Muusja Mailing List: MUUSJA E-EVENT UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 1, 2006

[Lauren Culbert (lculbert]

MUUSJA E-EVENT UPDATE DECEMBER 1, 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

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1.
ACT NOW FOR WORLD AIDS DAY

In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1st, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the
pharmaceutical monolith (that charges nearly $1000 for a 30-day supply of
one of its HIV/AIDS medications), is donating $1 to the National AIDS Fund
for each person who simply visits their website and "virtually lights a
candle."

www.lighttounite.org 

It's completely free, quick, and painless. Then, after you light your
candle, "pass it on" to your friends.

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2.
SAT, DEC 2
9:00 TO 11:30 AM
UNITY CHURCH UNITARIAN, 732 HOLLY AVENUE, ST. PAUL

CHILD LABOR IN BOLIVIA: WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP Child Labor in Bolivia: 

Thousands of children-some of them barely 8 years old-toil in the darkness
of Bolivia's silver and tin mines. They work like animals in toxic, hellish
conditions, for a couple of dollars a day. Their hopes die young, buried in
the mines.

Come learn more about the life of a child miner in Bolivia, and what you can
do to improve that life. We'll watch part of an award-winning documentary,
The Devils' Miner, about two boys who work to support their family, in the
legendary mines of Potosi. Through discussion, we'll tackle some of the
complicated issues related to working children around the globe. Finally
we'll talk about what Mano a Mano does in Bolivia, and share resources for
the abolition of child labor. 

This forum is sponsored by Unity's Mano a Mano Bolivia Outreach Team. It is
free and open to the public. Child care will be available. For more
information contact Unity Church, 651-228-1456 or Patricia Ohmans, at
pohmans [at] healthadvocates.info.

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B. NATIONAL UU ADVOCACY

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1.
OPPOSE THE "UNBORN CHILD PAIN AWARENESS ACT"
Next week, the House is proposing to take up the "Unborn Child Pain
Awareness Act," H.R. 6099. This legislation would require abortion providers
to read a script to a woman seeking an abortion after 20 weeks that states
there is "substantial evidence" that a fetus may feel pain during an
abortion procedure. The woman must then read and sign a statement with
inflammatory rhetoric. This legislation serves more to prevent the abortion
that to protect the fetus. 

Women are moral agents, endowed with the capacity and responsibility to make
decisions about their reproductive health. Any consultation with a medical
professional must guarantee medically accurate, unbiased, scientifically
founded information. This script clearly contradicts current medical
evidence that indicates fetal pain at 20-26 weeks is unlikely or simply not
possible. 

This legislation also interferes with the ability of doctors to provide the
best possible care to their patients. H.R. 6099 intrudes on the
physician-patient relationship by mandating a government scripted lecture
which ignores the patients' individual circumstances. 

The issue of fetal pain is a serious and ethical one which we must address
compassionately and honestly. Therefore, we support further study that is
grounded in sound science and attention to the moral complexities that may
be involved and we oppose H.R. 6099. 

Please contact your Representatives and urge them to Oppose H.R. 6099, the
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. Click here to take action.
(http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/UUA/campaign.jsp?camp
aign_KEY=6135) 

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2.
AN EXCERPT FROM BILL SINKFORD'S STATEMENT ON THE PATHWAY ACT

"We Unitarian Universalists support the PATHWAY Act because it requires the
Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to develop a comprehensive HIV
prevention plan that addresses the specific vulnerabilities of women and
youth. The Act also eliminates "abstinence-only" conditions on HIV funding.
Our policies must reflect the realities of people's lives. We know that
"just say No" didn't work in the Garden of Eden, and it isn't stopping the
spread of HIV today, either in the US or abroad. 

"As we confront the human tragedy that is global AIDS, we must urge our
leaders not to let their personal commitments to specific ideologies stand
in the way of saving lives. We hear politicians invoking "moral values."
Well, as a person of faith, I'm obligated to say that it is immoral to
abdicate our responsibility for the spread of AIDS. We know how to
ameliorate this epidemic. We have the medical means; we can muster the
economic means. The question we must ask ourselves now is whether we have
the will to do it. And that becomes a moral -- a religious -- question. 

"Because all faith communities are called to act in the world, I pray that
our actions will reflect the essential truth at the heart of all the world's
religions. We must live the compassion that is at the core of our sacred
teachings."

If you haven't already done so, please urge your representative to support
the PATHWAY Act:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/UUA/campaign.jsp?campa
ign_KEY=4889&t=campaign.dwt 


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3.
ACKNOWLEDGE HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DECEMBER 10

The National Council of Churches (NCC) and other coalition partners to Save
Darfur have asked us to participate in the Weekend of Prayer for Darfur,
December 8th -10th. All faith communities are being asked to include a
prayer for Darfur in their weekly services, and to hang a "Call to Your
Conscience" banner outside their house of worship. NCC will deliver the
banner to all interested houses of worship for display during the weekend
and beyond. Hundreds of churches, synagogues and mosques around the country
are currently helping to raise awareness and inspire people to take action
by displaying banners. Sample prayers, bulletin inserts, and other resources
are available at
http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/weekend_of_prayer.://www.bordc.org/involved/
talkpoints11-13.php 

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4.

1) "SOUL WORK ANTI-RACISM BOOK DISCUSSION ONLINE

Thanks to WACAN (White Anti-racist Community Action Network) & copyright
permission from Skinner House Books' Mary Benard to post quotes from the
book liberally, there is now a forum online for a discussion of "Soul
Work: Anti-racist theologies in dialogue".

TO GET STARTED:

If you're already a member of WACAN, you can click this link if you're
currently logged in: http://tinyurl.com/uhqbk

If you're not a member, it is free and they are trustworthy (will not give
your email address out to spammers) & it's open to all who agree to their
policy and post respectfully. Just sign up by going to their home
page:
http://www.wacan.org/

Click on Register HERE! and follow their instructions.

After you're registered and logged in, you will see a page with links on the
left - one for Forums. Click that link & then scroll down (below Town
Square) to the "Moderated forums" section. Click on the link for "Soul Work:
Anti-racist theologies in dialogue". You may want to start by reading the
Introduction. When you finish reading the Introduction, you can click on
Chapter 1: Theology's Great Sin and start the discussion by replying to that
chapter. Other chapters will be posted later. Once you've posted in a thread
and have indicated that you want to receive replies, you will get an email
with future posts (these can be turned off later if you wish in the "My
Profile" section).

Questions about the forum can be directed to Joyce Dowling at
joyce.dowling [at] comcast.net.

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C. SOCIAL JUSTICE LINKS

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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 Economic Community 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 are  member of a group who would like us to list your web
site, send it to muusja-editor [at] muusja.org

Alliance for Sustainability www.afors.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/