December 2005

12/22/05 A Holiday Message from the Rev. William G. Sinkford

12/22/05 In the Season of Giving, UUs Show Generosity to the World

12/15/05 Unitarian Univeralist Ministers Arrested for Civil Disobedience in support of "A Moral Budget"

12/12/05 UUA Opposes Alito Confirmation as Threat to Civil Liberties

12/6/05 Israeli Holocaust Museum Designates Unitarians as "Righteous Among the Nations" for Rescue Work During Holocaust

November 2005

11/29/05 UUA President and Congregations Mark Global AIDS Day with Witness and Action

11/22/05 The Gift of Time

11/21/05 Dispatch from Chad: Reflections on visits with Sudanese Exiles by William Sinkford

11/17/05 2005 Melcher Book Award Presentation

11/16/05 Meet Us in Times Square: Unitarian Universalism Advertises in the Big Apple!

11/16/05 New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver, Vol. 2

New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver, Vol. 2

Mary Oliver, winner of the National Book Award for her New and Selected Poems Vol. 1, gives us a delicious volume of new poems and those gathered from other award-winning collections. In "Song for Autumn" she writes,

In the deep fall
don't you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind?

The Miami Herald writes of her poetry, "The gift...is that she communicates the beauty she finds in the world and makes it unforgettable." MORE >>   ORDER >>

11/14/05 Did you meet us in Times Square? A warm welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Association!

11/5/05 Worship Resources for Thanksgiving and Autumn

October 2005

10/30/05 UUA President Marches for Civil Rights in Boston

10/29/05 UUA Hosts Press Conference for Cindy Sheehan

10/26/05 Bearing Witness: UUA Joins Interfaith Voices Seeking Peace as U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Passes Milestone

10/25/05 UUA Partners in India Pay Tribute to Parks

10/24/05 Unitarian Universalist Receives U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award

10/19/05 UUA President to Co-Lead Commemorative Voting Rights March

10/18/05 Request for proposals for anti-racist multi-cultural Welcoming Congregation program

10/17/05 Help Guide our Social Witness process! The UUA Commission on Social Witness has an immediate opening for a new member.

10/15/05 UUSC and UUA Announce Joint Earthquake Relief Fund 

10/11/05 UU Congregation at Shelter Rock Offers Challenge Grant to Boost Hurricane Relief Efforts

10/7/05 UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Passes $2 Million in Contributions

10/7/05 Justice for ALL Children: Participate in the Children's Sabbath, Oct. 14-16

10/5/05 Pastoral Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford: “Let Us Begin Again in Love”

September 2005

9/30/05 UUA President Receives "Spirit of Justice" Award from GLAD

9/29/05 Celebrate the music of the Gulf Coast and benefit hurricane relief efforts with your purchase!

Visit the UUA Bookstore

The UUA Bookstore is pleased to feature two CD's from the world music group Putumayo that celebrate the songs of the Gulf Coast region.

New Orleans pays homage to the best of that city's jazz, blues and swing traditions with songs including "Drop Me Off in New Orleans" and "Basin Street Blues."  All of Putumayo's proceeds from the sales of this CD will be donated to hurricane relief efforts in New Orleans.

Mississippi Blues takes listeners on a journey down the mighty Mississippi with music from the delta, including "Part Time Love" and "Baby Don't Do Me Wrong." All of Putumayo's proceeds from the sales of this CD will be donated to hurricane relief efforts in Mississippi.

9/18/05 A Personal View of Disaster: Read the Diary of UU Social Worker Annette Marquis

9/16/05 UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Tops $1 Million in Donations

9/9/05 Statement from Rev. William G. Sinkford in Support of Equal Marriage in Massachusetts

9/7/05 Pastoral Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford: A Gentle, Angry People

9/3/05 A Special Appeal from the Rev. Bill Sinkford

August 2005

8/30/05 UUA and UUSC Establish Gulf Coast Relief Fund: A Message from the Rev. William G. Sinkford

8/23/05 UUA and UUPCC Presidents Call for Help – Flash Flooding Devastates Unitarian Villages in Transylvania

8/18/05 Called to Witness, Called to Serve: Rev. Cynthia L. Kane

8/18/05 Called to Witness, Called to Serve: Rev. Danita Noland

8/12/05 Sinkford Joins Progressive Religious Leaders in Challenging Evangelical Rally

8/10/05 Continue Your Summer of Peace by Seeking Peace in Iraq

8/10/05 Connect to UUs worldwide through UUA email lists – now in their tenth year of operation!

Ten years ago this week, the first UUA email list was initiated through the efforts of two volunteers who had a vision for how an electronic communication network of UUs might support and strengthen Unitarian Universalism worldwide. The first email list, which linked UUs in the Pacific Southwest district, was quickly followed by another for UU ministers. Now the UUA hosts over 300 email lists which are used on a 24/7 basis by more than 20,000 individuals around the globe!

Strengthen your connections to this growing and vital faith, share ideas, learn from one another, and make new connections through the UUA's email list network. To find out more, go to www.uua.org/lists!

8/4/05 Sinkford Accepts First James Reeb Service Award

8/1/05 On NPR: Rev. Don Robinson's work at Beacon House in Washington, DC 

July 2005

7/28/05 Unitarian Universalists Speak Out for Reality-Based Sexuality Education Legislation

7/27/05 On the Nomination of Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court: Statement of Rob Keithan, Director of the UUA's Washington Office for Advocacy 

7/27/05 Sinkford Attends Global Conflict Prevention Conference 

7/20/05 Support a Summer of Peace: Witness against the ravages of nuclear weaponry and war

7/19/05 UUA Joins Gallo Boycott: Action comes following passage of UUA GA Statement of Conscience

7/5/05 UUA President Joins National Fast to Slow Global Warming

7/1/05 Interfaith Coalition Letter to President Bush Upon the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Sanda Day O'Connor

June 2005

6/25/05 Service of the Living Tradition Recognizes New and Retiring Ministers

6/24/05 44th Annual General Assembly Begins!

6/23/05 General Assembly Delegates Arrive in Fort Worth

6/15/05 Massachusetts UU Congregations Show Their Pride

6/8/05 UUA President Joins Cyber-March on Global Warming

6/1/05 Anonymous Benefactor Inspires the UU Church of St. Petersburg

May 2005

5/25/05 Pastoral Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford: Memorial Day, 2005

5/19/05 Religious Leaders Decry Attacks on Religious Liberty Inherent in Impending Senate 'Nuclear Option' Vote

5/17/05 Equal Marriage, One Year Later: UUA Toasts Vitality of Marriage in Massachusetts

April 2005

4/26/05 Rev. Arthur Reublinger Honored for Historic Bequest

4/19/05 Study of College Students' Spirituality Shows Promise and Challenge for UU Campus Ministry

4/14/05 Celebrate Earth Day - April 22, 2005

Celebrate Earth Day and the growing spring by nurturing your mind, heart and spirit! The UUA's Study/Action Issue (2004-2006) is on The Threat of Global Warming. This issue will be discussed on the plenary floor of the 2005 General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas and will be voted on at the 2006 General Assembly in St. Louis, MO. For background on previous UUA Actions on the environment, visit our website.

To celebrate spring, vist the UUA's WorshipWeb where you can find special worship resources for Spring and Passover. The Seventh Principle Project offers resources on caring for the environment.

Beacon Press presents poet Mary Oliver's Why I Wake Early, a new collection of 47 poems about nature, written in reverence and gratitude for the beauties of the world. And, honoring all the creatures of the world on Earth Day, Lisa Couturier has written The Hopes of Snakes and Other Tales from the Urban Landscape in which the author writes of the things in nature that we typically love—the power and beauty of the Potomac River, the majesty of a peregrine falcon soaring above a skyscraper—but also celebrates the animals we either ignore or consider pests, such as geese, snakes, and crows.

On this Earth Day, we honor the words of the Rev. Charles Flagg: "Let us light our candles, symbolizing our hopes that spring may take place in our hearts as it warms our world."

4/6/05 Sinkford Issues Call to See “Beyond Iraq”

4/6/05 Connect with Unitarian Universalism, up close and personal:
Register NOW for GA 2005 in Fort Worth - June 23-27!
Bring the family and find out more about ministering to families at the 2005 GA! You’ll find over 300 programs and workshops, fabulous worship services, an intergenerational barbecue, eclectic offerings of music and dance, and speakers to stimulate your spirits. Distinguished theologian Elaine Pagels will deliver the Ware Lecture, folk singer Pete Seeger will appear during the opening celebration, and Moderator Gini Courter will skillfully guide delegates through the plenaries where the UUA’s business is conducted. Register NOW for GA 2005!

4/2/05 UUA President William G. Sinkford Statement: On the death of Pope John Paul

March 2005

3/26/05 Religious Leaders Speak Out on Schiavo Case

3/16/05 UUA President Applauds California Court Ruling in Support of Equal Marriage

3/11/05 From Legacy to Hope: UUA Launches Justice Consultancy on 40th Anniversary of the Murders of Civil Rights Crusaders

3/2/05 Rev. William G. Sinkford Named as One of the Nation's Most Influential Black Spiritual Leaders

Beliefnet, a multi-faith electronic community designed to "help people meet their own religious, spiritual and moral needs by providing information, inspiration, and community," has named UUA President William G. Sinkford to its list of the nation's most prominent and powerful African-American religious leadership .The author of the piece, Halimah Abdullah, writes: "Whether inspiring their congregations to stand up against social injustice or urging a focus on God-centered family values, African-American religious leaders are an influential component of a rich and diverse spiritual landscape." This list of leaders, Abdullah says, "represents some of today's most prominent spiritual figures, as well as those whose lifelong efforts have earned them a place in history."

The listing for Sinkford notes, "The Rev. William G. Sinkford is the first African American to head the Unitarian Universalist Association, a largely white, liberal denomination. This Boston-based minister has been a particularly vocal proponent of legalizing gay marriage, a position that is in keeping with his organization's historical support of same-sex couples and their families." Also included on the list are the Rev. Al Sharpton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. James Forbes Jr., and the Rev. Johnnie Colemon. For the complete story, visit Beliefnet.

February 2005

2/18/05 UU World, March/April 2005

2/11/05 UUA Receives Award from Religious Coalition for Freedom to Marry

2/10/05 New from Lifespan Faith Development: Winter/Spring edition of UU Faith Works

2/8/05 Freedom to Marry Week Honors Loving UU Same Sex Couples

January 2005

01/28/05 Celebrate Black History Month with these two NEW titles from Beacon Press

Sarah’s Long Walk
by Stephen Kendrick and Paul Kendrick

One fall day in 1848, on windswept Beacon Hill in Boston, a five-year-old girl named Sarah Roberts walked past five white schools to attend the poor and densely crowded all-black Abiel Smith School. Incensed that his daughter had been turned away at each white school, Benjamin Roberts resolved to sue the city of Boston on her behalf.

Thus began what would be a more than one-hundred-year struggle that culminated in 1954 with the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education to desegregate America's schools. Writers Stephen Kendrick and his son, Paul, have told Sarah's story—previously a mere footnote in the history books—with color and imagination, bringing out the human side of this very important struggle.

and

African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade
by Anne C. Bailey

In this remarkable volume, African chiefs and other elders in an area of southeastern Ghana once famously called "the Old Slave Coast" share stories that reveal that Africans were both traders and victims of the trade. Capturing astonishing oral histories that were handed down through generations of storytellers—like an 1856 incident involving the kidnapping of famous drummers and traders by Europeans and Americans—Anne Bailey breaks the deafening silence around slavery and explores the delicate and fragmented nature of historical memory in this remarkable volume.

01/21/05 Two Ways to Visit Historic 25 Beacon Street

Each spring groups of young people from congregations around the country visit the UUA's Boston headquarters. Frequently known as the "heritage tour," this annual pilgrimage is the culmination of the Coming of Age religious education curriculum. The UUA staff always looks forward to this opportunity to share our history with the rising generation, and this year we are also pleased to open our doors to delegates to the Large Church Conference in mid-February. If you or your teens are coming to Boston soon, please visit our Heritage Tour page, where you will find planning tips, sightseeing suggestions, and lots of other useful information.

We are also pleased to announce a brand new interactive web feature for visitors and arm-chair travelers alike. The "Virtual Tour of the UUA's Boston Headquarters" provides a peek inside the historic rooms of 25 Beacon Street. We hope that the pictures and stories on this site will bring to life some of the highlights of UU history and inspire a few more pilgrims to make the trek to Boston.

01/14/05 Martin Luther King, Jr.: Remembrance, Reflection and Renewal: a pastoral message from William G. Sinkford

1/13/05 Announcing an important new resource for your congregation
Balancing Acts: keeping children safe in congregations
By Reverend Debra W. Haffner

Out of a commitment to provide congregational leaders with the resources and information they need to lead responsibly comes the UUA's new resource, "Balancing Acts: Keeping Children Safe in Congregations." Written by the Rev. Debra W. Haffner, Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing and an ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister, "Balancing Acts" offers information and procedural suggestions for leaders on how to assure that all children and youth will be safe in our congregations. This new online resource will help congregational leaders to educate children and adults; provide tools to implement policies for religious education programs; and develop strategies that help communities face the difficult task of deciding who is welcome within their religious community. The resource also includes practical information such as screening forms for volunteers and staff, outlines for education programs, case studies, and limited access agreements.

If you are a congregational leader, lay or ordained, "Balancing Acts" should be on your must-read list!

1/1/05 Be It Resolved: Five Ways to Live Unitarian Universalist Values in the New Year

December 2004

12/30/04 UUA President Responds to Tsunami Disaster

12/28/04 UUA Joins UU Service Committee in Seeking Aid for Tsunami Victims

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