Social Justice Public Witness

First Church’s Social Justice blog by Debbie Davidson

  • SJ/PW — 02/19/23

    Sunday — this week

    At 3, what looks to be a delightfully kid-friendly event is taking place at the Interfaith Center in Oxford; learn about the tradition of floating lanterns in different parts of the world! 16 S. Campus Ave, Oxford OH 45056; RSVP here. 

    Or join Side with Love at 4 for the first of their spring skill ups, Facilitation: Leading Gatherings with Grace. Presented by Rev. Cathy Rion Starr and Elisse Ghitelman, these 90 minute sessions are interactive and fun! Register here.

    Tuesday

    Tuesday at 1pm, join Side with Love for Planning the Energy Future of your Congregation, a webinar to learn about the importance of benchmarking your facilities’ energy use to shape your congregation’s plan to cut energy costs and care for sacred Earth. Contact here. This is the first step to making a plan to take advantage of federal funding, like the Inflation Reduction Act. Hosted by Interfaith Power and Light as well as UUA; register here.

    Tuesday at 7, the Indigenous Issues Group at Heritage UU screens Dawnland, a PBS documentary about an indigenous community in Maine whose truth and reconciliation commission investigated the practice of separating children from their families and communities to erase their culture; Heritage is located at 2710 Newtown Rd, Cincinnati OH 45244.

    Thursday

    Thursday at noon, AIR will host Aftab Pureval to discuss critical issues confronting Cincinnati in 2023 at Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. 4th St. Bring a lunch or buy on-site.

    Then at 7:30, join Side with Love for an hour of spiritual sustenance and grounding; drink in music, meditation and prayer. Register here.

    Next Sunday

    Next Sunday, 2/26, St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church, 320 Resor Ave. in Clifton, is hosting the GenOUT LGBTQ+ choir from Washington, DC. St. John’s invite all UUs and LGBTQIA+ advocates to attend their worship service at 11 am and to stay for a reception afterwards. GenOUT is an outreach ensemble of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC. Nearly the entire worship service at St. John’s will be led and sung by them!

    Then at 4, you can attend GLOBAL STEWS – Potluck Dinner and Celebration for immigrants, refugees, allies, and advocates at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. This free celebration will include music, activities for children and translators for international attendees. Hosted by our partner IJPC Cincinnati.

    Send Info

    Feel free to forward anything you would like to see included in the newsletter or send unsubscribe requests to Debbie Davidson.

    Debbie Davidson on behalf of

    the Social Justice Committee

  • SJ/PW — 02/13/23

    Ralph Waldo Emerson, On Love, Beauty and the Purpose of Life 

    “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. It is not the length of life, but the depth that matters. It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourself. To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Be yourself; no base imitator of another but your best self.”

    First, I’m really excited about our website redesign; the old one was text-heavy and not very visually appealing. It’s a work in progress so please take a look at it: www.firstuu.com and give feedback: website-feedback@firstuu.com

    Here’s a full calendar of Black History Month events in the region. 

    Found House/Interfaith Housing Network (IHN) will hold a Faith in Action breakfast Tuesday at The Ventura, 4557 Montgomery Rd, Cincinnati OH 45212. More info here; register here.

    Tuesday

    this

    week

    Not a morning person? Then join the SW Ohio Poor People’s Campaign Tuesday at Cincinnati Mennonite Fellowship Hall, 4229 Brownway Ave in Oakley, Tuesday at 7 pm. Hear about the progress toward a national call for moral revival!

    Thursday this week

    Thursday at 1 or 7, you can join virtually Earth as Common Ground: The Call for a Moral Voice presented by Faith Communities Go Green, sponsored by Green Umbrella, the regional sustainability alliance. The United Nations is engaging faith communities worldwide to address the climate crisis through the moral teachings of faith traditions. We are honored to have Sr. CJ Willie share the preview of the UN’s Faith for Earth initiative and its approach to its main objectives. Register here.

    Friday this week

    Friday at noon via Zoom, Bishop Marcia Dinkins (founder of the Black Appalachian Coalition) and Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. will host a petrochemicals lunch and learn. Hear from experts and front-line residents about the threat caused by proposed plastic-producing plants upstream of us on the Ohio River: higher rates of cancer, birth complications, asthma/respiratory illness, and kidney disease. Children are especially vulnerable to harm from petrochemical pollutants; as we are well aware, these facilities are often sited in communities of color to take advantage of low land costs and lack of political will to stop these unnecessary pollution creators. Register here.

    Friday night at 7, How Sweet It Is benefits our community partner IJPC at West Side Brewing, 3044 Harrison Ave. in Westwood. Show the love for Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center AND enjoy some sweet treats as they raise funds for language interpretation services for immigration justice work. $10 entry fee.

    Feel free to forward anything you would like to see included in the newsletter or send unsubscribe requests to Debbie Davidson.

  • SJ/PW — 02/06/2023

    Monday at 7 P.M.

    Tonight at 7, an educational forum will be held at Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church: Finding Common Ground. Co-sponsored by our community partner, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Ccnter and the SW Ohio Poor People’s Campaign. 

    Tuesday at 7 P.M.

    Tomorrow at 7, Heritage UU will host a forum at 2710 Newtown Rd, Cincinnati OH 45244: Homelessness, Displacement, & Gentrification 101 – Housing Insecurity Due to Displacement in the West End. Melissa Mosby brings her story of housing insecurity to those it can help. Sponsored by GAPP: Greater Anderson Promotes Peace.

    Wednesday

    Wednesday from noon to 1:15, MARCC’s monthly delegates meeting features a surprise speaker to guide you through the mechanics of interrupting community violence. Zoom in here. MARCC is also hiring an Office/Social Media Manager; you can find the job description at www.marcconline.com

    Then

    Then from 2-4, IJPC hosts the first part of their popular 3-part series: Race and Racism in Cincinnati; subsequent sessions will be the 15th and 22nd of February. Register here (suggested donation: $15). 

    Thursday

    Thursday at noon, AIR hosts it’s next Community Issues Forum at Christ Church Cathedral: A new initiative to fund the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Mona Jenkins, Development Director at GCHC (see below), mentioned the importance of properly funding this initiative at yesterday’s service. Executive Director Josh Spring will discuss their next ballot initiative. If you are a resident of the city, consider carrying a petition! To view live on Facebook, use this link. 

    Then

    Thursday at 7:30, you can view Let’s Talk About Race, a TEDx talk by Shelly Tochluk, author of Witnessing Whiteness: The Journey into Racial Awareness and Antiracist Action. Sponsored by SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) Cincinnati. Register here. 

    Our Share the Plate on Saturday

    Our Share the Plate partner, Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, will hold a book fair benefitting StreetVibes at the Miami University Center for Engagement, 1300 Vine Street 10-2 Saturday. Here’s a short video celebrating their 500th edition featuring our vendor, Grady. 

    Feel free to forward anything you would like to see included in the newsletter or send unsubscribe requests to Debbie Davidson. 

  • SJ/PW — 02/02/2023

    BLACK HISTORY MONTH

    In collaboration with the Cincinnati Art Museum, explore the history, arts and culture of the Black experience in the US. Thanks to Julia Almaguer for sharing this little gem: 28 Days of Black History

    BLACK MOVEMENT THOUGHT

    Starting tomorrow at 9 pm you can join Lynn Burnett, who was absolutely amazing as the facilitator of the White Antiracist seminar in January. Each month, he’ll pair a text from a figure in Black movement history with a text from a contemporary movement thinker… starting with Stokely Carmichael’s thoughts on the meaning and purpose of power, paired with Alicia Garza’s. One of the goals of this series is to introduce us to Black Freedom Movement thinkers, both past and present, in a way that is super accessible. The readings are short, the meetings only 1 hour. You’ll learn a lot, find some inspiration, and build some community in a short time (no, seriously; in one of my breakout groups, there was a woman who moved from Blue Ash to Santa Cruz! We had a good laugh about that 😉 Register here. 

    MUSE is seeking a business manager; job description here.

    Feel free to forward anything you would like to see included in the newsletter or send unsubscribe requests to Debbie Davidson.

  • SJ/PW 01/20/23

    Patriarchy Discussion for Men & Women

    Tuesday at 7, Heritage UU in Newtown will host a forum on patriarchy that is open to men and women to discuss what the patriarchy is and how it affects all of us. It will be facilitated by Tracy Jo Duckworth in the Heritage Room.

    Patriarchy could be defined as “a system that encompasses a worldview, arrangements about how we live as humans with each other on this planet, implicit blueprints for what kinds of institutions we create, and guidelines for what to do with our young to prepare them for the system itself. The underlying principle of patriarchy is separation and control. The separation is from self, other, life, and nature.”

    More info here.

    Affordable Housing – Funding Strategies for Places to Call Home

    Wednesday at 7, Woman’s City Club will host a forum on Zoom to examine the steps being taken to find adequate funding streams for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; discuss the initial project proposed this past October; what barriers remain as well as next steps. Join Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, Chief Development Officer Robie Suggs of the Cincinnati Development Fund, President and CEO of Strategies to End Homelessness Kevin Finn and Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Josh Spring for this enlightening conversation. Register here.

    AIR’s Community Forum

    Thursday at noon, AIR’s Community Issues forum will host Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus for an update on the Commission’s agenda and short/long-term goals. Bring a lunch or purchase a box lunch at the forum; Zoom in here using Meeting ID: 829 0523 9585 and Passcode: 292098

  • Sunday 01/9/2023

    Ohio End of Life Options would like you to Meet Us at the Movies to view: “Jack Has a Plan”. This screening will be held at the Mariemont Theatre, 6906 Wooster Pike. More info here. 

    Then at 5, Allen Temple AME will host the Faith and Freedom Cincinnati Candidates forum at 7080 Reading Rd, Cincinnati OH 45237.

    There will be multiple Focus Area Meetings for the 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan starting Monday. They are based on the seven specific focus areas of the Plan: Advocacy, Education & Outreach; Buildings & Energy; Food; Mobility; Natural Environment; Resiliency; and Zero Waste. The focus groups will begin their work of refining the various recommendations gathered at the initial meeting in late August, from on-line surveys and recommendations, and from in person surveys and feedback. They are designed to provide more in-depth creation and prioritization of Goals, Strategies, and Action Steps for the 2023 Green Cincinnati More info at https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/oes/climate/climate-protection-green-cincinnati-plan/take-action-2023-green-cincinnati-plan/

  • SC/PW Week 01/08/23

    A QC Balladeers Jam

    Happy new year to all; what better way to celebrate than with the Queen City Balladeers? Held at Zion UCC on Indian Mound, just off Montgomery in Norwood, it features their popular Leo Coffeehouse jam. Begins at 5:30 with featured artists at 7 pm. Bring instruments or your voice; I believe there is a $5 free-will offering to attend. Quite often, the jam includes music by Holly Near, Pete Seeger and other social justice warriors…

    SW Ohio Poor People’s Campaign

    If you did not register for UU Council’s anti-racism workshop, Building The World We Dream About that starts Tuesday, you can get updated on the SW Ohio Poor People’s Campaign efforts at Compass Christian Church, 6771 Tylersville Rd in Mason beginning at 7 pm. I suspect late registration for Building The World We Dream About would be accepted; if you are still interested, email Joetta Proust: joettaprost@gmail.com

    Affordable Housing on Zoom with Marcc

    Wednesday at noon, MARCC delegates will discuss dedicating public dollars to affordable housing in Cincinnati to build generational wealth. Guests are welcome; Zoom in here. 

    AIR Forum Thursday

    Thursday at noon, Applied Information Resources hosts their lunch and learn program at Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St; vice mayor Jan-Michele Kearney will give the 2023 City Hall Update. For information on the Zoom option, go to AIR’s website: www.airinc.org (AIR commits itself to helping to improve the quality of urban life for all citizens. It enables people, organizations and governments to make well-informed decisions regarding policies, human services, and organizational change in response to changing needs and resources.)

  • SJ/PW 01/02 #1

    An Anthology of Love, Justice and Liberation

    New year, new UU; why not start the year off by reading BLUU (Black Lives of UU) Notes, An Anthology of Love, Justice and Liberation? Only $8 at https://bit.ly/BLUUNotes

    Then participate in BLUU worship Sunday, 1/8 at 4pm; the theme is Home Is… and can be accessed here.  

    The BLUU Northside Housing Cooperative Initiative in Minneapolis seeks to create affordable multi-family housing units (similar to ones being built in Northside here in Cincinnati) that will create multi-generational wealth for black and indigenous families! Learn more at www.blacklivesuu.org/bluu-housing-initiative/

    Feel free to forward anything you would like to see included in the newsletter to daystar58@gmail.com

    Debbie Davidson on behalf of

    the Social Justice Committee

  • SJ/PW 12/27 #1

    Building The World We Dream About

    To jump start your New Year’s resolution to live your faith, consider registering for Building The World We Dream About, a 12-session workshop for local UUs that begins Tuesday, January 10th. Register here by January 4th: https://tinyurl.com/UUBuildTheWorld2023

  • SJ/PW 12/27 #2

    White Antiracist Spirituality: Grounding Ourselves in the Historical Legacy

    You can also explore deeply embodied, lived examples of antiracist spirituality and philosophy; at 9 pm Thursdays from January 5th through the 26th, you can learn from the Quaker abolistionist, Jewish antiractist, UU and interracial Christian communes faith tradition. Register here. ($20 suggested donation)