Latest from the Social Justice Committee After a bit of a summer hiatus the Social Justice Committee is up and running again with a full agenda a lots of exciting opportunities for involvement and engagement. We are ramping up our Marriage Equality efforts again in anticipation that the Legislature will revisit the issue in the Fall Session. We will be resuming our roadside vigils on Friday, September 20 from 5 to 6:30 pm in Algonquin at the intersection of Route 31 and Route 62. Bring you signs and enthusiasm. We will also be working with a state-wide effort coordinated by Illinois Unites for Marriage which is targeting specific legislators. There will be phone banking in Elgin at 13 Douglas Avenue, second floor (above Villa Vernona Restaurant) every Tuesday and Thursday evening. For more information contact are organizer Jordan Humphries at 217 493-7995 or e-mail [email protected]. We are are encouraging anyone who can to participate in a March on Springfield for Marriage Equality on Tuesday, October 22. Watch this space for details on transportation arrangements. Let’s bring our Standing on the Side of Love banner to the state capital! Our Gun Violence Task Force has reached out over the summer to ministers and lay leaders from several McHenry County Congregations. Seven clergy plus our own Dan Larsen met on August 23 to form a new group Clergy and Laity for Non-Violence which is committed to the principle of promoting non-violence whether it be in opposition to gun violence and homicide, domestic violence, bullying in schools or other forms of violence. You are welcome to participate. The next meeting will be on Wednesday September 25 at 1 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 3706 St. Paul Street in McHenry. To reflect this affiliation, we are changing the name of our own effort to the Non-Violence Taskforce. For more information contact Dan Larsen a [email protected] or phone 815 338-2234. We are excited to be coordinating our efforts with the congregation’s new Ministerial Intern Ja Rickard. She has a keen interest in Social Justice and experience working on immigration issues. We will be brining the Congregation up to speed on the UUA’s recently adopted Statement of Conscience on Immigration as a Moral Issue and looking for ways to be proactive in the wider community. Worship service this week will include our Second Sunday Collection. This month the beneficiary is the FISH Pantry in McHenry, network of local churches proving food assistance to those who need it most. Please consider giving generously! Many thanks to Sue Rekentaler, Lisa Jacobsen and all of the volunteers and donors from our congregation who have worked hard this summer making the second season of Compassion for Campers a success. Weekly meals will continue every Monday through September at the PADS office, 14411 Kishwaukee Valley Road in Woodstock. As our nation once again seems to be moving toward military action, this time in Syria, we ask for your prayers of peace and the safety of the people of Syria caught up in a deadly civil war and exposed to atrocities, including chemical weapon attacks, by all sides. Whatever your views on the proposed action, we urge you to contact your Senators and Representatives as well as the White House. The next regular meeting of the Social Justice Committee will be on Tuesday, October 1 at 7 pm. Patrick Murfin, Social Justice Chair 815 814-5645 [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 17:18:36 +0000
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