DECEMBER 2021 SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS
The Interfaith Association of Central Ohio (IACO) is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year. Made up of 9 faith traditions -- Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, and Unitarian Universalist -- IACO’s Mission has been consistent over the years: “Creating a vibrant interfaith community based on understanding, friendship, and trust.” The past 18 months have presented new challenges to IACO, as it has for most non-profit organizations. IACO responded to the challenge of virtual programming with doubling the number of our offerings, by moving from in-person to hybrids and zoom events; partnering with new Interfaith groups in Ohio; and reaching out to new populations. In 2022, we plan to expand our webinars, continue visitations to all of our faith traditions, and hold our annual events: the March for Peace and Justice (May); Main Event (August); and Interfaith Prayer Gathering (December).
IACO 6th Annual Interfaith Prayer Gathering - Building Trust: Understanding, Acceptance, & Healing, Sunday, December 12, 2021, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the St. Thomas More Newman Center, 64 W. Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 4320. Join us for an uplifting and inspiring program as IACO's 9 member faiths present messages from their faiths on how we, as supporters of the interfaith community, can build trust between faiths. There will also be a new recognition ceremony to recognize faith leaders who have provided great service in counseling and support during this time of a health pandemic and stress and anxiety. Certificates of appreciation and recognition will be presented to those who have worked in hospitals, facilities for the aging, and in their own houses of worship offering emotional and spiritual support. We invite you to join us by selecting an appropriate faith leader for such an honor, pre-registering yourself for the Prayer Gathering, and registering and bringing the faith leader with you to receive this well-deserved recognition. There is no admission cost for the event.
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST JUSTICE OHIO (UUJO)
Rev. Joan VanBecelaere retired as the Executive Director of UUJO effective October 1st. She has done an amazing job of providing leadership, informing, and organizing Ohio UU’s to advocate for social justice in our state. Joan continues to be actively involved in social justice advocacy and actions. Since she is a member of North Unitarian Universalist Congregation, we can look forward to her support in engaging our membership in social justice initiatives.
UUJO’s new Executive Director is Hank Osmundson, M.Div. (he/him). Hank is a native of the Petersburg, Virginia area and grew up in the Southern Baptist church. He felt a call to ministry when he was 16, but when in college came to terms with being gay and gave up his plans for seminary. After college, he spent four years teaching high school in Mississippi and Virginia. In 2001 he moved to Southern California, remaining there most of his adult life.
He connected with Altadena Community Church (UCC) in 2014, which provided him profound healing and a renewed sense of his call. His brother and parents had settled in Ohio while Hank was in California; Hank relocated to Ohio in 2016 to be closer to his family. While not intending to enroll in seminary at the time of his move, in 2017 he started classes at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO). He received a Master of Divinity degree with a specialization in Feminist and Womanist Studies in 2021 and expects to receive an MA degree in Social Justice from MTSO in 2022. Hank is currently pursuing ordination in the United Church of Christ and serves as a pastoral intern at St. John’s United Church of Christ in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
Hank ls a proud ‘guncle’ of three nieces and three nephews, and a servant of his cats. He enjoys road trips, using swear words, Mel Brooks movies, video games, Star Trek, D&D, practicing t-shirt theology, feeling weird about writing about himself in the third person, and strategizing about the demise of the patriarchy. He can be reached at uujohank@gmail.com Please be sure to welcome him.
UU Justice Ohio Assembly 2021: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest - Saturday, December 11, 2021, 10:00 AM
Ella’s Song by Bernice Johnson Reagon was inspired by the work, words, and life of Ella Baker. This year's UU Justice Ohio Assembly is inspired by the first line of Ella's Song which is: “We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest." Indeed, the journey towards freedom and justice is a long one. We cannot and will not rest, but we need to equip ourselves with hope, imagination, and community to give us the resilience and endurance to continue on the journey.
I want to invite you to attend the UU Justice Ohio 2021 Assembly on Saturday, December 11.
In addition to our Business Meeting, the Assembly will include an address from the League of Women Voters of Ohio as well as the opportunity to attend two of three workshop options: Being Wholly Aware, The Art of Protest, and Connecting the Dots: Intersections with Environmental Justice.
· Being Wholly Aware - To be wholly aware involves how to engage with whole awareness to care for ourselves, each other, our community, and our world to create a world where all belong. We will touch on what whole awareness is, how being wholly aware influences how we live and work, why whole awareness isn't the norm.
· The Art of Protest - Creative expression can be another way to express our desire for freedom and justice. Music, poetry, visual arts, and more can inspire, encourage, and connect us to ways of expressing our voices and ideas that run counter to the narratives of oppression and marginalization.
· Connecting the Dots - UUJO's Environmental Justice group is working to engage people across Ohio through monthly education and action on ways we can improve the world around us. Sometimes the struggle towards environmental justice reveals new and surprising intersections with other social justice issues like racism, poverty, and even transportation access.
The UUJO Assembly will be a fully online event, but we need you to RSVP, which you can do by filling out the information on the right. Suggested registration donations are on a sliding scale from $25 to $50 (or more). You can make your registration donation here. (You can even set up a recurring donation to support the work UUJO does.) After you register, you'll be directed to a link that will give you more information about the Zoom meeting.
No one who wants to attend will be turned away for inability to donate, so please send an email to info@uujo.org if you need a waiver.
