grow and act in service to the issues they care about.

Thank you for supporting organizing capacity throughout Unitarian Universalism by supporting Side With Love and UU the Vote. Thank you for supporting your congregations, which are engines of care and transformation. Thank you for attending to your own spiritual health and growth. And thank you for being active in the moral questions of our time. It’s all important, now more than ever.

Recent news from the UUA and President Susan Frederick-Gray

• The Fight for Abortion Access Isn't Over (Side with Love, May 3)
• UUs Remain Committed to Supporting Reproductive Justice, Will Continue to Fight for Abortion Access (Press release, May 3)
• Unitarian Universalists Honor Workers’ Dignity and Support the Labor Movement (Statement from Susan Frederick-Gray, April 28)
• UUA Launches UU the Vote for 2022 Elections (Press release, April 14)

Update on IWC's Faithify Campaign for Hungarian Unitarian Church Ukraine Relief Efforts

The Faithify campaign by the International Convocation of Unitarian Universalist Women (IWC) has had record-breaking success! Thanks to support from more than 380 donors, the IWC raised over $61,000 to support relief efforts for those fleeing war in Ukraine. Here are some updates on what the Providence Organization of the Hungarian Unitarian Church (Gondviselés Segélyszervezet), has been able to accomplish with the funds:

• Attend to the needs of hundreds of Ukrainian mothers and children transiting through Kolozsvár/Cluj railway station in Romania;
• Provide housing and other support for 38 refugees, including many children, in the Kolozsvár/Cluj area;
• Transport supplies to Transcarpathia (southwest Ukraine), such as nonperishable food and items needed by shelters for internally displaced Ukrainians (cots, mattresses, sleeping bags, flashlights, hot plates, etc);
• Deliver a second shipment of medical supplies to a health center in Odessa (including disinfectants, bandages, painkillers, milk powder, diapers, etc); and
• Launch a kindergarten class for Ukrainian refugee children in the daycare center of the Hungarian Unitarian Church in Kolozsvár/Cluj, Romania. Read about the kindergarten class on the IWC website.

The UUA made a contribution to the HUC directly, as did many UU member congregations. HUC leaders Rev. Kovàcs István, the bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, Rev. Rácz Norbert Zsolt, deputy bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church, and Szabó László, president of the Providence Charity Organization, shared a note and video in gratitude:

This month, an additional Faithify campaign from the IWC is raising money to continue relief efforts by the HUC. Learn more and support this important work on Faithify.org. 

Webinar on Legacy Giving in your Congregation, this Saturday

The UUA’s Legacy Gifts Office offers a number of services, including an online workshop to assist congregations in creating legacy giving programs. This webinar, to be held Saturday, May 14, from 1 pm to 3 pm ET, covers the basics of legacy giving and how to set up a legacy giving program in your congregation. We aim to equip congregations with the knowledge they need to start a legacy program.

Volunteer committees do not have to know everything; they ought to focus on knowing which questions to ask and where to find resources they need. We recommend that congregations looking to start or re-vamp a legacy gifts program ensure they have an up--to-date gift acceptance policy. Committees should also think through the procedures from the initial gift solicitation to when the legacy gift is realized, often many years later.

To register for the 5/14 webinar, email legacy@uua.org or call (888) 792-5885 (select option 3). 

In addition to assisting congregations in planning and connecting to one another, the UUA Legacy Gifts Office is here to help you plan your legacy gift to the UUA. We're happy to talk about a gift that meets your planning needs and will nurture our faith for years to come.

Matching Gift Challenge is Ongoing

General Assembly: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to Deliver Ware Lecture

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President, in consultation with the General Assembly Planning Committee, invites a distinguished guest each year to address the General Assembly as the Ware Lecturer.

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News correspondent. 

Dr. Kendi will deliver the lecture at 4:00 pm Pacific Time on Saturday, June 25. In-person registration is required to attend the event in Portland, Oregon. In-person or full virtual registration is required to live-stream the event on June 25, or access the video on-demand when it is posted. More info on GA registration can be found here.

Common Read Panel Discussion with Author Zach Norris

As previously announced, the UUA chose Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment by Zach Norris (Beacon Press, 2021) for the 2021-2022 Common Read. A number of resources are online for UUs and congregations who wish to engage with Norris's book and ideas. 

Newly available is a recorded conversation (Vimeo, 1:10:00), moderated by UU World executive editor Roger Santodomingo, engaging author Zach Norris with UU religious professionals on ways the book resonates for UUs.

UUA Board of Trustees Webinars: Get Ready for GA 2022

GA runs from Wednesday, June 22 through Sunday, June 29. Find out the GA schedule here, and check out your options for registration. Stewardship and Development team members will be on-site and online this year--we look forward to catching up with you!

At this year’s multiplatform GA, attendees near and far will explore the power, possibility, purpose, struggle, and joy of meeting the moment as Unitarian Universalists. Whether you're a first-time delegate or a long-time attendee, the Board of Trustees invites you to join us to learn more about what will happen at GA this year.

Members of the Board of Trustees (with occasional special guests) will provide an overview, along with information for delegates regarding the business sessions. Each webinar will be 75 minutes long, with recordings posted later. Pre-registration is required.

2022 Volume of inSpirit Series Available for Pre-Order Now

Incantations for Rest: Poems, Meditations, & Other Magic is an invitation to slow down and explore every kind of rest, providing sacred space for those exhausted by the demands of a racist, ableist society. The 2022 volume of the inSpirit Series, this stunning collection of poems, meditations, and magic by poet-activist Atena O. Danner is an examination of spiritual spaces, a love letter to Black well-being, and medicine for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] people.

Atena O. Danner is an unapologetically Black time-traveling poet-activist who dwells in the past to survive the future. She writes toward Beloved Community, Black liberation, and collective imagination. 

Common Endowment Fund Builds Congregational Resources

Since 1962 the UUA has managed the endowment assets of the Association and numerous congregations through what is now known as the Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund (UUCEF).

With a current market value of approximately $265 million, UUCEF is a diversified investment fund with socially responsible investing goals. It is available for the investment of endowment funds, trust funds, and other assets of congregations that have a long-term investment perspective and the need for income to support their missions. 

UUCEF also offers an added dimension: an active program of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), which consists of making investment decisions that reflect UU values and contribute to positive social and environmental change. Today, 415 congregations and other UU entities invest in UUCEF, representing 57% of the Fund's total endowment holdings. 

Through UUCEF, the UUA has engaged in shareholder activism for more than forty years, and has celebrated key victories on good governance, non-discriminatory employment practices, ending predatory lending programs, and reasonable pricing of AIDS medications. Besides addressing early areas of focus, our efforts have expanded to encompass newer and emerging issue such as climate change, human rights and racial justice.

Additionally, investors in UUCEF support the Fund's work in making community investments (representing up to 5% of the Fund’s total value) by supporting credit unions, nonprofit banks, or funds that make loans to start-up enterprises in low-income communities—providing capital and technical expertise to persons and groups that are often under-served by traditional lenders.

To learn more about how your congregation can benefit from UUCEF or get involved in community investments, email responsibleinvesting@uua.org. 

Climate Resilience Online Learning Opportunity on May 19

From wildfires to floods, climate disasters impact our communities.  How do we cultivate community care in response to climate disasters? Join a conversation on Fostering Local Climate Resilience through Disaster Response and Community Care to:

• Learn about climate forced displacement 
• Connect with resources for UU congregations to respond to climate disasters, including the UU Trauma Response Ministry and the Disaster Relief Fund
• Make a plan and take action to build resilience in your community.

This event will be held on Zoom on Thursday, May 19 at 3pm PT - 4:30pm PT / 6pm ET -  7:30pm ET, featuring the Rev. Karen Hutt, Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry; Halcyon Westall, UUA Disaster Relief Fund and Faithify; Rachel Myslivy, Side With Love Climate Justice Organizer; and the Rev. Cynthia Cain.

Upcoming Events

Side with Love Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad Training Huddle

Wednesday, May 11 | 7:30-9pm ET / 4:30-6 pm PT

Join our "Funish" Squad to dig into how we ground with movement, improv, and fun. This is an orientation to the Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad focused on the Fun part and is open to anyone -- no improv experience needed! If this time doesn't work for you, let us know of your interest on our Squad Commitment Form. 

2021-2022 Taproot: National BIPOC Space, Second Thursdays

*Final date for spring is May 12* | 8-9:15 pm ET / 5-6:15 pm PT

Black, Indigenous and People of Color Leaders rooted in the Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in this monthly, virtual gathering as we explore the pillars of rest and renewal, analysis building, and leadership development in creating means by which to ground ourselves in resilient communities of care. This space is explicitly for people identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). Learn more and register here.

Heart-to-Heart: Abortion Conversations & Action for a Post-Roe World

Tuesday, May 17 | 8:00-9:30 pm CT / 5:00-6:30 pm PT

Hosted by Ashley Horan, UUA Organizing Strategy Director. As the Supreme Court looks likely to overturn or critically undermine Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks, it seems more and more likely that access to safe and legal abortions will be even further diminished everywhere. Join Side with Love and the National Network of Abortion Funds for this political education gathering. This 90-minute event will be a learning and practice space for supporters to engage with the Heart-to-Heart campaign materials in community and interact with NNAF and other participants in compassionate abortion conversations.

Monthly Gathering for Trans and Nonbinary UUs of All Ages

Tuesday, May 24 | 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT

Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings focused on trans, nonbinary, and other not (completely or at all) cis UUs. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)! These gatherings focus on getting to know each other and on sharing our collective dreams, ideas, and talents for this space. Expansive definitions of trans, nonbinary, and UU all apply. If you are interested in this space, and you aren’t cisgender, it’s a space for you. Learn more and register here.

Green Sanctuary Orientation

Wednesday, June 1 | 8-9 pm ET / 5-6 pm PT

Hosted by Rachel Myslivy, Side with Love Climate Justice Organizer. Interested in the Green Sanctuary Process? Join this one-hour orientation to get a better understanding of the program and learn how your congregation can engage.

Seasons of Giving is the monthly e-newsletter from the UUA's Stewardship and Development Office. Questions can be directed to Suzanne Murray at development@uua.org or (617) 948-4392.

Check UUA.org and UUWorld.org, as well as UUA regional websites, for the latest updates.