Vigil/Protest today at 5 at City Hall re: overturning of Roe v. Wade

[rzflowi...@gmail.com]

Friends,

There will be a peaceful vigil.protest regarding the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade at Flagstaff City Hall today at 5 PM. (May 3, 2022) 

A LETTER FROM JANINE GELSINGER, EXEC DIR AT UUJAZ with more actions you might take: 

Hi friends,

We've been hearing from our partners at Planned Parenthood and in the AZ repro justice coalition for almost a year, making contingency plans for the overturn of Roe v. Wade. After today's leaked information it looks like it may come even soon than June. 

Regardless of when the court ruling is published, tonight many folks are already in need of pastoral care after seeing the leaked ruling.

I'm going to separate this email into two sections: immediate needs, and longer term plans.

Immediate needs

1) Put on your mask first 

All of y'all know what you need for spiritual practice and what helps you stay grounded. Reach out if you need care personally, and be there for each other as religious professionals. It's okay to move things off your calendar so you can care for yourself as you care for others. This is an all-hands situation.

2) A vigil for reproductive justice

I'm sure there will be many folks in your own  congregations who need care. Maybe more than you have time in the day for. Consider opening up the church for some caring circles, a vigil, something. There are resources on Side With Love here in the repro justice section for chalice lightings, readings, prayers, etc. Don't over think it... people need somewhere to go and they don't care if it's perfect. https://sidewithlove.org/reproductive-justice-worship

3) Community Pastoral Care

I have 7 not-yet-UUs in my inbox already asking me where they can go or who they can call to talk to someone, and I'm sure we will wake up to more. If you're a minister or another religious professional who provides pastoral care, or even if you can activate your lay pastoral teams, we really need you. Please consider making a phone number available to text or call. You can set up a Google voice number and have folks take shifts, whatever works. If you do end up holding a vigil tomorrow, or even open hours at your church, please let me know so I can spread the word. I also have an open post on my Facebook where people can connect with other folks around pastoral care, so feel free to post there too.

4) Trump Bump 2.0?

It's very possible you are going to see more visitors than usual this Sunday. Especially if you hold a vigil and/or make your UU stance for repro justice public on your social media and through your emails. Folks who have been considering a visit for a while may find this the push they needed. Folks who have been hesitating being in person may find it hard to be without their people. Give your membership/welcoming/hospitality teams a heads up that they might see more people, and those folks might be feeling lots of feelings. Put your gentle and loving folks out front. Maybe ask them to wear pink, and their Planned Parenthood shirts and buttons too, if you like.

Longer Term Needs

5) Organizing for Community Care

We've been working with partners across the state in the repro justice coalition to mobilize folks across state lines for reproductive care. We will be sending out emails for volunteers when they are needed. If anyone in your church brings this up or is interested, please connect us with them! We know a lot of elders carry this organizing wisdom from when they were young the first time, and we can learn from their experience. If we all work together with the repro justice coalition, instead of each setting up separate efforts, the hands will be many and the load will be light.

If you are of reproductive age, have healthcare and funds available to you, and can get an Rx for Plan B so that it's cheaper... or if you have funds to purchase it over the counter and stockpile, please do. Consider having an emergency stash in your congregation. I know some of you have done this already. Thank you so much.

6) One Election Can Save This in AZ!

A brief political history, and my apologies if you already know this. There are *already* laws on the books in AZ that criminalize abortion. People can be arrested on day one if/when Roe falls... patients and providers. There is not a way to influence this at the supreme court. All of our political partners are agreed on this. Although I'm sure there will be protests planned, and you can feel free to go if it feels good to march and yell, it's not that strategic. (PPAZ will do them, but the strategy is to get folks to donate and get connected to their organizing, which is great too). But what IS absolutely a strategic solution, is the Maricopa County Attorney race, this upcoming November.

If you live anywhere other than Maricopa or Pima county, your folks already have to drive to Phoenix or Tucson for an abortion. So the Maricopa county attorney election will determine whether abortion is criminalized for everyone in the entire state. Because of this, it can't be thought of as just a Phoenix race.

UUJAZ cannot tell you which candidate to vote for, but what we can and will do is run a series of political education events and emails this summer on the importance of the county attorney seat, prosecutorial discretion, how one candidate has committed over and over that she will NOT prosecute abortion patients or providers in Arizona, and how crucial that race is.

7) Speakers in collars

If you are willing to speak about abortion rights in your collar, please let me know so I can give your contact to Planned Parenthood AZ. To be clear, this means people of all genders, men too, as this is a place where allyship matters.

Please let me know what other information is helpful to support you in spreading this message. You'll hear more from our team on this over the next several weeks and months. Feel free to forward this message on to your social justice teams, lay leaders, worship planners, whoever. Nothing in this email is secret that I wouldn't tell everyone who asked, so I'll leave it to your discretion.

Thanks everyone for the incredible work you do caring for each other and your communities. Sending you love and resilience.

In community,

Janine Gelsinger
(she/her)
Executive Director
Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona (UUJAZ)