Front Page News in 2002
December
2002
12/12/02
When Hope is Hard to
Find
A Holiday Message from the Rev. William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian
Universalist Association 
(with
RealVideo)
UUs
& the News
12/11/02 UUA President Marks International
Human Rights Day with activities exploring alternatives to pre-emptive
military strike
12/8/02 Ministers
reaching out to Catholics, By Michael Paulson, The Boston Globe
12/2/02 Give a holiday
gift that enriches the spirit AND supports Beacon Press!
Read
more about this special offer
and order today!
November
2002
11/22/02 Celebrating
an American Holiday with a Unitarian Reformer's Seasonal Poetry
International:
UUs & the News
11/06/02 UUs across the US say NO to War with Iraq
UUs
& the News:
11/04/02 UUA President Issues Statement on Settlement of Dispute Between
Janitors and Cleaning Contractors in Boston.
Read the full statement
in English or in Spanish.
October
2002
UUs
& the News:
10/31/02 UUA
President Issues Statement in Support of Bilingual Education
Read Sinkford's
complete statement in English or in
Spanish
10/29/02 New from UU minister
Forrest Church: "The American Creed: A Spiritual and Patriotic Primer"
The Rev. Forrest Church, senior
minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City, is the author
of this powerful new book which examines the intersection of religious
principles and secular strengths, and explores the union of freedom and
faith that, from the earliest days to the present, has defined this country.
As expressed in the words of leaders from George Washington to Martin
Luther King, Jr., that union, says Church, is a "living will."
Publisher's Weekly comments, "This marvelous primer accessibly and
fairly explores the intersection of freedom and faith in American life."
Click
to order!
Are You Minding the Gap?
Help support Youth/Young Adult/Campus Ministry!
Beginning this month and continuing
through the spring, UU congregations are raising funds which will support
youth, young adult, and campus ministry programs! Is your congregation
part of this effort to broaden and support our faith? Find
out more about how you can get involved!
UUs
& the News:
10/23/02 Former
UUA President and Beacon Press publisher, Daniel Ellsberg pay tribute
to UU role in defending civil liberties
UUs
& the News:
10/16/02
Arlington
Street Church and UUA President Host Event Marking UU Defense of Civil
Liberties
Former UUA Pres. Robert
West and Beacon Press Director Gobin Stair Will Discuss publication of
"The Pentagon Papers"
UUA President William G. Sinkford,
Moderator Diane Olson, and Arlington Street Church Minister Kim Crawford
Harvie are hosting "Ahead of the Wave: UU Defense of Civil Liberties"
on October 17 at the Arlington Street Church. The free event begins at
7:00 PM and honors the rich history of UU leadership in protecting our
civil liberties. Speakers will include The Rev. Robert West, UUA President
from 1969-1977 and Gobin Stair, Beacon Press Director from 1960-1975 who
will discuss Beacon's publication of "The Pentagon Papers";
Ellery Schempp, who, as a Unitarian youth in Pennsylvania, was the plaintiff
in the the landmark Supreme Court case that led to the decision to prohibit
mandatory prayer in public schools; and the Rev. Jack Mendelsohn, prophetic
UU minister since 1945, who has led justice work related to civil liberties
in congregations he served throughout his career. For more information
on "Against the Wave," go to http://dev.uua.org/news/2002/civil/index.html
. For more UU reflections and resources on civil liberties, go to http://www.uua.org/news/2002/91102/civil.html
.
UUs
& the News:
10/9/02 As
Congressional Vote on Iraq Nears, UUA President Visits Legislators in
DC
UUs
& the News:
10/9/02 UUA
Headquarters Hosts Massachusetts Vigil Against Hate
UUA
Press Release:
10/8/02 State
House Security Dispute Relocates Vigil Against Hate
October 9 Interfaith Vigil Moves To Unitarian Universalist Headquarters.
Read Press Release»
UUs
& the News:
10/1/02 UUA
President Issues Statement on Boston Janitor's Strike
Read statement in English or read statement
in Spanish.
September
2002
UUs
& the News: Coming Event/National Focus
9/29/02 AHEAD
OF THE WAVE: Unitarian Universalist Defense of Civil Liberties
International:
UUs & the News
9/20/02 UUA
President Issues Pastoral Letter on Threat of War with Iraq
International:
UUs & the News
9/13/02 UUA
Responds to Disaster in Philippines, Prague
International:
UUs & the News
9/13/02 UUA
President Adds Support to Interfaith Statement Opposing War With Iraq
9/11/02
UUs Remember September 11, 2001
One year following the tragic
events of September 11th, the Rev. W. Frederick Wooden, minister of the
First Unitarian Society of Brooklyn
New York, has offered The Days Grow Short: An Accidental Journal of
September 11, 2001 which offers Wooden's reflections, those of clergy
colleagues, members of his congregation, and friends, on the events of
those days.
Wooden writes, "I hope
to preserve in writing the sensation of those days, both as a memorial
and a reminder. Memory plays false with all of us, and through our own
written words, we can make sure that we do not lose track of what we thought
and felt. I believe email is overrated as a medium, but on September 11,
it was the only reliable way to stay in touch, the only way to reach many
people in a hurry. Most were trying to reassure their friends they were
all right. Some were trying to help and advise others. And a few were
reporting their experiences, whether to share or just to unburden. Some
of each are here." Read Wooden's
reflections and visit the rest of the September 11,
2002 reflection site.
August
2002
8/29/02 Planning Fall Worship Services? Visit the UUA's Award-winning
WorshipWeb site
where you'll find information on constructing worship services and a
wealth of liturgical information!
8/29/02 Embrace The Power of Nonviolence this fall.
Read Howard Zinn's new Beacon Press book, a study in pacifism with thoughts
from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, Jane Addams, William Penn, Dorothy
Day, Erich Fromm and Rajendra Prasad, among others. Now
available through the UUA Bookstore!
International:
UUs & the News
8/22/02 Gujarat
Update
By Kathy Sreedhar, Executive Director, UU
Holdeen India Program
8/19/02 Unitarian
Universalists Reflect on the Anniversary of September 11 Tragedies
8/2/02 Read the Current
Issue of the UU World Online!
"The Middle of Everywhere" by Mary Pipher
8/2/02 Changing
the world, one day at a time
UU Youth in Oklahoma commit to change a neighborhood and live their values
July
2002
7/25/02 GA 2002, Québec City - Catch the Highlights here!
Visit our GA 2002
website for Extensive reporting, audio, video, and visual highlights
of the 2002 GA!
7/25/02 Dan Harper's GA Journal
Sunday, June 23 -- If you're like me, you like to go to worship services
on Sunday mornings. I love Sunday morning at General Assembly, because
that's the time of the main worship service, the Service of the Living
Tradition, where we worship together and honor our professional ministry.
I watched with interest as the new ministers walked up and were recognized
in the worship service. FULL
STORY »
7/25/02 Register NOW for the 2003 GA
in Boston, MA, June 26-30, 2003! You’ll save by registering now!! Register
here!
7/25/02 Summertime Reading Feature
The
Gift of Faith by Jeanne Harrison Nieuwejaar -- A thoughtful reflection
on church community and how making it a vital part of family life can
enrich the lives of children and their caretakers.
7/9/02 Monday
Plenary Features Actions of Immediate Witness and changes to UUA Bylaws
7/9/02 General Assembly 2002 Closing
Celebration
June
2002
6/28/02 Sunday
Plenary Features Presentation of Distinguished Service Award, Voting on
proposed Actions of Immediate Witness
UUs
& the News
UUA
President Issues Statement on Pledge Ruling
6/23/02
Saturday
Plenary passes Statement of Conscience on Alternatives to Drug Laws; reports
from Officers and Committees
6/20/02
Canadian
Culture Flavors General Assembly Opening Celebration
6/19/02
Pre-GA
Activities Begin In Historic Québec
UUs
& the News
Risk
Management: Protestants Confront Sexual Abuse
UUs
& the News
New
on the UUA and the Boy Scouts of America
Scouts Caught in Clash Over Gay Policy
By Erica Noonan - Boston Globe
(Bedford, MA - June 6, 2002) -- As a Boy Scout, 15-year-old Michael
Norton stands up for what he thinks is right. As a Unitarian Universalist
and member of The First Parish in Bedford, he believes in equality and
compassion for all people. At first glance, the guiding principles for
the two organizations so important in this teenager's life seem quite
compatible. But Mike and several other First Parish Boy Scouts are caught
in the middle of a national debate between the Boy Scouts of America and
the Unitarian Universalist Association over the exclusion of gay men and
boys from Scouting.
May
2002
UUs
& the News
5/18/02
UUA Affirms Leadership Role in Support of
Gay Rights
UUs
& the News
5/23/02
Risking a New Vision for
Our Since 1973: The UUA's Support of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender
Rights
For nearly thirty years, the Unitarian Universalist Association has supported
the rights of bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender persons in the UU
ministry and in life. Visit the Office
of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Concerns. Read about
the UUA's involvement in socially responsible investment practices which
brought about change in Home
Depot's hiring policies to end discrimination around sexual orientation.
Study the resolutions
and actions of the UUA in support of equal rights for all.
Focus on the work of one congregation in their struggle
for equal treatment of same sex families in their community
, and celebrate UUs support of all our families on the UU
family page!
UUs
& the News
5/20/02 UUA
President Receives Honorary Degree from Tufts University
UUA President William G. Sinkford received an honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degree from Tufts University in Medford, MA on Sunday, May 19.
Sinkford was honored "both for [his] own outstanding achievements and
for the strength of character that [his] congregation has infused in this
academic community since its founding." Read the complete citation and
story at http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/052002Sinkforddegree.htm.
UUs
& the News
5/10/02
UUA
President Issues Pastoral Letter on Safety in UU Congregations
5/6/02
Celebrate Unitarian Universalist traditions around the world!
Czech Unitarian Norbert Capek introduced a Flower Communion service
to his Prague congregation 79 years ago. Since then, it has become a
beloved celebration of spring and religious community in many UU congregations
in the US and around the world. Read
about the Flower Communion, and use it in your own congregation!
The Rev. John Midgley, President
of the British (Unitarian) General Assembly, has collected writings
from Unitarians and Universalists around the world in a new book of
meditations entitled One and Universal. Contributions come from
Spain, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada, Romania, the U.S., the Czech
Republic, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, India, Hungary, Northern
Ireland, South Africa, Pakistan, Nigeria, Denmark, and Germany. Buy
this collection now from the UUA Bookstore.
To learn more about international
Unitarian and Universalist traditions, visit the website of the International
Council of Unitarians and Universalists, at http://www.uua.org/icuu/.
April
2002
4/25/02 New from
Beacon Press: "The Flowering of the Soul" A Book for Prayers
by Women"
edited by Lucinda Vardey
From Sappho to Julian of Norwich, Dorothy Day to Marianne Williamson,
this unprecendented collection of prayers by women from ancient times
to the present day makes the perfect Mother's Day gift -- or gift to
yourself! "Every aspect of my being felt uplifted, inspired, and
nurtured by the prayers in this book. All women will find peace, solace,
and joy here." -- Christiane Northrup, M.C., author of "Women's
Bodies, Women's Wisdom". Click
here to order online from the UUA Bookstore or call them toll free
1-800-215-9076.
4/25/02 UU
WORLD features Racial Reconciliation
UUs
& the News
4/11/02
One Step Toward Restorative Justice:
1921 Tulsa Race Riot Survivors Receive Reparation Payments - UUA Is
Leading Contributor
4/5/02 Congregational Website
of the Week: First
Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts
4/5/02 Novelist James
Carroll wins UUA's 2002 Melcher Book Award
Honor Conferred for "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews"
The 2002 Frederic G. Melcher Book Award is given to James Carroll for
"Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews." The award
will be presented to Mr. Carroll on April 18, 2002 at the Cambridge
Forum presentation at First Church in Cambridge, beginning at 7:30 PM.
The forum, including an address by Mr. Carroll, is free to the public.
FULL
STORY»
UUs
& the News
Commentary
by the Rev. Meg Riley
Director, UUA Washington Office for Social Justice
As aired on "Interfaith Voices," April, 2002
(includes audio)
UUs
& the News
Taking a Stand against Violence in Gujarat
How UUA Holdeen India Partners are Responding to Religious Riots
By Kathy Sreedhar, Executive Director, UU Holdeen India Program
March
2002
UUs
& the News
3/27/02 Contributing
"to a Richer Imagination That Can Lead to Peace"
A Pastoral Letter from the President of the Unitarian Universalist
Association
3/26/02 The
Meaning of Family
The struggle of bisexual/lesbian/gay/transgender people to be recognized
as families continues, as UUs advocate for equality
UUs
& the News
3/18/02
Witnesses Against Injustice
Unitarian Universalist Ministers Return to Alabama thirty-seven years
after the beating death of one of their own
From March 6-10, 2002, more than 450 Unitarian Universalist ministers
gathered in convocation in Birmingham, Alabama to deepen and share their
faith. They recalled the beating death, 37 years earlier, of the Rev.
James Reeb when he responded to Martin Luther King's call for help in
winning civil rights for African Americans. Reeb sacrificed his life in
the struggle for civil rights along with Jimmy Lee Jackson and Viola Liuzzo,
and the three have been remembered by Unitarian Universalists for their
ultimate commitment to that cause.
FULL
STORY»
3/12/02
Journey of Faith,
by Neil Miller, The Boston Globe Magazine
A winding road took William G. Sinkford from atheism through corporate
hard knocks and personal anguish to his role as the first African-American
president of the Unitarian Church. (3/10/02) FULL
STORY»
UUs
& the News:
3/11/02 Touched
by tragedy on September 11th, a UU searches for peace
Amber Amundson's husband, Craig, died when the Pentagon was attacked
on Sept. 11. Read the story of how tragedy has mobilized one woman to
become a crusader for peace. FULL
STORY»
3/8/02 International
Women's Day - Friday, March 8, 2002
The Unitarian Universalist Association salutes the women who have shaped
and guided our Association on International Women's Day.
Read the UUA
Women and Religion Resolution of 1977 which guided our programs and
practices; reflect on the position of women as UU clergy with a look at
Gustav Niebuhr's article on UU clergy women .
UUs
& the News
Press Release: Unitarian Universalist President
Calls for Middle East Cease-fire
UUs
& the News
Contributing "to
a Richer Imagination That Can Lead to Peace"
A Pastoral Letter from the President of the Unitarian Universalist
Association
February
2002
UUs
& the News
Remembering Selma: The UUA Honors Three Martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement
2/22/02 March/April
2002 Edition Of UU World Available Now!
2/22/02 Bookstore Feature:
Proverbs of Ashes
Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us by
Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker
Featured in this month's edition of UU World!
In an emotionally gripping combination of memoir and theology, Rita Brock
and Rebecca Parker show how emphasizing Christ's obedience to God and
sacrifice on the cross sanctions violence and exacerbates its effects,
blesses silence about the abuse of human beings, and hinders the process
of recovery-giving the fullest and most powerful critique to date of the
theology of atonement. Brock and Parker give witness to the legacies of
violence in their own lives, and in the lives of those they have known,
loved, and ministered to. (Beacon Press) ORDER
NOW»
2/15/02
The Journal
of Liberal Religion - Latest Edition Available!
The Winter 2002 edition of The Journal of Liberal Religion (JLR),
is now ready for viewing. JLR, an online theological journal devoted
to the study of liberal religions, is a publication of Meadville
Lombard Theological School . Click
here to read!
UUs
& the News
UUA
President Visits Unitarians in India
by Rev. Olivia Holmes
A work in progress: Selma Memorial
UUs
& the News
Churches
say bill is too lenient
By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff
UUs
& the News
Putting
Our Children First
2/1/02 Featured Resource:
Creating Safe Congregations Toward an Ethic of Right
Relations
Edited By Patricia Hoertdoerfer and William Sinkford
This innovative workbook tackles the problem of recognizing, addressing
and responding to interpersonal violence in UU congregations and communities.
Offers a variety of resources for examining clergy misconduct, peer harassment
and child abuse in the church setting. A valuable resource for religious
educators, social justice committees, church members and anyone who is
concerned with church safety and social ethics. Click
here to order!
Visit
the new UUA Bookstore site for more helpful titles on youth, family and
parenting!
January
2002
1/28/02 Come
visit the NEW UUA Bookstore Online!
We've got the titles you're interested in, user-friendly service in a
better format than ever before! Browse, and be amazed!
1/23/02 It's a New Year...
a time to think about belonging to a Unitarian Universalist congregation
Explore... the UU congregations near
you
Learn More... about Unitarian Universalism
Find Out... what membership
in a UU congregation can mean
Read More About It...
Belonging: The Meaning of Membership
1/23/02 Congregational
Website of the Week: First
Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans
1/16/02
UUs
& the News
Reflections
on Leadership During Extraordinary Times
Comments of the Rev. William Sinkford, President, Unitarian Univeralist
Association
First Parish in Arlington, MA, January 16, 2002 with audio.
FULL STORY
»
Warning and Call: It
has been an interesting and extraordinary experience to step into leadership
of our Association of Congregations in this year which has tested our
faith in so many ways. This time has shown us that we can understand those
things which are most important and find a voice which offers possibility
and hope in a world which is so much in need. It is a pleasure to be with
you tonight and it's an honor to share with you some thoughts that I have
and have had in this tumultuous time in our country's history. FULL
STORY »
Click
here to listen to Rev. Sinkford's comments!! (40 minutes)
Click here for audio instructions.
1/15/02 Special Issue of
UU World: Understanding
Evil: The Realities of Life with Terrorism
From Tom Stites: Editor In Chief
Welcome to UU World's
first special issue. How I wish it could have been on less grave a topic.
We have reserved single-topic
issues for those rare occasions when something so powerful came along
that it crowded out everything else.FULL
TEXT»
1/15/02 Journey
Toward Wholeness Sunday Resource Manual now online!
If you haven't already planned your Journey Toward Wholeness Sunday Program
(JTWS), it is not too late! Your congregation can join the many other
UUs working together for racial justice and the elimination of oppression.
You can still select your JTW Sunday coordinator and/or plan a wonderful
program by using the updated resource manual found online at http://www.uua.org/jtwsunday/mycong.html.
1/14/02 Congregational
Website of The Week: Unitarian
Universalist Congregation of Fairfax in Oakton, Virginia
1/4/02 Congregational
Website of The Week: Community
Church of New York, New York.
1/4/02 New
From Skinner House Books: CALL TO SELMA: Eighteen Days of Witness by Richard
D. Leonard
In this gripping new book, the Rev. Richard Leonard recalls his participation
in the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march of 1965. Leonard wrote on
March 8, 1965: "I headed into our ministers' meeting at the Community
Church of New York without the faintest idea that by nightfall I could
be in the state of Alabama, and that for the next seventeen days I would
be involved in an epic struggle that would fashion the future of our country,
and to an extent, the world. We had heard Martin Luther King appeal to
clergy from all over the country to come to Selma. One of us was going
to answer Dr. King's call." Click
here to order!
| 
