Memo to SLUUD Activists
From Dick Gilbert, St Lawrence Unitarian Universalist District Advocacy Group
ADVOCACY-NEWS
***************************************************
Action Alert from the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy
CONTENTS:
1) Action: Million Voices for Darfur Campaign
2) Informational Updates
A) Freedom to Marry Day this Sunday, February 12
B) Social Witness Process Deadlines Reminder
C) StopReligiousDiscrimination.Org
(1) Action: Million Voices for Darfur Campaign
***************************************************
The humanitarian disaster in Darfur has been going on for three years. Some 400,000 people have died, violence has forced more than two million from their homes, more than three million are starving. Despite evidence linking the Sudanese government to the Janjaweed militias responsible for much of the violence against Darfur's civilian population, that government continues to deny involvement and to allow the Janjaweed free rein.
The U.S. and the international community have done nothing to stop the bloodshed-even after 2004, when our government officially recognized what was happening in Darfur as genocide. The only international force authorized to operate in the region are a small number of troops fielded by the African Union, with neither the mandate nor the resources to top the killing-only to protect observers assigned to monitor a 2004 ceasefire that failed almost before it was signed. The Bush Administration actually cut U.S. aid to this force, although it has been reinstated in its 2006 budget request.
Can we do something to help end this humanitarian disaster? We can. The Save Darfur Coalition, of which the UUA is a member, has mounted the Million Voices for Darfur campaign. In cooperation with more than 150 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian aid organizations, the campaign hopes to deliver a million postcards to the White House and Congress, demanding a more effective U.S. response. We are asking first, for a restoration of and increase in funding for the small number of African Union forces charged with monitoring the 2004 ceasefire; and second, for the U.S. to support sending in a UN peacekeeping force, large enough and with sufficient authority to stop the killing.
Add your voice to those already calling for action by holding a "Save the People of Darfur" Sunday sometime in March or early April. We're hoping to collect 25,000 postcards from Unitarian Universalists before the Rally for Darfur in Washington, DC, on April 30 and May 1. Go to www.uua.org/news/darfur/congaction.html for more information on how your congregation can participate in the Million Voices for Darfur campaign!
Please read Rev. Bill Sinkford's letter on the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, access our list of lifespan religious education resources (including Danielle Sinkford's Story for All Ages), and view uua.org's past coverage on the Sudan crisis at http://www.uua.org/news/darfur.
(2) Informational Updates
***************************************************
A) National Freedom to Marry Day, a project of the organization Freedom to Marry (http://www.freedomtomarry.org/), is this Sunday, February 12. Look for stories about UU activities on www.uua.org in the next few days. We'll also be rolling out a host of new advocacy materials for supporting marriage equality, including mobilizing opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, will could see Congressional action in the next few months.
B) Social Witness Process Deadlines Reminder
Please remember that March 1, 2006 at 5:00 PM is the deadline for submitting these social witness materials:
1) Comment Form for the 2005 - 2007 Study/Action Issue (SAI), "Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society;"
2) Comment Form for the draft Statement of Conscience (SOC), "Threat of Global Warming;"
3) Sermons for the CSW/UUMA Social Witness Sermon Contest.
Submit sermons and comment forms by mail to: CSW, c/o Susan Leslie, Office of Congregational Advocacy, Unitarian Universalist Association, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108, by fax to: 617-367-3237, or by email to: AFriend@uua.org.
Comment forms may also be submitted online. To find these forms, forms to download, and for more information on the SAI, draft SOC, and the sermon contest, visit the CSW web site at: http://www.uua.org/csw.
C) StopReligiousDiscrimination.Org You may remember from previous action alerts about the
reauthorization of Head Start that we face an uphill battle against the" faith based initiative" and the potential it presents for federally funded
religious discrimination. The UUA Washington Office is pleased to join with the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination in promoting the website http://www.StopReligiousDiscrimination.Org . If you are a member of the clergy or a religious leader, or if you are a social service provider or
professional, you can join the fight to protect freedom of religion and the First Amendment by signing an open letter to the president and
Congress, calling for them to oppose any attempts to allow religious discrimination in federally-funded programs. If you are not a minister or a social service provider, please help us spread the word! Talk to your minister and encourage them to sign; forward this message to colleagues who work in social services; send your own letter to your members of Congress; organize an in-district lobby visit with your Senators and Representatives; visit http://www.StopReligiousDiscrimination.Org to learn more.
****************************************************
1. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Advocacy-News, go to http://www.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/advocacy-news. The place to subscribe is obvious. Unsubscribing is an option near the bottom of the page. If you have any questions about this listserv, email advocacy-news-owner@uua.org.
2. Visit the Washington Office website at http://www.uua.org/uuawo for current information on issues and activist resources on Effective Advocacy.
***************************************************************
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Washington Office for Advocacy
1320 18th Street NW, Suite 300B
Washington, DC 20036
202-296-4672
202-296-4673 fax
www.uua.org/uuawo
Rob Keithan
Director
rkeithan@uua.org, x15
Elizabeth Bukey
Legislative Assistant for Civil Rights and Religious Liberty
ebukey@uua.org x22
Meredith Schonfeld-Hicks
Legislative Assistant for Women's Issues
UU Women's Federation Clara Barton Internship
x13
_______________________________________________
Advocacy-news mailing list
Advocacy-
http://lists.uua.org/mailman/listinfo/advocacy-news
Posted by uuchurchutica
at 7:04 PM EST