Advertisement
New Unitarian documentary
Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, a documentary about Unitarians Martha and the Rev. Waitstill Sharp and their work to rescue those fleeing persecution during WWII, premiered on PBS September 20. Co-producers Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowky were interviewed by various news outlets, which reported widely on the story. The film was also screened at the White House, where two members of the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, New York, were honored for their help with the current refugee crisis. The Boston Globe, in covering the Sharps’ story, also explored the long history of UU activism. (Washington Post, 9.19.16; Boston Globe, 9.8.16)
Charlotte protests
The Rev. Robin Tanner, lead minister at Piedmont UU Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, gave her account of the protests that erupted in the city after Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot by police. (CNN, 9.22.16)
Suing to go solar
First Parish in Bedford, Massachusetts, is suing the town for the right to install solar panels on its property. Citing the UUA’s requirements for achieving Green Sanctuary status, the congregation argues that the town’s Historic District Commission is violating its right to freely exercise its religious beliefs by denying the necessary certification for installing the panels. (Boston Globe, 7.14.16; Christian Century, 8.31.16)
Church’s plantation past
The Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after learning that its property was once a plantation that enslaved 44 people, discovered and publicly displayed the names of each of the slaves, in part to challenge the community to wrestle with its history of slavery. (The Advocate, 5.1.16)
Visit uuworld.org/blog for links to coverage of UUs from other media.