Jun 20, 2023 | Featured
COMMUNITY EVENT
Day of Outrage & Solidarity Yellow t-Shirt Brigade
July 1st, 5 pm, Pack Square Park (by the old monument) Cities across the state are joining in the NC People’s Power Coalition Statewide “Day of Outrage”. The Asheville planning team will host speakers and a “community speak out” to protest far reaching legislation that will affect our communities for generations to come. Our bodies, our schools, our health, our environment, our rights, our income, our jobs, our communities, and our democracy are under attack. Let’s gather to speak up and together work to take back our rights! To RSVP, go here. Questions? Contact Everett at elena@southernvision.org or 919-413-1276.
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
Opportunities to engage in legislative advocacy grounded in our values of justice and equity so that all may thrive in our communities.
Common Cause NC is organizing several phone banks to connect constituents to their elected officials in the NC General Assembly to oppose both SB 747 and SB 749. Go here to get details and sign up for one or more!
The Racial Justice Coalition is asking people to sign on in support of reparations for Black community members in Asheville and Buncombe County. Go here to get specifics and become one of the 5,000 people they are trying to reach by July 1st!.
Earlier this month, the NC Board of Elections opened a public comment period for rules for voter ID. Get details from this media release and how you can offer your comments. The deadline to offer comments online is June 23rd.
The ACLU (the American Civil Liberties Union) is leading an effort to get people to share their opposition to book bans. Go here for details and to sign.
The National Immigration Law Center is asking people to tell Congress to find a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. Go here to express your support.
Jun 20, 2023 | Justice Ministry
UU Avl Events
July 9/10 – EAC Book Study: The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, by Mary Pipher. In person Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am, 23 Edwin Parlor; Zoom, Monday 7-8:15 pm (contact Sunita for zoom link sunitapatterson@gmail.com); Section 5: The Transcendent Response
Community Events & Beyond
Yellow t-Shirt Brigade July 1 – People’s Power Coalition Day of Outrage; 5PM Join labor, community and faith organizations for a “Day of Outrage” to protest against the impact of current legislation and budgeting on our community. Get location and other details here.
June 27th– “Lunch and Learn: Ensuring Free, Fair, Safe, and Accessible Elections”,12:30 pm. Get details and register here. While this is from a Jewish perspective, all are welcome.
June 28th– Jews United for Democracy and Justice offers The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein in conversation with Patt Morrison on the topic “Sixteen Months to Elections, The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein Sets the Stage”, 8 pm. Get details and register here.
June 29th– Learn how you can become part of the Clean Energy Generation at this webinar, 2:30 pm.
July 1 – People’s Power Coalition Day of Outrage; 5PM Join labor, community and faith organizations for a “Day of Outrage” to protest against the impact of current legislation and budgeting on our community. Get location and other details here.
July 5th– Jews United for Democracy and Justice presents Election Law expert and author Rick Hasen in conversation with Madeleine Brand on the topic “Voting rights, Election Laws, the Supreme Court and What Lies Ahead.”, 8 pm. Get details and register here.
September 24th – Save the Date for this year’s Hunger Walk. Get details from this eblast sent out recently.
October 17th – Save the Date for Pisgah Legal Services’ 13th Annual Justice Forum with Mathew Desmond.
Jun 20, 2023 | Sermons
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Rev. Claudia Jimenez, Minister of Faith Development
In 2015, our denomination approved a Reproductive Justice Statement of Conscience. For there to be reproductive justice, all women and birthing people must have the freedom, without shame or judgment, to choose to have children, to not have children, to have the right to bodily autonomy and to parent in a safe, well-resourced environment where children may thrive. Join Rev. Claudia, Worship Associate Joyce-Hooley Gingrich and Alexis Crosswell as they reflect on today’s complicated legal and moral landscape after the repeal of Roe.
Jun 20, 2023 | Sermons
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Lead Minister
On this 100th Anniversary, join as we celebrate one of Unitarian Universalism’s most significant ceremonies. Unitarian Rev. Nobert Čapek created this meaningful ritual in 1923 to help the people of Prague heal from the ravages of WWI.
Please bring a flower with you as we bless these flowers and the gift of our beloved community.
Jun 14, 2023 | Weekly Message
Thank you! A highlight of this year has been the vote to adopt the 8th Principle at UU Asheville. Post-vote, our journey continues. Maybe it is more of a trek: arduous and often slow, as we work together to co-create Beloved Community within and beyond these four walls. Part of the trek involves personal reflection and learning. Below are two opportunities for you to consider:
Participate in the Explorers Book Club which reads and discusses group-selected books that explore the lives of people of diverse identities & cultures. They read both nonfiction and fiction books written predominantly by authors from diverse identities & cultures to broaden personal understanding as well as our congregational efforts to work towards multicultural Beloved Community. They will continue to meet during the summer. If interested, contact Deanna Banks deanna@dbanksllc.com for details. Below are a few of the books they read this year. You might consider them for summer reading.
What We Carry: A Memoir by Maya Shanbhag Lang
Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry by Mitra Rahnema
How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
Learn about the work of the Community Reparations Commission and how the Racial Justice Coalition is building support for their recommendations. RJC is inviting citizens to sign a pledge in support of reparations. Their goal is 5,000 signatories by July 1 and 8,000 by August 1–which just happens to be 3.5 % of Buncombe County residents. Why? RJC knows that political science researchers have determined that when 3.5 % of a local population are activated for social change, that change is more likely to take place. Thus, this individual pledge. So, check out the website above, and consider not only signing the pledge but also sharing it with friends.
Beyond personal study and reflection, the work we do in partnership with the community is how we really put our faith in action. What might that look like for our congregation? Some individual members are involved in the Racial Justice Coalition, CoThinkk, Faith4 Justice, and other local justice organizations. What does involvement look like at the congregational level? I do not have answers. Determining next steps is something we must do together. As congregational life winds in anticipation of summer, I invite you to imagine how adopting the 8th Principle will change us, UU Avl. Our vote must not be performative. I welcome hearing your thoughts and look forward to exploring possibilities together in the fall.
With gratitude,
Rev. Claudia Jiménez
