Environmental Justice Tour, June 28 and 29

Portland’s “green” reputation is getting even greener thanks to some extraordinary grassroots coalitions that are working to reclaim the commons and restore and protect the health of the two magnificent rivers that are so integral to this region.

Join UU Ministry for Earth for a tour of projects in the marginalized neighborhoods of Portland’s industrial north along the rivers and learn best practices that are sure to inspire action, and possibly an EJ tour, in your own community. Tour includes:

• Revisit “Village Gardens,” the 2007 GA service project, and learn about its tremendous growth and impact on the mixed-income neighborhoods it serves, including a new non-profit food market.
• Learn how the “Let Us Build Cully Park!” coalition is turning a brownfield site into the first public park in one of Portland’s most diverse but poorest neighborhoods; a community garden is already flourishing and an Inter-Tribal Gathering Garden will be built soon.
• See how the Portland Harbor Community Coalition is working to insure the cleanup and restoration of the 11-mile Willamette River Superfund site that runs through Portland.
• Learn how the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is working to protect Tribal fishing rights and many organizations like Columbia Riverkeeper are fighting to prevent increased coal, oil, and LNG trains along the river and the construction of export terminals.

Sacred Public Witness with the Lummi Nation

Saturday, June 27, 4:45-6:15, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR

In the face of the overwhelming reality and impacts of climate change and environmental destruction, we need each other. Together, we can celebrate life. Together, we can deepen our commitments to justice. Together, we can change the world. Our climate is changing, yet we have hope. Our world is in crisis, yet we have faith. On the Commit2Respond you can Read More.

A New Wind Blowing in the Northwest, Reflection from Florence Caplow

Florence Caplow, 2014-15 intern minister at Quimper UU Fellowship in Pt. Townsend, WA, chronicles the launch of the Lummi Indian Nation’s 5,000 mile Totem Pole Journey to the Canadian tar sands to draw attention to the negative effects of fossil fuel extraction on many Native American lands. Several members of the Lummi Nation participated in two General Assembly workshops as well leading our Public Witness, on June 27. Read the reflection here.

Change the Story, Change the Future

David Korten returns to GA 2015 in Portland to share insights from his brand new book Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a Living Earth. The  book was launched on Jan. 25 at All Saints Church in Pasadena. Watch this 42-minute presentation at the “Rector’s Forum” and a longer presentation later that day (two hours). Both are well worth your time.

2015 GA – UUMFE workshops

Thursday

Commit2Respond: Shift To a Low Carbon Future. Cindy Davidson, Rev.Susannah Tuttle,Elizabeth Mount, Rev.Joseph Santos-Lyons. Working towards ecologically just, sustainable communities requires radical shifts to a less energy-intensive and cleaner energy future. Learn how UUs can take direct action as individuals, in small groups, at the congregational level and in partnership with community organizations to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon life-sustaining society. #242,Thursday, 1:15-2:30 pm

Moving From Capitalism Towards An Ecological Economy. Kat Liu, Aly Tharp, Matthew McHale. Our current economic system relies on unending growth, in which our role is as consumers, the ecological and social impacts of which are obscured. This workshop explores the relationship between capitalism and environmental justice issues such as climate change and marine plastic pollution; then offers suggestions to shift from consumerism towards grateful simplicity. #264, Thursday, 3:00-4:15 pm

Commit2Respond: Growing Young Adult Leadership for Climate Justice. Aly Tharp, Benjamin Franklin Craft-Rendon, Elizabeth Mount, Tim DeChristopher. Join visioning conversations about how to empower or embody young adult leadership in climate justice organizing in our faith communities and at large. Leaders of the UU Young Adults for Climate Justice network, who are putting faith into action to address the intersecting social and environmental struggles of our time, will facilitate the conversation. All ages welcome! #280, Thursday, 4:45-6:00 pm

Friday

Transformation Without Apocalypse: A Moral Response To Climate Change. Kathleen Dean Moore, Rev.Jill McAllister. Standing on a cliff edge, our calling is to find a new path through the rubble of repudiated ideas toward a radically re-imagined understanding of who we are in the world and how we ought to live. What new narratives point the way? Award-winning author, philosopher, and environmental advocate Kathleen Dean Moore explores possible answers. #324, Friday, 1:15-2:30 pm.

Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Earth (Part 1 and 2). Double session. Examines old stories that hold us captive to a system of institutions that value money more than life. Hear Korten’s new optimistic Sacred Life and Living Earth Story based on generative systems by which a living Earth maintains the conditions essential to all life. Come deepen your theological and spiritual understandings for sustained advocacy and social justice work. Dr. David Korten, Rev. Melvin Hoover, Irene Keim, Michael Greenspan. #331, Friday, 3:00-4:15 pm and 4:45-6:00 pm

Saturday

United for Climate Justice: A Young Adult Led Intergenerational Service. Jennifer Nordstrom, Dave Ruffin, Tim DeChristopher, Aly Tharp. A truly inter-generational worship experience that celebrates the diversity of our cultural heritage and life experiences. Climate justice calls us to find unity in the present by acknowledging lessons from our past and dreaming big for a socially just and sustainable future. Join us in worship, that every voice may be present and heard, in the spirit of a just community. #420, Saturday, 1:15-2:30 pm