District Programs Justice Ministries
Justice Ministries
Crossing Borders: A Journey of Faith
A BorderLinks Trip sponsored by the Mountain Desert District of the Unitarian Universalist Association
The trip will be a service/learning/reflection journey for Unitarian Universalists (ages 16 and over) to engage in the issues of human rights and immigration at the Arizona/Sonora, Mexico border. We will visit with individuals and organizations that provide basic assistance to migrants, create community-based alternatives, and advocate for just policies on both sides of the border. We will meet with people who are directly affected by current economic and immigration policies, and we’ll be given tools and resources to work for justice. There will be ample time for worship, theological reflection, and fellowship while we travel the borderlands of Arizona.
Click here for more information:
Read more: Crossing Borders: A Journey of Faith
Posted Tuesday, 29 January 2013 15:35 Written by Kierstin Homblette
Human Rights On the Border 2012
A BorderLinks Trip sponsored by the Mountain Desert District of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Thursday - Sunday, May 3-6th, 2012
The trip will be a service/learning/reflection journey for Unitarian Universalists to engage in the issues of human rights and immigration at the Arizona/Sonora, Mexico border. We will visit with individuals and organizations that provide basic assistance to migrants, create community-based alternatives, and advocate for just policies on both sides of the border. We will meet with people who are directly affected by current economic and immigration policies, and we’ll be given tools and resources to work for justice. There will be ample time for worship, theological reflection, and fellowship while we travel the borderlands of Arizona.
Total trip cost will be $300, not including travel to/from Tucson, AZ.
Space is limited, so register now!
For more information, contact Kierstin Homblette, Community Ministry Intern at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Full information about the trip after the break!
Read more: Human Rights On the Border 2012
Posted Wednesday, 07 March 2012 12:08 Written by Jess Cullinan
Program Information for Building Beloved Community: The Resilient Power of Stories
Preparations are well underway, and you can register online now for this year's Building Beloved Community event, "The Resilient Power of Stories!"
This year’s MDD Beloved Community program builds on past year’s Justice Ministries offerings with continued attention to adaptive leadership. Adaptive or transformational leadership requires understanding a group’s culture and assessing which aspects of it facilitate social change and which might be barriers. Our time together this year will focus on the meaning and purpose of justice ministry in religious community with attention to stories: How do we frame our own stories? How do we frame the stories of our community? How does the sharing of stories help us learn about one another and connect to the past so that together, we can move forward in the present?
To help guide our journey together, we’ll be joined by Unitarian Universalist minister, Jan Christian and Scholar-activist James Tracy.
An unexpected email, decades after her brother’s death in Vietnam, connected the Rev. Jan Christian to others still haunted by that day and their journey together revealed that going back can change the way we go forward. Rev. Christian chronicles this journey in her book, Leave No Brother Behind: A Sister's Memoir. She brings years of experience in a restoring justice - making model and will help us explore the power of stories to bring healing in our own lives, in our congregations and in the community.
James Tracy, a social justice organizer in the San Francisco Bay Area, and co-author of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power, spent ten years capturing the stories of cross race/cross class coalitions that pooled their resources to build a vibrant and radical movement for racial and economic justice. Whether our 2012 Phoenix GA, justice ministries in congregations, the budding Occupy movement, or today's immigrant rights coalitions, exploring these untold stories helps us understand that we don't have the luxury to walk separately anymore.
In addition to gaining new insights and leadership skills, one of the many benefits of participating in Building Beloved Community is co-creation of a joyful, learning community where people at all levels of development are working together on something they really care about. In order for us to create a dynamic community and deepen the experience for everyone, we request that you commit to the entire event starting Friday evening and closing with Sunday morning worship. Sending leadership team from your congregation strengthens internal capacity offering mutual support for bringing new understandings and resources home to your congregation.
Congregational Teams: Leadership teams representative of congregational life are strongly encouraged and will be the primary container for sharing individual stories, engaging presenters, and interacting with the larger group. You can register an unlimited number of teams (Board, Youth Ministry, Committees, etc) at the reduced team rate. Travel subsidies for congregations traveling the greatest distance are available to MDD Fair Share congregations on a first come basis. Send request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Note: Minors must be accompanied by an adult with signed permission from parent or guardian.
Parents! During the conference we are offering a Peacemaking Workshop for Children ages 5 – 12. Please make a workshop reservation by January 10 noting the names and age of your children on the registration form. Upon request, childcare is available for children 4 and under at the rate of $20/per child. Please bring snacks; lunch provided. Contact Eleanor VanDeusen, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Kristin Famula, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , for Peacemaking workshop details or to request childcare.
See this page for registration and lodging information, and we'll see YOU in Denver!
Posted Friday, 02 December 2011 14:16 Written by Deborah Holder
Announcing the 2012 Building Beloved Community Event
This year's Building Beloved Community Event is titled The Resilient Power of Stories and will be held January 20-22, 2012 in Denver, CO.
Registration is now closed.
Stories – personal and communal, inspirational and mundane – shape our lives, inform our identities, and transform our spirits. Stories are the substance of covenantal community. Stories express our values, give us vision, and empower us to live with integrity as we live into our highest ideals.
The act of sharing stories, both in telling and in listening, grows our imaginations and creates new possibilities. All social change is the telling and re-telling of stories. You are one story away from having your life changed, or changing the life of another.
Learn about the power of your stories to connect, to transform, and to create just and resilient communities – to create beloved community.
Send a team from your congregation and receive discounted registration!
Tentative Schedule:
- Friday, January 20th, 1-5 PM: Program for religious professionals
- Friday, January 20th, 5-7 PM: Registration & dinner
- Friday, January 20th, 7-9 PM: Interactive keynote address (open to all)
- Saturday, January 21st, 9-5 PM: Public program
- Sunday, January 22nd, 9:15AM and 11AM: Shared worship
Featured Presenters:
Rev. Jan Christian: Leave No Brother Behind: A Sister’s Memoir
James Tracy & Amy Sonnie: Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power
For program information click here. Also, download these PDF files and watch this site for updates!
- 2012 Beloved Community Flyer
- 2012 Beloved Community Program Info
- 2012 Beloved Community Registration Form
If you alre already registered and would like to pay for your registration online with Paypal, use this link (a Paypal account is not required to use this service):
To add additional registrations, click "Continue Shopping" once you have been redirected to the Paypal website, and you will return to this page.
Registration and Fees: All fees must be received by the January 15th registration deadline. We cannot accommodate walk-ins. Registration is now closed.
Your registration fee covers all meals, program and materials. Meals included are Friday dinner and Saturday lunch. A vegetarian option is available. If you have other dietary restrictions, please bring what you need. The Fairfield Inn provides a hearty breakfast for guests.
Cancellation Policy: Registration fees are non-refundable after January 15, 2012, event cancellation notwithstanding. Should weather conditions in Denver force cancellation or event delays, a voice message will be posted on the district phone (303) 756-1378. Refund requests due to personal emergency will be addressed after all event expenses are paid.
Accessibility: The main floor of the First Universalist Church of Denver is fully accessible, the site of all activity. If you have special needs, please let us know how to accommodate these on the registration form. There’s plenty of parking and the church is on a major city bus line.
Lodging: Please make your reservation directly with the hotel by Jan 10, 2012 to receive discounted rate. The Fairfield Inn & Suites Cherry Creek, 1680 South Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80222. Reservations: 1-800-690-9799 or direct with hotel at 303-691-2223.
A discounted rate of $/64 night per room (plus 14.85% local tax) has been secured with the hotel and includes a warm hearty breakfast, free internet, and complimentary parking. Mention “MDD” in order to secure the conference rate. If you get snagged, ask to speak with Emily Boring. The hotel is on a major bus line, a five-minute ride to First Universalist Denver located on the corner of S. Colorado and Hampden.
Ground/Air Transportation: All events take place at the First Universalist Church of Denver, 4101 East Hampden Avenue, Denver, CO 80222 located at the intersection with South Colorado Blvd. Shuttle transportation is available through Super Shuttle, reservations recommended: 800-258-3826.. For driving directions to the church, visit their website, www.firstuniversalist.org. Please be sure to schedule an afternoon departure so you can attend Sunday morning worship.
Posted Wednesday, 16 November 2011 14:13 Written by Jess Cullinan
Spring 2011 Webinars Series
webinar
Pronunciation: we-bə-när
Function: noun
Etymology: web + seminar
Definition: a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments. In a webinar, each participant sits at his or her own computer and is connected to other participants via the internet. In our case this is a web-based application where the attendees access the meeting by clicking on a link distributed by e-mail (meeting invitation) to see the conference and call into a phone number to hear the conference.
Your staff in the Pacific Western Region of the UUA is working to make training accessible and affordable to busy religious leaders. To that end, we are pleased to announce a spring series of webinars. A webinar brings together leaders in a virtual classroom using conference call and website technology. You call in to a pre-assigned phone number to hear the expert and log-in to a website to see the visual cues and resources.
Click on the "read more" link below to find listings of upcoming webinars beginning the end of March.
Each webinar is $15 and you are welcome to experience a webinar in a group with a speaker phone gathered around the computer. Please note that the conference call is not a toll-free number and charges will apply. You will receive an email confirmation with information as to how to log-on and call-in. If you have any questions please contact Tandi Rogers: 253-278-4646/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Registration page: www.surveymonkey.com/s/PWRUUAWebinars
Read more: Spring 2011 Webinars Series
Posted Friday, 25 March 2011 13:54 Written by Jess Cullinan
Compassionate Communication: Being the Peace We Wish in the World
Part of the Winter-Spring 2011 Webinar Series
Pacific Western Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Four part course for Unitarian Universalists
Saturdays from 2-3:30 pm (Mountain Time); 3:00-4:30 (Pacific Time)
February 5, February 19
March 5, March 19
Pre-reading: NonViolent Communication (by Marshall Rosenberg)
Read more: Compassionate Communication: Being the Peace We Wish in the World
Posted Monday, 31 January 2011 13:26 Written by Deborah Holder
Register Now for Building Beloved Community
Building Beloved Community: Social Change in a Multicultural World
Registration Deadline: January 17, 2011
Featured Speaker:
Janice Marie Johnson, UUA Multicultural Growth Director
Building Multicultural Alliances: Respecting Identity & Acknowledging Privilege
See below for additional information, including registration forms!
Read more: Register Now for Building Beloved Community
Posted Friday, 03 December 2010 12:52 Written by Jess Cullinan
Save the Date! Building Beloved Community: Social Change in a Multicultural World
HOLD THE DATES!
January 21-23, 2011
Denver, CO
Sponsored by the Mountain Desert District, UUA
With generous hospitality provided by
First Universalist Church of Denver
4101 E. Hampden Ave.
Plan now to send a multigenerational team from your
congregation!
Registration & Program Info forthcoming; watch this space!
Friday Add-on Day for Church Staff: Noon – 4pm
Program Highlights Include:
- Becoming A Religion For Our Time
- Spiritual Practices for Human Transformation
- Internalized Oppression: Wisdom & Healing
- Dismantling Privilege: Building Multicultural Alliances
- Emotional Systems
Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Posted Tuesday, 26 October 2010 14:16 Written by Jess Cullinan
Mental Health and People of Faith 2010
Workshops: October 29-30, 2010
Hosted by Jefferson Unitarian Church, Golden, CO
People with mental disorders and their loved ones fill our pews, our streets and our jails. To help address this problem, the Caring Congregation Program helps congregations in supporting those with mental disorders and their families.
Read more: Mental Health and People of Faith 2010
Posted Friday, 27 August 2010 13:55 Written by Deborah Holder
Nurturing Community, Building Solidarity: Class Matters
Saturday March 27, 2010 9am-2pm
EVENT LOCATION: Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder
5001 Pennsylvania Avenue, Boulder, CO
In the United States and in our religious communities discussions involving class and classism are often more taboo than conversations about sexuality. Meanwhile, the gap between the rich and everyone else is the greatest it has ever been and the recent economic downturn leaves most feeling anxious about the future. For many of us, our ability to understand what’s happening is thwarted by myths about a classless society even though our own experiences say otherwise.
Read more: Nurturing Community, Building Solidarity: Class Matters
Posted Tuesday, 09 March 2010 15:21 Written by Jess Cullinan
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