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How do we take the Justice General Assembly home? That was the focus of Sunday afternoon’s plenary report from UUA Executive Vice President Kay Montgomery and Vice President for Ministries and Congregational Support the Rev. Harlan Limpert.
“The act of coming here has been a declaration that living our Unitarian Universalist faith is inherently about justice-making and justice-building,” said Limpert. “We all stand on the side of love, we all stand for justice, but we manifest that in the world in our own ways.”
Montgomery and Limpert suggested some practical ways that GA attendees can bring Justice General Assembly and immigration justice to their congregations and communities. Among them were:
- Restoring Trust campaign: The UUA is part of a coalition of migrant rights organizations and faith communities that have launched a national campaign to stop the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) holds program. Learn more at UUA.org/immigration.
- Standing on the Side of Love will be holding an online training session July 25 at 8 p.m. EST about why and how to start a visitation program in your community. Sign up at standingonthesideoflove.org.
- Invite people to read and discuss The Death of Josseline by Margaret Regan, using the Common Read guide developed by the Resource Development Office.
- Help your community learn more by offering the six-session curriculum, “Immigration as a Moral Issue.”
- Get the big picture on immigration by reading Beacon Press books such as Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants by David Bacon and ‘They Take Our Jobs!’ and 20 Other Myths about Immigration by Aviva Chomsky.
- Explore the UUA blog “Cooking Together: Recipes for Immigration Justice Work,” which offers resources, stories, and ideas for justice work.
- Start a Doctrine of Discovery discussion group using the online guide, suitable for adults, young adults, and youth.
- Include BorderLinks, a UUA partner organization that educates people on immigration justice through service/learning experiences at the U.S./Mexico border, in your congregation’s plan for ongoing immigration justice work. UUA/UUSC four-day delegations are planned for October 2012 and May 2013, and additional delegations can be scheduled. Learn more on the BorderLinks website.
- Organize a group to study the Building the World We Dream About program and learn to build alliances across racial and ethnic lines within your congregation and in the broader community.
- Collect and share copies of the Family Pages insert in the Summer 2012 issue of UU World, which offers justice stories and activities suitable for sharing in multigenerational worship or at home.
- Read and discuss Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel, this year’s UU Common Read. Follow up the discussion with an 8-session Tapestry of Faith curriculum called “ A Chorus of Faiths,”based on the work of Patel’s Interfaith Youth Corps.
“These past few days haven’t been the beginning, nor will they be the end of our mission for justice,” Montgomery concluded. “This is, however, a defining moment. For whenever people unite in common spirit, with faith in something better, faith in love, faith in community, faith in compassion, faith in solidarity–whenever we lift up our voices in unison, something beautiful happens almost inevitably–profound and expansive love and power to transform the world.”