SOCIAL ACTION MATTERS
A publication of the
Social Action Council
Unitarian
Universalists of the Cumberland Valley
2 Forge Road,
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
(717) 249-8944 www.uucv.net
Editor of the Month:
Kathy Bell kathybell@pa.net
November/December 2006
Notes from the Journey
By Kathy Bell
I wish that
everyone reading this newsletter had the opportunity to read the mail that arrives
at UUCV from SCI Muncy. A week
rarely goes by without a notes, letters or cards from the women sharing the
impact that receipt of a monetary gift, a Sunday packet and/or pen-pal has made
on her life. Tammy Gallagher
OO6952 wrote in response to receiving
a Sunday packet – "...the part that really touched me the most was "to
everything there is a Season" I read this verse everyday. I live by this verse Ecclesiastes Ch3
has held me together for these 25 years that I have been in jail and right now
I really need this because I am very sick with my lung problems plus I am in
the first stage of heart failure. So this paper must have been meant for
me..." Lizetta Lee Haynes OB5295 wrote "....Thank you so much for the gift. I greatfully appreciate it, and will put
it to good use. Ever since my mama passed away, I don't get any type of help
from elsewhere. The Lord is good
to me, He looks out for me whenever I'm in need, whether it be day or night. I
can always count on Him. I was
blessed with your address and getting good literature from you and getting to
know you and you me. Thanks
again!...and Stacy Williams OK3991 shared " To my dearest friends at UUCV
how's are you and your congregation doin? Fine I hope and I just like to drop
you a little thank you note for your donation. I appreciate it so very much and
do hope that you will keep me in your prayers as for me I will never forget you
congregation and church and what yall have done for me. Could yall please send
me some literature? I'm interested in knowing more about yall. Maybe I can
learn somethings that could be very valuable to me when I leave Muncy.
Somethings that will help me in the future whenever I'm released..."
Worship is kindred fire within our hearts; it moves through deeds of kindness and through acts of love.
– Jacob
Trapp #441 Singing the Living Tradition
Wishing for a
Pen-Pal
Edith Anderson OO8598
Yolanda Brown OD0586
Cynthia Gonzalez
OO7400
Jessie Grove OO7119
Kelly O'Donnell OCO215
Shavonne Robbins
OCO204
Michelle Tharp OF6593
Change for the
World – December
Thirty Dollars
for Thirty Women
December Change for the World is designated for
UUCV's Thirty Dollars for Thirty Women–a gifting for indigent women
at SCI Muncy – the state's maximum security prison for women. Many at
UUCV have adopted Muncy for their own community service ministry. Kathy Bell is
and Jim Freeman is soon to be a PA Prison Society Official Visitors. Carolyn
Hocker creates greeting cards and you may be a pen-pal to one of the women.
30x30 is UUCV's signature ministry to the women at Muncy. Though it
touches just a small number of the 1100 women there, it is like the starfish
story – it mean a great deal to the women it touches. Thank you for your
commitment to this initiative.
UUCV GLBT Initiative
by Alan Franklin
The Antidiscrimination Ordinance is the current focus
of the Social Action Council's GLBT Justice Initiative. Last May we began an
effort to persuade the Carlisle Borough Council to adopt an ordinance that
would include GLBT folk among the classes that are protected against
discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation.
The UUCV working group includes Duane Fickeisen, Alan
Franklin and John Kallman. We have been joined in this effort by the OutLaw
group, a gay-straight alliance among the students at the Dickinson School of
Law (DSL) coordinated by Tamara Storey, Director of Student Activities, and
Michelle Wirth, one of the students at DSL.
As a result
of attending a public meeting on this subject we organized in May, Tim Scott,
one of the Borough Councilmen, became agreed to shepherd the ordinance through
the Council. Stephen Glassman, Chairperson of the PA Human Relations
Commission, and Katie Eyer, Employment Rights Lawyer with the Center for
Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights in Philadelphia have been very supportive and
helpful, providing Tim Scott with a draft ordinance to work with, offering more
help in drafting an ordinance for Carlisle, and speaking at our meeting in May
and just now before the Council. Our task up to this point has been to generate
public support, in the form of letters to the Council. Many letters have been
provided by members of our congregation, students at DSL and Dickinson College
(organized by our own Pat Millet), local shopkeepers, members of the Southeast
PA chapter of the ACLU, and other concerned people. The YWCA and the NAACP have
contributed letters. By Tim Scott's judgment, we have provided ample evidence
of public support.
Tim Scott
invited Steve Glassman and Katie Eyer to attend the council meeting on November
8th to respond to questions from the council. Simultaneously, the
Council adopted a resolution introduced by major Kirk Wilson, for Carlisle to
participate in a Partnership for Inclusive Communities sponsored by the
National League of Cities. As a result a large committee (CIC) was formed to
investigate what might be needed for Carlisle to become a more inclusive
community. Six subcommittees were formed, each to investigate an important
aspect of inclusitivity. One subcommittee, under the joint chairmanship of
Duane, Tamara Storey, and Monica Ouelette, Assistant Minister of the UCC Church
on Pitt Street, was assigned the area of sexual orientation.
At the November 8th meeting, the council
indicated their desire to consider this ordinance as part of the CIC process.
This delays the ordinance, since the CIC is just starting its examination of
inclusion. The sexual orientation subcommittee will meet with the larger parent
CIC early in December. We hope this will result in a recommendation by CIC to
the Council to adopt such the ordinance. Next we'll need to we go back in early
Spring to argue for the ordinance. We have our work cut out for us!
Thanks to all those who wrote letters and attended
Council meetings. We plan to continue work on this issue as is Councilman Scott
and we'll keep you advised of its progress.
United For Peace and Justice March in
Washington
by Kathy Bell
On Election Day the voters delivered a dramatic,
unmistakable mandate for peace. Now it's time for action. On January 27, 2007,
we will converge from all around the country in Washington, D.C. to send a
strong, clear message to Congress and the Bush Administration: The people of
this country want the war and occupation in Iraq to end and we want the troops
brought home now!
Congress has the power to end this war through
legislation. We call on people from every congressional district in the country
to gather in Washington, DC -- to express support for those members of Congress
who are prepared to take immediate action against the war; to pressure those
who are hesitant to act; and to speak out against those who remain tied to a
failed policy.
The peace and justice movement helped make ending the
war in Iraq the primary issue in this last election. The actions we take do
make a difference, and now there is a new opportunity for us to move our work
forward. On Election Day people took individual action by voting. On January 27
we will take collective action, as we march in Washington, DC, to make sure
Congress understands the urgency of this moment.
AIDS Education and Schooling for
Girls in Mozambique
"We are singing, singing for our
lives," Namarroi, Mozambique, Nov 2005. (Photo by P. Laws) "...there is no tool for development
more effective than the education of girls." (Kofi A. Annan) One out of every three sexually active adults in
Mozambique is HIV[1] positive, as are many children of HIV infected
parents. Girls who stay in school are more likely to delay marriage and
motherhood. This reduces the spread of AIDS and slows the rate of population
growth. In addition, girls who finish upper primary school (6th and
7th grades) are also more likely to become community leaders,
acquire the capability to earn extra money for their families, and see that
their children attend school.[2] The Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley
(UUCV) are partnering with the United Church of Canada and the Christian
Council of Mozambique to support AIDS education through schooling for girls
from rural villages in northern Mozambique. For the past two years UUCV's
Social Action Council has raised "bursary" funds to enable girls to attend
upper primary school and vocational schools. The program started with 24 girls
in 2005 and was expanded to 48 girls in 2006. All 48 girls have successfully
completed their 2006 school year and
UUCV plans to raise the funds needed to support 6 additional students in 2007.
The 2007 goal will be $16,200 which will provide $300 for each of the 54 girls.
The bursary girls range in age from 11 to 17. Some will be starting 6th
grade while several others who have already completed 8th grade and
the 1st year of a 2-year teachers college program will be certified
as elementary school teachers when they complete the program this coming year. The retention rate for the bursary girls is
remarkable, especially because these students have had to leave their families
to live in government residences while they attend school. One of the major
reasons why these young Mozambican villagers are doing so well in school is that
they have been identified as being good students who have completed the top
grade in their villages and are also active participants in a PEDRA group --
one of the after school AIDS prevention clubs initiated by Karen Butt of the
Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) for girls who are between 10 and 14 years
old. The work done with the CCM by Karen and her husband Bill, a communications
specialist, is supported by the United Church of Canada (UCC). UCC is a liberal Christian church that
shares many values with Unitarian Universalism, and UUCV is proud to have a
small part in helping UCC with the outstanding sustainable development work it
has undertaken in Mozambique. Mozambique AIDS Event at UUCV Karen and Bill Butt will be visiting UUCV in early December and will be
leading a church service about their work on AIDS prevention and education for
girls on December 3rd. In recognition of the 2006 World AIDS
Day, UUCV is sponsoring a free public showing of "Sanho Nocturno" (Night Dream), a recently released DVD produced in
Quelimane, Mozambique. The 50 minute long work uses music and dance to
dramatize AIDS awareness in Mozambique and is based in part on Shakespeare's Midsummer
Night's Dream. The showing of the drama will be followed by a
discussion led by co-producers, Karen and Bill Butt. The event will take place
on Saturday December 2nd at 7:30 p.m. at the UUCV meeting house at 2 Forge Road in
Boiling Springs. SAC Mounts Holiday Fair Trade Sales Photo: Tania Werry and Janet Folsom at our
first Fair Trade Sale in May 2004.
Dickinson College HUB (Student Union Bldg) Nov 29 – Fair Wares
Sale, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m Dec 3 – Holiday Bazaar,
12 noon to 5 p.m. After Services at UUCV Nov 29 – Fair Wares
Sale, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m Dec 3 – Holiday Bazaar,
12 noon to 5 p.m. The
fair trade sales listed above are being coordinated by Kay Elco, who has
ordered a large selection of handicrafts and foods including fabrics, jewelry,
ornaments, toys, musical instruments, African baskets, chocolate, coffee and
tea. Most of the items are supplied by ' A Greater GiftÕ', a non-profit organization that partners with small-
scale artisans and farmers all over the world to promote living wages, women's
rights and eco-friendly production. Proceeds
from the sale will go to SAC's 2007 Bursary Fund established to enable 54 girls
from rural villages in Northern Mozambique attend school during the coming
year. Sign-Ups Needed: Kay is seeking help with setting up and tearing down
the sale table, so if you are able to be a sales clerk for a couple of hours or
help setting out or putting goods away on any of the sale days, please contact
her at 691-0212 or <elcokp@aol.com>. UUCV's
Social Action Council Kathy Bell – Correctional Justice Initiative
Coordinator George Fohs Alan Franklin – GLBT Initiative Coordinator Julie Ham Priscilla Laws – SAC Chairperson &
Mozambique Bursary Initiative Coordinator Harold Piety – SAM Co-editor Jon Tarrant Additional Coordinators: Kay Elco – Fair Trade Sales Terri Smiley – Bursary Finance Carol McAnulty – Change for the World Meetings
2nd Tuesday of each month at Priscilla Laws' home To
Join us simply contact P Laws at lawsp@dickinson.edu or 243-9525 
