“Don’t ask if we are safe. Ask if we are ready,” Rev. David Breeden said in a recent talk. Our Social Justice program helps us be ready for the changes that are here and those that are coming. We join together in actions that are meaningful for our congregation, our community, and the world.
Rev. Kelli Clement, Assistant Minister, oversees our Social Justice Program. If you want to connect more deeply to your humanity and to other Unitarian Universalists who are working for justice, your presence, energy, and passion are needed and welcome.
Social justice programs
At FUS, congregants and staff work in five key areas to help bring about a more just and loving world:
Active Voices
Building community, engaging on issues, promoting advocacy. Read our latest advocacy efforts.
Align Engagement Team
Joining other congregations to address homelessness through our partner Align Minneapolis.
Climate Justice Team
Promoting environmental stewardship & a just transition to clean energy, in partnership with MNIPL, MN350, and Create Climate Justice.
Moving Toward Equity Team
Uncovering barriers to diversity, inclusion, and equity at FUS and beyond. Read our resource list. Learn more about the 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism.
Reproductive freedom and justice
Affirming each person’s right to bodily autonomy. Join the movement for reproductive freedom at UnRestrict MN.
News
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Community Newspapers Build Connections
Community newspapers have been disappearing as print ads and subscriptions collapse. The U.S. has witnessed the demise of over 2,500 local papers since 2005, and that has resulted in “news deserts”. Research shows that without local newspapers, voter turnout in local elections and other forms of civic participation decline. Without local journalist watchdogs, local governments’ corruption increases. Without a reliable… Read…
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Learn the Truth about Indian Boarding Schools
Legislation creating the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies (SF1723) will be voted upon in the upcoming Senate session. From the late 1870s to the 1960s, the U.S. Government collaborated with Christian churches to remove native children from their homes in order “to civilize them” away from the influences of their families.… Read…
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Save Our Water
The city of Elko New Market is rushing through plans for California-based Niagara Bottling to build a factory in Elko New Market, with the intent to sell 310 million gallons each year of groundwater from the Prairie du Chien Jordan aquifer, all in single use plastic bottles. Before an amendment to the Elko New Market… Read…
Social justice video
Transcript
The Social Justice Program at First Unitarian Society is robust, grounded in anti-racism, and open to new ideas and participation. Congregants and staff work together across 5 key areas to help bring about a more just and loving world.
The Active Voices Team builds community, offers engagement on issues, and promotes advocacy from the local to the national level.
The FUS Align Engagement Team works with our partners at Align Minneapolis, a collaboration of downtown congregations that addresses homelessness in our city. We are accountable to people with a lived experience of homelessness.
The Climate Justice Team, working with other congregations and organizations, offers opportunities to learn about and promote environmental stewardship and a just transition to a clean energy future.
The Moving Toward Equity Team engages with our Board, congregants, and staff to increase diversity, inclusion, and equity in our congregation. We are committed to dismantling white supremacy culture and other oppressions in ourselves and in our communities.
And finally, in the fight for reproductive freedom and justice, First Unitarian Society is a founding member of UnRestrict Minnesota, a statewide community supported campaign to raise awareness about abortion restrictions in our state. FUS is a plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenges those mandates as unconstitutional.
Cornel West said, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” We are committed to making that love manifest through advocacy, education, service, and witness. There are dozens of ways for you to get engaged with these efforts, which we think both deepen and soften our humanity. We’ve got lots of room for new ideas and new energy for change. Join us, won’t you?
More
Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance
Reach out
