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Minister marches for immigrant justice
The Rev. Wendy Von Courter of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is among the marchers carrying a child-sized cardboard coffin from Boston to Dover, New Hampshire, to protest the government’s treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers. The coffin bears the names and photographs of seven children who have died while in ICE custody. Commenting on the emotional toll of the journey, Von Courter said, “We've personally invited every presidential candidate to place their hands on the coffin and feel the weight of their deaths.” (Daily News, August 22)
Buttigieg campaign hires UU faith outreach director
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg has hired the Rev. Shawna Foster, a UU minister, as his campaign’s faith outreach director. Describing previous approaches to faith outreach, Foster said, “The conversation about religion and politics has been dominated by one particular type of religion. . . . I want to make sure the campaign is really reaching out to faiths that typically haven’t had much say in politics—Native American spirituality, Sikh spirituality, Bahais.” (Washington Post, August 9)
A newspaper in Buttigieg’s home state of Indiana weighed in on the candidate’s choice of a Unitarian Universalist for the position, noting that while “progressive worshippers might be open to that type of messenger . . . more conservative voters, especially white evangelicals, might struggle to relate to that choice.” (Indianapolis Star, August 26)
Congregation divests from fossil fuel companies
The Federated Church of Marlborough, New Hampshire, has made a concrete commitment to combating climate change. The congregation, which is affiliated with the UUA, the UCC, and the United Methodist Church, divested about $50,000 in stocks from companies that deal primarily with fossil fuels. Explaining the congregation’s action, Church Council President Marjorie Shepardson wrote, “I believe working to avert a climate crisis is a moral issue because we ought to pass on a clean, livable planet to future generations. . . . It also involves economic justice because often the poor are the hardest hit.” (Sentinel Source, August 23)