An Auction with Heart!

Episode Fifteen in the “A Religion for Our Time” series spotlights the Outreach Auction at Central Unitarian Church (CUC) in Paramus, New Jersey. Inspired by a charity auction at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City, members of CUC are in their tenth year of holding two annual auctions. While the spring auction raises money for the congregation, every dime from the Outreach Auction in the fall goes to local charities.

“Don’t listen to any naysayers, just do it,” says Celia Mendelsohn, co-coordinator of the Outreach Auction. “You will raise funds, even if it’s what you feel might be a modest amount, it’s going to grow over the years. You will not lose money to pledging. You might even see your pledges increase, because it’s a wonderful feeling to belong to a church that does this.”

Joining Voices

Episode Fourteen in the “A Religion for Our Time” series gives a behind-the-scenes look at the joint Association Sunday service planned by seven Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations in South Central Pennsylvania.

Thanks to more than two hundred volunteers, the November 2010 joint service included an orchestra, an intergenerational dance troupe, a robust choir, and a sermon by Unitarian Universalist Association President Rev. Peter Morales. Worshipping together builds community among the congregations and gives participants a sense of the broader UU movement.

“Many of our members have never been UU’s anywhere else,” explains Rev. Judy Welles, co-minister of the UUs of the Cumberland Valley congregation. “So to come into a much larger context…where they see, ‘oh we’re really part of something much bigger,’ is very healthy.”

UUA President Peter Morales Announces New Fund for Human Rights Work in Uganda

In Uganda, citizens are living in fear everyday because of a growing culture of prejudice and oppression against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) people.

Your support of the UUA / UU-UNO LGBT Uganda Fund will provide shelter and support for LGBT citizens and their allies, and help to educate and advocate on behalf of LGBT people everywhere in Uganda. Please donate now at http://www.uua.org/uganda

This is What Undocumented Looks Like

Raul Cardenas and his wife Judy are members of the First Universalist Church of Denver. Raul is a devoted father, husband, home owner -- and he is scheduled to be deported in April 2011. The UUA's Standing on the Side of Love campaign explains how you can take action to keep the Cardenas family together.

To find out more about Standing on the Side of Love, visit http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/

Opening the Doors to Diversity

Episode Thirteen in the "A Religion for Our Time" series illustrates how First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has begun the process of transforming into a multiracial and multicultural congregation. For years, the congregation talked about becoming more diverse, especially as their surrounding neighborhood became home to more and more immigrants.

After learning about the Diversity of Ministry Team (DOMT) Initiative of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), First Parish turned talk into action, and made a commitment to participating in the DOMT Initiative. With support from the UUA, the congregation has engaged in an intentional process of education and conversation about multiculturalism, established a Transformation Team, and called Rev. Lilia Cuervo as the congregation's first settled Latina minister.

"The most difficult part is the preconceptions, the prejudices that people have..." explains Cuervo. "We try to open to other cultures, to appreciate other cultures. Not to 'tolerate,' but to really understand, get to love, and get to embrace other cultures."

The Longest Night

Anika Stafford, author of "Aisha's Moonlit Walk: Stories and Celebrations for the Pagan Year," reads her winter solstice story, "The Longest Night." Episode Five of the "Skinner House Sound Bites" series. Learn more at http://tinyurl.com/SHSoundBites

Un Mensaje Decembrino del Presidente de la UUA - Por el Rvdo. Peter Morales