Spring for Change 2024 | Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth

World Water Day: Water is Life – March 21, 2024

Find the Recording of this event here: https://www.uumfe.org/embodiment-recordings/

7:00 pm ET, 6:00 CT, 5:00 MT, 4:00 PT / about 90 minutes
Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs and Rev. Karen Van Fossan

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEldOqvqzgpE9KuY_xU0puUhVgbYq22IDIB

World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness that 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water. We are honored to welcome Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs and Rev. Karen Van Fossan into a conversation on this important and sacred day. They are defenders and protectors of water; two spiritual leaders in our UU movement who will help us build a heart-centered approach to a right relationship with Mother Earth and her waters.

Rev. Dr. Clyde Grubbs is a Unitarian Universalist minister who served congregations in Indiana, Quebec, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and California. He honors his Native American heritage (Texas Cherokee) which informs his spiritual understanding and practice, and his anti-racist and anti-oppressive commitment He has worked for peace, justice and equality since he was in the Unitarian Universalist youth movement, Liberal Religious Youth.

Rev. Karen is also a Unitarian Universalist minister and author of A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector. She is an abolitionist, licensed professional counselor, and former defendant in the Line 3 pipeline resistance. She is pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry specializing in abolition through Pacific School of Religion. Clyde is on her dissertation advisory committee. Karen lives in Fargo, North Dakota, on the traditional lands of Anishinaabe, Lakota/Dakota, and many Indigenous peoples.

Movement Training for Young Adults – Saturdays in April

Find the Recordings of these trainings for 2024 AND 2023 on our Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/937917439

UUYACJ is hosting its third annual movement training workshop series! This workshop series seeks to support, resource, and empower young adults in their activism and organizing. Over the course of four Saturdays, participants will gain skills and knowledge relevant to all justice movements, such as how to build deep relationships, crafting direct actions, incorporating art, and using herbalism to care for ourselves and each other. Justice work asks so much of organizers and UUYACJ is grateful that we get to offer these free workshops as a gift in return. You can attend just one, or all of them!

These live, virtual workshops are open to all young adults (ages 18-35). They will be happening every Saturday in April over Zoom. They’ll start at 12pm PT/ 1pm MT/ 2pm CT/ 3pm ET, lasting for an hour and a half.

Register ahead of time for the workshops at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vf–tqDgrGNSQ7N2imZ5v5U2SOzTycquE

For those that are not young adults, we ask that you do not register and respect the importance of having a space for YAs to learn together. The recordings will be made available for everyone’s viewing after the series has concluded.

Workshop Information

Saturday, April 6th — Building Trust in the Community: Relationships in Movement Work. Presenters: Micaela Lattimer (they/them/elle), Destini Philpot (they/them), and Lucia Gambino (open pronouns)
Saturday, April 13th — Making the Movement Irresistible: Creative Non-Violent Direct Action Strategy. Presenters: Martha Durkee-Neuman (she/her) and Alice Kurima Newberry (she/they) Description: Creative non-violent direct action such as street theater, die-ins, flash mob, guerilla projection, light brigade, banner drops, etc, can be key strategic tactics in movements for social justice. Come join us to learn about the action logic theory behind these actions, why we do them, and have the opportunity to brainstorm your own creative action.
Saturday, April 20th — Collective Creativity: Art as a Tool for Liberation. Presenters: Nasreen Khan (she/her). Description: We often think of communication as solely verbal or written. What can art and artists teach us about communication and liberation? Come join us to learn about some ways that visual symbolism and personal and collective creative processes can become a tool towards liberation.
Saturday, April 27th — Healing and Wellness in Movements: Herbal First Aid Kits. Presenters: Nora Rasman (she/her) and India Harris (she/her). Description: Plants offer us wisdom, healing and deep medicine. They offer an opportunity to practice reciprocity as we unlearn systems of extraction and domination. Herbal medicine is a powerful and integral way we can care for ourselves and each other. We will talk about and show some ways to build a basic herbal first aid kit that can be used to aid your healing and wellness and in service to our broader social justice movements.

Earth Day Celebration…on the full moon – April 23, 2024

7:00-8:00 pm ET, 6:00-7:00 pm CT, 5:00-6:00 pm MT, 4:00-5:00 pm PT.

Join UU Ministry for Earth to celebrate Earth Day! We protect what we love, so come explore how we can do that as UUs! There will be time for reflection and small group sharing. Zoom link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3248332840?pwd=SXVScW1ESzJILy9PMWlkTXVkTnpjZz09

Earth Day Materials for Your Congregation

Click here for Earth Day Worship materials: Protecting What We Love.

Spiritual Care for Climate Distress, Anxiety and Grief

Worship, Workshop and Small Group Ministry Resources. Find it all here.

Extra resources for Climate Justice at the Intersection of Congregational Life

International Day of Biodiversity: Creator as Anchor; Collapse as Teacher – May 22, 2024

7:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm CT/ 5:00 pm MT/ 4:00 pm PT

Join UU Ministry for Earth for poetry, song and story to honor International Day for Biological Diversity with Dr. Lyla June Johnston

Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing. She blends her study of Human Ecology at Stanford, graduate work in Indigenous Pedagogy, and the traditional worldview she grew up with to inform her music, perspectives and solutions. Her doctoral research focused on the ways in which pre-colonial Indigenous Nations shaped large regions of Turtle Island (aka the Americas) to produce abundant food systems for humans and non-humans.

We will collect donations, half of which will go to National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. https://www.niwrc.org/

Your congregation or organization can sponsor the event financially and be featured that evening and here on our website. Email daniellawlor@uumfe.org.

Share the Plate

Many Unitarian Universalist congregations have a practice of sharing their Sunday offering with community organizations, causes and groups. The logistics vary, but the core practice is to give part of the community offering to a cause beyond the immediate congregation that reflects our values and aspirations. Would you consider sharing the plate for Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) during this sacred Spring for Change?

If you would like to share your collection with us here’s how ⬇️ click the image below for details.

Thanks to our Spring for Change partners who are promoting and attending all these events:

UUA Side with Love
UUs for a Just Economic Community
UU College for Social Justice
UUs for Social Justice
JUUstice Washington
Texas UU Justice Ministry
Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois

Financial Sponsors Include:

UUA Side with Love

UU College of Social Justice