AFTERSHOCK documentary screening & discussion
2023-04-03 18:00 (America/New_York) | TCNJ Library, 2000 Pennington Rd, Ewing Township,, NJ, 08618, United States
During the National Public Health Week, The College of New Jersey’s Public Health Department is honored to be able to bring a special screening event on Campus – the documentary AFTERSHOCK!
Aftershock examines one of the most pressing and shameful national crises in America and the growing movement that surrounds it: The U.S. maternal-mortality crisis.
April 3, 2023
6:00pm
TCNJ Library Auditorium
Discussion will be lead by Dr. Natasha Patterson
The seats are limited, please RSVP as early as possible or use the QR code in the attached flyer.

RSVP HERE

CER BIPOC Gathering
2023-04-03 18:30 - 20:00, 2023-05-01 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
If you identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of color (BIPOC), you’re invited to join us for the UUA Central East Region’s BIPOC gathering happening once a month on a Monday at 6:30pm ET.
In our gatherings we are joined by lay folks of color, lay leaders of color and/or religious professionals of color to be in community. Our conversations focus on topics like wellness and resilience and our goal is to center BIPOC experiences and create space to explore our UU experiences.
Please email Sana Saeed, ssaeed@uua.org or Paula Cole Jones pcolejones@gmail.com for Zoom information.
Event Info: https://www.uua.org/central-east/calendar/cer-bipoc-jan-22

Congregational Liaisons Monthly Call
2023-04-04 19:00 - 20:00, 2023-05-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Held the first Tuesday of every month, our organizing call for all UU FaithAction NJ Congregational Liaisons.
If you are interested in our Congregational Liaisons program, please contact Administrator Emily Parker at admin@uufaithaction.org or at ‪(908) 767-5145‬.

6th Annual Black Maternal Health Conference
2023-04-07 09:00 - 18:00 | Tufts University School of Medicine, Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, United States
6th Annual Black Maternal Health Conference
“Centering the Role of Nurses and Midwives in Addressing Maternal Health Inequities”
Friday, April 7th, 2023
9 am – 6 pm
In-person & online
REGISTER TODAY

We are excited to host our 6th annual Black Maternal Health Conference (BMHC)! Get ready to be part of an enlightening day of not only learning about Black maternal health but also connecting with a variety of stakeholders including but not limited to nurses, midwives and clinicians who all have a vested interest in Black maternal health.
Each year the BMHC, led by Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, selects a specific theme within Black maternal health disparities to focus on. The theme for this year is: “Centering the Role of Nurses and Midwives in Addressing the Black Maternal Health Crisis”. This conference will benefit public health/medical professionals, community organizers, students and anyone invested in supporting the advancement of Black maternal health. This year’s conference will be held as a hybrid event (virtual and in-person). Please note that in-person seating is limited and information about the physical location is forthcoming. If interested, you can also receive Continued Medical Education credits (CMEs) by attending the conference.

The 2023 Black Maternal Health Conference Goals:

Recognize and understand the roles nurses and midwives play in improving maternal health care for Black birthing people.
Identify how health professionals can improve the Black maternal health experience.
Understand the role that bias and systemic racism plays in causing adverse maternal health outcomes for Black women in the U.S.
Facilitate conversations between health professionals and the community at large on ways to become advocates and improve Black maternal healthcare.

REGISTER TODAY

Current Revolution Screening
2023-04-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Rd, Morristown, 07960
Current Revolution Screening
April 8, 2023 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Join us on Saturday, April 8, at 4 pm for a free documentary film screening and discussion about the possibility of a just transition to a clean energy economy.
Current Revolution, a series of short films from the American Resilience Project (https://www.amresproject.org/), explores the transition from fossil fuels to renewables with a focus on national security, economic prosperity, and environmental justice.
These three films (72 minutes total) show how our nation can embrace smart policies and investments that support grid modernization through distributed renewable energy generation while ensuring that the transition is just and sustainable.
This free screening at the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is by arrangement with Interfaith Power & Light.

Taproot: A National BIPOC Gathering
2023-04-13 20:00 - 21:15 | Zoom
This space is explicitly for people identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC).
Click Here to Register
The work of spiritual community is complicated in the 21st century. From busy schedules to the ever pressing tension brought on by systemic injustice, the need for faithful leadership that is grounded and resilient is imperative. This is all the more true for leaders within our communities and congregations who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). All too aware of this need, Congregational Life is excited to explore and co-create a network with congregational leaders that support them in this time in emergent ways through Taproot: A National BIPOC Space. The organizing pillars of this collective is:

Rest & Renewal
Analysis Building
Leadership Development

BIPoC Leaders rooted in the Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in this monthly, virtual gathering as we explore these pillars in creating means by which to ground ourselves in resilient communities of care.
All participants are asked to register for this event, you will receive the zoom connection information in your confirmation email.
Contacts: Tyler Coles, tcoles@uua.org, Summer Albayati, SAlbayati@uua.org, Sana Saeed, ssaeed@uua.org
This groups meets the second Thursday of every month, September through May.

FAIR (Youth Group)
2023-04-13 20:30 - 21:30 | Zoom
F.A.I.R. is an interfaith group of youth in grades 8-12 from across NJ and PA. Our goal: To work to incorporate racial bias education into NJ and PA school systems and provide educational opportunities to our community’s on the topic of race.
We meet every other Thursday at 7:30 PM on Zoom. Sign up here!
Find us on Instagram @faithactionyouth_
Contact us at fair@uufaithaction.org if you have any questions or concerns!
Contact our adult advisors: Rev. Rob Gregson at rob@uufaithaction.org, or Laura Kushner at laura@uufaithaction.org.

"Black In Our Hands" Black Maternal Health Conference
2023-04-15 10:00 - 13:00 | Greater Mt. Zion AME Church, 34 Pennington Ave, Trenton, NJ, United States
Sat, Apr 15 | Greater Mt Zion AME Church
Trenton
Black In Our Hands
A Black Maternal Health Conference
On Saturday, April 15, 2023, from 10 am to 1 pm, we will be hosting a FREE EVENT at Greater Mt. Zion AME Church in Trenton, New Jersey about restoring Black maternal health! We will be discussing how Black maternal health has changed over the centuries and why it’s important that Black mothers and their babies are Black in our Hands.
Our goal is to host 100 Black women living in and around the City of Trenton to discuss Trenton’s Black Maternal Health.
https://www.sandsj.org/event-details/black-in-our-hands

Criminal Justice Reform Monthly Conference Call
2023-04-17 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Join us on the third Monday of the month from 7–8 PM for our UU statewide Criminal Justice Reform call, where we strategize around issues like racial justice, mass incarceration, prison conditions and more.
For the Zoom or phone dial-up information to join the call, and/or to get on the email list for upcoming meetings and events, please contact admin@uufaithaction.org.

Art and Activism with Beverly Naidus
2023-04-18 21:30 | NJ, United States
Art & Activism with Beverly Naidus

Community Alliance for Global Justice
Monthly Organizing Meeting

JOIN US THIS TUES, APR 18, 6:30 – 8:00PM
REGISTER for Zoom link

Environmental Justice Task Force monthly call
2023-04-19 15:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Monthly Environmental Justice Task Force meeting to discuss current issues, updates and strategies

Would you like to join in the conversation, find out what’s going on *now* in New Jersey around environmental justice? Then join our statewide call held the 1st Thursday of every month at 12 noon sharp. All are invited.
For more info and to join the call, contact Environmental Justice Task Force co-chairs, Peggy Middaugh and Ray Nichols (environment@uufaithaction.org), or administrator Emily Parker (admin@uufaithaction.org).
Call hosted by Environmental Justice Task Force co-chairs, Peggy Middaugh (UU Congregation of Ocean County) and Ray Nichols (UU in Princeton Congregation).

The 1619 Project Common Read
2023-04-19 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The UU FaithAction NJ Reparations Task Force is pleased to announce the common read of The 1619 Project, edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein.
The schedule will consist of five Wednesday evening meetings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, all sessions via Zoom.
Our common read is free; the book costs $38. Please contact admin@uufaithaction.org if cost would be a barrier to your participation.
Sign-up below, and SHARE with friends and your congregation!

CER Networking Sessions
2023-04-20 12:30 - 14:00, 2023-04-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
This year the Central East Region of the UUA is offering a series of Networking Calls for congregational staff and leaders to participate in. Instead of dividing up by geography, we’re offering two times on each date for you to choose from. Come to one or to all. CER staff will be on each call to answer questions, but our main focus will be what you can learn from and share with each other.
Four dates, two time slots each date. You can join us at 12:30-2 pm ET or 6-7:30 pm ET on September 15, November 10, January 19 and April 20.
Please reach out to your primary contact or email cer@uua.org for connection information. We look forward to seeing you there!

"March for Our Lives" Gun & Police Violence Prevention Rally
2023-04-20 15:00 - 19:00 | State House Annex Steps, Trenton, NJ, United States
March for Our Lives (MFOL) is organizing, and CFPA is co-sponsoring a Rally at the Trenton State House Annex on the anniversary of the Columbine shooting this Thursday, April 20th, starting at 3:00 PM.
Legislation addressing police violence, safe gun storage, and same day voter registration has remained mostly stalled in the NJ Legislature. We rally to demand that action be taken to address gun violence in all forms, in solidarity with student protests in Tennessee and across the country.

Register here: https://forms.gle/Lh3NoNiY7Vne7SvJ8.

Skill Up: Facing the Apocalypse With a Smile
2023-04-23 16:00 - 17:30 | Zoom
A training by Side with Love
Sunday, April 23, 2023 | 4 – 5:30pm ET
Register now
Led by Rachel Myslivy, Side with Love Climate Justice Organizer Everywhere you look the world is on fire! Sometimes you just want to scream at the top of your lungs, “Everything is bad! Do something! AAUGH!!!!” That urgency is real, and also maybe not the best way to communicate about the issues – or to take care of yourself! Come together to learn some ways to manage yourself and engage others as you effectively advocate for justice and work for a thriving world for all. Our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us to be lifelong learners, and organizing traditions teach that we need to share what we know for our movements to grow. Our Squad Skill Ups are a monthly series of trainings on organizing skills to help build our UUtheVote and Side with Love Volunteer Squads and help YOU build stronger teams in your congregation and community. Skill Ups occur the 3rd Sunday of most months.
Register now
Our Skill Ups are held on the 3rd Sunday of each month, and we put the recordings and resources on our Skill Ups Page here.

Film and Discussion: Defying the Nazis
2023-04-23 18:30 - 21:00 | Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place, Ridgewood, NJ, 07450, United States
Defying The Nazis: The Sharp’s War
Sunday, April 23rd from 6:30-9pm

Defying The Nazis: The Sharp’s War, a 2016 documentary by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky, tells the story of Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who made the extraordinary choice to risk their lives in relief and rescue work in Europe in 1939 and 1940. After 17 other couples had refused the invitation to volunteer to head a committee to aid refugees in Prague, the Sharps, from Wellesley, MA, accepted. They are 2 of only 5 Americans (including Ridgewood’s Varian Fry) named by Israel’s Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations” (non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust). The film interviews some whose lives were saved, and the Sharps’ own children whose lives were changed.

Join Rev. Sarah Lenzi, Rev. Marc Oehler and Rabbi David Fine to ponder questions such as…

Where does the courage come from to be an “upstander”? Do we have it in us?
As anti-Semitic (and other) hatreds and violence grow, can this film inspire us to action?
What do we say and do when swastikas show up on local school desks?

Reproductive Justice Task Force Monthly Call
2023-04-24 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
The monthly conference call to update and strategize around reproductive justice and rights in New Jersey. Join us monthly on the fourth Monday, 7-8 PM.
For Zoom invitation and agenda, please email reprojustice@uufaithaction.org attn. Carol Loscalzo, Task Force Chair.
Carol A. Loscalzo (The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood) is Task Force Chair. For more information on reproductive justice, please email reprojustice@uufaithaction.org attn. Carol Loscalzo.
For general inquiries about our Task Forces, email admin@uufaithaction.org.

UPLIFT Trans/Non-Binary Gathering
2023-04-25 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
UPLIFT
Monthly Trans/Non-Binary Gathering Space
Join the UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)!
These gatherings focus on getting to know each other and on sharing our collective dreams, ideas, and talents for this space. Expansive definitions of trans, nonbinary, and UU all apply. Non-UUs are welcome if they are OK with being in a UU-focused community. If you are interested in this space, and you aren’t (entirely or at all) cisgender, it’s a space for you.
Register to Attend

Panel: The Ramapough and the Ringwood Mines Superfund Site
2023-04-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon St, Princeton, NJ, 08542, United States
Panel: The Ramapough and the Ringwood Mines Superfund Site
History, Culture, Education and Environmental Justice

Professor Jack Tchen of Rutgers University Newark will share a short history of the Turtle Clan in our region, and then Chief Vincent Mann of the Turtle Clan and members of the project team, including Dr. Anita Bakshi (team lead) will share elements of the exhibit and excerpts of the film, “Meaning of the Seed.” Finally, Chief Mann will share what the Turtle Clan is doing now to heal from this decades-long disruption to the lives of clan members.

Environmental Justice Panel
2023-04-27 18:00 - 20:30 | Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, 1475 W. FRONT STREET, Lincroft, NJ, 07738, United States
Celebrate Earth Day with an Environmental Justice Panel hosted by the Progressive Caucus!
Sign up at: https://events.democrats.org/event/555159/
Sponsoring: Black Caucus, Emerging Leaders Caucus and Hindu Caucus
Panelists include:

Bryana De Veaux – Director of Legislative Affairs at NJDEP
Brenda Sanders – Executive Director Afro-Vegan Society
Niki Shah – Sustainable Banking and Financial Services Consultant, TCS and Chair Hindu Caucus NJDSC
Sunni Varags – League of Conservation Voters Clean Energy Campaigns Organizer

Panel begins at 6:30PM followed by a meet and greet afterwards. Food and beverage will be provided.

Former UUCM Minister Rev. Lee Barker Visits UUCM
2023-04-29 18:00 - 21:00 | Unitarian Univerlist Congregation at Montclair, 67 Church Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042, United States
Welcome Back Dinner for Rev. Lee Barker
Saturday, April 29, 2023
6–9 PM
Fletcher Hall
For those who knew him, or for those who simply would like a chance to meet him and hear stories about UUCM from someone who served UUCM from 1983 to 1994.
Rev. Lee Barker will then lead worship Sunday, April 30, 2023.

Guest Pulpit at The Unitarian Society, East Brunswick
2023-04-30 10:30 | The Unitarian Sociey, NJ, United States
“The Gooeyness of Change”
Guest Pulpit at The Unitarian Society

April 30 @ 10:30 am
FREE

Rev. Charles Loflin, Executive Director will be a guest in the pulpit at The Unitarian Society on April 30th.

The Gooeyness of Change
April 30, 2023 at 10:30 AM
In-Person and on Zoom

Karen Hering in her book Trusting Change describes the transformative process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly as living “through a time of goo.” For many that is an apt description for what feels like the times in which we live—an in-between space when familiar ways are dissolving (or already long gone) but where the new ways have not yet quite taken shape. Even when experiencing change we value, the process can feel overwhelming. How can we lean into the adaptive challenges we face while trusting change and all its “gooeyness?”

Join us on Sundays at 10:30 in person or virtually!
https://zoom.us/j/904015815

International Workers’ Day – Immigrant Jericho Walk
2023-05-01 10:00 | Newark Federal Building, 970 Broad Street, Newark, NJ, United States
NJ Immigrants and Allies Walk to Demand a System that WORKS for All
Walk to call for immigrant rights and immigration-law reforms

Monthly UUFANJ Board Meeting
2023-05-01 19:00 - 21:00 | NJ, United States
Members/supporters of UU FaithAction NJ are welcome to attend our monthly all-volunteer Board meetings. To access online meetings (all meetings from March 2020 to present time will be conducted online) via the Zoom conferencing platform, please contact the Board President, Mia Morse or Vice President, Nick Lewis, ozballnick@gmail.com and request the “Zoom login” code. You must give at least 48 hours notice to request the code to allow our volunteer board members enough time to reply.
In the event that you do not hear back prior to that 48 hour cut off, please contact the Executive Director, Rev. Rob Gregson, execdir@uufaithaction.org or on the office phone, 908-376-6535.
As per our bylaws, the board leadership reserves the right to call an executive session of the board to discuss matters not appropriate for a more public conversation.

Panel Discussion - Expungement Eligibility Requirements
2023-05-04 18:00 - 19:30 | NJ, United States
In 2020, Governor Murphy signed a law as part of his “Second Chance Agenda” to improve expungement laws and create an automatic expungement process. Despite the new law, there has been little outside advocacy to address the delays in implementation or to create urgency to move forward.

An implementation campaign is desperately needed to ensure the law is properly implemented, that it has the impact it intended, and that we leverage that law for further improvements in the sealing process for our people.
In that spirit of action & urgency, we invite you to join our Zoom meeting with an expert panel of policy, organizing, and legal experts to discuss the current challenges with expungement implementation and how to incorporate impacted voices into future advocacy and reforms.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://sandsj-org.zoom.us/j/95146211402?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 951 4621 1402
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Uterus: Stories From You to Us
2023-05-05 19:00 | The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, 113 Cottage Place, Ridgewood
