Muusja Mailing List: E-UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2006

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA  E-EVENT UPDATE September 29, 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 Social Justice News
B. National UU Advocacy
C. Social Justice Links

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A. LOCAL SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS

1.
FRI, SEPT 29
7:00 PM
ST THOMAS UNIVERSITY, O'SHAUGHNESSY EDUCATION CENTER, CLEVELAND AND SUMMIT,
ST. PAUL
$7.00

Midwest Screening of the film IRAQ FOR SALE:  THE WAR PROFITEERS 

Acclaimed director, Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart;the Highter Cost of Low
Price, Outfoxed, Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck
drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of
profiteeing in the reconstruction of Iraq. 
Uncovers connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq
and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

Immediately following film a panel discussion with incredible panelists;
Frida Berrigan, Antonio Juhasz, author of The Bush Agenda: Invading the
World One Economy at a Time, Mimi LaValley, War Resisters league,Deidre
Hughs, MacGregor Eddy, Peace in Space.

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2.
MON, OCT 2
7:00 AM 
ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS, 5050 Lincoln Drive, Edina

On the Tenth Anniversary of Nonviolent Civil Resistance at ATK Join
AlliantACTION in celebrating the Birth of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi while
demonstrating the Power of Nonviolence in Stopping the Merchant$ of Death at
the Largest Minnesota-based Military Contractor,Alliant Techsystems (ATK),
maker of dU Munitions, Landmines, Cluster Bombs, Trident II. FFI:
www.alliantaction.org)

Pre-Action Concert and Rally Sunday Evening, October 1st - 7 PM
College of St. Catherine, O'Shaughnessy Auditorium
Tickets: $12 - featuring Medea Benjamin, Utah Phillips, Frieda Berrigan,
Winona LaDuke and others.

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3. 
TUES, OCT 3
EXEL ENERGY CENTER, ST. PAUL
5:30 PM

OutFront Minnesota is planning a counter-rally to James Dobson speaking at
the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul - rally will start at 5:30pm. More
information will be posted on OutFront Minnesota's web-site
(www.outfront.org) shortly.

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4.
THUR, OCT 5
7:00 PM
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, CUMMINS ROOM

ECOMINDS will show the film "An Inconvenient Truth." Stay for the
discussion, bring a snack to share if you wish. FFI: Bob Friedman,
612-722-4705

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5.
MON, OCT 9
6:30 PM
PLYMOUTH CHURCH, 1900 NICOLLET AVE
NETWORK OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESSIVES

As always, the meeting will start at 7, but more and more people are coming
at 6:30 for snacks and conversation before the meeting. A brief orientation
for new members also starts at 6:30.

Joining us at the October meeting will be Sondra Samuels, wife of city
councilman Don Samuels and president of the PEACE Foundation which has been
doing such important work on the northside with vigils, outreach to youth,
and community events to build solidarity and a consciousness of peace and
love instead of crime and violence. A dynamic, direct, and honest speaker,
Sondra will tell us how spiritual values are fueling the PEACE Foundation's
work and her own activism for social justice. 

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6.
WED, OCT 11
1:30 PM TO 2:30 PM CST
TOLL FREE 866 818 1393

NATIONAL PHONE SEMINAR: LEFAL AND ETHICAL GUIDANCE FOR HOURSE OF WORSHIP IN
AN ELECTION YEAR. Should we permit candidates to speak from the pulpit? How
should I guide my congregation without directing their vote? Should I
distribute voter's guides from partisan organizations? Participation is
first come, first serverd, but there will be replays available. FFI:
http://www.inerfaithalliance.org

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7.
THURS, OCT 12 THROUGH SAT, OCT 14
HENNEPIN AVENUE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
511 GROVELAND AVENUE, MPLS

VOICES UNITED--A CONFERENCE AND RALLY TO END THE PROFANITY OF EXCLUSION
http://www.faithfamilyfairness.org/FFFA/getinvolved.htm)

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8. 
FRI, OCT 20 THROUGH SUN, OCT 22
MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
1ST ANNUAL NORTHLAND BIONEERS CONFERENCE

An exciting new gathering is coming to Minnesota. The 1st Annual Northland
Bioneers Conference presents an interactive forum focused on solutions to
our most pressing environmental and social issues. Hosted by Northland
Sustainable Solutions, a newly formed non-profit organization, this
three-day event is expected to draw over 750+ participants from the
surrounding five-state region to Minneapolis Community and Technical
College, where it will be held. The Northland Bioneers Conference will
include interactive workshops with local experts, exhibits, films, art and
entertainment. In addition, a portion of the program each day will feature a
satellite broadcast of 15 plenary sessions from the national Bioneers
Conference, held in San Rafael, California. For 17 years, Bioneers has been
headlining the world's leading thinkers in connecting the dots between the
environment, health, science, social justice and spirit.

For more information about this local conference, visit
www.nbconference.org. For information about the national Bioneers, visit:
www.bioneers.org

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9. 
FRI, OCT 27
7:00 PM 
FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY, 900 MOUNT CURVE AVENUE, MINNEAPOLIS

Get Reel about Global Warming: 
Free Community Showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" 
 
An Inconvenient Truth, the award-winning documentary about global warming
featuring Al Gore's work on the issue, made headlines this summer. If you
missed it during its brief Minneapolis run, here's a chance to see it for
free, no reservations required, no Donations requested, or strings attached!
Free popcorn and drinks. Informal discussion following the film. On-site
childcare is A
available for a fee. A reservation for childcare IS required. Please call
Jan at 377-6608 x.108 to reserve childcare spaces.

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10.
SUN, OCT 29TH
9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM--SIGN UP FOR A TWO HOUR SHIFT
FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN
6750N EAST BROADWAY
BROOKLYN PARK, MN 55428

LOCAL ACTION FOR DARFUR: A Metro-wide interfaith coalition (a collaboration
of synagogues, church groups and human rights and social justice
organizationssuch a Temple Israel, Adath, Bet Shalom, Shir Tikva, JCRC, The
MN Council of Churches, The Human Rights Center at U/MN)has been workingto
gain public awareness and involvement with the Darfur Holocaust. 

Our next project is an "Interfaith Day of Action" on Sunday, October 29th.
This will be a day of fundraising, lobbying, and food packing for the
victims of Darfur in collaboration with a local humanitarian relief
organization "Feed My Starving Children." Please help by signing up for a
two hour shift. FFI: sharonlehrman [at] yahoo.com

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11. 
FAIR CAMPAIGNS

MUUSJA is a member of the UU State Advocacy Network, a developing national
collaboration of state-wide UU social justice and policy reform groups,
supported by UUSC and UUA.    This information was forwarded to UUs in
Minnesota by a member of UUSAN - 

Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced this week a
national campaign to inform churches about federal tax law forbidding
partisan politicking by tax-exempt groups.

The Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group said it will mail a special
election-year alert to all houses of worship in 11 states, reminding them
that intervention in partisan political campaigns is a violation of the
Internal Revenue Service Code.

FFI:
http://www.au.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_churchelectioneering&JServ
SessionIdr006=xz46ecq2s2.app5b

12.
UN CONTACT
The UU United Nations Office is interested in having an ongoing contact
person in each UU congregation - if you or someone in your congregation is
interested in receiving and distributing information please contact the UU
UN Office: ahorton [at] uu-uno.org, or  212-986-5165.

B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

1. 
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VISIT THE UUA WASHINGTON OFFICE FOR ADVOCACY SITE AT
http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/ to take action on warrantless wiretapping,
torture, DC voting rights, and more.

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2. 
THE GROUND TRUTH IS a new documentary film featuring returned Iraq War
veterans. It opened in major cities on Sept. 15th and is being shown in
thousands of congregations and community centers during the week of Oct.
4-11.  For more information or to sign up for a screening see
http://thegroundtruth.net.  To order a DVD, get a Gathering Kit, and
register your event go to http://groundtruthstore.seenon.com/?pa=uua.


C. SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS

To find out about other local and national social justice events, check out
these websites.  

UU SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OTHER UU LINKS:
Unitarian Universalist Association:  http://www.uua.org/

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

UUA Washington Office for Advocacy http://www.uua.org/uuawo/new/

UUA Congregational Advocacy and Witness:
http://www.uua.org/programs/justice/

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

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

FOR UU SOCIAL ACTON CHAIRS, sign up for regular e-news from the UUA, called
Sac-news www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo
 
UU Ministry for Earth http://uuministryforearth.org/index.shtml

UUs for a Just EconomicCommunity http://www.uujec.net/

UU Committee for Socially Responsible Investing
http://www.uua.org/finance/sri/ 

UU Gulf Coast Advocacy http://www.uua.org/news/gulfcoastrelief/advocacy.html

OTHER SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS: 
*note: if you ara  member of a group who would like us to list your web
site, send it to muusja-editor [at] muusja.org
 
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.
  
Planned Parenthood of Minnesota:   www.ppmns.org
 
NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota:   www.prochoiceminnesota.org

Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH):
http://www.micah.org/
 
Code Pink: www.codepink4peace.org

Center for Victims of Torture: http://www.cvt.org/main.php

Network of Spiritual Progressives: http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/

Network of Spiritual Progressives, local chapter http://www.nspmn.org/