First Unitarian Society

Social Action Committee (SAC)


 

Contacts: SAC Co-chairs
Marcy Leussler, mleussler@hotmail.com
Carol Koepp, carolkoepp@comcast.net


Please Come to our Meetings!

The FUS Social Action Committee generally meets on the fourth Sunday of the month from noon to 2 p.m. in either the Dietrich or the Heritage Room.

The next meeting will be in September.

These are lively discussions about the issues we care about. Please feel free to join us!

MISSION: The mission of the Social Action Program is to offer FUS members and friends opportunities to apply their UU principles and beliefs in the larger community through education, direct service, advocacy for systemic change, and strategic distribution of our resources. We seek to cooperate and collaborate with other Unitarian Universalists and social justice organizations (faith-based and secular) in working together to promote peace, justice, and sustainability in our local and global communities.

CORE VALUES: The UU principles motivate us as individuals and as a UU congregation to actively promote justice in the world and in our personal lives. As UUs we affirm and promote the seven UU principles, especially those that most directly bear on social justice: the inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations; the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

COMMITTEE WORK: SAC organizes opportunities for FUS members and
friends to participate in social justice on many levels, including monetary contributions, helping with service projects, and engaging in long-term policy reform activism on issues such as racial and economic justice, affordable housing, environmental protection, peace, children's issues, and youth leadership development. Social Action organizes education and training, direct service, social change activism, and strategic distribution of resources to put UU values into action in the larger community and world. We connect FUS members to partnerships and coalitions with other UU congregations and a range of social justice organizations (faith-based and secular) to act for peace, justice, and environmental sustainability.

MEMBERS: SAC has an open membership--whoever comes to meetings is welcomed as an equal participant.

SUBCOMMITTEES: Priority issues & working groups include: Children's Issues, Affordable Housing, Peace, Environmental Protection, Youth/Unity Summer, and Northside issues – racial and economic justice.

Subcommittee Contacts:
Green Team: core group - Pete Raynor, Mary Ann Lundquist,
Roger Clemence, Madalyn Cioci, Gary Blegstad, Marcy Leussler.
Unity Summer - contact Adele Hansen.
Children's Issues & Northside Issues - contact Carol Koepp.
Affordable (& Green) Housing - contact Barbara Weatherhead.
Peace Group - Contact Madeline Simon, Mike Day, Bob Tapp.
MN UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA) - contact Jo Haberman.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2006 - 2007

A. Strategic Distribution of Resources

SAC was key to raising and distributing over $30,000 for social justice (thanks once again for wonderful FUS social justice generosity!)

SAC directly contributed $9,780 in response to requests for funding including:
support for micro-lending program; Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers; scholarship for Undoing Racism Training; FUS Green Team; affordable housing; UUA & UUSC; emergency bus and food voucher fund for FUS office; Unity Summer; Habitat for Humanity; Icaghowan scholarships (UU youth leadership conference); FUS youth sleep-out for homelessness; Agape planting project; Population Connection; Books for Africa; Alliance for Metropolitan Stability; The Exonerated performance at North High. And, a very special fundraiser performance of The Exonerated - in co-operation with Frank Theater – to benefit Oasis Crisis Intervention Center and Kulture Klub (a program that connects homeless children and youth with community arts/artists) - earning $1,000 for each program. SAC funding comes from annual budget allocations made by the FUS Board of Trustees, as well as funds raised by the Service Auction, special events, and occasional donations from supportive individuals.

SAC organized Monthly Social Justice Collections - $12,225

SAC members were among core organizers of the Service Auction, which raised $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity – toward a $50,000 UU goal for the interfaith Congregations Building Community effort.

B. Education and Training

  1. Annual social justice skills training; co-sponsored by Prairie Star District and
    MN UU Social Justice Alliance; trainer: UU Rev. Valerie Ackerman.
  2. Monthly Social Justice Forums and occasional guest sermons, including: Rose Brewer on “The Color of Wealth”; Yo! The Movement (youth social justice leadership); UN Millenium Development Goals; Ending Homelessness; Green Sanctuary; Racial Justice; Early Childhood Development; Black Student Achievement; Affordable Housing; Green Housing; Darfur; FUS Green Team.
  3. Special educational events organized with MUUSJA on Voting Rights/Systems Integrity and Reproductive Rights; plus screenings of “Inconvenient Truth” and “The Ground Truth” movies; and, Northside Tour, with City Councilmember Don Samuels.

C. Direct Service Projects, including: Community Service Sunday!

(Thanks to Jim Tincher and Andrew Schmidt); Girls In Action – tutoring and mentoring; Habitat for Humanity; Agape planting; sales of CFLs; Sabathani Food Shelf collection.

D. Organizing Policy Reform activism on priority issues, including:

peace/anti-war; anti-torture policies; renewable energy/slowing global warming; affordable housing; youth and children's issues; GLBT equality; Darfur; early childhood education; Northside community issues; instant run-off voting. Following Kendyl’s energizing sermon addressing threats to constitutional habeus corpus protections, a group of FUS members and other UUs visited congressional and senate offices with public statements opposing weakening or eliminating habeus corpus protections.

SAC Goals for 2007-2008:

  1. Broaden and deepen our social justice identity within FUS.
  2. Strengthen our capacity to build and support congregation-wide social justice programming – education, service, systemic change, and strategic fund distribution.
  3. Support FUS members interested in working on social justice issues.
  4. Deepen Social Action connections with RE, Membership, Sunday Service, Board of Trustees.
  5. Increase the visibility of Social Action accomplishments among FUS members, board, other committees.
  6. Continue to expand and strengthen FUS partnerships with people and groups working for our shared values, principles, and issues in the wider community, including:


Contacts: Marcy Leussler, mleussler@hotmail.com,
Carol Koepp, carolkoepp@comcast.net

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