News that Matters

June 5, 2024

SHARE THE PLATE has been a successful UCN program since the fall of 2008. Every month, since that date, half of our Sunday offerings (the plate) have been donated to a program or organization NOMINATED BY A MEMBER OR FRIEND of the congregation. Those donations have gone to local, regional, national and international organizations. The recipient for March and April, Food and Water Watch, received $1,657.28. Our total giving at the end of April was $103,680.29!

Our donations for May and June will go to The Trevor Project, a national organization supporting LGBTQ+ youth and families. The website for TTP is impressive; there are resources for youth seeking counseling, information for parents and others wanting to learn more about lifestyles, caring and appropriate language, and much more. Check it out.

Do you have a favorite charity that you would like to receive a Share The Plate Donation? Nominate that charity. The Social Justice Committee reviews nominations and approves them for receipt of funds. You’ll find nomination forms available in the North Lobby on a table by the church office. Or, find a form on the UCN website, fill it out online and send it. Seeing your charity receive this donation and the recognition of the congregation is very rewarding.

Do you have an interest in facilitating and encouraging participation in the election process this year? Are you eager to learn about and share guidance from different UU (and other) organizations to help inspire voters at UCN? Does knowing that this assignment would be over in only 5 months encourage you to volunteer?

The Social Justice Committee needs someone who would be willing to spread the word about the upcoming elections and encourage people to be engaged in getting out the vote. The SJC is already focused on several important issues and does not have the personnel to dedicate to this equally important concern.

Please get in touch with Leigh Hoftiezer (leigh.hoftiezer@gmail.com) if you have any questions or would like to volunteer.

Located in the main lobby on UCN’s upper level, the Social Justice Wall displays the awards and membership certificates received that reflect the dedication not only of the committee, but also of the wider UCN congregation that supports our work. Established around 2013, much-needed updating was completed this year and will continue with new portraits every few months.

From the beginning, our intention has been to honor and recognize people of color who have been active and effective in social justice work. A pamphlet to introduce you to the current honorees is available on the display wall.

If you weren’t able to attend the UCN Annual Meeting on May 19, you may have not heard about the Fund for Social Justice award for 2024. Two organizations were nominated before the annual deadline of January 15. After much study and discussion, the Social Justice Committee chose Feast of Crispian to bring forward for a congregational vote, which unanimously approved the nomination.

The person who nominated this organization was very moved by the work they do to help veterans and incarcerated people, as demonstrated in a Sunday service on 9/3/2023. More information may be found at https://www.feastofcrispian.org/

As part of UCN’s recertification as a Welcoming Congregation for LGBTQ+ people, the Social Justice Committee is sponsoring the film ‘We Exist: Beyond the Binary’ on Saturday, June 15. A pizza and salad dinner will be served at 6 pm in the Fellowship Hall, followed by the film and a panel discussion with three non-binary speakers at 6:30 pm in the sanctuary upstairs. Donations will be accepted for the Trevor Project, which provides counseling, resources, and other support for LGBTQ+ teens.

Below is a description of the film from its website weexist.co:

What if the world told you that you do not exist? For many gender non-confirming individuals this is the reality. The impact of that reality is both personal and global: invisibility, silencing, systemic discrimination and exclusion, and the denial of the most fundamental human right–the legal right to exist. Despite these extraordinarily rigid conditions, personal determination and social agency prevail.

‘We Exist: Beyond the Binary’ is one of the first films to document this growing community living life “beyond the binary” construct of gender. ‘We Exist’ offers a first-hand account of what it is like to exist other than male or female while living within the confines of a world that is slow to catch up.

The narrative intimately follows the life of Lauren: a person in their mid-twenties who identifies as gender neutral. Lauren’s story chronicles their life across multiple continents capturing the emotional, physical, and mental changes and obstacles Lauren must face just to be. From leaving a promising basketball career to a near-death experience in the depths of the rainforest, Lauren’s journey is transformative and unique yet parallels the tale of so many around the world.

‘We Exist: Beyond the Binary’ is not a film about oppression and obscurity but a film of progress and truth. Lauren’s story (along with others like Lauren) is not simply one of finding and defining one’s gender identity; it is a celebration of being. ‘We Exist’ tells the tale of so many around the world forced to overcome nearly impossible and often life-threatening odds just to get to say, “I exist.”

UCN is in the process of renewing our Welcoming Congregation status with the UUA, affirming our commitment to LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. This process will take approximately one year and involves five “Practices of Welcome Renewal.” We have already completed the first step of having our original Welcoming Congregational approval, which happened in 2004. The second step is having two Welcoming Worship services, focusing on LGBTQ+ issues. Rev. Scott will be leading one this year and the other one is still being determined.

The third is the practice of Welcome Renewal, marking Welcoming Days of Observance. These are days with particular interest to LGBTQ+ communities, including the Pulse Nightclub Day of Remembrance and World AIDS day. You may have heard Gay Pride Month announced from the pulpit during last Sunday’s service.

The fourth practice is Welcoming Religious Education. We will have a screening of the film “We Exist: Beyond the Binary” on Saturday, June 15 starting with pizza at 6 and the film and a panel discussion at 6:30. More information on this event can be found in this newsletter. It is recommended that at least 10% of our members attend this event, so we hope you can make it.

The final component is Supporting a Welcoming Project. We are fulfilling this step by donating our Share the Plate funds from May and June to the Trevor Project, which provides support, resources, and counseling to LGBTQ+ youth. We appreciate your generosity and support of these endeavors. If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please contact Leigh Hoftiezer (Leigh.Hoftiezer@gmail.com) or Julie Konik (Julie.Konik@gmail.com).

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