Open this email in a Web browser

Dear Aphrodite,

At the launch of this year’s annual 30 Days of Love on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UUA Organizing and Strategy Director Nicole Pressley shared these words:  

“As the governing and power structures of our world rely more and more on domination, exploitation, and disposability to consolidate power, we must hold onto and grow ours. Our power is grounded in our values that proclaim the transformative power of love and harness the enduring power of community. We are the antidote to our fear... This year, 30 Days of Love will share practices we can take together to bring [our] dreams of justice and liberation into being.” 

A collection of resources will be released weekly, from January 20 – February 14, related to the theme of Inhabiting Our Freedom Dreams. Links and more details for 30 Days of Love, along with several other announcements and resources, are available in this email newsletter, below. 

This morning, UUA President the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt shared this statement in response to executive orders issued by the US President. It includes additional resources to take action to support your congregation, community, and loved ones.  

With you on the journey, 

Rachel   

This video resource for the book, "Where Are You From?" by Yamile Saied Méndez and Jaime Kim, is part of a collection of family activities shared in connection with the theme, "We Are Home," for Week 1 of 30 Days of Love.  

This year, 30 Days of Love resources will be released on Tuesdays and connected to weekly themes. Each week, you can access a Side With Love message with political education and context, a journal practice, a creative/art practice, a body practice, and a family friendly, multigenerational activity. In Week 1, the theme is "We Are Home," offering resources to respond to the invitation to become a country that truly welcomes, cares for, and celebrates all. Learn more from Side With Love. 

Sharing our gifts with one another is one way we live our shared values of generosity and equity. As we prepare to meet the moment together as a faith community, congregations will need to support one another and our neighborhoods, including those who may be most at risk. We invite all Unitarian Universalists and UU-adjacent folks to respond to our survey about the skills and resources you have that may be of use in responding to crises or emergencies. We will use the information for future rapid and ongoing response to events like natural disasters, civil unrest, or other emergencies.

The Congregational Study Action Issues (CSAI) process has begun a new cycle in 2025, with three topics up for consideration. The first step in the CSAI process is to get these issues onto the final agenda for General Assembly, and this requires a vote by 25% of UUA member congregations. Follow the link below to learn about the CSAI topics up for consideration this year and how to complete the annual poll that includes this important CSAI vote. All poll votes are due back on February 5.

The Commission on Social Witness has published the timeline for the 2025 Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) process. AIWs are statements about a significant action, event, or development in the world that necessitates immediate engagement by UU congregations and groups. If you or your congregation are working on a justice issue that you would like to promote through the AIW process, the questions and guidance available online can help you with discernment and submission. 

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East are offering a webinar on February 6 to help news consumers evaluate sources, identify structural biases and what to do about them, and more effectively present their own ideas for change. “The Revolution Will Be Streamed: Approaches to News for a World in Crisis” webinar will include time for small group discussion and questions. 

We take digital security seriously at the UUA and in response to some incidences of phishing and impersonation of our religious professionals, we took additional precautions to protect individually identifiable information found on UUA.org. We’ve brought some of that information back online, but access to the staff search or browsable lists will require you to sign up or sign in to a UUA.org account. Explore the updated online directory to learn more.