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Ashley Horan, executive director of the Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, is interviewed about being a leader in racial justice activism and some of the difficulties of working with liberal white people to build a lasting partnership with the black community. Horan is doing impressive work organizing UUs in Minnesota to show up for the Black Lives Matter movement. (truthout.org - 5.28.15)
UUSC aids migrant mothers in detention
Rachel Gore Freed of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is interviewed on the harmful conditions that migrant women are experiencing in Texas family detention centers, especially pregnant women. The Service Committee provides financial and technical support on behalf of detained mothers. (The Miami Herald - 6.3.15)
UUs are early advocates for changing federal drug policy
For the Rev. Al Sharp, United Church of Christ minister and founder of Clergy for a New Drug Policy, advocacy is his ministry. Sharp is one of a growing number of clergy members working to change federal drug policy. He feels that the Unitarian Universalist Association's statement of conscience on the so-called "War on Drugs" was ahead of its time and sees his group’s work as essentially implementing the directives in that statement. (Chicago Tribune - 6.2.15)
Marriage equality is a good start
In spite of a marriage equality law that took effect June 1 in Illinois, the Rev. Erik David Carlson of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Stockton worries that people still feel a lingering stigma about being public about their gay or lesbian identity. He hopes that local organizations can be strengthened to expand the support of the community. (THOnline.com - 6.2.15)
UU welcome of LGBTQ people still makes the news
A profile of Dyrk Hamilton, a transgender man in Michigan, examines the role that his acceptance by and participation in the People’s Church in Kalamazoo has played in helping him feel like part of his community. His friendship with the church’s minister has been transformative for them both as well. (mlive.com - 6.5.15)
Brett Jones is known for being the first openly gay Navy SEAL, and he served the Navy for ten years. A recent profile looks at his life in Huntsville, Alabama, with his husband and teenaged son. The family attends a local UU church where they have been warmly welcomed. (Military.com - 6.2.15)
Some analysis of the widely-discussed Pew Research Center data on religious behavior of Americans highlights trends specifically among respondents who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). It finds that LGB adults are religiously unaffiliated at about twice the rate of Americans overall, and those who claim an affiliation do so to smaller faith traditions like Unitarian Universalism. (Towleroad.com - 6.2.15)