December 2013
On October 19 members and friends from twelve Oregon congregations gathered at the UU Church of Eugene and selected the following priority issues for 2014:
- Freedom to Marry
- Climate Change
- Income/Poverty
We welcomed Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene and Barbara Ross, former state representative and Wy'east UU Congregation member as special guests.
Freedom to Marry. Marriage matters. When loving Oregon couples must go to Washington to get married instead of in their own community, something is amiss. We need more love in Oregon ! The campaign to qualify this initiative for the November 2014 ballot is at 115,000 signatures now. More are needed to insure that this measure qualifies when it goes through the validation process with the Secretary of State's office next year. There is a strong need to develop grass-roots support for this effort in ALL of Oregon. Every vote will count. In Washington State the freedom to marry won by less than 1%. Your help is needed - now.
Oregon UU Voices "Faithful Conversations" campaign will:
- bring trained UU facilitators to your congregation to offer training in how to engage others in conversation about the freedom to marry. Faithful conversations were a powerful tool that was instrumental in winning the freedom to marry in Washington and Minnesota.
- show the "Coming Out as a Person of Faith" film. Oregonians who are clergy, parents of gay men and lesbians, and LBGT couples share their stories of how their faith compels them to support the freedom to marry. The film is followed by a guided discussion.
- conduct signature gathering training
- provide a Freedom to Marry resource and action kit to your congregation
These programs are offered as either a 2-hour or 1/2 day workshop in "cafeteria style" to suit the needs of your congregation. Oregon UU Voices won a Standing on the Side of Love grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association for this campaign. Contact OR UU Voices to schedule at oregonu...@yahoo.com
CALENDAR
Dec. 11 – Candelight Vigil at Clackamas Town Center to memorialize those who dies in the shootings one year ago. From 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 15-17 Legislative Days. Committee hearings in preparation for the 2014 session. More in our next update on where your voice is most needed.
Feb. 2 - Criminal Justice Sunday - Oregon congregations across the faith spectrum commit to focusing worship services on this issue.
Feb. 3 – 2014 Short Legislative Session Opens
OR UU Voices welcomes Pat Tangeman of West Hills UU Fellowship as our newest board member. More about Pat in our next newsletter.
Ceasefire Oregon needs letters to the editor from Oregonians living outside the Portland metro area in its campaign to pass legislation in the upcoming 2014 session that would require mandatory background checks for firearms purchases.Contract them at ceasefi...@gmail.com.
SB833 - Driver’s Card for Undocumented Persons. A referendum to grant Driver's cards to undocumented persons will go before voters in November 2014. SB 833 was signed into law in the last session and was to supposed to go into effect January 1 2014. Instead a referral will go before voters asking to overturn SB 833. If SB 833 passes at the ballot box in November 2014, the law will go into effect 30 days after the election on December 5. If the law is overturned through a NO vote, undocumented persons will be prohibited from getting a driver ‘s card. Want to get involved in educating and mobilizing Oregon UU’s on this issue ? Contact OR Voices.
Give the Gift of Justice. Become a member of Oregon UU Voices for Justice. Already a member? Then renew your membership. OR UU Voices is a volunteer-powered organization. Your membership keeps our prophetic UU voice alive. Thank you! To join or renew click here http://www.uuvoicesoregon.org/membership.html
OR UU Voices Mission: Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice is a voice of liberal religious conscience in the state of Oregon. We educate and advocate for policies that promote respect, equity, compassion and global stewardship. We seek to empower Unitarian Universalists and their congregations to exercise their prophetic voice for justice in partnership with other organizations with similar goals.
Together, we can make a difference !
The arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice -- Theodore Parker
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