UUs in Action
Part of Riddle and Mystery, 6th Grade
The First Situation is based on "Taking Justice to the Community" by Kimberly French, in UU World, September/October 2002. The Second Situation is based on "Work Camp" by Heather Robb, in UU World, September/October 2002. The Fourth Situation is based on
First Situation: Life is unfair. Some African American congregations in the South had their buildings burned down by white racists. This is the story of how some UUs responded. Eighteen hundred volunteers, aged 13 to 81, helped from 1996 to 2000 to rebuild African American churches in Alabama and South Carolina. The buildings had been burned to the ground by white segregationists. Each church building took about six months to rebuild. A new team of volunteers arrived every week. They stayed in trailers on the construction sites. Many of the volunteers signed up through the Unitarian Universalist Committee. Others came through an organization called Washington Quaker Work Camps.
Second Situation: Life is unfair. The children of migrant workers in eastern Washington State had no place to play. This is the story of how some UUs responded. Twenty teens and young adults from around the country traveled to a migrant camp near the Columbia River in the summer of 2001. The volunteers did all sorts of physical work, from cleaning trash and pulling weeds to helping with construction. They built a playground, they cooked, they played with children and they made friends. One of the UU youth was Heather Robb, from Newark, Delaware. "The work I did in Crewport has definitely made me appreciate the luxuries and privileges I have in my life," she said later. "But more important, it has given me a greater sense of my responsibility to use that privilege to make the world a more just place."
Third Situation: Life is unfair. Some people did not have enough to eat. This is the story of how some UUs responded. Children and youth at the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church in Portland, Maine have done many, different faith in action projects. They have contributed to Project FEED, which gives food to those who do not have it. They have served breakfast at a resource center, and dinner at a soup kitchen. They have made cookies, place mats and desserts for the soup kitchen. They have collected food plus art and laundry supplies for the local Ronald MacDonald House. They have created back-to-school kits and sweet dreams kits with pillowcases, books and stuffed animals for a local family shelter.
Fourth Situation: Life is unfair. Hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2006, killing many people and leaving thousand homeless. This is the story of how some UUs responded. Many individual UU youth and adults and many UU groups have visited the Gulf Coast to assist. One group from the Winchester, Massachusetts UU Society had 34 youth and nine adults. "We were all shocked to see destruction far worse than the images that we'd seen on the news," said Emma Sprague, a high school senior. "We learned that as youth we have the strength to make a real difference in the world." When the youth returned home, they made their own video to show at other congregations, which then raised money for making health kits to send people in the Gulf Coast.
Fifth Situation: Life is unfair. Many people in American have no homes. This is the story of how some UUs responded. In Huntington, New York, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has provided a shelter for people who had been living in the woods during the winter. UU churches in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Golden, Colorado, have done the same thing. In Woodinville, Washington, a traveling tent city has sometimes stayed on the grounds of the UU congregation. Up to sixty women and men stay in the tent city, each for about two months
Sixth Situation (from your congregation): Life is unfair. [State the unjust situation.] This is the story of how some UUs from our congregation responded. [Describe the action.]