Reports from UU congregations around the U.S.

About 20 people from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, CO joined about 3000 others on Sep 27th 2002 in a march in Denver to protest a preemptive war against Iraq.

Local media covered this event on television and in print. News stories from many local newspapers are collected at: http://ccmep.org/
Contact: Neal McBurnett [neal@bcn.boulder.co.us]

Members of First Universalist Church, Minneapolis, MN have formed a Pathways to Peace Group. They organized a meeting of church members with Barb Johnson from Senator Mark Dayton's office on Thursday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the church. They will be meeting with Mark Anderson from Senator Paul Wellstone's staff on Thursday, October 3.

Members are reviewing the "talking points" prepared by the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy and are gathering signatures on petition drives and organizing letter writing asking the U.S. Congress to prevent a war on Iraq. They are working with the Move-On No War campaign and joining in the efforts of Ben and Jerry's new organization, True Majority at www.truemajority.org. The church is also a sponsor of a "No New War Against Iraq!" rally to be held on Monday, October 7 at 4:30 PM at the Federal Courts Building, 4th St and 3rd Ave, downtown Minneapolis.

Received 9/24/02 from Betsy Allis, Outgoing Social Justice Chair (ERALLIS@aol.com) and compiled from First Universalist's website at www.firstuniv.org

The Rev. John Morgan of First UU Church of Berks County, PA distributed copies of UUA President William G. Sinkford's Pastoral Letter on Threat of War with Iraq to a gathering of social activists for peace. The letter was so well-received the group decided to raise funds to publish it in the Eagle, the newspaper for Berks County and was published on Saturday, Sept. 28th.

Received 9/24/02 from The Rev. John Morgan (jcrossleymorgan@yahoo.com)

Members of First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI have created a Task Force on Peace and Justice "in response to the unending violence in the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, and the terrible threat of war with Iraq" reports Wendy Cooper, the church's Social Justice Coordinator. They have organized a "faxing for peace" campaign which has sent hundreds of appeals to each member of their congressional delegation (Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Herb Kohl, and Sen. Russell Feingold) and to President Bush to avert war. They have also sponsored two full page signature ads in statewide newspapers in the last two weeks.

Received 9/24 from Wendy Cooper, Social Justice Coordinator (wacoop@chorus.net)

Members of the Social Action Committee at the UU Fellowship at Easton, MD have been participating in a weekly peace vigil, contacting their senators and congressional representatives, and writing letters to the editor of various newspapers to urge a peaceful resolution with Iraq. They are sending a delegation to the Sunday, September 29th "Don't Bomb Iraq: Non-Violent March Against the War on Iraq sponsored by the National Council of Churches (NCC) and others.

Received from Jim Richardson, Chair of the Social Action Committee (designs@intercom.net)

This past Wednesday, Setp. 25th, several Rhode Island UU ministers and church members participated in a peace rally at the Statehouse. Ministers were: Rachelle Russell, 1st Unitarian Church, (Providence), Steve Landale, Bell Street Chapel, (Providence), Fred Gillis, Westminister Unitarian Church, (East Greenwich), Amy Freedman, Channing Memorial (Newport). Rev Russel was one of the speakers at the rally. Each church has several members in attendance also.

Received from The Rev. William Zelazny - District Executive, UUA Ballou Channing District

Unitarian Universalists from Burlington, VT, showed up on September 19th to demonstrate against an appearance of Vice President Dick Cheney as the US administration continues a push toward invasion of Iraq. The story was covered in the media and can be found on WCAX-TV's website at http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=942349&nav=4QcSBLh0 . The Rev. Gary Kowalski, minister of the Burlington congregation, was quoted as saying, "War on Iraq right now would be a tremendous mistake, war on Iraq would be attacking a country that's not currently threatening us, that's not currently threatening its neighbors, and that would be a violation of both moral law and international law."

UU South Fork Demonstrators

The UU Congregation of South Fork, NY demonstrated on Sept. 29th in front of their church against the march toward war with Iraq

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In Littleton MA, the Rev. Fred Small is serving as an advocacy organizer for the MoveOn campaign in the Massachusetts Fifth District. He preached from the pulpit on Sunday, Sept. 26th, urging the congregation to form a peace task force to join interfaith efforts to avert war. Rev. Small is also a signatory of the Not in Our Name full page ad that appeared in the New York Times on September 19th.

The UU Congregation of Greenville NC, through it's Social Action Committee, provided letters for congregation members to sign with pre-addressed envelopes supplied to write to Pres. Bush and the entire North Carolina congressional delegation, and supplied postage for these letters.

About 125 letters were signed and mailed this week and we will continue to have them for members who missed the opportunity last Sunday. The letters stated objections to unilateral, pre-emptive strikes against Iraq and urged Pres. Bush to work through the UN.

-- Received from Dianne and Hooker Horton [hodiho@clis.com]

-- Received from Phyllis Hubbell [Phyllis.Hubbell@verizon.net]

From Sally Breen, Social Action Chair, Allen Avenue UU Church, Portland, ME - Sept. 26, 2002

"Some of the members of our church were on the street in Portland today with our ironing boards and literature for passersby. We held signs opposing the war with Iraq. I had a small drum which I played as we then walked to Representative Tom Allen's office where we sent a message via his aide to thank him, as Tom Allen has said he intends to vote "no" to the president's request for war. We then drummed and walked to the office of Senator Susan Collins to thank her for bravely standing up and questioning Donald Rumsfeld as he called for war with Iraq. We then walked to Senator Olympia Snowe's office to request that she follow the lead of Representative Tom Allen and vote "no" when the president makes his request for war with Iraq.

"Tomorrow, we plan on making a "Wake Up Call" visit to their offices. We will be playing drums and beating on pots and pans to wake them up to the urgency of their voting "no." On Friday, we will again visit their offices to let them know that we are serious about our intentions.

"Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. a group of young people are holding a rally on Congress Street in Portland. Many of us will be there to support them."

From a press release sent by the Unitarian Church of Evanston, IL - September 25, 2002:

September 25, 2002
For Immediate Release:

Evanston, Illinois 60201

On Sunday, September 22, 2002, The Unitarian Church of Evanston members voted to support peace for Iraq. Sherry Graham Nelson, Chair of the Board of Trustees moderated a Congregational Meeting.

The following proposal was passed by 94% of the 126 members present:

"We, the Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois, support peace for Iraq. We grant permission that our church be named publicly as an opponent of the ongoing bombing of Iraq and war on Iraq at this time."

For More Information:

Sherry Graham Nelson 847-864-3730
Rev. Barbara Pescan 847-864-1330

Monroe County Courthouse

Monroe County Courthouse on Sept. 11th

From Bloomington UU Church, Bloomington, Indiana The Peace and Justice Task Force of the Social Action Coordinating Council of the UU Church of Bloomington IN have been witnessing for peace on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse (see photo) since August 7th with an interfaith group called Congregations for Peace along with Bloomington Action Coalition and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. On September 11th 30 UUs attended. A week later 90 UUs came out to witness. Members went to Senator Lugar's office as part of the national Move-On program on August 28th. They will be sponsoring a panel on Oct. 22nd and have raised funds to bring Max Elbaum, Editor of War Times, to speak at that event.

From Roger Comstock, Acting District Executive, Northeast District - Sept. 27, 2002:
"The Maine Council of Churches has prepared a very good statement opposing the War."

Personal letter from Roger and Faith Comstock to Portland Herald

From The Vineyard Gazette, Sept. 27, 2002 (Martha's Vineyard, MA): Islanders Pray for Peace on Remembrance Day" by Mandy Locke

From Atlanta, Georgia: Over the past two Sundays, members of the UU Congregation of Atlanta Social Justice Council have collected 206 signatures on petitions to their senators which are being delivered this week. More signatures will be collected and a members will staff a letter writing table. Some members have been attending weekly rallies outside of Senator Zell Miller's office. Others are traveling to New York City to an anti-war rally on Oct. 6th.

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