We asked, why UUSJ?
I am overwhelmed with racial injustice, the climate crisis, and pandemic fear. I ask myself on what side of history do I want to be on? What do I want to stand for? I put my faith into action with Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ).
Ysaye Maria Barnwell wrote, “we are our grandmothers’ prayers, and we are our grandfathers’ dreamings, we are the breath of our ancestors.” What prayers, dreams, and breaths will I leave behind?
I want my children to look back and know their mother fought for UU principles. I search for truth as I learned over a decade ago at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and work to protect vulnerable communities. I respect the interdependent web of all existence. My 3-year-old son asks me, “Who are the mean guys?” There are good and bad choices. I make good choices with UUSJ to help unravel injustices.
As a scientist working in Tennessee, I was assigned to Capitol Hill as an energy and science advisor from 2012-2014. The personal voice of TN voters influenced the U.S. Senator that I worked for. Each voice helped to shift the course of his policy agenda. It was like trying to influence the course of a gigantic “ship” in the ocean. My Senator said you have to talk to members of Congress in their states. You have to take the national policy and bring it back to their constituents. This is what I do with UUSJ.
I joined UUSJ’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps in 2018. I hand-delivered letters to the chairman of the U.S. Senate committee overseeing immigration. The chairman heard the voices of UUs in his state of Iowa. They urged for immigration reform and shared practical information on real alternatives to detention.
In 2019, I co-organized an Advocacy Corps day to urge Senators to address climate change in infrastructure legislation. We stood up to Trump’s threat to stop infrastructure reform unless there was funding for a border wall.
Now, I am fighting for my children’s fundamental rights with UUSJ. The U.S. needs to address the climate crisis. I am co-organizing UUSJ’s national letter-writing campaign. In October, we have done a Write Here! Write Now! letter writing event to address environmental and climate justice and had Hill meetings on the topic.
So why do I still feel lost?
UU families all over the U.S. have blessed me. In Tennessee, I cooked meals for the homeless through Family Promise at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Church and had small group dinners at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. While living in California, I spent my first Mother’s Day listening to the story for all ages in San Luis Obispo and fell in love with the Little Blue Truck and Rainbow Rob in Santa Barbara. In my dreams in Washington, D.C., I am still hosting Young Souls potlucks at All Souls, selling fair trade products on Sunday, getting voters to register through the Reeb Voting Rights Project, and marching with Standing on the Side of Love in North Carolina. I am still teaching Spirit Play to my young children at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington.
I am isolated because I am living in Germany as an active duty military spouse without a local UU community. UUSJ is offering me a virtual community. Through UUSJ, I am part of a UU family. UUSJ allows me to leverage my experience on Capitol Hill and at a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory.
Best,
Kelly