Announcing Our New Blog

Some changes are afoot. The Washington Office is joining forces with other offices in our UUA "staff group," Congregational Advocacy and Witness and the Office of International Resources. We've got a new url and a new look and are brimming with new ideas. So please join us over at
uuasocialjustice.blogspot.com

Check out the video of Rev Sinkford at the World AIDS Day observance!

Best of Both Worlds

The new addiction for the legislative assistants during lunch time breaks is Free Rice.

Using a very simple word building exercise, we are donating rice to the UN World Food Programme.

Every correct answer gives ten grains of rice to the program to be distributed among the hungriest, paid for by the advertisers on the site. As we build our vocabularies, we are feeding the hungry.

I make it a habit of playing for 1800 grains of rice a day, which is--according to our calculations--two servings of rice. I have also been tracking my progress and find myself accidentally using new words I have learned from the website.

With the growth of climate change, environmental depredation of wetlands and over consumption of resources, simple things like clean water and fresh food are increasingly more scarce. Doing your part to make sure that families will see their children survive and relieving the burden of the world's poor is crucial to the stability of our world. The good work supported by projects like the UN World Food Programme and even sites like free rice, help make the world a better place.

Feeding the hungry and building my vocabulary? Best of both worlds!

Nobel Peace Prize Part 2-- The Aftermath

Well, that certainly was a surprise!

Yesterday, I posted about how certain I was Al Gore would *not* win the Nobel Peace Prize today.

*Insert foot in mouth*

So most folks are probably not surprised. I am only surprised to a certain degree. And that is tempered by the fact that he will be sharing it with the UN's International Panel on Climate Change.

The surprise is found in the fact that, with very few exceptions, the prize panel does not award to the trendy. Much like their their Norwegian counterparts, they usually award to a lifetime of work. Gore has only been actively working on it for the past six years. And as a housemate of mine said, "good for him, he has been able to convince a bunch of Americans what the rest of the world has already known."

Don't get me wrong, his work is good. But, it could be better. "An Inconvenient Truth" left me wanting more. It was the environmental equivalent of a slasher movie. All Gore and no substance. (yes, pun intended). Other than the quickly moving notes in the credits, there were no concrete ideas given the viewer of how to affect change.

So, Bravo Mr. Gore and the UNIPCC. Thank you telling us that we are all going to perish at the hands of a painful and terrifying fate. And thank you Nobel Peace Prize for driving the message home.

Nobel Peace Prize Part 1--Oscar Night

The Nobel Peace Prize is to be announced tomorrow.

The kind of people I associate with, this is big news. It is like Oscar night news. People are hedging their bets and making predictions. Which is difficult since those Nobel folks are so very secretive. Its kind of like guessing the Oscar winners without knowing what movies came out this past year.

A lot of folks are thinking that the award will go to an environmentalist organization or advocate. The popular vote is going to Al Gore. Although, I don't see that happening this year. Other folks are clamoring for the Burmese monks. However, their most recent actions didn't happen until after the nomination process was over and Aung San Suu Kyi already won it. And the Nobel folks rarely look at the short run. Although there are a few exceptions--such as The Northern Ireland Peace Talks of '99. And the popular vote hardly every counts.

I on the other hand, have my lot casted in with Mercy Corps. But I've got an inside source. I am good friends with a laureate. And its their votes that counts.

Who will it be? We will just have wait to find out.

Big Things

On Monday, half my house and I woke before dawn and shared a simple meal. As the sun began to rise, I knew this would be my only sustenance for twelve hours.

As I participated in this year's Interfaith Fast Day for Peace, I thought of all other people around the world with whom I was fasting in solidarity. I thought of students around the United States, Canada, the UK, Japan and Latin America I had met through Facebook.

I thought about the other UU's I knew who were fasting. And I was wondering what was sustaining them.

I thought of my Muslim friends who fast every day through the month of Ramadan. And the joy I shared with them at a recent Iftar.

I thought of the victims of genocide, famine and war. People who would be hungry today and tomorrow. And their constant fear of vigilante forces and occupying enemies.

I thought of the poor and hungry I help feed here in Washington DC, just feet from the White House. And how, often, the meal we give them may be their only meal of the day.

I thought of activists such as Alice Paul, Cesar Chavez and Mahatma Gandhi and their prolonged fasts for justice and peace. And I wondered how it was they could do this day in and day out for weeks at a time.

And while, at times, it was easier than I had expected; it was also so very difficult. And when we broke fast that night, with a simple meal, surrounded by friends and family, I was so happy and grateful.

But fasts weren't the only excitement this week. Today, Rev. Bill Sinkford, President of the UUA delivered to Congress today our Petition for Peace and Justice. Over 13,000 signatures of UU's were brought along with the over 60,000 signatures from the United Church of Christ. To see all the hard work and organizing that went into this success enlivens us all. We took this task on head on and came home champions.

While we did not reach our goal of 25,000 names--we did get a massive amount of people to support our cause (over 50%). The momentum and excitement of the project makes us want to work all the harder for all of you.

Thank you for all your support.

Free Burma!

Today, international bloggers are uniting their message- Free Burma.

Support the non-violent protesters, Aung Sun Suu Kyi and their efforts to promote *true* democracy in Burma.

"Doh ayei! Doh ayei!"--Slogan of Burmese protesters in 1988 translated to "Its Our Task! Its Our Task!"

Petition for Peace

Last week we launched our most ambitious action campaign - aiming to gather 25,000 signatures for peace. As the signatures mounted, and I began to read the comments left behind, I crafted and sent the emails below to those who had signed. I was quite moved by the comments folks left.

September 25, 2007

Dear Friends,

Over the course of the past week you have giving me hope, made me cheer, and brought tears to my eyes. Of the 2,750 people who have signed the UU Petition for Peace, like you, many have left comments that tap the roots that feed my soul.

Sonja Johnston, the Minister of Music at the Minnesota Valley UU Fellowship for 31 years, wrote, “Every Tuesday afternoon, I, and several other members of our fellowship, hold a peace vigil at a busy street in Bloomington. The response from those driving by is 75% positive. We must end this illegal, immoral, unnecessary war NOW.”

How many of you have stood vigil?

Kelly Hardin Derwood, from the River Road UU Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, wrote, “As a fifteen-year-old Unitarian Universalist, I am proud to represent UU youth as I sign this petition.”

How many of your children have had to witness this war?

LeAnne Notabartolo, from the UU Congregation of Las Vegas, wrote, “As a military wife whose husband has NOT been deployed (thankfully), I say, ‘bring our Troops home NOW’.”

How many of you worry when your loved ones come home late?

While the news from Capital Hill and the White House has been less than inspiring, your actions have given me hope. I know we will continue to write letters, write op-eds, stand vigil, and vote. And I believe that we will end this war.

As I see the numbers of signatures rising each day and I read your encouragement, your prayers, your pain, and your hope, I am left with the simple comment shared by Jan Taddeo, a ministerial student at Meadville Lombard, “Amen”.

September 28, 2007

Dear Friends,

Of the 4,500 who have joined you in signing the UU Petition for Peace, there are some who know this war in a way that tears down the distance between our home soil and the battlefield; between us and them; between the headlines and the heartbeat.

Karl von der Heyde of the Skylands Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in New Jersey writes, “I am a veteran of the President's war. It is a disaster. Some things are worth fighting and dying for. The pride, hubris, cultural ignorance, cowardly invasion of a country with no ties to 9/11, and a nearly totally fraudulent 'Global War on Terror' of the current President of the United States are not among the things worth fighting and dying for.”

Veterans of war are in our congregations, singing the children off to class.

Carol and Al Lloyd, members of the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, wrote, “We have a very personal reason for wanting to stop the war - our son is scheduled to go [to Iraq] in late January/early February. It’s terrifying.”

Parents of soldiers are in our congregations, whispering prayers by our sides.

And a man from Texas left this message after signing the petition, “I am looking to join the UUA when I return from Iraq but I support your cause and the many people like you. Thank you so much.”

There are empty seats in our congregations, hopefully they will be filled.

On October 10th, Rev. Sinkford will be carrying this petition, and all of your comments, to the powerful decision-makers in Washington DC. To reach our goal of gathering 25,000 signatures, our most ambitious advocacy goal ever, we need signatures from every congregation in the United States.

Please download the petition here and bring it to your congregation this Sunday.