Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix held their annual UUJAZ service on Sunday, January 23rd, 2022. Our Executive Director, Janine Gelsinger, was honored to invite some of the frontline leaders of our partner organizations: Mika Maharaj of Phoenix Local Organizing Committee for Justice or Else, Sarra Tekola of Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, and Analise Ortiz, a reproductive justice organizer and candidate for the AZ state House of Representatives.
The incredible musical guests were Camille Sledge of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra, joined by her mother Debbie Sledge, of Sister Sledge. Their soul and gospel music filled the sanctuary with love and light that morning, and is not to be missed! The speakers shared moving stories of ongoing challenges and inspiring successes, and highlighted some of the areas they expect to be working on going forward: reproductive healthcare services, migrant justice work, advocating for reallocation of resources beyond policing in city budgets, Black Mesa indigenous land defense, mutual aid, and addressing climate change, especially water issues. Remember, your support enables all the ways that these partners shared that UUJAZ for showed up where needed, provided resources, and deepened our relationships. Click on the video below to hear their stories and discussion of what it means to do justice work together. Sometimes there are moments where you get to see the fruits of the grind, and this service was one of them! (you can start at 36:00 for the sermon from our partners).
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Yesterday was the third Little Justice Leaders gathering on Zoom. We had a great discussion about Gender Identity, co-facilitated by UUJAZ Executive Director Janine Gelsinger and her fourth-grade daughter, Vivienne. There were three main discussion questions: 1) What are some expectations you've heard about gender? (Examples: girls like pink, boys are good at sports, etc.) How do you relate, or not, to those expectations? The kiddos had a lot of examples of these. 2) We watched a video from Janine's friend and fellow UU, Alex Kapitan, that ze wrote, called The Story of Bat. The group really liked this video, and the kiddos had lots to say about animals and diversity in the animal kingdom, including about animals who are able to change genders or switch gender roles. If you want to watch this video with your kiddos, click here.
3) We discussed gender diversity: how sometimes humans like to put things in boxes (binaries) and say that everything is this or that, girls or boys, mammals or birds. But that really, there are animals and people who are both, neither, something totally different, or who don't relate to gender at all. All the kids in attendance said they had already had conversations with parents about transgender identity, way to go parents :) 3) The last part of our discussion was, how can we, as UUs, put our values into action to affirm the diversity of gender? The kiddos came up with four things: *Use the names and pronouns that people want to be called *Stand up to bullies when someone is being teased or hurt *Don't make assumptions about people's gender based on their appearance (long hair, short hair, painted nails, etc.) *Don't divide people into groups based on gender, for instance "boys sing this verse, girls sing this verse" or "men's group meets on Tuesdays and Ladies group meets on Sundays." If you want to learn more about gender, gender identities, and being welcoming and affirming to the full breadth of gender, you can check out the course from Transforming Hearts Collective. Alex from the Story of Bat video is one of the facilitators of that course, and it's really wonderful. UUJAZ purchased this course in 2019 for all the UU congregations in Arizona. If you'd like to take the online course on your own, browse through it, or get a group together at your congregation and take it together, contact Janine for login codes for free access. Yesterday was the second Little Justice Leaders gathering on Zoom, co-facilitated by UUJAZ Executive Director Janine Gelsinger and her fourth-grade daughter, Vivienne. We had a great discussion on the topic of Anti-Racism. We read a story, and the kids have the opportunity this week to do some art.
- We read a story this week from Ibram X. Kendi, called "Anti-Racist Baby." You may recognize the author from "How to Be An Anti-Racist." The book lists 9 steps for equality:
1. Open your eyes to all skin colors 2. Use your words to talk about race 3. Point at policies as the problem, not people 4. Shout "There's nothing wrong with the people!" 5. Celebrate all our differences 6. Knock down the stack of cultural blocks 7. Confess when being racist 8. We are always growing, learning, and changing 9. Believe we shall overcome racism Co-facilitator Janine Gelsinger shared that, "As a white kid growing up in the suburbs of Phoenix (Scottsdale), I was taught that racism was something from the past, something the civil rights movement ended. I thought that as long as we treated everyone the same, and with kindness, that was enough. I learned it was 'impolite' to mention race. And, in the 90s we were taught that being 'color-blind' was the ideal; to treat everyone the same and to 'not see color' was what we were supposed to do. To admit you had a racist thought or action was unheard of; that should never be discussed. As a parent now, I have a different understanding, but I still have to consciously work at unraveling this narrative when I speak to my own children (and yours!). This book helps me remember that these concepts are pretty easy for our kids to get, but it's me that has to work to unweave my childhood learnings." Several of the parents in this group had participated in Beloved Conversations, the UU anti-racism curriculum. If you haven't heard of it, you can check it out here. Beloved Conversations is a great program to do with a group from your congregation, or sign up as an individual and meet other UUs. Janine was part of the curriculum writing team at Beloved Conversations. No matter where you are on your anti-racism journey, this is a way to ground yourself in our shared values as UUs. Yesterday was the first Little Justice Leaders gathering on Zoom. We had a great discussion about Consent, co-facilitated by UUJAZ Executive Director Janine Gelsinger and her fourth-grade daughter, Vivienne.
- Group discussion about what consent means (giving permission, asking for permission, setting a boundary, saying yes or no). We talked about how that relates to trust. We talked through several scenarios of consent: going into someone else's backpack, tickling, offering a hug, taking someone's photo, asking to borrow a toy. We brainstormed and practiced ways to say no.
- During check-out, we affirmed that everyone has a right to "pass", another way to practice consent. Lots of kids took the opportunity to pass, which is great practice for telling an adult that you don't want to participate right now. Here is an overview of the lesson for you. And, here are some more ways to talk with kids about this topic: - A parent discussion guide for talking about safe and unsafe touch with your kids - An activity poster, where you can make together with your kiddo(s) a list of safe grown ups to talk to A tip sheet about modeling consent for kids -- which also has, on the last page, a list of books to look for at your library. Afterward, we got some great feedback from parents about the session. "Thank you for the resources," "This was perfect for my three kids and they were engaged and enjoyed it," and "We look forward to next time!" definitely indicated the content was resonating with both kids and adults. We look forward to next week's class too.
Learn more about The Condor and the Eagle at the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) website, here.
We Climate Strike because the climate emergency is a MORAL issue. As a people of faith, Unitarian Universalists believe in the interconnected web of existence, that it is our responsibility to care for all around us, and that our youth have the RIGHT to clean water, breathable air, and a sustainable future. The time has come for a People's movement, to build up and amplify the voices of our youth, of indigenous folx and other frontline communities, and to break the grip that fossil fuel billionaires have on our government.
Photos above: Arizona Youth Climate Strike, Phoenix First two photos below: 1. Sometimes Justice work looks like driving to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Ahwatukee, then Phoenix to make sure the youth can attend the Climate Strike. 2. After registering to vote, a UU young adult signs their first petition, from another UU young adult who is collecting signatures for ballot initiative Outlaw Dirty Money (which is led by another UU: Terry Goddard's family). |
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