With white “Christian” nationalists and other forces of hate attacking the rights and the very existence of marginalized people here in the United States, focusing all our energy defending human rights at home is tempting. But Unitarian Universalists have always recognized the interdependence of people across political boundaries, engaging in both political and humanitarian work to advance our shared values globally.

Now, two of the UU organizations recognizing the global nature of our struggle for human dignity call us to meet the rising threats beyond U.S. borders.

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) just launched Together, We Rise, a rapid-response network created to inform UUs about the most critical threats to civil liberties, democracy, and human rights, and to provide us action ideas with which we can defend vulnerable people and uphold UU values.

Salote Soqo, Director of Advocacy on Global Displacement at UUSC, says the network was conceived prior to the 2024 federal election to anticipate policies of any new administration and “mobilize our passionate UUs around the country” to support human rights. The network’s launch was rendered especially timely when, days prior to the public launch, Elon Musk bragged of working in secret to destroy the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a federal agency providing life-saving food, vaccinations, and other aid to alleviate suffering worldwide. After news of Musk’s vandalism broke, UUSC issued a statement noting, “From refugee support at the Thai-Burma border to life-saving food assistance in Sudan, this unlawful aid freeze threatens not only lives but also essential human rights work.”

On February 7, a lawsuit to stop USAID’s closure won a restraining order from a federal judge, but staff remained locked out as of this writing. Massive cuts to U.S. foreign aid (already less than one percent of federal spending) sought by the Trump Administration will spark increased need for organizations working to uphold human dignity and prevent suffering. It also is leading to massive waste of perishable food (PDF 6 pages) in storage or in transit from USAID.

To learn more about the five issue priorities of UUSC’s new “Rapid Response Task Force” and engage, see Together, We Rise.

Meanwhile, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) is focusing largely on the crisis in Gaza where Israeli military attacks have driven millions of Palestinians from their homes and mass death from starvation, dehydration, and disease is ongoing.

President Trump continues providing Israel’s military with weapons enabling Israel’s devastation of Gaza and extended President Biden’s ban on U.S. funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary organization providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. This funding cutoff would undercut the agency at the moment of greatest need and increase preventable suffering and deaths.

Trump also signed an Executive Order withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council, a key vehicle for encouraging nations to abide by minimal measures of human dignity like the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, which UUJME cites as a primary source of inspiration.

On Friday, UUJME issued a statement rejecting Trump’s plan to weaken UNRWA. Their call to action is rooted in strong UU support for solidarity with Palestinians, as exemplified by the Action of Immediate Witness passed at the 2024 Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly and many prior statements.

UUJME offers a wide range of tools to help fight the cutoff of funding to UNRWA and encourages direct contributions. See their statement linked above to learn more.

Related Resource from Side With Love

• Why We Cannot Turn Away: Resources for UUs Engaging Palestine & Israel

The UUA upholds the values of mutuality and collaboration in our relationships for advancing Love and Justice in the world. We are proud of our long held relationships with our partners in faith who share our desire for a more just and peaceful world. We truly believe that we can do more together than we can ever do alone.

Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship for Unitarian Universalist Seminarians at Non-UU Theological Schools

The Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship is available to Unitarian Universalist seminarians (in candidate status) attending non-UU theological Schools who have an interest in international and interfaith engagement. Scholarship recipients will be flown to TGS in Suzuka, Japan for a 2-3 week stay.

Tsubaki Grand Shrine Scholarship for Unitarian Universalist Seminarians at Non-UU Theological Schools

A Look Back at Our 52 Years at the United Nations

The Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations was a non-governmental organization in association with the United Nations Department of Global Communications and in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

A Look Back at Our Work at the UN

The UUA Office of Global Connections and Emerging Communities is pleased to share information about convenings related to our work, both upcoming and from the recent past.

Leading Into the Future

In October 2023, 50 global U/Us from 17 countries gathered in Prague, Czech Republic for Leading into the Future: A Conversation on Global U/U Theological Education & Lay Leadership.

Read the UU World article providing a look into the convening, including a summary of events, key quotes from featured speakers, and a gallery of photos.

Interactive Report

Our interactive report of the Prague convening, “Leading into the Future: Continuing the Exploration (PDF, 20 pages)” invites you to reflect on questions of the future of theological education and lay leadership development.

In 2024 the U/U Global Network was established, led by a collaborative group called the Leadership and Design Team. The U/U Global Network is focused on:

• Fostering collaboration and mutual support among diverse U/U groups, emerging communities, and initiatives
• Building and maintaining relationships with U/U leaders and communities across the world with open communication
• Responding to the emerging needs and priorities of the global U/U community as raised by community members
• Providing assistance and resources to U/U individuals and organizations who seek help

Background

The formation of the U/U Global Network is a direct result of the re-imagining process initiated by the International Council of Unitarians/Universalists & Free Christian Churches (ICUU) and the UU Partner Church Council (UUPCC), in collaboration with the UUA. The ICUU and UUPCC agreed that their organizations should dissolve so that a new vision for global U/U connection could take shape.

Our 21st century religious landscape continues to shift and change, from the local to the global.

In the global sphere, a new organization, the U/U Global Network, is in the process of taking shape. The Network aims to foster collaboration and mutual support among diverse U/U groups, emerging communities, and initiatives. The organization also hopes to build and maintain relationships with U/U groups across the world through open communication, responding to the emerging priorities of the global U/U community as raised by community members, and providing assistance and resources to U/U individuals and organizations who seek help.

And for the UUA, in an effort to support those who are meeting the challenge to transform Unitarian Universalism into a faith that more closely embodies the Beloved Community that UUs envision, we’ve launched the UU Cultivators Collaborative program.

The UU Cultivators Collaborative program will provide customized support and encouragement for spiritual innovators from historically underserved communities – including Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, youth, young adults, families with young children with special needs, multilingual and immigrant communities, and more — through a cohort model. Participants will provide mutual support to build collective knowledge and will be connected to expert mentors and resources for developing and testing innovative prototypes.

U/U Global Network

From Global Unitarian Universalism

The U/U Global Network is focused on: Fostering collaboration and mutual support among diverse U/U groups, emerging communities, and initiatives.

U-U Global Network

UU Cultivators Collaborative

From LeaderLab

A new opportunity to support spiritual innovators from historically underserved communities

Cultivators Collaborative

Convenings

From Global Unitarian Universalism

The UUA Office of Global Connections and Emerging Communities is pleased to share information about convenings related to our work, both upcoming and from the recent past.Leading Into the Future In October 2023, 50 global U/Us from 17 countries gathered in Prague, Czech Republic for Leading into ...

Convenings

By Bruce Knotts

On the occasion of Bruce Knotts’ retirement, we would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation for his fifteen years of service as Director of the UUA Office at the United Nations. Bruce’s experience and commitment have represented UU values on the international stage, advocated for key issues like climate justice and LGBTQ rights, and shepherded the office through many changes. You will hear more about the ongoing work of the UU@UN during this transition in the coming months. For now, we want to take time, joining the many UUs who have been inspired by our faithful work at the United Nations, to wish Bruce all the best in this next phase.

Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray, President, UUA

Carey McDonald, Executive Vice President, UUA

Rev. Alicia R. Forde, International Office Director, UUA

Dear UU@UN community,

This will be my last report to you. It has been an honor to serve Unitarian Universalism at the UN for 15 years since 2008.

These last 15 years promoting UU values at the United Nations have been some of the most meaningful years of my life, even after decades of service as a diplomat for the United States in nations all over the world. 11 years ago, the UU Office at United Nations moved under the umbrella of the UUA, creating an especially rewarding experience. It’s time now for me to retire from my position at the UUA, giving me time and opportunity to focus my advocacy on particular issues of concern for me. I’m not leaving the world of international diplomacy or peacemaking; I’m simply reimagining what it might look like in this next stage of my career. This is not goodbye. This is just a step onto a different path. I look forward to keeping in touch with you, so please email me at brucefk@me.com. My last day at the UUA will be September 30, 2022.

I began my time at the UU@UN by meeting Rev. Bill Sinkford in Boston. I said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I intend to follow a very aggressive LGBTIQ+ program at the UN.” Bill said, “If you don’t follow such a program, then I will mind.” I felt the wind in my sails. It’s that kind of support from the top that empowers dedication and concerted action.

The UN was planning a conference in Paris to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human rights. I was given the first ever workshop on LGBTIQ+ issues in any conference like the one we were planning in Paris. I was invited to speak to a much larger breakout session by Sister Joan Kirby, a Catholic/Buddhist nun.

When I returned to New York, I worked with many others at the Norwegian Mission to the UN to ensure the UN General Assembly draft resolution would succeed. It did.

In 2015, I got a call from one of the lawyers representing the family of Tamir Rice. You remember Tamir was a 12-year-old boy playing alone in a park with a toy gun. Timothy Loehmann, a white police officer, drove up to Tamir and shot and killed him with no warning. When the family’s lawyer called me, he said he knew Harry Belafonte. We organized an event with 500 people in the audience. The event was live webcast worldwide on UN Web TV. I called Harry Belafonte UN royalty. Belafonte thanked me for my “warm embrace.” He was magnificent. Alicia Garza of Black Lives Matter was also a featured speaker. The High Commissioner for Human Rights and a host of luminaries were there. We launched the UN Decade of People of African Descent. In the end, the event was an enormous success, and the UN Decade of People of African Descent at the UN continues and will continue until 2025.

There is much more to tell in this history, but this gives you an idea of what we’ve been doing at the UN for the past 15 years.

In Solidarity for Peace, Justice, and Compassion,

By Global Connections & Emerging Communities

Register today for the Post-Imperial Futures conference!

Scholars. Activists. Ministers. Leaders: The legacy of Empire and its desire to dominate and mark out Otherness has us participate in harmful colonial enterprises. Participants will be equipped with resources and practices to live into the promise of radical, post-colonial, and faithful futurities.

This conference, hosted by the UUA International Office and Meadville Lombard Theological School, will feature a keynote address from Lisa Asedillo, a Christian social ethicist working at the intersections of Asian American Christian ethics, Philippine studies, and decolonial/postcolonial feminist theology.

Participants will join two of the following Unlearning Labs:

• How to Decolonize Preaching, Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz
• What solidarities matter? What the Invasion of Ukraine Tells Us about Imperialism, Anti-blackness, and Occupation, Rachel Freed, Ervin Malakaj, Fatima El-Tayeb; moderated by Dr. Beverly Weber
• How to Liberate a Text: Colonial Legacies and Decolonial Practice of Reading the Bible, Dr. Jin Young Choi

• Even the Dead Won’t Be Safe: Imperial Archives, Post-Imperial Research, John Leeker
• Decolonizing Listening Practices in Pastoral Care, Dr. Mindy McGarrah Sharp
• People & Patterns: Case Studies in U/U Imperialism, Rev. Fred Muir

See the full schedule, list of presenters, and Unlearning Labs descriptions.

By Global Connections & Emerging Communities

On Friday, September 23, from 3:30 — 5 pm ET, The Unitarian Universalist Association will be hosting an in person event, “UNGA Resolution on Human Right to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment” as a part of the Holistic Climate Solutions Summit. Convened during 2022’s UN General Assembly High Level Week, and NYC Climate Week, the side event will inform participants of the UNGA Resolution on Human Right to Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment and explore how to leverage this resolution to create societal change.

Panelists will reflect on the nexus of climate change and human rights, and what lies ahead. On behalf of the co-organizers of the Holistic Climate Solutions Summit, we would like to extend a formal invitation for you to join us, in person, for this dialogue.

This invite-only event will be hosted at the Tzu Chi Center for Compassionate Relief, 229 East 60th St. New York, NY, 10022, and live-streamed to communities around the world.

It is our hope that through this intentional gathering, best practices and learned lessons can emerge as resources to help one another deepen our understanding of what is possible and strengthen our ability to respond, in a solutions oriented manner, to the climate crisis.

With limited seating available, your response would be greatly appreciated at your earliest convenience.

By Global Connections & Emerging Communities

Next week’s Holistic Climate Solutions Summit, in alignment with Climate Week NYC, is being organized by the Tzu Chi Center For Compassionate Relief together with 30 co-organizing partners including the UUA Office at the United Nations. The Summit is a solutions space, modeling a better future by showcasing the tremendous and innovative actions that are possible when hope, optimism, and action converge with community, love for all sentient beings and respect for the planet.

We know there is much to do in the midst of our climate crisis, too much for any one person or group to do alone. This is why we at UU@UN are committed to building partnerships for advocacy and action. We encourage you to join as much of this conference as you can, and to share with your networks.

If you will be in-person, look for an upcoming blog post inviting you to a special event.

The UUA Office at the UN has been working with the Tzu Chi Center For Compassionate Relief since 2014, when our relationship was solidified working together at the Paris Climate Conference. The Tzu Chi Foundation works in over 100 countries around the world.

Our partners at the Tzu Chi Center were also grateful to learn of the UUA’s 2011 Statement of Conscience on Ethical Eating: Food & Environmental Justice. This has been a core tenant of their work, and of course an important part of UU action towards addressing the climate crisis. More than 10 years later, it is good to remember this vital statement.

By Global Connections & Emerging Communities

This year’s UN Sunday theme is Climate Justice: Climate Forced Displacement. We encourage you to use the materials below to craft a service that is uniquely suited to your congregation.

UU@UN has created this UN Sunday Resource Packet to support your creation of a United Nations Sunday. The Worship resources found in this packet can be used freely with attribution in all forms of UU worship.

It is also an honor to personally participate in one of your services. Please contact Rev. Morgan McLean (mmclean@uua.org) if you are interested in having a UU@UN staff member participate live, or pre-recorded, in your service.

If you are looking for information beyond our Resource Packet, you’ll find additional UN Sunday background resources on the UN Sunday webpage.

Don’t forget to add your congregation’s service to the map of UN Sunday Services. Seek inspiration from congregations that have held UN Sunday services in prior years, and add your own map pin!