Unitarian Univeralist UN Office (UU-UNO)

Spring Seminar Statement 2012!

Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office

2012 Intergenerational Spring Seminar Statement

Beyond Borders: Breaking Barriers of Race and Immigration

Whereas:

Immigration and race impact all people regardless of gender, class, ethnicity, and faith;

Unfortunately, racism, prejudice, and discrimination are prevalent and socially acceptable nationally and internationally;

Race and citizenship status affects one’s ability to access education, health care, employment and other human rights;

Due to immigration status, youth are denied the basic human right of education in our communities;

Migration is on the rise due to increasingly volatile and insecure situations in home countries;

Undocumented individuals who already live in the United States and Canada have limited access to resources and paths to citizenship;

400,000 people are detained and deported each year in the US alone;

We are a global community of many races and ethnic groups whose experiences and beliefs shape our perceptions;

Race is a social construct and regardless of that, racism is real and affects us all;

Racial discrimination prevents individuals from reaching their full potential as global citizens,

Racial discrimination, particularly when it intersects with immigration, explicitly undermines the tenets laid out in the UN Charter;

Ignorance of others’ languages, experiences, and cultures leads to racism and discrimination;

No person is “illegal” and the arbitrary borders that separate us physically should not be used to separate us mentally and emotionally and keep the underprivileged in poverty.

We hereby resolve to:

Remain open, accepting and affirming of the differences in others and live up to our first UU Principle of promoting and affirming the inherent worth and dignity of every person;

Build a society where people are accepted regardless of race, gender and/or immigration status by breaking down the barriers that divide us;

Reject discrimination as a social norm;

Advocate for revision of our countries’ immigration laws to become more humane;

Support the implementation of less costly and more efficient methods to obtain legal status;

Encourage our communities to actively support and insure the passage of the DREAM Act and other related legislation;

Stand in solidarity with every member of our human family, lending our voice, energy and privilege to raise up our brothers and sisters experiencing discrimination;

Unite to teach our home communities that we are not severed ethnicities but one human race.

UN Sunday Readings

Get pumped for UN Sunday this month! Each week we have posted readings that you can use in your UN Sunday service focusing on this year’s theme: Empower Women for a Better World.

This week is the last in our series of UN Sunday Readings.  This weeks reading is a meditation story brought to us by Rev. Galen Guengerich.

Galen Guengerich is Senior Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of The Interfaith Alliance Foundation. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Holly G. Atkinson, MD; his 18-year-old daughter Zoë is a freshman at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Meditation:

When the 19^th-century women’s rights pioneer Margaret Fuller died, she went straight to heaven. As she approached the pearly gates, she saw a line of people waiting to talk to St. Peter, so she took her place at the end of the line. Moments later, St. Peter glanced up and saw her. “Margaret Fuller,” he called out. “Bypass the line—come on in!”

As Fuller approached, St. Peter said, “I’m sorry to see you so soon. Only 40 years old. Too bad about the shipwreck.”

He sighed, and then said, “Your life was short but exemplary. You qualify for an extra distinction: you can have a private welcome meeting with anyone in heaven.”

Fuller thought for a moment and replied, “The Virgin Mary: I’d like to meet the Virgin Mary.” Continue reading ‘UN Sunday Readings’