Action Groups & Special Projects
EcoMinds
EcoMind’s mission is to promote lifestyles, polices and technologies that respect and sustain all life on Earth. EcoMinds sponsors an annual Earth Day celebration in April and a re-gift exchange/recycle day in November. First Universalist EcoMinds started in 1993 but had many predecessors. We believe a faith-based approach to creating a sustainable planet affirms our moral, ethical and spiritual beliefs. Ecominds initiated the discussions about First Universalist becoming a Green Sanctuary. See UU Global Warming/Climate Change Statement of Conscience at http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/socialjustice/statements/8061.shtml
For more information contact Bob Friedman at rmarcf@usfamily.net or Cecelia Newton at newton.cecelia@gmail.com
Global Gift Fair
Jewelry. Wild Rice and Maple Syrup. Bells and more. Each December we fill the social hall with ethnic non-profit organizations from all over the world selling their unique goods to support their mission. This is fair trade at its finest!
For more information contact: Lauren Culbert at lculbert@comcast.net or at 612-886-2969.
Green Sanctuary
A Green Sanctuary is a church wide initiative to secure and maintain a UU Green
Sanctuary Certification. The objectives of the program are the following:
- To build awareness of societal environmental issues among UU’s.
- To generate commitment for personal lifestyle changes.
- To motivate UU’s to community action on environmental issues.
- To build a connection between spiritual and environmental consciousness.
- To build awareness of and rectify environmental injustices.
- To implement environmentally friendly actions and policies within the church facility
In 2009/2010 We will be working on 12 actions for our Green Sanctuary certification including improving our recycling, Ethical Eating film/discussion group, and connecting environmental and spiritual themes in the Religious Education curriculum.
For more information contact: Jean Buckley at 612-724-4460 or Cecelia Newton at newton.cecelia@gmail.com
Housing Ministry
Information about our partnerships with community organizations and neighbors living in homelessnes can be found at: www.firstuniv.org/housing.
Juvenile Justice/Race Equity Partnership
Together with Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, First Univeralist has taken a leading role in addressing the racial disparities imbedded in the Hennepin County Juvenile Justice system. Activities of this group consist of ongoing relationship building with each other and with key stakeholders in the Juvenile Justice system, learning about the issues leading to the over-incarceration of youth of color, learning about the impact of institutional racism, and sponsoring forums for greater participation and awareness. We work closely with the Organizing Apprenticeship Project and the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative staff.
For more information contact: Marjie Smith at Marjiesmith1@aol.com or at (612)825-1125.
MUUSJA (Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance)
The Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA) brings UUs together - combining the power of congregational and individual commitments to social action - to work for a just and sustainable world.
We move on values which serve the common good: reproductive healthcare and sexuality education, a clean and just environment, integrity in the democratic process, and equal treatment for LGBT people. We develop leaders, educate on issues, and mobilize for change. Join us! www.muusja.org . We're also on Facebook.
For more information contact: Ralph Wyman, director/organizer: rwmuusja@gmail.com (612)998-6624
Native American Connections Committee
NACC has two projects. Thankgsgiving Day we will be serving dinner at MAIC we collect donations of non-perishable food, money and recruit volunteers. This will be our 6th year. We also sell Native harvest productes the Land Recovery Project spearheaded by Winona LaDuke at the annual 'Gift Fair'.
For more information contact: Kathy Steinhauer kathystein06@yahoo.com or 612-869-3866.
Unity Leadership Programs/Unity Summer
The mission of the Unity Leadership Programs is to connect, engage and empower youth to work for social change. For 18 years First Universalist has provided an opportunity for high school students to learn about themselves, to build cross-cultural relationships, and to learn about work in a social justice setting. All of this learning is framed with a civic participation and social change lens, leading to a unique leadership opportunity. Unity Retreats provides a day long introduction to the values of social justice and engages over 120 youth. Unity Summer provides a 200 hour internship in a social justice organization supplemented by 50 hours of workshops focused on leadership for social change. For their commitment the youth receive a stipend of $1,300.
For more information contact Alicia Steele at unityleadership@firstuniv.org or at 612-825-1701 X106.
Warm Hands/Warm Hearts
Each fall Person to Person, a non-profit organization located in Minneapolis, sponsors the Project. This program is aimed at keeping low-income children warm, with the purchase of a new winter coat, hat and mittens/gloves. First Universalist adopted the WHWH project in 1997 and has supported it ever since. The collection and organization of coats for Warm Hands/Warm Hearts is a marvelous way to get involved in First UU’s Social Justice program. It’s straightforward, fun and unbelievably rewarding.
For more information contact: Sherrilee Carter
Phone: 612-822-2966 (sherrilee)
Email: shelikins@hotmail.com
Youth Cultural Exchange: From Eggrolls to Nicaragua and Beyond
The First Universalist Youth Cultural Exchange (YCE) program provides an early opportunity for our UU youth to gain a deep understanding of how to make a difference in the world by taking the first step of learning how to be friends with youth from another culture. Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of the program is the fact that YCE families work to bring the youth from the host countries to our country, making this truly an "exchange" of cultural understanding and friendship. By experiencing what it's like to be part of a language minority, they have greater empathy with immigrants in our own community. Finally, UU youth and their families build strong and lasting connections among themselves and with many people in the church during the course of the exchange and fundraising efforts, the most visible of which is selling eggrolls after church services!
YCE was started by member Barb Benner in 1993 and since that time the program has enabled over 60 youth from our church to have life-changing, cross-cultural experiences in Poland, Ecuador and Nicaragua. YCE worked in partnership with Project Minnesota Leon, a local people-to-people sister state organization, for the exchanges held in 2008-2009 and 2005-2006 and will do so again for the next exchange.
The next YCE exchange to Nicaragua will take place in 2011/2012 with up to 10 youth (grades 7-9) along with 2 adult chaperones traveling to Leon, Nicaragua for two weeks in the summer of 2011 and their host siblings (and chaperones) coming here for two weeks in summer, 2012.
For more information contact: KarinLarson@msn.com