Partnering with a CMS Middle School – A new path for Piedmont

 

Piedmont UU Church is looking forward to a new partnership and social justice project.  Our congregation will partner with a Charlotte-Mecklenburg middle school, J.M. Alexander, for the next school year, carrying out quarterly projects with the congregation. J.M. Alexander is part of the North Learning Community and is located on Hambright Road, off Old Statesville. The leadership team for this project is co-led by Jolena James-Szanton and Amanda Howard.  Other members of the team include Rev. Robin Tanner, Elaine Deck, Karen Haag and Mimi Davis, all of whom have many years of experience in education.  Planning has included meetings with CMS Community Partners staff, attendance at a Faith Summit in April for churches involved in partnerships with CMS schools and a meeting with JM Alexander Principal, Ms. Angela Richardson.

Piedmont UU Church will collect personal items in August for use by the students, including shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouth wash, deodorant, feminine hygiene products and other similar items. These will be prepared for giving on the fifth Sunday of August for our Service Sunday project.

Members interested in serving as literacy tutors will be recruited to assist students with reading in the second quarter. Principal Richardson states on the school’s website that, “Literacy continues to be the North Star for us as it is in our district. If we can improve reading scores, other scores will naturally improve as well.”  This emphasis on literacy is system wide, led by Superintendent Ann Blakeney Clark. Members interested in helping with this will receive an orientation and visit the school to work with two to three students on a weekly basis.

We hope you can join us and give your feedback on our project proposal on either July 26th at 11:15 am or August 20th from 6:00-6:30 pm.  More information will be forthcoming.  Questions?  Please contact Jolena and Amanda at jolena_james_szanton@mac.com and amandacharle@aol.com, respectively.

Piedmont UU hosts Latino Immigration Forum on Tuesday, March 24

All of us are immigrants unless we are Native Americans. Our ancestors came to this country from across the globe, from many dozens of countries and all of the continents. Many came under extremely trying circumstances, although very, very few under the circumstances endured by the millions brought here illegally for many generations from Africa. Immigrants have come during the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, hoping for freedom and better lives for themselves and their families. The plight of immigrants from Mexico and Central American countries, who have come to this country in recent years escaping violence, poverty and war, is a very important current issue. 

We are members of a religious denomination, Unitarian Universalism, that has advocated since its inception for civil rights and human rights, activism we can be proud of and be part of. The plight of Latino immigrants is an important UU issue. An entire General Assembly in 2011 was held in Phoenix, Arizona, close to the border with Mexico, to focus denominational attention on these issues.

Piedmont UU has been active in this area, with several members, Darla Davis and Anne Laukaitis, serving for some years on the Immigration Solidarity Council that meets monthly at the Friends Meeting House close to UNCC. Rev. Robin Tanner has engaged in rallies and vigils and been a speaker. Several dozen of our members have supported these activities at times.

The Piedmont UU Social Justice Council, in conjunction with the Immigration Solidarity Council, will hold a Latino Immigration Forum on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of our church. We offer this forum to raise the awareness of the issues and provide accurate, current information for our members and our guests.

Ben Snyder, an immigration lawyer, will provide an overview of the current status of President Obama’s recent administrative actions regarding Latino immigration. Hector Vaca, Director of ACTION NC, will talk about immigrant rights, the issue of in-state tuition in North Carolina for young students who accompanied their parents to their country as children and the municipal ID card for undocumented immigrants. A young Latino student, affected by the in-state tuition issue, will be present as well. There will be time for questions and the evening will conclude with member Mark Sanders leading us in a discussion of what Piedmont UU’s role might be in these important issues.

The Social Justice Council hopes many members will be interested to learn more about these issues, and the council has extended the invitation to other nearby churches and the community as well. There is no admission fee and refreshments will be served.

Latino Immigration Forum       
Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 7 to 8:30p.m.
Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church      
9704 Mallard Creek Road
For more information contact Anne: laukaitis@windstream.net

January plate collection recipient: Cabarrus Literacy Council

The Social Justice Council has designated the Cabarrus Literacy Council as the January 2014 recipient of the undesignated plate collection. This is the money donated in the collection that is not intended for member's pledges.

The Cabarrus Literacy Council currently has approximately 125 tutor/mentors working with approximately 200 adults in Cabarrus County. Two of our members, Karen Dutton and Anne Laukaitis, are tutors with the Cabarrus Literacy Council. Director Susan Suarez Webster will visit Piedmont on Sunday, January 12, and speak briefly about this work during the 11 a.m. service.

The Social Justice Council researches and identifies one recipient each month for the plate collection, choosing a non-profit whose mission is compatible with our own. Education and the alleviation of poverty through education are important values for UU's.  Contact Karen or Anne if you would like to know more about the Cabarrus Literacy Council.

The donation of the monthly plate collection  began about six years ago and to date, thousands of dollars have been donated to local non-profits. Donations come from all of our members. For more information about the monthly plate collection or to nominate a worthy non-profit, contact Darla Davis, Social Justice Council co-chair. 

Why do we teach adults to read and write and speak English?

The Cabarrus Literacy Council engages adults in Literacy activities because:
Adult men and women in the United States who have fewer than twelve years of education have life expectancies not much better than those of all adults in the 1950s and 1960s, while their highly educated counterparts have experienced a dramatic increase in life expectancy.

8.1 million adults dropped out of school before 8th grade, making GED attainment more difficult.

Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans reached the 12th grade without having learned to read at a basic level. In the same period, more than 6 million Americans dropped out of high school altogether.

Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3 - 4 times more likely to drop out in later years.

High school dropouts from the class of 2006-07 will cost the United States $329 billion in lost wages, taxes, and productivity over their lifetimes.

Children of parents who had not completed high school scored lower in vocabulary assessments
than children of parents with a high school degree or equivalent.

What has the Social Justice Council been up to lately?

The Social Justice Council helps to facilitate various projects in which our council members and members of the congregation are interested. Our most recent project is the Guatemala exploratory trip.  This July, several members of the congregation will be traveling to Guatemala to meet with people in the Santiago region, to a village called Chuk Muk.  This region was devastated by civil war for decades and landslides in 2005. The purpose of the trip is to meet with members of their community to assess what needs they might want addressed in their community. The SJC would like to then facilitate future projects in this region based on the people's wants.

Other projects sponsored by the SJC are the first Sunday Food Drive.  This food drive has happened the first Sunday of the month for over a year.  The collected items are donated to Loaves and Fishes food bank.  Another group affiliated with the SJC is Interweave.  This group has sponsored three dances to raise money for their work advocating for LGBT issues.  They also collaborate with the youth of our church at the Charlotte PRIDE festival and sell t-shirts designed by the youth and proceeds benefit Time Out Youth, a community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

The Social Justice Council also strives to involve congregants in various social justice causes in our community.  We wanted to make everyone aware of a new petition that might interest our congregation.  A community member, Charlotte White, contacted PUUC and the SJC recently about a petition she started to ban plastic bags in Charlotte.  If you are interested in signing this petition or reading it, visit this website, http://www.change.org/petitions/plastic-bag-ban-in-charlotte-nc-stop-the-use-of-plastic-bags.

Amanda Armstrong and Brian Foster have been the co-chairs of the Council from 2011-2013.  This July, two new co-chairs will be taking over the leadership of the Council, Darla Davis and Virginia Gil-Rivas.  Both are current members of the Council.  Darla has been a UU for close to 40 years and associated with five UU churches during that time.  She joined our congregation in 1999 and was one of the original members to start social justice work at our church.  Her activism interests are equality in human rights specifically the immigrant justice, the elimination of torture which includes repeal of the death penalty, economic justice in the global economy, and the impact of climate change. Virginia has been a member of PUUC for several years.  She has participated on the Social Justice Council since joining our congregation.  She also is a founding member of PUUC’s branch of Interweave.  We welcome Darla and Virginia as our new co-chairs and thank them for their service to the congregation!

Amanda Armstrong, Co-chair, Social Justice Council

World Neighbors Project

“In separateness lies the world’s great misery, in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” ~attributed to the Buddha

As Unitarian Universalists we affirm and promote the interconnected web of all existence.  In this modern world, hands from around the world make our daily lives possible from our clothing, food to even our homes.  With this connection, comes a great responsibility.  The World Neighbors Project seeks to balance our social justice ministry and fulfill our responsibility as world neighbors.

Introduction:

Evolution of the Trip:

The World Neighbors Project was inspired by the work of our member, the late Jodie Kacer.  Jodie Kacer was a longtime Unitarian Universalist who lived in Wisconsin and joined PUUC in 2010.  She connected her UU congregation in Wisconsin with an organization called the Masaai American Organization (MAO).  See here for more information on MAO http://www.maasaiamerican.org/

MAO is a nonprofit organization focused on helping women and children get access to healthcare and education.  MAO purchases crafts at a fair trade from cooperatives in Guatemala and then sells these products for a small profit in the United States.  The proceeds of these sales are used to benefit women and children in Kenya.  Then, products are purchased at a fair trade from women in Kenya and again sold for a profit in the United States.  These profits are used to benefit women and children in Guatemala.  Essentially, it is beneficial international trade.  MAO is not a missionary or religious organization, but is grounded in values shared by Unitarian Universalism.

After conversations with Rev. Robin and Jodie, the PUUC Social Justice Council decided to host MAO craft sales in December of 2011.  The craft sales resulted in the funding of a solar panel, which now powers a school in Kenya.  In the spring of 2012, Kennedy Lieberman, the daughter of two members MJ and Larry Lieberman, traveled to Guatemala to work for two months for MAO.  At Jodie’s request and after speaking with Kennedy Lieberman, Rev. Robin and Ann Marie Alderman traveled to Guatemala in the summer of 2012.  Rev. Robin reported her experiences to the Social Justice Council.  The Council talked about the potential for a project and after four months of conversation, decided to put together an exploratory trip.  In December of 2012, the congregation held it’s second craft sale, which has helped women attend school through funded scholarships.  In January of 2013, the Core Planning Team formed.  In February of 2013, the first general meeting was held and the World Neighbors Project was born.

Intention of the Trip:

The Core Planning Team has been charged with planning an exploratory trip for July 2013.  The intention of the planning trip is to familiarize participants with the region of Santiago, Guatemala and in particular the area for a potential project, Chuk Muk (located outside of Santiago).  Participants will return to explore whether a project in Chuk Muk is possible.  No commitments for a project have been or will be made before, during or immediately after the trip. 

The philosophy of this trip is grounded in an anti-racist, anti-oppressive and multi-cultural viewpoint. Participants on this trip are going to listen and learn, rather than teach.  Participants will also complete service projects including volunteering in a school, elder center and hospital. Part of the belief of the core team is that in traveling to another culture, participants will better understand global citizenry, interconnected living and poverty in their own community and context.

Process for Post-Trip Exploration:

July 29, 2013  Exploratory Team Returns

Aug 2013  Team Meets with Social Justice Council to Debrief

Core Team meets with Social Justice Council, determines if any project is possible.  If SJC and Core Team determine a project is not feasible, craft sales may continue but exploration ceases.  If project seems at all feasible, then the following schedule begins.

Sep 2013  Social Justice Council meets
Open Core Team meeting held, all members are welcome

Oct 2013   Core Team develops a project plan.

Nov 2013 Core Team submits draft project plan to Social Justice Council.

Dec 2013  Core Team and Social Justice Council review proposal.  Social Justice Council sends back edits.

Jan 2014  Social Justice Council finalizes proposals; shares with congregation and Board of Trustees; Board reviews at January meeting.

Feb 2014 Social Justice Council receives Board of Trustees feedback; begins congregational meetings.

Mar-May 2014  Congregational informational meetings held (at least five)

Jun 2014 Proposal submitted at congregational meeting for a vote by the members

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Why are we traveling to Guatemala?

A. While there are many places we could begin this work, the Social Justice Council began in Guatemala because we had a member connection and UU connections that assured of this organization’s credibility.

Q. Shouldn’t we be working on social justice projects locally?  There is so much need here.

A. Absolutely, this trip is not intended to replace local social justice work but to better balance PUUC’s social justice program.

Q. I can’t go on the trip, how can I be involved?

A. We understand it is not feasible for many members to travel to Guatemala.  Members can be involved by assisting with craft sales, core team planning or project planning.  In addition, some members have already come forward to donate funds in order to support others participating. 

Q. How many people are going on the trip?

A. Currently, there are 9 members plus Rev. Robin and an MAO representative, Lea Pellet.  There is room for at least six more individuals in the exploratory trip.

Q. How much does the trip cost?  What is the financial liability for the church?

A.  The approximate cost of the trip is 1,200.00 including meals, flight, lodging and transportation. There will be some fundraising efforts (brunches or bake sale) to defray the costs, but none of the church’s operating fund or pledge income is being used to support the trip.  Any financial liability for the trip would be a part of the Core Team’s assessment, congregational discernment and board review (see above).

Q. I didn’t think Unitarian Universalists were missionaries.  Is this a mission-based trip?

A.  No, we don’t plan on converting anyone. The trip is spiritual for participants, but not missionary in orientation.

Contact/Further Questions:

This info sheet is designed to give a brief introduction to the Guatemala exploratory trip.  Further questions should be directed to Core Planning Team members, Darla Davis and Virginia Gil-Rivas who can be reached at worldneighbors@puuc.org

Other members of the Core Planning Team include Mimi Davis, Amanda Howard and Rev. Robin Tanner.  The World Neighbors Project is an approved project of the Social Justice Council, who would also welcome any questions.  Amanda Armstrong and Brian Foster serve as co-chairs of the Social Justice Council.  They can be reached at Amanda Armstrong armstram@gmail.com and Brian Foster bafoster@gmx.com

We welcome all questions and inquiries and hope this document serves as the introduction to an ongoing congregational exploration.