“It’s important that we continue to grow this faith beyond borders, so that it will be the faith of this century,” said Reverend Mark Kiyimba, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Uganda in an evening lecture on Friday.
The world is still in transition between the 19th and 21st centuries, but many people have remained in the 19th, Rev. Kiyimba said. “It is
an obligation between you and me to bring them
into this century—into a new way of thinking for
a new millenium.” Read more
On October 24, about 40 people gathered at the Broad Street Presbyterian Church for a presentation by two organizers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Santiago Perez and Marc Rodrigues spoke about the CIW’s work to gain fair wages and acceptable working conditions for Florida farm workers through its Campaign for Fair Food. Read more
César Chávez, one of the founders of United Farm Workers, said these words some years ago:
Our very lives are dependent, for sustenance, on the sweat and sacrifice of the campesinos. Children of farm workers should be as proud of their parents’ professions as other children are of theirs.
It’s ironic that farm workers aren’t held in higher esteem in our society. After all, farm workers supply the fuel for all other work. Read more
The humanitarian crisis on the border continues for migrants entering the U.S. and those being deported to Mexico. Dylan York and Lydia Delphia spoke about the humanitarian aid work of No Más Muertes (No More Deaths) at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio. Read more
Most shoppers give little or no thought to the people who grow and harvest the tomatoes they buy from their local grocer’s produce section. A coalition of farm worker advocates is working to change that.
On Friday, members and allies of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) gathered at a Columbus, Ohio Kroger store to ask the food retailer to enter into an agreement to end the exploitation of Florida farm workers who supply them with fresh tomatoes. Read more
The Qur’an is “a scripture that teaches goodness and humanity, and prescribes a goal of achieving closeness to God by doing good to others,” said Fazeel Khan, Secretary of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society, during a July 9th interfaith symposium on the Qur’an.
“Today, however, Islam is viewed as a violent and intolerant faith that is incompatible with the civil and democratic ideals accepted by the modern world,” Khan said. He cited a recent poll that said 49% of Americans have a negative view of Islam, and that 26% admit to having some prejudice against Muslims. Read more
On July 9th in Dublin, Ohio, the Lahore Ahmadiyya Islamic Society hosted an interfaith symposium on The Qur’an: A Response to Recent Controversies Concerning Islam’s Holy Book. Many different faith traditions were represented: Islam (Sunni, Shia, Ahmadiyya); Christianity (United Methodist, Baptist, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian); Hinduism; and Unitarian Universalism. Read more
“Maybe wholeness begins with accepting our brokenness,” Kathy Escobar writes. “Instead of resisting and rejecting brokenness, we can accept and acknowledge it. It doesn’t mean that we stay there or encourage others to stay there either. Acknowledging the brokenness means transcending it by discovering it doesn’t define us.” Read more
“In the fateful year of 1929, when the Great Depression was beginning, Time magazine chose as its Man of the Year a Universalist—a layman named Owen D. Young,” Rev. Buehrens said. “You probably don’t even know his name. But Will Rogers, the humorist, said he wanted Owen D. Young to be the Democratic candidate for President in 1932, as the most likely to get us out of the Depression.
“Back then Owen Young was known as perhaps the most progressive and effective business leader, peacemaker, and advocate for ordinary working people that America had.” Read more
