UUFP Social Action at GA 2008

UUFP Social Action at GA 2008

Dear UUFP member,
Included below you will find three Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAIs) that will be voted on at this year's General Assemblytaking place from June 25-29 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.If approved, these CSAIs will become Statements of Conscience (SOCs) adopted by the UUA as policy. You will also find nine proposed Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) topics. If adopted by GA delegates, these AIWs can be used by congregations in local efforts and empower the Washington Office for Advocacy to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other UU groups.
We would like to solicit UUFP members' feedback on these CSAIs and AIWs for our two attending GA delegates, Chris Antal and Pat Sullivan. Your response will help our delegates be better informed about the consensus in our Fellowship regarding these issues. Would you please take a few minutes to read about these CSAIs and AIWs by clicking on the links included below? Please also read about the Social Witness Process in general, of which the SOCs and AIWs are a part. Your response can be sent until June 23 to my e-mail address, bobbomersbach@yahoo.com. Please clearly indicate which CSAIs and/or AIWs your are addressing and provide a Summary of your view for each, clearly indicating whether you support or oppose each of the CSAI's and AIW's adoption by the GA.
I had hoped to attend GA myself this year but due to a family committment will now not be able to do so. Nonetheless, I would like to play a supportive role by gathering as much information as possible for Chris and Pat in advance of GA. Many thanks for your participation in this process, should you so choose.
In fellowship,
Bob Bomersbach
Chair of Denominational Affairs
About the Social Witness Process

While called by various names, the social witness process is the method by which the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) comes to understand and act on the social issues of our times, finally bearing witness through statements adopted as UUA policy by the delegates of a General Assembly. The process has been an integral part of our faith the since the merger between the Unitarians and the Universalists in 1961. This process is congregationally driven and is facilitated by the Commission on Social Witness.
Congregational Study Action Issues (CSAIs) and Statements of Conscience (SOC) Initially called "General Resolutions," the delegates at the 1996 General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, adopted a process through which we spent two years in study and action on adopted social justice issues before taking positions on these issues in the form of Statements of Conscience (SOCs). Delegates at the 2006 General Assembly in St Louis, Missouri, approved further changes, extending the time of study and action from two years to three before considering and voting on a Statement of Conscience on this issue. If a SOC is adopted, a fourth year is dedicated to implementation, with a report due at the ensuing GA.
Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAI Links:)

Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice
Nuclear Disarmament
Peacemaking

Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW)

Sometimes, the CSAI/SOC process cannot effectively deal with all issues. Important concerns may arise after the cut-off date for new Study/Action Issues. At other times, issues emerge which require a response relating to an event which will occur before a Statement of Conscience would be able to respond. Unlike a Statement of Conscience, an AIW does not carry the full authority of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA); rather, it expresses the conscience of the delegates at the GA at which it is passed. This difference follows from the difference in procedure: Congregational Study/Action Issues are initiated by congregations or districts or specified UUA sponsored organizations and move through a three-year period of study and action with opportunities for congregational and district comment. There are no such opportunities for AIWs, which are initiated by individuals and move through their entire creation and adoption process during one GA. Nonetheless, AIWs are also the product of considerable thought, collaboration, and commitment. The AIW process allows Unitarian Universalists to respond quickly to social issues deemed urgent. Adopted AIWs are used by congregations in local efforts and empower the Washington Office for Advocacy to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other UU groups.
AIW Topics:

Topic Title: Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $10 in 2010
Description: Support the interfaith coalition Let Justice Roll of which the UUA & UUSC are members to raise the federal minimum wage to $10 in 2010 to get closer to establishing a living wage. Contact: Barbara Burnham, barbburn2 @ aol.com
Topic Title: Resolution on Ending the Slavery in the Fields
Description: Support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers by joining the Petition Campaign to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields as well as joining the Campaign for Fair Food. Contact: Fred Seidl, fwseidl @ yahoo.com
Topic Title: Uphold U.S. Constitution Article 6; Truth and Consequence
Description: The subject of the witness is failure of U.S. government officers to comply with international law by making war on Iraq and conventions of war while occupying Iraq. The object of the witness is to uphold the treaties incorporated by Article 6, through the Constitutional reconciliation process of investigating official behaviors and constructively enforcing consequences for high crimes and misdemeanors. Contact: Leif Johnson, leif65 @ gmail.com
Topic Title: Military Veterans & Teaching Professionals Alliance
Description: In order to save our teenage children from the unfair and immoral practice of military recruiting that so often leads to their death and to the mass murder of innocent civilians, UU Military Veterans & Teaching Professionals Alliance (UUMVTPA) proposes a nationwide campaign to halt this illegal use of our public school campuses as recruiting grounds for the Iraq-Afghanistan killing fields. UUMVTPA is in its first year, based at UUCA in Atlanta, and has begun a local program that should be expanded nationwide, to provide a force of military veterans and teaching professionals as a counter-recruiting element on public school campuses. Contact: Michael J. Burke, burbros2 @ yahoo.com
Topic Title: Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion
Description: Religious leaders and traditions forged this document to grow compassion for all beings and express their lives of faith by concrete actions that improve nonhuman animals' well being and reduce their suffering. This AIW asks the UU General Assembly to sign on to this document as a body and encourage member congregations to study this issue and take corresponding action to reduce the substantial and acute suffering of nonhuman animals. Contact: Rev. LoraKim Joyner, D.V.M., amoloros @ juno.com
Topic Title: Iran
Description: The United States should not attack Iran or support such an attack by an ally. The AIW supports a diplomatic resolution of allegations about an Iranian nuclear weapons program, including inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and steps toward global nuclear disarmament. Contact: David Keppel, keppel @ sbcglobal.net
Topic Title: Opposition to the Florida "Marriage Protection" Constitutional Amendment
Description: Florida Unitarian Universalists are organizing to defeat the so called Marriage Protection Amendment to the Florida Constitution. This AIW would ask for the official support of the General Assembly for this effort and urge congregations and their members to help us in this work. Contact: The Rev. Kathleen Korb, kdkorb @ earthlink.net
Topic Title: Nuclear Power
Description: Nuclear power should not be used as a means of cutting greenhouse gases, because it is not an effective means of doing so, even though it does not emit the carbon dioxide that fossil fuels do. There are other problems with nuclear power, such as cost, non-proliferation, waste, and safety. Contact: David Keppel, keppel @ sbcglobal.net
Topic Title: End Male Circumcision
Description: End the practice of performing male circumcision for any reason other than a medical emergency. Male circumcision violates many UU principles including equality (women are legally protected from circumcision in this country, men are not) and freedom of choice (males are circumcised without their consent). Contact: James, jamesoutwest @ yahoo.com

To contact the fellowship

To contact the website

UUFP Social Action at GA 2008






	Dear UUFP member, Included below you will find three Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAIs) that will be voted on at this year's General Assemblytaking place from June 25-29 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.If approved, these CSAIs will become Statements of Conscience (SOCs) adopted by the UUA as policy. You will also find nine proposed Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) topics. If adopted by GA delegates, these AIWs can be used by congregations in local efforts and empower the Washington Office for Advocacy to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other UU groups. We would like to solicit UUFP members' feedback on these CSAIs and AIWs for our two attending GA delegates, Chris Antal and Pat Sullivan. Your response will help our delegates be better informed about the consensus in our Fellowship regarding these issues. Would you please take a few minutes to read about these CSAIs and AIWs by clicking on the links included below? Please also read about the Social Witness Process in general, of which the SOCs and AIWs are a part. Your response can be sent until June 23 to my e-mail address, bobbomersbach@yahoo.com. Please clearly indicate which CSAIs and/or AIWs your are addressing and provide a Summary of your view for each, clearly indicating whether you support or oppose each of the CSAI's and AIW's adoption by the GA. I had hoped to attend GA myself this year but due to a family committment will now not be able to do so. Nonetheless, I would like to play a supportive role by gathering as much information as possible for Chris and Pat in advance of GA. Many thanks for your participation in this process, should you so choose. In fellowship, Bob Bomersbach Chair of Denominational Affairs About the Social Witness Process While called by various names, the social witness process is the method by which the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) comes to understand and act on the social issues of our times, finally bearing witness through statements adopted as UUA policy by the delegates of a General Assembly. The process has been an integral part of our faith the since the merger between the Unitarians and the Universalists in 1961. This process is congregationally driven and is facilitated by the Commission on Social Witness. Congregational Study Action Issues (CSAIs) and Statements of Conscience (SOC) Initially called "General Resolutions," the delegates at the 1996 General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, adopted a process through which we spent two years in study and action on adopted social justice issues before taking positions on these issues in the form of Statements of Conscience (SOCs). Delegates at the 2006 General Assembly in St Louis, Missouri, approved further changes, extending the time of study and action from two years to three before considering and voting on a Statement of Conscience on this issue. If a SOC is adopted, a fourth year is dedicated to implementation, with a report due at the ensuing GA. Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAI Links:) Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice Nuclear Disarmament Peacemaking Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) Sometimes, the CSAI/SOC process cannot effectively deal with all issues. Important concerns may arise after the cut-off date for new Study/Action Issues. At other times, issues emerge which require a response relating to an event which will occur before a Statement of Conscience would be able to respond. Unlike a Statement of Conscience, an AIW does not carry the full authority of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA); rather, it expresses the conscience of the delegates at the GA at which it is passed. This difference follows from the difference in procedure: Congregational Study/Action Issues are initiated by congregations or districts or specified UUA sponsored organizations and move through a three-year period of study and action with opportunities for congregational and district comment. There are no such opportunities for AIWs, which are initiated by individuals and move through their entire creation and adoption process during one GA. Nonetheless, AIWs are also the product of considerable thought, collaboration, and commitment. The AIW process allows Unitarian Universalists to respond quickly to social issues deemed urgent. Adopted AIWs are used by congregations in local efforts and empower the Washington Office for Advocacy to take action and recommend action through other departments of the UUA and other UU groups. AIW Topics: Topic Title: Raise the Federal Minimum Wage to $10 in 2010 Description: Support the interfaith coalition Let Justice Roll of which the UUA & UUSC are members to raise the federal minimum wage to $10 in 2010 to get closer to establishing a living wage. Contact: Barbara Burnham, barbburn2 @ aol.com Topic Title: Resolution on Ending the Slavery in the Fields Description: Support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers by joining the Petition Campaign to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields as well as joining the Campaign for Fair Food. Contact: Fred Seidl, fwseidl @ yahoo.com Topic Title: Uphold U.S. Constitution Article 6; Truth and Consequence Description: The subject of the witness is failure of U.S. government officers to comply with international law by making war on Iraq and conventions of war while occupying Iraq. The object of the witness is to uphold the treaties incorporated by Article 6, through the Constitutional reconciliation process of investigating official behaviors and constructively enforcing consequences for high crimes and misdemeanors. Contact: Leif Johnson, leif65 @ gmail.com Topic Title: Military Veterans & Teaching Professionals Alliance Description: In order to save our teenage children from the unfair and immoral practice of military recruiting that so often leads to their death and to the mass murder of innocent civilians, UU Military Veterans & Teaching Professionals Alliance (UUMVTPA) proposes a nationwide campaign to halt this illegal use of our public school campuses as recruiting grounds for the Iraq-Afghanistan killing fields. UUMVTPA is in its first year, based at UUCA in Atlanta, and has begun a local program that should be expanded nationwide, to provide a force of military veterans and teaching professionals as a counter-recruiting element on public school campuses. Contact: Michael J. Burke, burbros2 @ yahoo.com Topic Title: Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion Description: Religious leaders and traditions forged this document to grow compassion for all beings and express their lives of faith by concrete actions that improve nonhuman animals' well being and reduce their suffering. This AIW asks the UU General Assembly to sign on to this document as a body and encourage member congregations to study this issue and take corresponding action to reduce the substantial and acute suffering of nonhuman animals. Contact: Rev. LoraKim Joyner, D.V.M., amoloros @ juno.com Topic Title: Iran Description: The United States should not attack Iran or support such an attack by an ally. The AIW supports a diplomatic resolution of allegations about an Iranian nuclear weapons program, including inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and steps toward global nuclear disarmament. Contact: David Keppel, keppel @ sbcglobal.net Topic Title: Opposition to the Florida "Marriage Protection" Constitutional Amendment Description: Florida Unitarian Universalists are organizing to defeat the so called Marriage Protection Amendment to the Florida Constitution. This AIW would ask for the official support of the General Assembly for this effort and urge congregations and their members to help us in this work. Contact: The Rev. Kathleen Korb, kdkorb @ earthlink.net Topic Title: Nuclear Power Description: Nuclear power should not be used as a means of cutting greenhouse gases, because it is not an effective means of doing so, even though it does not emit the carbon dioxide that fossil fuels do. There are other problems with nuclear power, such as cost, non-proliferation, waste, and safety. Contact: David Keppel, keppel @ sbcglobal.net Topic Title: End Male Circumcision Description: End the practice of performing male circumcision for any reason other than a medical emergency. Male circumcision violates many UU principles including equality (women are legally protected from circumcision in this country, men are not) and freedom of choice (males are circumcised without their consent). Contact: James, jamesoutwest @ yahoo.com To contact the fellowship To contact the website