From the UUA Washington Office
Hi! I'm Amelia Rose and I work at the Unitarian Universalist Association's Washington Office for Advocacy as the Legislative Assistant for Economic Justice. Our office represents the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to the U.S. Congress and other national organizations, as well as within the faith-based advocacy community here in D.C. We also try to support the advocacy work done by UUs and congregations through written and web-based resources, presentations at District meetings and in individual congregations, and through h our weekly email action alerts.My work focuses on a couple different issues related to economic justice including early childhood education and childcare, the federal budget and tax policy, and global AIDS initiatives. Other issues our office covers include post-9/11 civil liberties, same-sex marriage, reproductive health, separation of church and state, and the Middle East conflict, among others. For each issue, we come out with a policy position according to UUA social justice statements decided at our General Assemblies, track the relevant legislation, and work with congressional offices, faith-based and secular organizations, and Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations to support or defeat policies based on our seven principles.
I grew up UU in Reston, VA and think my involvement with Young Religious Unitarian Universalism (YRUU) in high school has a lot to do with why I'm here now at the Washington Office. Basically, what made YRUU so important in my life were the adults that supported it. The adults who believed in, hung out with, talked to, advised, made fun of, and laughed with me as I trudged my way through adolescence. Without them instilling in me a feminist perspective on religion through classes on goddess worship, encouraging me to be politically-active, taking all of us camping, and renting the van to drive to Busch Gardens (theme park) every year with the money we raised through our hoagie (sub sandwich) sale, I probably never would have even gone to church in high school let alone stayed UU through college and now into young adulthood.
Their involvement in and consideration for my life and my experiences allowed me to appreciate and love myself and who I was and what I believed in, which has directly influenced the life choices I've made since then regarding my career, my politics, my faith, my friends—everything.
It wasn't any one thing my YRUU advisors, AYS (before there was Our Whole Lives (OWL), there was AYS—About Your Sexuality) leaders, director of religious e ducation, or other adults in the congregation and at cons did that had this kind of effect on me—it was just the knowledge that they respected all of us youth and wanted us to speak our minds, to lead, to think. And when given the chance, that's just what happened.
To learn more about the Washington Office and find out how to get involved you can visit their website, call (202) 296-4672, or write to:
UUA Washington Office
1320 18th
Street NW, Suite 300B
Washington D.C. 20036
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
