Faithful Action for Justice
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Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ
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March 2022
Welcome to Faithful Action for Justice Announcements, messages from ORUCC’s Justice missions (Care of Creation, Immigration Justice, Heart Room, Racial Justice, Christian Witness and Service).
Nobody can do everything. Saying yes to some things requires saying no to others. Our health and obligations limit us. As you read, briefly celebrate and pray for people doing something you will not join. As you feel called, reach out to a project’s contact person to learn more, and consider joining or click on links to read more.
Consistent with UCC tradition and governance, our mission teams provide information on issues that may be controversial, speaking to the congregation but not for the congregation. A vote by the entire congregation is required for any official statement by ORUCC.
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News from Our Mission Teams and Groups
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Heart Room
March 27 Discussion:
WHAT’S NEW? WHAT’S NEXT?
Heart Room is a pilot program we started and funded with partners to help families with young children find and keep stable housing long-term. We and our partners provide generous financial support and services, helping families to meet their own goals to thrive. The Heart Room partners have begun exploring ideas to help more families and support them better. Please join us on Sunday, March 27 at 9:00 a.m. to learn what’s new and discuss what’s next! Click here for a more information.
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Opportunities for Action or Service
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Poor People’s Campaign Coming to Madison: March 28th
Join Pastor Julia this Monday on capitol square as she joins a friend, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, who is a national organizer for The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. The campaign is a growing movement to gather low-income directly impacted people, faith leaders, and moral advocates. The campaign carries forward the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King to center the priorities and demands of the poor. RSVP here.
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Ilgen Literacy Fund:
Seeking subcommittee members
ORUCC is forming a new mission team for the Ilgen Literacy Fund. If you feel called to work on a small, community-based project at the intersection of childhood literacy and racial justice, consider joining!
Check out our 2021 progress report to see how we’ve moved forward this year, and/or contact chairperson Jen Walker to learn more.
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Local Elections April 5
The Wisconsin Interfaith Voter Engagement Campaign reminds us that local elections are important. Judges, city and county boards, and school boards make important decisions. School boards are being targeted in some areas by campaigns against affirming LGBTQ people and racial justice. You can find information about where and how to vote at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Find-My-Polling-Place You can see who and what is on the ballot in your area by checking https://www.vote411.org/ You can vote early in person at selected locations March 22-April 1 or by March 31 request an absentee ballot to return by mail. You will need ID to vote. If you vote by mail you will have to provide a photocopy of your ID to get an absentee ballot and have a witness sign your ballot envelope.
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Monitoring Schools for Equity
Wisconsin Council of Churches, WISDOM, and Faith Voices for Justice have a campaign called Faithful Stance for Justice that is seeking to defend schools from campaigns trying to force schools to lie to students about US history under the guise of opposing “critical race theory” and other attacks. Volunteers can ‘adopt’ a school board outside Madison and stay informed about their agendas and local news around this issue. Those interested could likely do this from home in 1 to 2 hours per month. Also helpful, if you know people who live in other school districts who might help with this information. There are statewide meetings on Zoom on first Tuesdays at 6:30 pm and local meetings on Zoom on second Tuesdays at 1:30 pm. If interested, contact [email protected].
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Learn About Justice Issues
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From Care of Creation
UCC Webinar: Restoring Nature ~ What People of Faith Can do to Heal the Earth
Douglas Tallamy’s books have awakened thousands to the problem of wildlife decline and the solution that resides in habitat restoration. In this webinar, Tallamy will outline the crisis faced and what we can do in response. This is a solution of which you and your faith community can be a part. The solution can be as close as your backyard or the property surrounding your place of worship. The recently recorded webinar is available on YouTube.
Learn about upcoming environmental justice webinars from the United Church of Christ by subscribing for monthly webinar updates.
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From Racial Justice
Racism and Reparation, a 2-part series for education and reflection, will be hosted by the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
- “Black on the Wisconsin Frontier, 1725 to 1866”
Sunday, March 27, 6:30 pm with Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara
- “Reflections on Reparations”
Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 pm with Rev. Leslie Takahashi
See their flyer for more information. Register here to receive the Zoom links.
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From Immigration Justice
ORUCC and Casa Alitas
Like many border centers, Casa Alitas Welcome Center in Tucson, AZ is facing imminent need. They are receiving a record number of 250-300 new guests per day (up from 75-100 arriving in February). At the same time, they are contending with all-time low staffing due to COVID outbreaks and a supply of clothing is so low that on some days, none is available.
As a result of these needs, ORUCC’s Ministry of Christian Witness and Service voted to send $2,000 of its budgeted outreach funds directly to Casa Alitas. The check was sent in late February.
ORUCC has a hands-on history with Casa Alitas. We’ve done two clothing drives in the last 2+ years. In that same period, Ruthanne Landsness twice volunteered for a month at Casa Alitas, providing arrivals their initial welcome and introduction to the Center. In mid-March, Ruthanne returned for another volunteer month.
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April 19. Dane Sanctuary Coalition’s ‘Big View’: Living Undocumented
ORUCC and the Madison Mennonite Community will host a Dane Sanctuary Coalition ‘Big View’ event. Together, attendees will view and discuss episode 6 of the Netflix documentary, Living Undocumented. This is a follow up to the March event where people viewed and discussed episode 3, but you do not have to have been at the first event to attend in April. The other episodes in the series are available from Netflix.
Tuesday, April 19th, 6:30 – 8:00
Attend in person: Madison Mennonite Church /ORUCC Worship Hall
or Zoom, via Computer/smartphone link or by phone: 312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 815 805 774
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Learn About Local Justice Groups
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Learn More About Affordable Housing Issues and Organizations
Madison and Dane County have a critical lack of affordable housing options, especially challenging for the lowest income individuals and families. Many organizations are working for change and justice. Some of those organizations’ leaders presented a 50 minute roundtable discussion during the 2022 Big Share. They discuss their work, challenges, and positive steps underway. The recording is available via YouTube: https://youtu.be/hi7wt3VDD0E
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Another local group working on housing issues is Madison Roots. Their approach is to encourage affluent people to contribute to funds for people to be able to buy homes. You can read more about their approach and see a video by founder Vanessa McDowell. https://madisonroots.com/
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MOSES is a local, mixed-race group that brings a faith-based approach and emphasis on racial justice to community issues, including incarceration, policing, education, and children’s needs. MOSES is the Madison affiliate of WISDOM, a statewide organization. Representatives from MOSES spoke at ORUCC on March 6 at 9 am. You can learn more about the organization by checking out its web site or attending a general meeting on Zoom on Sunday April 3, 2:30-4:30. If you are interested in learning more, you can get on the MOSES mailing list by sending email to [email protected] or contact ORUCC member Pam Oliver [email protected]
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Interested? Reach out to learn more about our justice teams and projects. Our mission teams welcome your time, talent and energy!
In addition, our Christian Witness and Service ministry connects members to a variety of opportunities to support justice activities (contact Ken Psyck).
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Let us love and care for ourselves and each other as we work together for justice and mercy.
“On this day, let our prayer be: Oh, God, take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, and take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen.”
-Rev. William Sloane Coffin
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