From the Racial Justice Team: Louise Lawarre, Rae Jane Araujo, and Bob Lamb.

As an expression of our faith and values, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) takes positions on relevant issues of social justice. Issues are selected by Unitarian Universalist member congregations for three years of study, reflection and action. In the third year of this process, delegates at General Assembly (GA) can vote to approve a Statement of Conscience (SOC).

In June, a Statement of Conscience titled “Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action” was approved by an overwhelming majority vote. In the fall here at home, the Heritage Racial Justice Team will be inviting everyone to participate in learning more about this powerful Statement of Conscience, and working together as a congregation to help build “universal justice and equity.”

You can read the full text of the SOC at the link at the end of this article. Excerpts include these words from the introduction and four key action points:

“Seeking universal justice and equity, we call upon the Unitarian Universalist Association and Unitarian Universalist individuals and congregations/groups to actively engage in undoing systemic white supremacy in all of its manifestations. Systemic white supremacy refers to the embedded, institutional, and pervasive nature of racism, white privilege, and racial bias and oppression in our society…. As Unitarian Universalists, we decry the ways in which the intersectional impact of systemic white supremacy divides our human family by privileging some groups over others and thereby generating resistance to the common goal of universal equity and justice. Systemic white supremacy is a direct affront to every one of our principles. Most egregious, we are losing lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color all across this nation … due to the evil of systemic white supremacy. Therefore, as Unitarian Universalists we must engage in urgent action to confront the moral crisis of our time:

• • Engage with the movement, in our communities and nation, to heal the evil of racism.
  • Carry forward the recommended healing actions conveyed in ‘Widening the Circle of Concern.’
  • Build relationships across boundaries of privilege and oppression.
  • Fulfill our UU role as a spiritual anchor to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) UUs.”

The Racial Justice Team encourages all Heritage members to read the SOC, dig deeper to expand your knowledge and understanding of systemic white supremacy and its 2021 manifestations, and join the work of building the Beloved community. We will be announcing meetings for the fall, so please stay tuned, and reach out with questions or interest at:

Read the full Statement of Conscience on the UUA website:
https://www.uua.org/action/statements/undoing-systemic-white-supremacy

7/21/2021.

Saturday, August 7, 10:00 a.m., Online.

UU principles call us to protect the planet. We work on this in our UU congregations regularly with Green Sanctuary initiatives, gardens, and other conscious choices. Many of us are simultaneously working on anti-racism and dismantling white supremacy.

What if we could combine those two efforts into one called Environmental Justice?

What if UU congregations, other faith communities and organizations doing Environmental Justice work around the state could connect with each other and work together?

Let’s connect the dots between protecting our planet, racial justice, and the power structures that continually bring injustice to the people of Ohio.

Let’s gather in community and expand connections so we can all work together for a healthier, more inclusive Ohio. Register at http://bit.ly/environmentaljusticeppp .

Saturday, August 7th at 10 a.m., three expert panelists will share their thoughts on Environmental Justice, how that relates to Racial Justice and what we can do about it here in Ohio. The panelist discussion will be followed by an opportunity for connection between Unitarian Universalists, other like-minded faith communities and Environmental Justice advocates.

About the expert panelists:

JOCELYN TRAVIS – Central Region Organizing Manager of the Sierra Club, connecting Racial Justice and Environmental Justice.

SUSAN STEINGRABER Ph.D. – Biologist, author, and cancer survivor, writing about climate change, and ecology, connecting human health and Environmental Justice.

ANNETTE MCCOY – President of Trumball County NAACP, connecting legislation/policy and Environmental Justice.

 

Tuesday, July 27, at 7:00 p.m., via Zoom.

Ohioans Deserve Fair Districts.

When public officials (of ANY party) draw legislative district maps to only benefit their political party, it hurts our democracy.

This practice is called Gerrymandering. Learn more about the long history of this practice and what we can do in 2021 to end it. The time to act is now, when redistricting is about to take place in Ohio.

Claire Wagner, of the League of Women Voters (and also a member of St. John’s UU Church), will give a presentation and answer questions. Feel free to invite others from outside Heritage whom you think will be interested. The link for this Zoom meeting will appear on the Heritage Church homepage before the meeting.

Learn more at the Fair Districts Ohio website.

If you have questions, contact Russ Araujo at:

For years, Heritage UU Church supported the Inter Parish Ministry choice food pantries with donations of food and household supplies. The pandemic put a halt to these physical donations, though we continued to support IPM with our outreach offerings. Now IPM is accepting food and supply donations again.

To add a little fun, you might want to donate food especially for meal kits, as IPM describes below:

Did you know? IPM is once again accepting food donations! Right now we are working to supply our new program, IPM Plates! We LOVE to provide families with a complete, nutritious meal in a bag containing all of the ingredients, ready to prepare with simple instructions. Please help us create Taco Tuesday and/or Barbecue Night by donating the following: taco shells, taco seasoning packets, canned chicken, barbecue sauce, and hamburger buns! Thank you for your support of IPM and our neighbors in need. We are so grateful when you join us in feeding families and nourishing souls.

You can also donate other food and supplies. You can always look online to find a list of IPM’s current needs.

Donations can be delivered to either the Newtown or Amelia locations:

IPM Newtown Location
3509 Debolt Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45244
Monday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

IPM Amelia Location
1075 W Ohio Pike (on K of C Drive)
Cincinnati, OH 45245
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

If you have any questions about the Heritage Church involvement with IPM, please talk with Bob Drake, Kay Inskeep, Regina Pugh, or Mike Roberts, or send them an email at:

6/18/2021.

Tuesday, August 17, 2021, 7:00 p.m., via Zoom.

When the Social Justice Collaborative meets, we are taking a small step toward the realization of the Sixth Unitarian Universalist Principle, “The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.”

All Heritage members and friends are invited to the next meeting of the Collaborative. It is a good way to offer and receive support as we work to “heal the world.”

Meeting topics include:

• Racial Justice,
• Public Witness,
• Indigenous Peoples
• Housing Security and Homelessness,
• Food Security, and
• Other areas brought up during the meeting.

A Zoom link for the meeting will appear on the HUUC website homepage before the meeting.

If you have questions, please speak with the next meeting’s agenda drafter (Russ Araujo), or meeting leader (Louise Lawarre), or send an email to:

Inter Parish Ministry (IPM) has a new partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. When anyone drops off clothing at IPM’s Newtown Pantry, IPM will get clothing vouchers for its clients.

Clothing maybe dropped off at the Newtown Pantry only:
IPM Newtown Location
3509 Debolt Road
Newtown, Ohio 45244
Phone: (513)561-3932

To learn more or ask questions about how Heritage UU Church and its people support IPM, send an email to:

4/7/2021.

Heritage’s Racial Justice Action group is focusing on an important moment for Ohio and we invite you to join us. Ohio is poised to consider abolishing the death penalty. Identical bills have been introduced in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives by bipartisan sponsors and with strong bipartisan support; SB 103 and HB 183.

Many people, including many UUs, believe that capital punishment is inherently immoral. Studies show it does not deter crime, is disproportionately applied to Black and poor people, and is applied unevenly across cities and counties. What may be surprising is that it is more expensive than sentences of life without parole.

A majority of Ohioans of both parties oppose the death penalty when a sentence of life in prison without parole is an option. Governor DeWine has placed an unofficial moratorium on executions in Ohio because the state has been unable to find the drugs to carry them out without violating the 8th Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. In addition, the Columbus Dispatch reports that, “For every six executions in Ohio, one person has been exonerated.”

Ohio could join the 23 other states that have already abolished the death penalty. Please consider adding your voice to support these bills. What can you do? You can write or call your representative and senator to support abolishing the death penalty in our state. You can also participate in our meetings which are the second Monday evening of each month (next one is April 12) to help plan collective action. The Zoom link will be on the Heritage Church homepage before the meeting.

If you have questions, please contact Louise Lawarre and others on the HUUC Racial Justice team at:

3/24/2021.

Did you know that Heritage Church has an account with Kiva.org? Kiva is an organization that uses crowdfunding to make loans to remove barriers to financial access around the world. They currently work in 77 countries and provide loans that support a variety of needs including small businesses, education, home improvement, healthcare, the arts, and agriculture.

Utilizing an outreach offering in May of 2017, Heritage opened a Kiva account with $604 and made four loans. Loan recipients were chosen with the help of Heritage youth. As those loans were paid back, new ones were made. Since 2017 Heritage Church has made 23 loans to 16 countries totaling $1575.

Loans must be at least $25 and we will soon have enough money in our account to make a new loan. If you have a young person in your home who would like to help choose the next recipient, send a message to

Heritage Church members support the Inter Parish Ministry food pantries with outreach offerings, food donations, and volunteer help. The following comes from an article in Inter Parish Ministry’s May newsletter:

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses have closed in response to the Stay-At- Home order in Ohio, IPM has seen a dramatic increase in the needs of our local community.

In fact, the number of families IPM Food Pantry is serving each week for food is nearly double the number this time last year.

To support public health and safety, IPM set up a drive -through pantry where families receive a box of food prepared by the Army National Guard, as well as other pantry staples, meat, milk and produce when available

In addition, IPM is serving as a food resource hub for many local schools and nonprofit agencies, providing over 200 emergency meal kits to families in need.

IPM has also supplied more than 3500 Power Packs to students throughout IPM’s service area with the help of community partnerships.

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For more on IPM, visit the IPM website.

If you have questions on Heritage Church’s involvement in IPM, talk with Bob Drake, Kay Inskeep, or Mike Roberts, or send an email to them at:

May 5, 2020.

Covid-19 has changed lots of things, including how Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) feeds, shelters, and shows love to homeless families. Here are the important things to know.

IHN programming falls under essential services as outlined in section 8 of Governor Mike DeWine’s Stay-at-Home Order. Staff and volunteers can travel for these purposes, but such travel should be reduced and limited as much as possible, especially for volunteers.

Under current emergency Board of Health orders, it is not permitted to have the homeless receive shelter for a week in church buildings. Families in emergency shelter are now in a hotel so that they have access to their own kitchen and bathroom spaces. This also allows for social distancing from volunteers, staff, and other families. Families are still served by their case managers, often by phone and email.

IHN will still rely on persons and congregations to provide food, but this will be handled differently. More information will be provided later. What is known now is that, to limit food handling and number of drop offs, IHN will be asking for donations of pre-packaged breakfast, lunch, and snack supplies only. Possibilities include Lunchables, or packages of luncheon meats and loaves of bread that a whole family can use to make sandwiches, rather than the volunteers making the sandwiches themselves. Items that can microwaved are also especially helpful (mac and cheese cups, soup cups, etc.).

Here are some things you can do now to help:

(1) Donate Kroger gift cards to help provide for families. Luckily, there is a Kroger within walking distance of the hotel.  The large ask, what we need each of you to do, is to donate some amount on a Kroger gift card for IHN.  This can be ordered online to be shipped directly to IHN ( 990 Nassau Ave – 45206), to minimize contact.  Increments of $10 are preferred, not to exceed $50. 

(2) Make a contribution to IHN by visiting: www.ihncincinnati.org/take-action/give

(3) Donate items to make kid/adult activity packs for families. Anything that can entertain a family that is isolated would be helpful. These can include puzzles and board games. Please provide new, unopened items only.

Donations can also be mailed to:

Interfaith Hospitality Network
990 Nassau Street
Cincinnati, OH 45206.

Thanks so much for continuing to work together, even as we remain apart.

If you have questions, please email Rae Jane Araujo at:

March 25, 2020.