President’s Report
My name is Tim Catts (Beacon UU/Summit) and this past July I was elected by the Board as the new President of UU FaithAction NJ. I plan to build upon the work that former Board President, Nick Lewis (UU Montclair) and his predecessors have done to make the organization such a dynamic force in New Jersey. I am grateful to be joined in this effort by five new Board members from across the state as we work together to move FaithAction forward into its second decade.
We are certainly coming off an unusually strong year. As our Executive Director, Rev. Rob Gregson, has elaborated in his written report which I urge you to look over on your phones or online at home, we continue to take a major religious and ethical leadership role in helping to push for compassionate justice reform in Trenton. Equally important, we continue to work closely with numerous coalition partners to help move the needle towards justice in a number of areas. We are proud of our years of effort – addressing the struggles of the many undocumented people forced to confront a cruel and irrational system at one of the most traumatizing moments of their lives. Our Reproductive Justice Task Force worked hard to push FaithAction’s first drafted and sponsored bill through both houses of the NJ legislature and signed into law by Gov. Murphy. All of us on the Board remain excited by the opportunity to continue the good work of the Legal Advocacy Project through the very generous offer of ongoing pro bono advice by UU attorney, Lina Genovesi, who has already helped file an amicus brief related to the potentially illegal diversion of monies from the national security budget to building Trump’s border wall.
We’ve worked alongside groups like Moms Demand Action and the Brady Coalition to help pass gun violence prevention legislation that is the envy of the nation.Through our Criminal Justice Reform Task Force we are leading the challenge to unfair limits placed on prison visitations by thoughtless prison officials and market forces more focused on greed than the needs of families, children and those in prison–something we look forward to learning more about during this morning’s keynote panel discussion.. We continue to be leaders in environmental justice far beyond our numbers on issues ranging from Community Solar arrays and the needs of low income, urban communities of color too often left out of discussions on pollution and the needs of their children and loved ones.
In the coming year, we hope to improve our focus and make more efficient a number of areas, including our Exec. Director and staff time. We plan to work with the newly elected legislators when the next session begins in January to press for progress on the range of issues that you will be discussing at this conference, as well as increasing our own connections via our congregational liaisons and simple face to face contact, including during a new “Lunch with a Leader” format today during the noon break..
As the only statewide UU organization in New Jersey, we want to enhance our ties to our member congregations, both through direct contacts with liaisons,officers, at ralllies and during monthly video and phone conferences on those justice issues that go to the very heart of what it means to walk a Unitarian Universalist spiritual path. And to help fund it all, all of us in a leadership position here at UU FaithAction hope you will join us at our 10 year Eco Gala celebration on Fri. January 10 at Beacon UU congregation in Summit…more on that later from our Development Committee chair and Beacon member, Marty Rothfelder..
We continue to work hard to bring our vision of a more Beloved Community to life right here where we live, work, hope and breathe. Here’s looking forward to a great conference and a productive year!