Muusja Mailing List: MAY 11 EVENT UPDATE

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA  E-EVENT UPDATE May 11, 2006

Minnesota UU Social  Justice Alliance--Bringing  together UUs to work
collectively for social change.

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This  update includes announcements about: 

A. Local UU Events
B. UU  National Advocacy
C. Social Justice Links
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A. LOCAL UU EVENTS  

1. 
MON, MAY 15
7:00 PM TO 9:00 PM
FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY 900 MOUNT CURVE, MINNEAPOLIS

UUs OUT FOR MARRIAGE (UUO4M) STEERING COMMITTEE meeting. Help to plan the
next UUO4M general meeting. All are welcome.
FFI: ralph-longfellow [at] earthlink.net or twolawsons [at] comcast.net

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2. 
MON, MAY 15
7:30 PM TO 8:30 PM
COON RAPIDS CITY CENTER

MICAH SPONSORED EVENT REGARDING PLANNING AROUND TRANSIT STATIONS Join the
Metropolitan Interfaith Coalition on Affordable Housing (MICAH) for a
special presentation by national expert Mariia Zimmerman. How can we create
vibrant communities along the north star corridor? Development along the
North Star Corridor is the largest potential economic development tool of
this generation.  Community members want to understand the relationship
between transit, affordable housing, land planning and other community
benefits. What are the potential economic benefits of the line?  How can our
cities capture these benefits? How can we gain support of elected officials
in each city along the corridor? Traffic problems will increase.  What
action do we need to take now? How can we assure a full and fair range of
housing opportunities at each of the stops? 

FFI: Joy Sorensen Navarre, (612) 871-8980 x. 107 at MICAH.

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3.
MON, JUNE 5
7:00 PM TO 9:00 PM
UNITY CHURCH UNITARIAN, 732 HOLLY AVENUE, ST PAUL

UUO4M MONTHLY MEETING
FFI: ralph-longfellow [at] earthlink.net or twolawsons [at] comcast.net

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4.
PICTURES! WE'VE GOT PICTURES!

UUO4M has been busy, and thanks to Steve Hughes, we can prove it! Follow
these links for a plethora of wonderful pictures of three events! Thanks,
Steve! 

UUO4M Power-UP:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevehughes/sets/72057594121625370/
 
Lobby Day 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevehughes/sets/72057594123252049/
 
Bill Sinkford at Unity:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevehughes/sets/72057594129016868/
 
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5. 
THURSDAY, JUNE  8
7:00 to 9:00  PM
UNITY  CHURCH-UNITARIAN, ST.  PAUL

MUUSJA CELEBRATION & GENERAL MEETING Help us celebrate and reflect on the
amazing work we've done this year in marriage equality (UUs Out For
Marriage) and global warming & energy alternatives (UU EcoMinds). Special
speaker, the Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs, Unity's co-minister and a longtime
social activist, will help us understand how our UU theology and legacy can
help strengthen and ground our social change work. Includes an update from
our UU Affordable Housing Partnership and refreshments.  Please RSVP by June
4 to Betsy Allis at erallis [at] aol.com. 

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B. UU NATIONAL ADVOCACY  (UUA, UUSC, UUJEC, etc.)  

1.
STANDING ON THE SIDE OF LOVE  2006: NO DISCRIMINATION IN THE CONSTITUTION

The Senate has  scheduled a vote for the week of June 5th on an amendment
that  will write discrimination into the US Constitution. S.J. Res 1,
officially misnamed the "Marriage Protection Amendment," would impose a
single, religiously biased definition of marriage and override many state
and  local laws that extend benefits and protections to same-sex couples and
families! 

Defeating this amendment is one of the UUA's highest  advocacy priorities
for 2006. Please visit the campaign web site for  action steps you can take.
http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/article.php?list=type&type=142,

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2.
UUA SIGNS ON INTERFAITH LETTER TO MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HEAD OF HOMELAND
SECURITY OPPOSING RECENT ARRESTS OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS

LETTER TO MICHAEL CHERTOFF

Religious Statement Opposing Immigrant and Customs Enforcement Crackdown on
Undocumented Immigrants

As people of faith, we believe that all people are created in the image of
God and deserve basic human rights and human dignity. The book of Leviticus
is clear that we have a duty to welcome immigrants with love and respect:
"When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the
alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among
you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land
of Egypt (Leviticus 19: 33-34)."

In Matthew 25, Jesus, too, lifted up this value: "I was a stranger and you
welcomed me."

We are concerned that our nation is not living up to its sacred duty to
welcome the stranger. On April 19, 2006, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officials apprehended over 1,100 immigrants as part of a new, aggressive
strategy to crack down on undocumented immigrants announced by Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on April 20.
This is an unjust and immoral attack on immigrant workers' rights. The past
weeks have witnessed a productive national dialogue on how to address the
immigration question, and immigrants' rights groups have held a series of
massive rallies with turnout of tens and even hundreds of thousands in over
a hundred cities. Immigrants rights groups are planning another national day
of action on May 1.

In that context, this new enforcement strategy looks like punishment for
immigrants who have come together to stand up for their rights and an
attempt to intimidate workers planning to attend rallies on May 1.

We call upon the Bush Administration to respect immigrants' rights and stop
this crackdown. America deserves a more just and democratic immigration
system that protects the interests of all workers, both immigrant and
U.S.-born. These interests are best served by a realistic solution involving
earned legalization for immigrant workers already in this country, as well
as labor law reforms that will better protect the rights of all workers.

Note to Readers: See Interfaith Worker Justice at
http://www.iwj.org/actnow/imm/immigration.html for more information.

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3.
NEW AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY CAMPAIGN is endorsed  by the UUA. 
FFI:   http://www.cirnow.org/ to learn about what you can do. Many of the  
issues
facing immigrants are issues of economic justice. See below for  two action
items that will help.

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4.
SUPPORT A FEDERAL  MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE WITH 2 ACTIONS # 1: Sign on as a
Citizen  Co-Sponsor for the Fair Minimum Wage Act in the Senate at
http://kennedy.senate.gov/newsletter/mwcitizencosponsor.cfm.. This 
will  increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15/hour to $7.25/hour.   
# 2: Force the  House of Representatives to vote on the Fair Minimum Wage
Act increasing  the federal minimum wage to $7.25/hour. Check Reps who have
signed the  petition at
_http://clerk.house.gov/109/1rc/pd/Petitions/Dis11.htm_
(http://clerk.house.gov/109/1rc/pd/Petitions/Dis11.htm) .  If your Rep(s)
has signed, please thank them. If not, please urge them to  sign. 

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C. SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS
Find out about local SJ  events.check out these websites.  

Minnesota  Alliance of Peacemakers  http://www.mapm.org/

Women Against Military Madness at  www.worldwidewamm.org

Progressive Calendar subscribe by emailing  shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu.

Unitarian Universalist Association:  http://www.uua.org

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee:  http://www.uusc.org

Minnesota UU Social  Justice Alliance (MUUSJA):  http://www.muusja.org

Prairie Star  District: http://www.psduua.org