What We Do Matters

UU SANTA FE JUSTICE COUNCIL WORKGROUPS

 What we do matters. Ours is a theology of engagement. We draw inspiration and truth from experiencing each other and the world around us. In doing so, we necessarily witness both the beauty and brokenness of our larger community and environment. Not everyone is suited for rolling paint or standing in a protest line, but there are many ways of engaging in this vital work: service, education, organizing, advocacy, lobbying and witness. UU Santa Fe members engage in all of these.

Our justice initiatives are led by our Justice Teams and Workgroups, supported by our Justice Council.​ The Justice Council meets the first Thursday of each month from 6-7:30 pm for a Zoom meeting.

Join any team at any time or put your passion to work by forming a new team! Our current justice workgroups are:
  • Advocacy and Democracy Workgroup: Contact Gayle Boyd
  • Environmental Workgroup: Contact Jean Darling​
  • WIDER Workgroup: Contact Diane Brown

Forming Fall 2023:
  • LGBTQ+ Workgroup: Initial meeting September 6, 6-7 pm on Zoom. Contact Rev. Kimi.
  • Reproductive Justice Workgroup: Initial meeting September 13, 6-7 pm on Zoom. Contact Rev. Kimi.
Engaging | Guiding Questions
  • What makes me come alive?
  • What gifts do I have to bless the world with?
Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them, he cried, “Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?" God said, “I did do something. I made you."―Sufi saying

JUSTICE-MAKING • WORK TO CHALLENGE YOU

Become a Citizen of the World • Justice-Making is What We Do
Purpose-filled people create mission-driven communities. We are called to put our Unitarian Universalist values and faith into action to fashion a world that is peaceful, compassionate, just and sustainable. Our Principles are more than something we are committed to, more than shared values―they are a call to action. Come, help us make the world worthy of its children.
See our current Justice activities here​ and/or read the UU Santa Fe Weekly eNewsletter.

Advocacy and Democracy

Advocacy and Democracy led by Gayle Boyd and Kitty Sherlock. Advocacy and Democracy brings opportunities to advocate for legislation and regulations that reflects our UU values at the federal, state, and local levels, support our democracy, and learn about relevant social justice and democracy-related issues.  Workshops on advocacy and special speakers on relevant topics are being planned. If you would like to be on a mailing list and receive updates from this group, please contact Gayle Boyd via our Office.​
  • Upcoming Event: Sunday, November 19, 1 pm, Fellowship Hall. Advocacy and Democracy is pleased to host Miranda Viscoli, Co-Founder and Co-President of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence,. Her talk, “Gun Violence in New Mexico: Problems, Laws, and Proposed Solutions,” will also be available on zoom; a link will be shared later. We’ll have a few snacks ahead of time for those attending in person. 
  • Tell Congress to protect the SNAP program. Everyone deserves reliable access to healthy food. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helps feed more than 40 million low-income Americans, including nearly 20 million children. It is included in the Farm Bill, which is negotiated every five years. It needs to be protected and strengthened.
  • Remind Congress We Still Need the Environmental Justice for All Act. We still want Congress to act on "the moral principle that all people have the right to pure air, clean water, and an environment that enriches life." We still agree "Federal policy can and should seek to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all underserved communities," let's urge them to do so.
  • Urge an Environmental Friendly Farm Bill. Past Farm Bills have primarily directed agricultural subsidies to growers of corn, soybeans, and similar commodities grown primarily as feed for animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The five-year proposal now being drafted offers the chance to reduce hunger, promote environmental stewardship and promote fairness to all farmers and farm workers.
  • Tell Congress to Reintroduce and Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. The bill provided a path to permanent residency for the more than 70,000 Afghans paroled into the U.S. It also will facilitate the safe departure of those we left behind. That legislation did not pass in 2022 and must be reintroduced with renewed urgency since Afghan parole status will expire during the Summer of 2023.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'―Isaac Asimov
UUSJ Monthly News (that’s Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice), the UU presence in Washington DC that focuses on legislation and policies that reflect our UU values. UU Santa Fe is a partner congregation with UUSJ and we will now start giving you access to the UUSJ Monthly News Letter. Just follow this link.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

  • 350 Santa Fe | Saturday, November 11, 10 am. Tour of the SFCC Advanced Technology and Sustainability Department, with Department Chair, Prof. Stephen Gomez. Topics covered by the department include algae cultivation, biofuels, aquaponics and greenhouse management. Limited to 20 attendees. Preregister by emailing jdarling @ sandwich.net, with TOUR in your subject line. (A number of us from UU Santa Fe are on the 350SF board.)
  • Environmental Justice Team meeting | Sunday, November 26, noon, Fellowship Hall and Zoom. Our planet is heating up faster than we thought possible. What can we actually DO about climate change?  Bring your ideas, we’ll talk about it. Click here for the link or contact Jean Darling.
  • Climate Crisis. If you are interested in UU responses to the Climate Crisis, you can get on the email list for the UU Ministry for Earth here. 
  • Faith and Climate Change—Blessed Tomorrow resources addressing the negative impacts of climate change on the suffering of our neighbors and damage to the natural world.​​
To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.―Rachel Carson

wider

WIDER (Working for Inclusive Diverse Equitable Results) is the workgroup that was formed after the Widening the Circle of Concern discussions. Contact Dave Weiman, Teresa Tunick, and Diane Brown.
  • Current Series: Colonization Footnotes | Three Session Class | October 29, November 5 &12 | 12 pm, Library | In-person Only. “If we’re going to continue to move forward as a nation we cannot allow concerns about discomfort to displace knowledge, truth or history.”—Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Leader Dave Weiman addresses the “discomfort” that Justice Jackson references. The knowledge and truth about the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ and the history of other Colonization Elements will be discussed.