General Assembly 2022
Connect with UUMFE at General Assembly 2022
UU Ministry for Earth will be at the General Assembly in Portland, OR, June 21st – 26th, and we hope to connect with you there in person or virtually. UUMFE is joining with the Public Witness event, Synergy Bridging Worship Service, UU Animal Ministry and many local and regional partners to continue the tradition of Procession of Species. UUMFE also invites you to visit us at our exhibit hall booth (#200, right inside main entrance), and join in the many exciting climate justice sessions, panels, and programs featured below.
Special Events
The Procession of Species
When: Friday June 24th
Where: Oregon Convention Center
Join the flow! We will gather at 3:45pm to attend the Synergy Bridging Service together at 4:00pm in Hall CD. You may also join as we walk, fly, swim, and migrate from the service to the Public Witness event (see map and details below) at 5:30pm. Please RSVP to get updates about exact timing and route.
UUMFE invites UU congregations and communities to bring an artistic representation of an endangered or threatened species from your bioregion to General Assembly for the annual community Procession of the Species. Puppets, banners, cut-outs, and costumes encouraged! See below for featured project example from Unitarian Universalist Justice for Arizona. Whether or not you have your own art, there are many roles to play. All people and creatures are welcome to celebrate surviving and thriving together.
This year, we are excited to collaborate with the Synergy Bridging Worship Service, the Public Witness team, the Sunrise movement PDX and Youth v. ODOT, and other local partners to bring together a full, flowing afternoon of climate justice and celebration of life, transition, and migration. The theme this year, “Migration is Beautiful,” highlights the essential movement and change inherent in our interconnected web, as well as the intersectionality of climate justice for humans, animals, plants, land, and water.
Please sign up below if you plan to join to receive important information about the route and timing. If you are making a costume or piece of art for the Procession of Species, please check out the full “Call to Arts” resources and notify UUMFE about your plans through the form or email, biodiversity@uumfe.org.
RSVP for Procession of Species here!
We will gather with our art and attend the Synergy Bridging worship service together at 4:00pm in Hall CD, then Process together to the Public Witness event which begins immediately after at 5:30pm just outside of the Convention Center.
We will then Process back to the Exhibit Hall together at 6:15pm and end in celebration with a live band and closing moment.
Featured Survive and Thrive Eco-Art Project
Unitarian Universalist Justice for Arizona’s (UUJAZ) project is a beautiful example of telling this fuller story about migration, biodiversity, and climate justice for all. Under the leadership of Casey Clowes, 13 congregations across the Arizona have decorated paper cut-outs of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo bird, which will be strung together into a banner and display at GA. View this video they created that weaves together the story of the this endangered bird, the border wall, the land and water flow, and the native O’odham peoples.
Whether or not you are registered this year, we hope you’ll consider joining the Survive and Thrive cohort to pilot a curriculum designed to support learning and making art about local Endangered Species like this project for GA and year round! Sign up below to learn more and receive a draft copy of this curriculum.
UUMFE Booth and Programs
Visit us at Booth #200, on the Whoova App and join us at the programs listed below.
UUMFE also encourages you to visit the “creative lounge” and local climate justice booth #400 to learn about the local service project and recipient–East County Rising–as well as some exciting initiatives and important bioregional climate stories being lifted up by First Unitarian Portland, the Sunrise Movement PDX and Youth v. ODOT, and the indigenous-led movement to restore flow to the Snake River.
For the Long Haul, Body & Spirit (On Demand)
With Rev. Elizabeth Mount
For activists, maintaining our personal wellbeing is critical to staying in the movements we want to support. In this workshop, we will explore ways of maintaining a well-rounded physical, emotional, and spiritual life and moving through the active and restorative cycles that sustain us for the long haul.
UU Young Adults for Climate Justice
Decolonization: Why Unitarian Universalists Should Care (On Demand)
UU Ministry for Earth
The Unitarians and the Universalists developed within the white settler community. The Unitarians and Universalists saw themselves as civilizing the continent and believed that the United States had a manifest destiny “to progress.” This expansionist world view has resulted in continuous war and ecological disaster, How do we decolonize?
The Power of Climate Justice
Saturday, June 25th from 1:45 PM to 3:15 PM in Portland Ballroom 252-253
In Person
Oregon frontline communities have created “Green New Deal” programs to address the impact of climate change. They have built power by mobilizing their members and forging coalitions with traditional environmental groups. This workshop will describe how they have succeeded and explore whether similar efforts can be replicated in your community.
UU Ministry for Earth, First Unitarian Church of Portland – Community for Earth, Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM), Side With Love
- Rev. Dr. Bill Sinkford (Speaker)
- Representative Khanh Pham (Speaker) Oregon Legislature, State Representative
- Councilor Eddy Morales (Speaker) Gresham City Council and East County Rising, Council President
- Sam Baraso (Speaker) City of Portland, Program Manager, Portland Clean Energy Fund
Creating Climate Justice on an International Stage (Live Webinar)
Friday, June 24, 1:45 PM to 3:15 PM
Panelists: Bruce Knotts, Doris Marlin, Salote Soqo, Rachel Mysilvy
It’s time for Unitarian Universalists to meet the moment with action for global climate justice in advance of the 2022 UN Climate Summit known as COP27. Get equipped to mobilize in community! Push for meaningful change to create climate justice worldwide and fulfill promises made in the Paris Agreement.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing Nature: Reimagining Radical Reflection (In Person)
Friday, June 24, 1:45 PM-3:15 PM, Portland Ballroom 252-253
The panel will engage the idea of indigenous deep-storying in this moment of indigenous-led environmentalism. We will explore together what is needed now in the faith community to reflexively reimagine their relationship not just with tribes, but with ways of knowing nature.
Se’Si’Le, Side with Love, UU Ministry for Earth, NACC of Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship
