2008 November's Action of the Month
HIV/AIDS and Partnership
Planning a worship service for World AIDS Day? The Unitarian Universalist (UU) United Nations Office has an excellent worship resource packet to make your planning much easier.
For November's Action of the Month, we invite you to prepare for World AIDS Day, December 1st, by pursuing and/or strengthening partnerships with organizations, particularly those in your community, working with those impacted by HIV/AIDS.
You can start by educating yourself and your congregation. Are there organizations working to support people with HIV/AIDS in your community? Do they need volunteers for direct service, educators, advocates, and/or organizers? Can you offer to be allies? Do they need volunteers for direct service, educators, advocates, and/or organizers? Would it be helpful if you gathered together in public witness?
Invite one of these groups to come to the congregation to speak at a special meeting or forum. Hold a World AIDS Day service and invite an expert or an affected person to the pulpit. Have a special donation or designate one Sunday’s collection plate for the group.
Partnerships take time to take root and grow strong. But significant progress on issues cannot be made until relationships are created and power is built. Follow the links below to read about congregations that have built strong partnerships and to find resources about building strong partnerships.
Partnership Resources
Becoming a Strong Ally 101: Guidelines for Dealing with Oppression in Community
UUA Leaders Library
Inspired Faith Effective Action: A Social Justice Workbook for Unitarian Universalist Congregations
Pages 5-12 (Congregation, Community and Acting with Accountability)
A Community Builder's Tool Kit: 15 Tools for Creating Health, Productive Interracial/Multicultural Communities
A Project of the Institute for Democratic Renewal and Project Change Anti-Racism Initiative
The Unitarian Universalist Global AIDS Coalition (UUGAC)
Learn about the Red Ribbon Congregation program and the many UU congregations already working on HIV/AIDS partnerships. Read how the UUGAC is building a UU global social justice movement.
Congregational Partnership Stories
UU Congregations Respond to Global HIV/AIDS
December 8, 2006
The Interracial Interfaith Community of Savannah, GA (PDF, 9 pages)
Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge Hurricane Recovery Efforts Build Right Relationships
February 22, 2007
Dismantling Racism in the Heartland
February 22, 2007
Davies Memorial UU Church: Uniting Faith, Growth, Diversity, and Justice
February 14, 2007
Belmont UUs Offer Religious Response to Racism
February 5, 2007
Berrien UU Fellowship Spearheads Criminal Justice Reform
2004 Recipient of the Bennett Award
Tell Us Your Stories
For those of you who already have powerful partnerships, either domestically or internationally, tell us about them by emailing your story to Adam Gerhardstein at la_international @ uua.org.
For more information contact la_international @ uua.org.
Last updated on Monday, January 5, 2009.
