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Our MissionTo engage Arizona Unitarian Universalists in justice making through:
nurturing congregational social justice ministries; connecting UU activists and congregations across the state; partnering with like-minded justice organizations; empowering UUs to work for socially just public policy. |
The Future of Us Fundraiser for UUJAZ
Hear Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto speak about our future, read their poetry, and launch their new book inspired by the desert.
Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto is a Unitarian Universalist minister, and activist for racial, trans/queer, and disability justice. They wrote Spilling the Light: Meditations on Hope and Resilience in 2019, which quickly became a favorite source for chalice lightings, meditations, poems, and prayers for UUs across the world, and is heading towards its 5th printing. Rev. Soto has served on the Journey Towards Wholeness Transformation Team, the Presidential Search Committee, the Creative Council at enfleshed, and as Interim Senior Associate for Justice Education at the UU College of Social Justice. They have worked in parish ministry, interim ministry, and hospital chaplaincy with veterans, and their public theology practice has truly made them a "Minister's Minister," beloved by religious professionals. Soto lives in the Pacific Northwest, and seeks to serve the mission and values of Unitarian Universalism, along with the healing of the world.
This fundraiser supports the work of Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona (UUJAZ), engaging UUs in Arizona in social change, putting our values into action, and Julián's ongoing ministry.
Ticket sales remain open until the event days, however register early to reserve your copy of their book, as printing is limited uujaz.org/register
Register for the event in Phoenix
Date: Tuesday, October 17th
Time: 5:30pm doors | 6:00 start time
Location: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, 4027 E Lincoln Dr, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Register for the event in Prescott
Date: Wednesday, October 18th
Time: 1:30pm doors | 2:00pm start time
Location: Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 882 Sunset Avenue, Prescott, Arizona 86305
Register for the event in Tucson
Date: Thursday, October 19th
Time: 5:00pm doors | 5:30pm start time
Location: Mountain Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 3235 W Orange Grove Rd, Tucson, AZ 85741
Register for the virtual event
Date: Friday, October 20th
Time: 4:00pm EDT, 3:00pm CDT, 2:00pm MDT, 1:00pm AZ/PDT
Location: On Zoom wherever you are
Hear Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto speak about our future, read their poetry, and launch their new book inspired by the desert.
Rev. Julián Jamaica Soto is a Unitarian Universalist minister, and activist for racial, trans/queer, and disability justice. They wrote Spilling the Light: Meditations on Hope and Resilience in 2019, which quickly became a favorite source for chalice lightings, meditations, poems, and prayers for UUs across the world, and is heading towards its 5th printing. Rev. Soto has served on the Journey Towards Wholeness Transformation Team, the Presidential Search Committee, the Creative Council at enfleshed, and as Interim Senior Associate for Justice Education at the UU College of Social Justice. They have worked in parish ministry, interim ministry, and hospital chaplaincy with veterans, and their public theology practice has truly made them a "Minister's Minister," beloved by religious professionals. Soto lives in the Pacific Northwest, and seeks to serve the mission and values of Unitarian Universalism, along with the healing of the world.
This fundraiser supports the work of Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona (UUJAZ), engaging UUs in Arizona in social change, putting our values into action, and Julián's ongoing ministry.
Ticket sales remain open until the event days, however register early to reserve your copy of their book, as printing is limited uujaz.org/register
Register for the event in Phoenix
Date: Tuesday, October 17th
Time: 5:30pm doors | 6:00 start time
Location: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, 4027 E Lincoln Dr, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Register for the event in Prescott
Date: Wednesday, October 18th
Time: 1:30pm doors | 2:00pm start time
Location: Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 882 Sunset Avenue, Prescott, Arizona 86305
Register for the event in Tucson
Date: Thursday, October 19th
Time: 5:00pm doors | 5:30pm start time
Location: Mountain Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 3235 W Orange Grove Rd, Tucson, AZ 85741
Register for the virtual event
Date: Friday, October 20th
Time: 4:00pm EDT, 3:00pm CDT, 2:00pm MDT, 1:00pm AZ/PDT
Location: On Zoom wherever you are
Sex Ed for Young(ish) Adults
September - December 2023
Join UUJAZ for Sex Ed for Young(ish) Adults facilitated by Millennials + Gen Z, for Millennials + Gen Z
Did you get sex ed in school? If you were in Arizona, chances are you did not. Some of us got a religious, fear-based education that encouraged abstinence only, some of us pieced together our own education through media and what we heard from friends, some of us had a biology-only education in school, still others got "the talk" from parents, and the lucky ones received sex ed at a UU congregation. Register here.
September - December 2023
Join UUJAZ for Sex Ed for Young(ish) Adults facilitated by Millennials + Gen Z, for Millennials + Gen Z
Did you get sex ed in school? If you were in Arizona, chances are you did not. Some of us got a religious, fear-based education that encouraged abstinence only, some of us pieced together our own education through media and what we heard from friends, some of us had a biology-only education in school, still others got "the talk" from parents, and the lucky ones received sex ed at a UU congregation. Register here.
The Institute for Radical Permission
The oppressive systems and structures of this world can distance us from our divine nature. For most of us, the permission to be our full, authentic, and divine selves was interrupted early in our lives, replaced by people-pleasing, self-denial, and scarcity. To experience liberation, we have to give ourselves radical permission to live our lives rooted in our deepest YES. This YES returns us to our divine nature. When you give yourself increasing permission to imagine, feel pleasure, and love, you are practicing the act of radical freedom in real time.
Radical Permission is a transformative ideological collaboration between Sonya Renee Taylor and adrienne maree brown. They’ve created this Institute to share with all of you the ideas and practices that have given them greater connection to themselves, others, and their true purpose. We are thrilled to offer this course to Arizona UUs, so that you can be part of the next community exploring radical permission, together in pods.
The oppressive systems and structures of this world can distance us from our divine nature. For most of us, the permission to be our full, authentic, and divine selves was interrupted early in our lives, replaced by people-pleasing, self-denial, and scarcity. To experience liberation, we have to give ourselves radical permission to live our lives rooted in our deepest YES. This YES returns us to our divine nature. When you give yourself increasing permission to imagine, feel pleasure, and love, you are practicing the act of radical freedom in real time.
Radical Permission is a transformative ideological collaboration between Sonya Renee Taylor and adrienne maree brown. They’ve created this Institute to share with all of you the ideas and practices that have given them greater connection to themselves, others, and their true purpose. We are thrilled to offer this course to Arizona UUs, so that you can be part of the next community exploring radical permission, together in pods.
Community Safety and Deescalation Training | Joy Team
Across the country, UUs have been showing up: at school board meetings to assert children's right to access diverse books and historically accurate curriculum, at the state legislature to protest anti-trans bills, and at drag shows and story hours to support all gender expression. We know that we create safety in community, and we can bring joy and connection to places that carry some risk. We know too that safety training helps us act from a place of love and courage, not fear, because we are prepared and can fall back on our training, while knowing it's likely to never be put to use. Our partners at Drag Story Hour Arizona need us to come create welcoming and safe spaces at their events: let's get trained together!
Join UUJAZ and Drag Story Hour Arizona for a Community Safety Training. We will gather for breakfast at 8:30 and first train on Creating Welcoming Spaces: songs, breathing, and body practices for de-escalating ourselves and others. These techniques are helpful for anyone at public demonstrations, protests, and direct action, and are required for UUs on our Joy Team to support our partners at Drag Story Hour Arizona. At 10:30 we will switch into an Active Shooter training from a safety professional, helpful for our Joy Team, plus anyone on congregational staff teams, safety teams, ushers, etc. After breaking for lunch, the afternoon training from 2-7:30 is official certification for First Aid, CPR, and AED training, open to any UU or community partner group member who desires certification.
Register here.
Across the country, UUs have been showing up: at school board meetings to assert children's right to access diverse books and historically accurate curriculum, at the state legislature to protest anti-trans bills, and at drag shows and story hours to support all gender expression. We know that we create safety in community, and we can bring joy and connection to places that carry some risk. We know too that safety training helps us act from a place of love and courage, not fear, because we are prepared and can fall back on our training, while knowing it's likely to never be put to use. Our partners at Drag Story Hour Arizona need us to come create welcoming and safe spaces at their events: let's get trained together!
Join UUJAZ and Drag Story Hour Arizona for a Community Safety Training. We will gather for breakfast at 8:30 and first train on Creating Welcoming Spaces: songs, breathing, and body practices for de-escalating ourselves and others. These techniques are helpful for anyone at public demonstrations, protests, and direct action, and are required for UUs on our Joy Team to support our partners at Drag Story Hour Arizona. At 10:30 we will switch into an Active Shooter training from a safety professional, helpful for our Joy Team, plus anyone on congregational staff teams, safety teams, ushers, etc. After breaking for lunch, the afternoon training from 2-7:30 is official certification for First Aid, CPR, and AED training, open to any UU or community partner group member who desires certification.
Register here.
Beloved Conversations Beloved Conversations curriculum developers at Meadville Lombard Theological School have responded to the needs to learn how race and ethnicity shape our personal and collective lives and practices, in a virtual format. In 2020, 93 UUs from Arizona joined 1200 UUs in participating in the first half of Beloved Conversations: Within. |
Within
The first phase, Within focuses on the internal work that each of us needs to do as we engage racial justice. This work is different for White folks and for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and will be done entirely in race-based caucuses. You do not need to have taken the Fall session to register for Spring: the two halves of Within can be taken in any order.
Read about Within here.
Within+ Exploration Stations
Finished with Within and ready for more? Join one of these play stations for your soul and engage in deep and creative ways, focused on one topic, as it intersects with issues of race and racism.
Read about Within+ Exploration Stations here.
Among
The second phase of Beloved Conversations, focused on the institutional, systemic change needed in our congregations is open to Congregations whose members have participated in the first phase, Within.
Read about Among here.
The first phase, Within focuses on the internal work that each of us needs to do as we engage racial justice. This work is different for White folks and for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) and will be done entirely in race-based caucuses. You do not need to have taken the Fall session to register for Spring: the two halves of Within can be taken in any order.
Read about Within here.
Within+ Exploration Stations
Finished with Within and ready for more? Join one of these play stations for your soul and engage in deep and creative ways, focused on one topic, as it intersects with issues of race and racism.
Read about Within+ Exploration Stations here.
Among
The second phase of Beloved Conversations, focused on the institutional, systemic change needed in our congregations is open to Congregations whose members have participated in the first phase, Within.
Read about Among here.
Trans Inclusion in Congregations from Transforming Hearts Collective
UUJAZ is thrilled to provide access to this online course on radical welcoming for all AZ UUs, thanks to a generous grant from the UU Funding panel. This course on transformational culture shift counts towards your annual Welcoming Congregation renewal. Contact us for your free login code (usually $125 per person) to explore this course at your own pace, or create a group at your congregation to take it together! If you’re interested in scheduling a course for your congregation, email uujaz.director@gmail.com. |

Book GroUUp
Looking for your next justice-centered read? See below for all the important books we have read and discussed in groUUp with Arizona UUs.
Purchasing your books from the UUA Bookstore, InSpirit, supports the work of our faith tradition.
Purchasing your books from the UUA Bookstore, InSpirit, supports the work of our faith tradition.