GivingTuesday
2021-11-30 | NJ, United States
#GivingTuesday is a global movement for radical generosity. Every year, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving day and “Black Friday” is designated “GivingTuesday.” Rather than kicking off the holiday season with materialism and excess, GivingTuesday calls us to open the season with humanity and generosity.
Your tax-deductible gift to UU Faith Action NJ on #GivingTuesday will not only allow us to continue the fight for justice and equality in New Jersey, but this year, thanks to a generous donor, it will have THREE TIMES the impact! That’s right: all gifts on #GivingTuesday will be matched 2 to 1, until we reach our fundraising goal. Our goal is to reach is $2,500 in #GivingTuesday donations, which will become $7,500 to further the the fight for justice and equality in New Jersey.

9th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence
2021-12-02 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | NJ, United States
December 14, 2021 marks the 9th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting tragedy. Since that heartbreaking day when my neighbor used an AR-15 to kill 20 first graders and six educators, more than 900,000 Americans have been killed or injured by guns in America. The nation rarely remembers the victims of gun violence therefore we have worked for the last nine years to shine a light on the devastating toll of gun violence in our communities.
Newtown Action Alliance invites you to join them on their Facebook page Wednesday, December 8th at 7:00pm ET to watch the 9th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence.
Sadly, the number of families and survivors who are directly impacted by gun violence is growing. In 2012, an average of 33,000 Americans were being killed by guns. In 2020, the CDC is estimating that 45,000 were killed by guns. Last Monday, Washington, D.C. recorded its 200th homicide this year, the 1st time that symbolic threshold of deadly violence has been reached in the nation’s capital since 2003.
Gun violence is a public health crisis and we must continue to work on ending all forms of gun violence in America. We have been extremely disappointed by the lack of congressional action but giving up is not an option. Our children, families, neighbors and communities are not safe in a nation with lax gun laws and 400 million civilian-owned guns.

Three-Part Rally at State House Annex in Trenton
2021-12-02 10:00 - 13:00 | State House Annex, 125 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey, 08608
Three-part rally at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton on Thursday, December 2nd
Join UU FaithAction NJ and our coalitions partners as we press for progress on key issues before the 2020-2021 legislative cycle expires!
Sign-Up with UU FaithAction NJ: uufaithactionnj.salsalabs.org/12-2-legislative-rally-signup
UU FaithAction NJ will provide sandwich lunches to UUs who sign up by Wednesday, 6PM.
Agenda:

10:00 AM – Rally in support of A4656/S2963 authorizing municipalities and counties to establish civilian review boards to review police operations and conduct, led by People’s Organization for Progress.
11:00 AM – Rally for Reparations urging legislators to support A711/S322—historic legislation to establish a task force that will study New Jersey’s role in American slavery and make policy recommendations to repair its enduring effects. Led by New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and faith allies.
12:00 PM – Rally and press conference for the “Reproductive Freedom Act” S3030/A4848 led by ACLU-NJ and the Thrive Coalition.

Driving directions to the State House Annex are here. The address is: 125 West State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608.
Remember your yellow shirt (UU FaithAction NJ or ‘Side With Love’) and to take pictures!
Sign-Up: uufaithactionnj.salsalabs.org/12-2-legislative-rally-signup

FAIR (Youth Group)
2021-12-02 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-12-09 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-12-16 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-12-23 19:30 - 20:30, 2021-12-30 19:30 - 20:30 | 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 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: Liandra Pires at gvprevention@uufaithaction.org, Emily Parker at emily@uufaithaction.org or ‪(908) 767-5145‬.

Rally for the Reproductive Freedom Act
2021-12-04 12:00 - 14:00 | Piscataway, NJ: RSVP for exact location, Piscataway
Sat 12/4 at 12PM, Piscataway (In person)
Click to RSVP with Planned Parenthood of NJ; exact location will be provided upon RSVP.
Join Thrive NJ, advocates, allies and supporters as we say it loud and clear: NJ must pass the #RFANOW!
A committed group of advocates in this coalition have been working to pass the Reproductive Freedom Act (S3030/A4848). When enacted, New Jersey will codify in statute the right to abortion and birth control and expand access to reproductive health care by removing racial and socioeconomic barriers. Join us as we make our voices heard and march towards a historic victory!

Deep in Color: Voices of Black Experience
2021-12-05 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Deep in Color: Voices of Black Experience
A deep dive into Reparations continues…
Sunday, Dec. 5, 7PM via Zoom
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtfuirqj8vG9Jky2kyJwG2ORwOytpbnhoY
Our monthly discussion series began a year ago with the goal of bridging experiential gaps between Black and white, as well as answering the question, How do we take the struggle for racial justice to a higher level? This month, we continue with the discussion to address reparations to African Americans.
“The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates will guide our discussion. (Complete text as well as an audio option: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ or a downloadable pdf: The Case for Reparations.pdf)
This is a lengthy piece, about an hour and 20 minutes of reading. For optimal group discussion, please read in advance. We hope that this discussion will empower attendees to become effective advocates for reparations.
Dr. Carol Penn (http://www.drcarolpenn.com) and Minister Kerwin Webb (https://www.kerwinwebb.com) will co-host the discussion. The digital venue is provided by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County’s (uucmc.org) Social Justice Committee.

Interfaith Clergy “Consultation on Conscience”: Standing Against Hate in All of its Forms
2021-12-06 10:30 - 13:30 | Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, 222 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, United States
Interfaith Clergy “Consultation on Conscience”
Standing Against Hate In All Of Its Forms
A gathering of Faith Leaders seeking to better understand and address the rising tide of White Nationalism, Anti-Semitism, Racism, and Islamophobia.
WHEN
Monday, December 6, 2021 – 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
WHERE
Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple
222 Livingston Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Confirmed Speakers:
Eric Ward
Western States Center, Executive Director
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Senior vice President of the Union for Reform Judaism
Rev. Charles Franklin Boyer
Salvation and Social Justice, Founding Director
Karen Gaffney
Raritan Valley Comm. College, Author: Dismantling the Racism Machine
Registration required, please email Nancy, rabbisec@aemt.info: Name, Email, Religious Affiliation, Phone number
Partner Organizations:
RAC-NJ (NJ Branch of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism)
Coalition of Religious Leaders of NJ
Interfaith Community Action Network of Somerset County (ICAN)
NJ Interfaith Coalition

Monthly UUFANJ Board Meeting
2021-12-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-01-03 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.

Criminal Justice Reform Monthly Conference Call
2021-12-07 20:00 - 21:00, 2022-01-04 20:00 - 21:00 | NJ, United States
Join us on the first Tuesday of the month from 8 – 9 pm for our UU statewide 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 Susan M., Co-Chair (UU Congregation in Princeton) at criminaljustice@uufaithaction.org or Anne H., Co-Chair (UU Congregation of Monmouth Co., Lincroft) at annehoule0102@gmail.com

Jersey Water Works Conference
2021-12-08 - 2021-12-11
Join us for an informative event at the Dec. 8-10 Jersey Water Works conference with our feature keynote speaker, Colette Pichon Battle. Together, let’s seize the moment to explore solutions to urgent health and climate risks, as well as ways that every community can access much-anticipated federal funding. Register today!
Registration is free for the Dec. 8-10 Jersey Water Works Conference! One registration gives you access to all three days, and you can attend the sessions that best fit your interests and schedule.
Agenda: https://www.jerseywaterworks.org/events/annual-conference/2021/agenda/
Registration: https://www.accelevents.com/e/2021-jersey-water-works-conference#about

Coalition of UU Social Action Networks (CUUSAN) monthly conference call
2021-12-08 07:00 - 08:00, 2022-01-12 07:00 - 08:00
Rev. Rob Gregson joins other paid and volunteer staff on this monthly networking call. CUUSAN is the national organization that coordinates state-level UU social justice witness in 25 states across the U.S. If interested in joining the discussion, please reach out to Rev. Gregson at execdir@uufaithaction.org

UUFANJ Board Meeting
2021-12-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-01-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Zoom
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 onward will be conducted online) via the Zoom conferencing platform, please contact Board President Mia Morse, at mia.morse19@gmail.com, or board member Nick Lewis, at 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 you do not hear back with 48 hours notice, please contact Executive Director Charles Loflin, at execdir@uufaithaction.org or at (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.

Releases Not Transfers—International Human Rights Day
2021-12-10 11:00 - 12:30 | Elizabeth Detention Center, 625 Evans St., Elizabeth, NJ, United States
Releases Not Transfers
Please join us on 12/10 from 11 am to 12:30 pm outside the Elizabeth Detention Center in observance of International Human Rights Day. The EDC is where immigration detention began in NJ. It is also where the resistance to caging people based on their country of birth began when the people held inside, mainly Black asylum seekers, staged an uprising in 1995.

Today the EDC is still caging asylum seekers, mainly from Haiti and Nicaragua, who have recently crossed the Southern Border. It is also serving as a processing center for non-citizens who have completed a prison or jail sentence in NJ prior to being sent to an out of state detention facility.

We will be calling on our legislators to:

Stop Incarcerating Asylum Seekers
End NJ DOC’s Cooperation with ICE
Shut Down the EDC Once and For All
End the Criminalization of Migration & Abolish ICE Detention

#ReleasesNotTransfers
#FreeThemAll
#NewWayForwardActobservance of International Human Rights Day

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Reparations Task Force Monthly Call
2021-12-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The Reparations Task Force convenes monthly, for Unitarian Universalists to strategize around advancing reparations for New Jersey. Newcomers are warmly welcome!
Read and sign the petition.
For more info and to join the call, contact Task Force Co-Chairs Rohn Hein and Dr. Mahdi ibn-Ziyad (reparations@uufaithaction.org) or administrator Emily Parker (admin@uufaithaction.org).

Trauma, Race and Stigma: Empowered to Change
2021-12-15 09:30 - 12:30 | Zoom
The Mercer County Traumatic Loss Coalition presents
“Trauma, Race and Stigma: Empowered to Change”
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Register to attend via Zoom
Join us for a candid, online conversation about the intersection of trauma, race, and stigma with a focus on action steps to manage and respond to social, emotional, cultural, and other factors that operate to reinforce adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) risk factors. This presentation, intended to empower changemakers, will offer opportunities to identify various barriers to change and will discuss viable solutions.
Register by December 14 for the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eJ4XX4cORv-7frhTbr8UDw
After registering, you will receive an email containing information about joining the webinar.
GUEST SPEAKER: KIMME CARLOS
Guest Speaker Kimmi Carlos
Kimme is the Founder of the Urban Mental Health Alliance, CEO and Founder of Kimme Carlos Motivational Consulting, and Co-Founder and Lead Facilitator of Sister Wellness Retreats: Healing Spaces for Black Women. Kimme also is a certified health and wellness coach with the Institute for
Integrative Nutrition, a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid, and author of The Window of Grace: Living in Recovery through Christian Faith.
As an advocate with lived experience, Kimme keynotes and facilitates on mental health, addiction and recovery, and wellness and self-care. Kimme also is the proud daughter of Dr. John W. Carlos, 1968 Olympian and civil rights activist.

Reproductive Justice Task Force Monthly Call
2021-12-27 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.

FAIR (Youth Group)
2021-12-30 19:30 - 20:30, 2022-01-13 19:30 - 20:30 | 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: Liandra Pires at gvprevention@uufaithaction.org, Rev. Rob Gregson at rob@uufaithaction.org, or Laura Kushner at laura@uufaithaction.org.

Deep in Color: Deep Dive into Reparations
2022-01-09 19:00 - 20:00 | NJ, United States
Deep in Color – Voices of Black Experience
Deep Dive into Reparations
Sunday, January 9
7 pm via Zoom
Use link below to register for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUqd-GprTwtEtexryyAhqzJrqTT7pEKbI04
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
This Sunday, we’ll examine economist and professor of public policy William Darity’s position on reparations , revisit the main points of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article, The Case for Reparations (downloadable pdf: The Case for Reparations.pdf) and discuss any further points raised by participants. Then we’ll take a look at local, statewide, and national campaigns and discuss specific ways to support these efforts.
The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice is leading an interfaith coalition, including the Episcopal Diocese and Council of Imams (in NJ), as well as the Unitarian Universalist legislative arm, UUFA (Faith Action) that has been rallying for the passage of the NJ legislation. See njisj.org/SayTheWord for more info. Join the advocacy at 400yearsnj.org

The Deep in Color:Voices of Black Experience series is hosted by the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County (uucmc.org) and moderated by Dr. Carol Penn (http://www.drcarolpenn.com) and Minister Kerwin Webb (https://www.kerwinwebb.com).
This discussion is intended to familiarize people with the conversation and activism around reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans in the US. It’s not intended to be a debate over whether reparations are in order. Please email sarah.klepner@gmail.com with any questions or comments. Thank you.

UU FaithAction Office closed
2022-01-16 - 2022-01-17
In observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the UU FaithAction office will be closed today.

Criminal Justice Reform Monthly Conference Call
2022-01-17 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.

Port Chester Immigrant Defense | TUESDAYS @ DORRY’S Table Talk
2022-01-18 18:00 - 19:00 | Zoom
Port Chester Immigrant Defense
Joanna Cathcart and Greg Hamilton
Everyone is welcome!
TUESDAYS @ DORRY’S
Weekly Table Talk, from 6:00-7:00 PM
By Zoom (see below)

Port Chester Immigrant Defense (PCID) is a group of volunteers working to protect and support the immigrant community of Port Chester, informing people of their rights and helping them exercise and enjoy these rights.
Both speakers are very active with PCID—Greg Hamilton is a founding member and Joanna Cathcart is currently secretary and manages finances. The group has worked tirelessly by, among many other activities, providing translations, advising immigrants about possible pathways to legal status and identifying responsible and qualified lawyers; accompanying people to appointments concerning legal matters; raising money, donating goods, and identifying resources for basic human needs; helping families navigate local government and nonprofit services, medical appointments, and schools; and advocating for and organizing around immigrants’ rights.
“We believe that our community and our country are safer and more vibrant when people are free to live peacefully with their families and work to create a better life.”
Join Zoom Meeting for Tuesdays at Dorry’s—Table Talk
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Meeting ID: 545 413 6638
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