Opportunities for Congregational Participation with President Sinkford's Africa Pilgrimage

On November 4, 2008, Reverend William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), will embark on a 19-day pilgrimage to six African countries: South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

There are a variety of ways that Unitarian Universalists and UU congregations can participate in this journey. Please join with Reverend Sinkford by:

1. Learning about the people and places he plans to visit,
2. Reading blogposts, news stories and reports, viewing pictures, and watching video recordings produced during the journey,
3. Joining one of the live, interactive Sunday School web-casts with Reverend Sinkford,
4. Participating in the “Propose a Question” contest.

I. Learn About the People and Places Reverend Sinkford Plans to Visit

South Africa

The first segment of Reverend Sinkford’s Africa journey will take him to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. While there he will:

• Meet and worship with the Unitarian congregation in Cape Town
  • Cape Town Unitarian Church
  • Unitarian Congregations—South Africa
  • History of Unitarianism in South Africa
    
• Meet with a variety of leaders of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission including Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  • Understanding Apartheid—a resource from the Apartheid Museum
  • The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  • The UUA’s Truth, Repair and Reconciliation materials
• Meet with leaders of The Triangle Project—a leading LGBT rights organization in Cape Town
• Meet with UU Service Committee program partners (Coalition against Water Privatization—CAWP) to discuss their efforts to secure Water Rights in Soweto
  • YouTube Video 1
  • YouTube Video 2
  • Blogpost about a UUSC meeting with leaders of CAWP

Uganda

From Johannesburg, Reverend Sinkford will travel to Kampala, Uganda. While there he will:

• Meet and worship with the UU congregation in Kampala and its founder, Reverend Mark Kiyimba
• Visit the UU congregation’s HIV/AIDS project supported by the UU Funding Panel.
  • HIV/AIDS Pandemic
  • The UU Global AIDS Coalition
• Join with Unitarian Universalists in Masaka, Uganda for the founding worship service of their new congregation.

Kenya

After his meetings and visits in Uganda, Reverend Sinkford will travel to Nairobi, Kenya. While there he will:

• Meet with leaders of the Kenya Unitarian Universalist Council (KUUC) representing more than 40 congregations throughout Kenya.
• Attend a joint worship service led by 3 Nairobi congregations, the Central Kenya congregation, the Ruai congregation, and Kisii congregations.
• Visit 4 social justice projects in and around Nairobi that were established and are operated by the Kenyan Unitarian churches.
• Meet with leaders of two UUSC program partner organizations:
  • KENASVIT (Kenya National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders)
  • Rock Women Group

Senegal

From Kenya, Reverend Sinkford’s journey moves on to Dakar, Senegal where he will visit the UNESCO world heritage site that serves as a powerful witness to the Atlantic Slave Trade, Île de Gorée.

• A BBC article about Gorée Island
• UNESCO's website about Gorée Island

Ghana

The fifth segment of Reverend Sinkford’s journey will be spent in Ghana. While here he will:

• Visit leaders of the UU United Nations Office’s program partner, the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association of Eastern Ghana, and their “Every Child is our Child” HIV/AIDS program in Odumase.
• Meet in Accra with leaders of:
  • The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
  • The United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
  • The Ghana AIDS Commission
• Meet with 2008 "Freedom Award" recipient James Kofi Annan, a partner of the human rights organization "Free the Slaves."

Nigeria

Reverend Sinkford’s journey ends in Lagos, Nigeria. While here he will be meeting and worshipping with the leaders and members of the Unitarian community in Lagos.

• International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) curriculum unit (PDF) from The Garden of Unitarian*Universalism with information about the Unitarian Brotherhood Church in Lagos (as well as Unitarians in South Africa and Burundi).
• A Global Conversation: Proceedings of the ICUU Theological Symposium 2001 in England. Including a presentation by Nigerian Unitarian Aseo Taiyewo Aiyefuwa. Available from ICUU.

For Suggestions about including information about the people and places Reverend Sinkford will be visiting in Religious Education programs, please contact the UUA's International Resources Office.

II. Read Blogposts, News Stories and Reports; View Pictures; and Watch Video Recordings Produced During the Journey

There will be daily updates during Reverend Sinkford’s journey posted at the UU Pilgrimage blog and here on UUA.org.

On the blog you’ll also find links to the latest images and video recorded during the journey, a Google map showing Reverend Sinkford’s itinerary, and links to a variety of additional resources.

You can also subscribe to an rss feed of the blog.

III. Join One of the Live, Interactive Sunday School Webcasts with Reverend Sinkford

UU Sunday School classes are invited to “link-up” with Reverend Sinkford during his journey on three Sunday mornings.

• Sunday, November 9, at 11 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Central, 9 a.m. Mountain, 8 a.m. Pacific
• Sunday, November 16, at noon Eastern, 11 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Mountain, 9 a.m. Pacific
• Sunday, November 23, at 2 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Central, noon Mountain, 11 a.m. Pacific

During each webcast, Sunday School classes can access live audio and video of Reverend Sinkford talking about his journey, and communicate with him through a “chat” interface. Webcasts are scheduled to last for 1 hour. Sunday School classes of all ages are welcome to participate.

Detailed participation instructions are available online. Or, contact the International Resources Office (international @ uua.org) for assistance.

IV. Participate in the “Propose a Question” Contest

Is there a question or an issue that you’d like Reverend Sinkford to raise with one of the groups or leaders that he’ll be meeting with during his journey? Maybe there’s something you’ve always wanted to ask Archbishop Tutu? Or, maybe there’s a question you’d like to ask members of the Unitarian community in Nigeria?

If so, please submit the question or issue to the “Propose a Question” contest. Visitors to Reverend Sinkford's blog can participate in polls to determine the contest winners. And, Reverend Sinkford will report back the responses that are received to the most popular “questions.”