Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ
A Unitarian Universalist voice for justice, equity and compassion in NJ
For immediate release: Senator Raj Mukherji introduces bill to give incarcerated senior citizens a second chance
Last Thursday, January 25, Senator Raj Mukherji introduced into the New Jersey Legislature the Rehabilitative Release bill which, if passed, will offer hundreds of incarcerated senior citizens the opportunity to prove that they are ready to return home to their families.
WHEN: May 11, 2024
WHERE: Beacon: Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit
Our UU FaithAction NJ Annual Meeting will be on May 11th, 2024. The meeting will be hosted at Beacon UU, in Summit, and online. All New Jersey UUs are encouraged to attend!
We celebrate with our coalition partners the passage of Demographic Data Disaggregation, the New Jersey Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, and Language Access into law by signature of the Governor on January 12th.
“The mood in the room was celebratory,” reflects Rev. Charles Loflin, who attended the Governor’s signing on January 12th on behalf of UU FaithAction NJ. “That room was packed, with coalition partners and some heavy-hitting legislators, and it was special to have a seat for UU FaithAction.”
The brief window between November elections and the convening of the new legislature in January—known as the “lame duck”—is a critical time in New Jersey politics. Heading into this lame duck season, we entered arm-in-arm with a broad coalition of our partners, calling with one voice for The People’s Lame Duck Agenda.
The current legislature adjourns on January 8th, 2024. Here’s a look at how we did.
From the Gala Committee
We appreciate your patience while we were working out the details for rescheduling our Justice for All Gala.
The Gala will be held on Saturday, February 10th from noon to 3 pm, at the UU Congregation of Princeton.
On Thursday, December 7th, over two dozen New Jersey community advocacy organizations came together for the People United for Justice Rally in Trenton. We were present on the steps of the State House to rally and lobby for the People’s Lame Duck Agenda for New Jersey.
From our Reproductive Justice Task Force: Menstrual Equity Subcommittee
The next time you visit your congregation, make sure to check out the restroom. Chances are you will see a supply of period products on hand, just like hand soap and toilet paper. Believe it or not, this is a big deal for everyone who menstruates.
This month, our Environmental Justice Task Force submitted comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on the permanent Community Solar Program.
“New Jersey’s Community Solar Energy Program allows those who rent, lack control of their roof, live in a multi-family building, do not have property suitable for solar, or cannot afford the cost of a solar installation to benefit from the cost savings and access to clean energy through solar power,” according to the NJ Board of Public Utilities. The permanent Community Solar Program was established this August, following a successful two-year pilot program. We vocally support this program first and foremost for its ability to create access to solar energy for renters and low-income households.
Today, UU FaithAction NJ joined with a powerful coalition of justice-seeking community organizations to hand-deliver The People’s Lame Duck Agenda to legislators across the state! We are urging our legislators to pass critical racial and social justice legislation to move our democracy forward.
Rev. Charles Loflin visited the office of Senator Nia H. Gill, along with Micauri Vargas of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Eric Benson of New Jersey Policy Perspective. Nancy Griffeth, Board Trustee, also visited the offices of Senator Jon Bramnick, Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz, and Assemblywoman Michelle Matsokoudis, along with Bill Griffeth and Rosella Clyde of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey.
All together, our coalition visited every state senator and assemblyperson’s office in New Jersey.
As Boards of Education across New Jersey are considering repealing Policy 5756—i.e. the “Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts” policy—our Reproductive Justice Task Force is eager to share a resource to empower UUs to speak up.
📄 “Policy 5756 Statement of Support” PDF download
Our sample Policy 5756 statement of support is intended as a resource for UUs who wish to make comments in support of policy 5756 and trans students at their local school board meetings.
Many thanks to Rev. Rosemarie Newberry and to Garden State Equality for their contributions.
