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Get the Latest Updates in YOUR Email Inbox! Ripples - November 2009Geoffrey Black To Speak at National Gathering 2010
UCC Coalition Board Moderator, Kathy Church, has confirmed that UCC President and General Minister Geoffrey Black will speak at the Coalition’s National Gathering to be held in San Diego, July 14–17, 2010. Kathy commented, “the Coalition is very proud of our relationship with the denomination and are pleased that Rev. Black has committed to be with us in San Diego to continue our collaboration on social justice ministry.” Black’s confirmation is the kickoff to the Planning Committee’s efforts to develop an overall theme, determine workshop tracks and plan marketing efforts to get news about the content of Gathering out to the widest possible audience. The remainder of the fall will be devoted to those efforts. Registration for National Gathering will be available on the Coalition’s website beginning January 4, 2010, or by calling the Coalition office after that date. The Committee plans to have two-thirds of the meeting’s content and speakers confirmed by the time registration opens and the remainder confirmed by February 28, 2010. National Gathering 2010: Your Input is NeededThe National Gathering 2010 Planning Committee is soliciting feedback from Coalition members and supporters about content for the National Gathering 2010.
New Resource: Safe Spaces Training ModuleThe National Youth Advocacy Coalition (http://www.nyacyouth.org) has just released an online Safe Spaces Training Module, which is designed to help organizations create safer spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The self-guided training module has six parts, which run approximately 15 minutes each. The module contains a self-assessment for each participating organization; upon completion of all six modules, agencies can receive free Safe Zone materials for their offices and youth spaces. The training module is free. Participants need to download a worksheet and follow along with the video series at their own pace. For more information, visit http://www.nyacyouth.org/pages.php?id=20. Remembering Gender Identity and ExpressionDoes your congregation's ONA statement include gender identity and gender expression? Many of our existing ONA churches date from a time when transgender concerns were much less visible and have statements that mention only sexual orientation. This Transgender Day of Remembrance may be a great opportunity to begin work to expand understanding and deepen commitment within your congregation, by updating your ONA statement. There are two excellent curricula released in the last year that may help to fuel your efforts:
The movie, Call Me Malcolm, produced by the UCC Office of Health and Wholeness also continues to be an important resource, with study guides available on-line. Find these and more resources linked from TransFaith Online's Study Guide center at www.transfaithonline.org/go/study. Transgender Day of RemembranceTransgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual event (every November 20) that raises awareness about hate crimes against transgender people, publicly mourns and honors the lives of those who might otherwise be forgotten, and allows transgender people and our allies to come together. General TDOR observances occur in many communities and may welcome churches to host or provide liturgical support. Your church may also want to consider making TDOR an annual observance.
Action Alert: United ENDAUnited ENDA is calling for widespread action in support of ENDA—especially by people of faith. ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which includes protection against discrimination in the workplace for both sexual orientation and gender identity, is being considered in committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. With the opposition expressing concern on religious grounds, it is particularly important that congressional leaders hear from people of faith who support this bill. Please spread the word! To help pass ENDA, please... Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Give your zip code and ask to be connected to your Representative and then your two Senators. Once you are connected:
Suggested message: My name is _____. I am a person of faith (and a member of _____) and a proud resident of (your city, state). please tell Representative _______ that I would like him/her to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017/S. 1584), which would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. Please let him/her know that people of faith in his/her district do support fairness and support ENDA. I can be reached at _______ (give your phone number). Thank you. Invite others to do likewise. Spread the word in your congregation, social networks, and elsewhere.
For more information go to www.unitedenda.org. To let those working on ENDA know what your representative or his/her staff says about supporting ENDA, e-mail Laura.Hart@unitedenda.org. Executive Director Search Committee Is FormingThe UCC Coalition board of directors invites your nominations for the board of directors, executive director search committee, and 2010 national gathering planning committee. An online nomination form is available. For more information, please review the full announcement. Nominations: www.ucccoalition.org/about/board/nomination/ Full Announcement: www.ucccoalition.org/news/ripples/special_alert_nomination_are_open/ Note: We would like to have 7 people willing to serve on the executive director search committee so that we can have a diverse committee representing the diversity of our organization. We currently have one person who has stepped forward and one board member who has agreed to serve. The application remains available on the website. The Board is contacting individuals who could serve, but we need everyone's assistance. If you know persons who should be on this committee, please contact them and ask them to fill out an application. Volunteers Needed for UCC Regional Youth Events2010 is the year of regional youth events in the United Church of Christ, and there are six of them! The Youth and Young Adult Program is starting to recruit volunteers to assist with staffing the events. Our wonderful group of 10 volunteers at last year's National Youth Event were incredibly helpful, and enabled us to increase our capacity greatly so that 484 participants took a workshop at that one gathering. We are hoping for volunteer support with these events as well. The youth events will range in size from around 100 to 450 participants. Check out the listing in the events section below for dates and locations. If you are interested in staffing a youth event, please contact Timothy Brown at 720-941-1062 or yya (at) uccCoalition (dot) org. News, Events and Job AnnouncementsPlease refer to our website for current listings of Newsbits, events and job announcements. |
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