Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A Unitarian Universalist voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
The UU FaithAction NJ annual Fall Issues Conference was held on Saturday, October 19 at Central Unitarian Church in Paramus. This well-attended event featured a panel of criminal justice experts. If you were unable to attend, you can still read the reports by clicking on the link below.
Get Conference Packet Information Here: https://www.uufaithaction.org/?page_id=8284&preview=true
Every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are shot and injured. The effects of gun violence extend far beyond these casualties—gun violence shapes the lives of millions of Americans who witness it, know someone who was shot, or live in fear of the next shooting
Please take a moment to watch this video by UU congregant George Faison.
ICE wants to deport our friend, Maria Gomez Ramos, caring mother of two US citizen children. Her 4 year old son suffers from a rare form of hemophilia. If Maria is deported, her son Josue would either be separated from his mother or sent to a country where he would not receive the treatment that keeps him alive.
It is no secret that many are mocking and maligning those who have come to the United States with the simple desire to work honestly and contribute.
In honor of our Earth on Earth Day and everyday, please take a moment to watch the video attached to this post, made by Rev. Susan Frederick Gray, Unitarian Universalist Association President. To view, please click on Create Climate Justice above.
In no particular order, below are the names and brief biographies of the four individuals nominated to serve on the UU FaithAction NJ Board of Trustees:
Mark T. Williams has over 40 years of psychiatric nursing experience and is ANCC Board Certified in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. He is also certified as a Juvenile Sex Offender Training and Consultation Specialist. He is an Honored Fellow of the Minority Nurse Leadership Institute, Rutgers School of Nursing and has trained at the Multicultural Leadership Academy sponsored by the Mental Health Association in New Jersey. He sits on the Advisory of NAMI New Jersey’s AACT-NOW http://www.naminj.org/programs/AACTNOW/AACTNOW, an African American community mental health out-reach initiative. Mr. Williams has had the honor of serving the past 6 years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Bridgeway Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, http://www.bridgewayrehab.com/ as well as a member of NAMI New Jersey’s Public Policy Committee. Additionally, he is privileged to serve as a trustee on the Board of Wood’s Services, of Langhorne PA.
As the most recent past President and ten year member of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, Mr. Williams championed the establishment of a mental health ministry in the congregation, which lead to them receiving the 2016 Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma Ambassador Award. Although retired, Mr. Williams continues to be a devoted and passionate advocate for the rights of persons diagnosed with a mental illness. This is clearly evident by his successful efforts to lobby the Borough Council of North Plainfield and the County of Somerset Freeholders to pass resolutions establishing the Borough and County as Mental Health Sigma Free zones. Mr. Williams has been an active contributor, in his role as Liaison to the Plainfield Congregation, embracing the mission of UU Faith Action to be the agents of change in New Jersey.
Phillip Lubitz is the Associate Director of NAMI NJ where he is responsible for legislation, advocacy programs and law enforcement education. He currently serves on the New Jersey Behavioral Health Planning Council, where he served for a number of years as Chair and was recently appointed to the Fee for Service Oversight Board by Governor Murphy. He is also responsible for adopting the New Jersey State Plan for supporting the family caregivers of people with a mental illness as a result of legislation he assisted in writing.
Mr. Lubitz is a four time Mayor of Kingwood Township, New Jersey where among other things he has chaired the Affordable Housing Committee, the Board of Adjustment and serve on the open Space Committee. The Township has preserved over a thousand acres of open space during his tenure. Mr. Lubitz also serves as a Commissioner on the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission. The Commission oversees the State’s largest linear park and canal which serves as a fresh water source for 1.5 million New Jersey residents.
He received a BA from the George Washington University and a Masters in Social Work Administration from the Rutgers School of Social Work.
Liandra is a lifelong UU with strong UU values that help guide me. She is the Marketing & Communications Specialist for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades (UUCP), which was created as an intentionally diverse congregation by the UUA. Liandra knows the importance of congregational life, and working with people of all ages, ethnicities, and sexual orientation, who hold a wide diversity of beliefs.
Liandra is the Chair of the UUCP Racial & Social Justice Team where they have already held several successful racial and social justice events as well as being involved with helping the community. She formerly worked for The Student Global Ambassador Program (SGAP Leaders), where she assisted the Executive Director with development, production and implementation of educational programs to empower middle and high school students to become responsible global citizens and future leaders.
Liandra is also very involved with the community. She is the Outreach and Social Media Specialist for Bergen Brady which works to combat Gun Violence. Liandra is a liaison on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force (UUFANJ) as well as a congregational liaison for UUFANJ. She was a Board Member of the Teaneck/FDU Alliance before it disbanded. She worked to integrate the community with Fairleigh Dickinson University and make it a “college friendly” community. Liandra recently started volunteering with the Network For Responsible Public Policy (NFRPP) to be a Marketing Representative who will meet with leaders of community organizations, businesses, clubs, etc. to increase visibility.
Carinne Murphy is an active member and worshipper at Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, NJ. She is a religious education Teacher, a Member of the social justice and women’s alliance committees and she assists the stewardship committee. She is a new Member of the gun violence prevention task force. She found her second home at the Church. She loves the Church community and is happy to be connected with God.
Carinne is married to her high school sweetheart. They have two elementary school aged children, Gia and Geo. She is Treasurer and Secretary of Gia’s registered NJ 501c3 where Gia sells her artwork and all of the profits go to support the homeless and/or the food insecure. Geo has started volunteering with a non-profit where he collects food items for the hungry.
Carinne has a full time career as a corporate paralegal, and she is President of her own limited liability company. She is an Advocate at a sexual assault resource center. She is an Advocate against domestic violence. She is a Chair of an immigrant justice committee. She is an Educator providing community forums on gun violence prevention. She is a of a Member of a military families assistance committee. She is a force locally, in Trenton and in Washington DC, lobbying for fair housing, against jails for profit, for access to healthcare especially for women and for safe environmental policies.
Education:
Ph.D. International Studies, University of Denver 1982
M.A. – Medical Sociology, University of Denver 1980
M.P.H. – Stress & Mental Health, Columbia University 1983
CHES – Certified Health Education Specialist
B.A. – Sociology, German Minor, University of California, Davis 1974
Clara is a retired emeritus faculty member of Temple University’s Department of Public Health, where she taught for twenty-two years. She lived and worked in New York City before moving to Lawrenceville in 1994. She’s worked in underserved areas as diverse as Harlem, Brooklyn, North Philadelphia, El Salvador, Chile, and Costa Rica. She speaks Spanish and German, having lived in Chile, Costa Rica, Germany and Austria. She has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journey’s including the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In 2013, Clara enthusiastically joined UU Congregation of Princeton after learning about UU Faith Action’s active political and policy engagements. At UUCP she and her husband, Bill (Rex) Potter (whom she met at UUCP) are active members at many levels including Buddhist meditation, UUCP’s Sanctuary Team, and Clara is a worship associate. Prior to Trump’s election, Bill and Clara were active members in the Environmental Justice Taskforce. Since Trump’s “coronation”, she has focused her energy on the Immigration Justice Task Force. Clara also volunteers with a Princeton group providing accompaniments for immigrants going to their ICE hearings and check-ins and she also teaching English as a second language once a week at the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Trenton.
UU FaithAction NJ Executive Director Annual Report, 2018-2019
UU FaithAction, alongside our progressive coalition partners, have seen successful action on several of our most important issues—notably an increase in the minimum wage and passage of the independent prosecutor legislation. We have also, in the latter half of 2018 and early part of 2019, experienced a marked slow-down on—and in the case of district gerrymandering, outright opposition to—a whole range of advocacy issues that our collective conscience calls us to consider.
We have also taken several extraordinary steps in our ongoing evolution as an organization, in particular a hard look at the internal working of our Board and staff vis-à-vis gender power dynamics. The release of the UU FaithAction NJ Statement of Recommitment that went out 2 weeks ago as an Education Alert reflects our concerns about these imbalances and other issues of power and oppression. I would direct you to the home page of our website to read this important one-page document if you haven’t already.
We have made other changes this year as well, equally significant. One is the changeover from our first and founding Legal Advocacy Project/LAP chair, Gary Nissenbaum, to our newest supervising attorney, Lina Genovesi. We will be thanking Gary at the end of this business meeting session for his and his staff’s game-changing contribution to UU FaithAction and I have the great pleasure of introducing Lina at the end of my remarks.
In my printed report, and during this summation, I will be weaving the remarkable progress our Task Force chairs, their respective vice chairs and teams as well as FaithAction staff have made on the Signature Legislation/Regulation Initiative. Signature Legislation, as it is known, has been the prime focus of the LAP and a major new piece of work for all of us in leadership. Signature Legislation means UUs in NJ are now not only following others’ lead on major social change in NJ, but have stepped up to the plate to offer that leadership by proposing our own legislative and regulatory changes where there is an observable need.
We began last spring with good news on the state front, though UUs were largely dismayed by ethical and political issues on the national level. 6 Gun Violence Prevention bills were passed and signed into law by Gov. Murphy mid-June 2018, and we were invited to be at the signing. Our hard-working TF chair, Jeannine Clayton-Cole, who will be passing the baton to Kathy Allen Roth next month, also received an award on behalf of FaithAction for our GVP work from the Coalition for Peace Action/Ceasefire NJ that same month.
Many UUs, including our supporters and myself, demonstrated over 5 weeks in Trenton alongside others taking part in the reinvigorated Poor People’s Campaign, and word on the street is that we’ll see more coming from that direction soon. I went to our national General Assembly in part for the annual Council of UU Social Action Networks, or CUUSAN, yearly meeting and participated in joint work among our partner networks alongside the UUA/UU Service Committee’s Love Resists campaign. Nick Lewis and I return to this work at GA in June and I have been asked again to represent FaithAction NJ at another national organizing meeting in July up in Boston.
Other highlights include hard lobbying and demonstrating on behalf of driver’s licenses for immigrants and the undocumented, sponsoring a 2 part lay preaching workshop to inspire social justice preaching led by Board member Rev. Karen Johnston, and renewing efforts to ensure a social justice focus in any future marijuana legalization bill which of course continues to bounce back and forth in the legislature.
We have been central to renewing the push to end solitary confinement as we know it in NJ, have moved towards the final hurdle in the NJ Assembly to pass our very first piece of signature legislation, Address Confidentiality for Reproductive Health Care Workers and Clients, and called for, along with our environmental partners, a complete moratorium on any planning permission for Fossil Fuel infrastructure construction with various oil and gas pipelines and a large natural gas compressor station in the Meadowlands being pushed by industry. I would also lift up our very successful–and highly personal for many of us–rally and campaign in November/December to allow Dreamer and longtime NJ resident, Jorge Chajon, to remain with his family in the US. Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael from Montclair, Rev. Alison Miller from Morristown, Rev. Karen Johnston from E. Brunswick, Rev. Mary Tiebout from Newton and I spent long hours at the Federal Courthouse in Newark supporting the truly amazing work done by new UU and local immigrant advocate, Dr. Kristen Peck, in connecting us with the Chajons and championing their cause for many long and worrisome months.
Other issues UU FaithAction has focused on over the past year includes the following:
Organizationally, UU FaithAction has grown in complexity as well: This past year, we:
Volunteer efforts on the part of the UU FaithAction NJ board, task forces, liaisons, volunteers and congregations compounds our efforts and makes us what we are and are becoming—a real force for moral suasion on statewide issues of mercy and justice . As executive director, I would like to thank the staff, board and all of our volunteers for everything they do. The strength of UU FaithAction rests on its congregational support and the enthusiasm and help of so many of you here today and back in your home communities.
When we act together, we strengthen our power and influence to create a more just and compassionate world.
In faith, with love, for justice,
Rev. Rob Gregson, Executive Director
April 13, 2019
President’s Report, 2018/2019
The past year has been extremely eventful for UU FaithAction on a number of fronts. I will let our Executive Director, Rev. Rob Gregson, detail our many successes over the past year and won’t repeat his recitation here.
However, on a personal level, I do have to say that the demonstration concerning the detention of Jorge Chacon, in the company of his wife and children and friends in Newark was incredibly heart-warming and the fact that our actions helped lead to his release was something that delighted me for the next several weeks. I know it was only one detainee and that the horrible ICE/Trump inhuman machine continues to roll on, but it was nice to win one and to change someone’s life. We bent the bar a little bit towards justice there.
And I also have to note that it was exciting to be in Trenton for the hearings that led to the passage of a significant increase in the minimum wage in New Jersey. The agreement of Governor Murphy, Senate Leader Sweeny and Assembly Leader Coughlin may have made it a fait accompli, but the excitement and pride of all of our coalition partners who had been working on this for years was palpable and made my opportunity to testify especially meaningful. It is these kinds of celebrations of progress that makes all of the frustrations of the past worthwhile.
Our Task Forces have been energized by the opportunities to make a difference and have been doing incredible work. I am sure that many of you know that we have been pushing our own Signature Legislation, which you will hear more about. Our proposed regulation regarding the administration of video visitation in the jails was accepted by the Department of Corrections and has changed the lives of prisoners and their families. And our first piece of legislation, concerning confidentiality for workers and clients at clinics will hopefully be signed into law this year. Those Task Forces will continue to bend the bar towards justice, with the help of our new Legal Advocacy Program Director, Lina Genovesi.
On the Board level, we have been doing the sometimes boring, but vital work that keeps our organization functioning. We have adopted a detailed financial policy, created an Endowment Fund, revitalized our Nominating Committee and, after ten years of operation, created a new Affiliation Agreement, which reflects our expanded focus and our role as the only state-wide UU organization. At the same time, we have been doing the important work of looking inward at our own operations to address any white supremacy and paternalism that might prevent us form being the organization that we should be.
We have also been busy on the education front, holding a number of events, in addition to the information that you can get form going onto our website or getting involved with one of our Task Forces. Our Economics Justice Task Force sponsored an eye-opening seminar on economic inequality at East Brunswick in January. In February, the Princeton Congregation hosted a fascinating conference on immigration, featuring Matt Katz, a reporter from WNYC who has done important work in this area. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Morristown hosted an informative talk by Professor Meghan Sacks, Assoc. Professor of Criminology and Criminology Program Director, Fairleigh Dickinson University, on the problems associated with mass incarceration. The Board and I are convinced that this is a crucial part of our role in leading UU Social Action in the state. We know that well informed UUs are even more committed to doing justice work.
Our Board has been somewhat under-populated for the past year, which makes our administrative achievements all the more noteworthy. I am excited by the nomination of impressive new Board members, which you will vote on at this Plenary Meeting. Our expanded Board will be able to do even more in the coming year to make sure that FaithAction continues to be a leader in social action and liberal religious advocacy in the State of New Jersey.
Finally, it is important to note that all of this takes money. Our budget it small, but we accomplish a lot with the money that we are able to raise. But think how much more we could do, how much more we could bend the bar towards justice, how many lives we might be able change for the better if we had a little more money. We are incredibly grateful for all of our supporters and hope that you will consider an extremely generous contribution, either by making a donation at the Plenary meeting or going on line to give.
Report Concerning the UULMNJ Public Policy Network
The Public Policy Network is a sister organization to FaithAction (and to the UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey before it). Established under 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code, its function is to pay excess lobbying expenses that would otherwise have been incurred by FaithAction and which, if paid by FaithAction, would exceed the statutory limit, thereby imperiling FaithAction’s tax-exempt status. Because no such payments have been required to be made by the Public Policy Network to date and it is not anticipated that such payments will be needed in the immediate future, that organization was placed in dormancy two years ago in order to save needless operating costs and it has remained in that state during this past year. However, it should be noted that our tradition is that the Board of the Public Policy Network participates fully in all Board functions and that it would be nearly impossible for us to function well without this support.
Economic Justice Task Force (EJTF) Plenary Report – April 13, 2019
EJTF has reached a point of stability after a couple of years of floundering. Our monthly videoconference meetings have a consistent group of attendees and we started the year with a workshop/educational event at which about 20 UUs explored income inequality under the guidance of an experienced facilitator. Those of us who participated feel like we gained valuable context for virtually all of social justice aspirations, grounding them in a multi-generational struggle to secure liberties which have been strategically undermined by wealthy and powerful interests which joined to reverse the people-powered wave built in the aftermath of World War II.
Legal Advocacy Signature Legislation
EJTF’s “signature legislation” to minimize or eliminate the stigma of those receiving free and reduced price lunches stalled because of broader legislation making its way through the NJ legislature. After meeting with Assemblywoman Sumter about her own school-lunch bill and speaking with Assemblyman Caputo’s office about his own more-comprehensive education bill which includes anti-stigma protections, we advocated for stronger language to assign responsibility firmly on individual schools to make sure free and reduced lunches got to those entitled fairly and effectively. The process was a bit of advocacy mixed with general coalition-building to expand UUFA’s influence in the legislature and position as faith advocates.
Changes to the Legal Advocacy Project itself call for a new examination of our efforts and better strategic thinking about how to identify potential advocates among our representatives, supporting their efforts while pushing them towards an even more-expansive view of government stewardship of individual opportunity and liberty.
Initiatives and Issues
Jerry Fried, Economic Justice Task Force Chair, UU Faith Action NJ
jerryfriedhome@gmail.com
Chuck Collins is an author and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is also co-founder of Wealth for Common Good. He is an expert on economic inequality in the US, and has pioneered efforts to bring together investors and business leaders to speak out publicly against corporate practices and economic policies that increase economic inequality.
Collins has written a number of books about inequality, tax policy and social change philanthropy. In 2000, he co-authored the book, Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change. In 2000 (revised in 2005), he co-authored with Felice Yeskel Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity. Collins is coauthor, with William H. Gates Sr, of the 2003 book, Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, which argues that the estate tax is both fair and necessary. In 2013, he authored 99 to 1: How Wealth Inequality is Wrecking the World and What We Can Do About It. His most recent book is Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good.
Between 1983 and 1991, Collins worked at the Institute for Community Economics, based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, providing technical advice to community land trusts and mobile home resident cooperatives. Between 1991 and 1995, he was director of the HOME Coalition in Massachusetts and a field organizer for the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts (now the Mass Budget and Policy Center). In 1995, he co-founded, with Felice Yeskel and S.M. Miller, United for a Fair Economy in Boston, Massachusetts, a left-leaning national organization devoted to education about growing income and wealth inequality.
Collins has worked with a number of prominent wealthy individuals, including William H. Gates, Sr. and George Soros, in an effort to promote tax equity.
In 2005, he became a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits the web site, Inequality.org and directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. In 2008, he cofounded Wealth for the Common Good, which subsequently merged in 2015 with the Patriotic Millionaires.
At the Institute for Policy Studies, Collins’ research has looked at income and wealth inequality and the racial wealth divide. He has co-authored a number of studies including “Billionaire Bonanza” exploring the share of wealth flowing to the top 1 percent and Forbes 400, and the “Ever Growing Gap”, which examines the future of the racial wealth divide.
