----- Original Message -----
From: "UUMFEoffice" <uumfeoffice at windstream.net>
To: "Jim Paprocki" <jpaprocki at mchsi.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 10:53 PM
Subject: UUMFE Environmental Justice Conference
October 28, 2006
Dear UU Friends:
We need your assistance in helping UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) take a big
leap forward in building a stronger network of Unitarian Universalists
living out the Seventh Principle. We want to mobilize UUs to address
environmental justice issues more effectively in their congregations and
communities and to continue to spur denominational change from the "bottom
up".
To do this, we want to plan an extraordinary, first of its kind, national UU
environmental justice conference/training. We envision this will be a
highly participatory event, designed to speak to and engage the whole
person -- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. At the moment, we
expect it will occur sometime during the Winter 2007 or Spring 2008.
To design this significant event and help us do the ambitious outreach
necessary to make it a success, we would like to recruit 4-6 dynamic
planning team members who represent a diverse range of UU constituencies and
perspectives. Ideally, they will have experience engaging in some form of
social activism within or outside of UU circles and/or experience planning
educational activities. We especially want younger UUs and those who are
people of color to be well-represented on the team.
UUMFE Program Director Rev. Katherine Jesch and Conference Planning
Coordinator Pamela Sparr will staff the team, providing excellent guidance
and administrative support.
The following is a description of conference objectives and expectations for
planning team members, as well as the application form. If you are
interested in being considered for the planning team, please send in the
application by November 17, to: office at uuministryforearth.org. We will
select team members by early December 1st and intend to hold our first
conference call soon after.
Please also help us in our outreach and forward these materials to any
active UU you think would be interested.
Sincerely,
Barbara Ford, Chair
UUMFE Board
UUMFE National Environmental Justice Conference/Training
Overarching Goal:
To deepen and broaden the national momentum that exists among individual UUs
and UU congregations to embrace the Seventh Principle. In particular, the
focus of this conference/training event is to galvanize and equip UUs to
more effectively address environmental justice issues in their congregations
and communities and to continue to spur change from the "bottom up" within
our denomination.
Specific Objectives:
1. To promote a deeper awareness/understanding of the concept of
"environmental justice" among UUs.
2. To provide an opportunity for significant theological reflection, so that
grassroots UU leaders can discern and/or more easily articulate their
faith-based values and vision of "environmental justice", as well as the
spiritual/theological/religious basis of their position.
3. To strengthen the existing national network of UUs interested in
promoting more active work on environmental justice at various levels (e.g.
congregational, community, state, and district).
4. To enhance grassroots/regional UU leaders' skills to promote
environmental justice.
5. To resource grassroots leaders by providing the latest information and
educational materials on key environmental justice issues, including those
relevant campaigns and programs that are national priorities for the UUA,
UUMFE, and UUSC.
Expectations of Planning Team Members:
* Must be available to actively participate in planning conference calls (at
least some are likely to be during the day). (2-3 expected within the first
4-6 weeks; then there may be a break of several months before they resume.
Anticipated one or two more before conference and one post-event to do
evaluation and follow-up). Most work will be done by email, so we do not
anticipate more than about 6 conference calls total.
* Must be available to actively participate in the conference/training
event, including helping with various tasks at the event, as appropriate.
* Expected to actively promote/publicize the conference and help with
recruitment/outreach for conference participants via emails, phone calls,
personal contact, etc.
* Expected to respond to email queries promptly. We commit to using them
judiciously and infrequently!
* For those people who are not staff of the UUA or a UU-related
organization, travel expenses and conference registration will be paid by
UUMFE.
UUMFE National Environmental Justice Conference/Training Event
PLANNING TEAM APPLICATION FORM
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 17, 2006
E-mail this form to: office at uuministryforearth.org
Name:
Mailing Address:
Phone: day:
evening:
E-mail address:
Your congregation (name and location):
____________________________________________________________________________
What does environmental justice mean to you?
If you have experience working on environmental or environmental justice
issues, please describe briefly:
Why would you like to be on this planning team?
Are you a staff person or active as a member or volunteer with any
UU-related organizations, caucuses
or other UU groups? If so, please list and describe your relationship:
What ideas do you have for ensuring greater diversity among participants
than is often the case in UU
events? How could you help us achieve this?
Are there other kinds of skills, experiences or sensibilities you would
bring to this project that you
would like us to know about?
Please let us know the dates and time periods you are available in December
to participate in conference
calls, if you are selected. (This will help speed planning!):
##end##
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