When asked, many participants will say it is the social justice work of Unitarian Universalism (UU) that drew them into this faith tradition. I am one of those people.
It was the mid-80’s and I decided to visit a UU congregation. As a young parent, I seeking a community to share in and support my young family. One announcement from the pulpit was an invitation to join in making meals for AIDS patients in the community, that would be delivered to them. This was a time when being diagnosed with AIDS meant people were afraid of being around, and support was minimal at best. I thought at the time, this is a church I can belong to, one that lives out the phrase: What Would Jesus Do?
Some nearly 40 years later I continue to be involved and inspired by the justice work that Unitarian Universalists do.
This coming Sunday, July 27 at 10:30am, the Pagosa Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship will spend time celebrating the long and varied history at what we call Action Sunday! Since the start of this year, we have gathered the fourth Sunday, doing what we can to educate ourselves and to take action to live our values of justice, generosity and equity.
This will be our final Action Sunday! this summer as we take a break and focus on community projects and activities that speak to us individually. We encourage our participants to continue to stay informed and show up for issues that are important to them.
Using resources provided by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), we will begin with understanding that the UU religious tradition is not one with a creed, but a religious movement that has always aligned its social justice work to theology. We will affirm our belief that collective social justice activity is an integral part of Unitarian Universalism and necessary for living out our theological approach. We will then explore ways this Fellowship has and will continue its work in and for beloved community.
For some background on this history, following is an excerpt from the UUA.org website’s Leader Lab:
Before their merger, Unitarians and Universalists were active in making the world a better place, through involvement in abolition, women’s suffrage, temperance, prison reform, and numerous other causes that sought to improve the human condition. After merger, activism continued in the areas of civil rights, the peace movement, the feminist movement, gay and lesbian liberation, and the ecological movement-to name a few. Many of our congregations offered sanctuary to draft resisters, provided staging areas for local civil rights marches, organized buses to demonstrations across the United States, worked for the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution, provided sanctuary to “aliens,” both in Canada and the United States, and began recycling programs in their communities. Many people came to UU congregations first and foremost because of our liberal voice in the community on these important issues.
We invite you to join us for this Action Sunday! as we hold a vision for the future of a just and equitable world. Pagosa UU Fellowship is a Welcoming Congregation, we believe that all of who you are is sacred, and all of who you are is welcome. Find out more at https://www.uua.org/lgbtq.
Our website – PagosaUU.org — offers more information and the current newsletter with further information about our programs, including ongoing meditation practice:
1st & 3rd Sundays: 7:00 – 7:45pm (a shortened meditation-only practice)
2nd & 4th Sundays – 7:00 – 8:30pm (meditation practice and Dharma talk)
Please email info@pagosauu.org to be added to the Meditation email list.
We are located at Unit B-15 of the Greenbriar Plaza, 301 N. Pagosa Blvd. on the north side facing the Pagosa Peak. We offer Zoom streaming of our service, and a link to join online can be found at PagosaUU.org, where you will find our current newsletter with information about our programs.