UUSC Human Rights Forum on April 12

"Globalization, Immigration, and Poverty" is thetimely theme of the Annual UUSC Human RightsForum to be held on Saturday, April 12, at ThroopChurch, 300 S. Los Robles, Pasadena. The keynotespeaker is Steve Spanier, executive director of ReclaimDemocracy, an organization that is dedicated torestoring democratic authority over corporations.The event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. andincludes a vegetarian lunch. The cost is $20 with preregistrationor $25 at the door. Students are free withI.D. To register, download the flyer at http://www.he.net/~uusca/unit.htm.

District Assembly Coming to Del Mar

The Pacific Southwest District (CA, AZ, NV) of theUnitarian Univeralist Association is holding its annualDistrict Assembly on April 25 to 27 in Del Mar, CA. Wehave been allotted 10 delegates. Three of our membersare presenting workshops at this assembly. SandraTrutt and Robin Lowney-Lankton are co-leading"Implementation of UUA Statement of Conscience onClimate Change." Daniel Teplitz and two friends areoffering "Young Adult Circle Worship." To see the fulllist of workshops, go to pswduua.org. There isalso a copy of the full program and registration informationin the church office. A children's program is inplace for families with children up to middle schoolage. The assembly takes place at the San Diego MarriottDel Mar. Registration fee is $170. The hotel's discountedrate for this event is $119 - call the hoteldirect. For more information, please contact SandraTrutt.

PSWD Leadership School Attendees

Recent PSWD Leadership School attendees included Sandra Trutt (near center of photo).

UU seminary studiesavailable for the laity

Starr King School for the Ministry is offeringonline courses for lay leaders and staff of congregations.Two courses are scheduled for thesecond half of the spring semester, for seven weeksfrom March 31 to May 19. The tuition is $220 each,with a 10 percent discount if five people register fromour church. The course descriptions are:

Polity, Governance and Structure: UnitarianUniversalist congregations are grounded in polity -their authority rests in the congregation itself, ratherthan in an outside entity. This course will describeorganizational structures common to congregationsof various sizes, relate governance practices to structure,staffing, and size, and provide models and toolsrelated to congregational polity and authority. Studentswill compare and contrast four structural models:policy governance (described by John Carver),independent, interdependent/collaborative, andteam. Each model will be considered in terms of linesof authority, staffing practices, and leadership.

Conflict Management for Lay Leaders: Thiscourse will provide methodologies for assessing, analyzing,and managing issues related to each of fivelevels and three types of conflict. Emphasis will be onprocedure- and resource-based conflicts. Studentswill examine their own conflict management stylepreferences, analyze case studies, and utilize systemsthinking to develop plans for managing conflicteffectively.

For more information, go to sksm.edu andclick on the "Seminary for the Laity" link. The registrationdeadline for these classes is March 1. If youare interested, contact Carol Agate.

Join a Women's Spiritual Musical Retreat

Acclaimed "Spirit of Life" composer, feminist,activist, and poet Carolyn McDade will lead a women'sretreat February 22 and 23 for singers and non-singers.Celebrating our ninth year of gathering in the L.A. areato sing our vision of a transformed world, a circle ofwomen from various faith traditions meets Fridayevening and all day Saturday. It's more about the community,heart, and spirit than about proper singing ofnotes printed on paper. We join in the circle to create aholy space, "... to let story and song move you deeperinto yourself." Carolyn's new CD focuses on the EarthCharter and is available fromcarolynmcdademusic.com. The retreat is created by anad hoc group and will meet at the United Church ofChrist in Simi Valley. Registration, limited to 40, is $70plus hotel accommodations. For further information seethe recent UU World feature article,http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/35893.shtml, or contactJoyce Holmen.

Asian/Pacific Islander UUs Offer Weekend Community-Building Retreat

From February 15 at 6 p.m. to February 17 at 6 p.m.,UUs of Asian/Pacific Islander (API) ancestry and theirfamilies are invited to a Community-Building Weekendin Pasadena. It is hosted by Throop Church and sponsoredby the Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus of DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist MulticulturalMinistries).The weekend will include seminars, caucusing, worship,games, and field trips to Los Angeles area ethnicenclaves and museums. There will be concurrent programsfor children and API allies. For registration/hoteland scholarship information, contact Vivien Hao at conference@apiuu.org. Check out the latestnews at www.apiuu.org

23rd Latin American Encuentro -- Immigrants: The Call for Justice

The 23rd Latin America Encuentro, sponsored bythe UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee)Southern California Unit, addressed the question: howcan the UU community respond to the threatening situationconfronted by immigrants, who have been subjectto raids at their homes and workplaces, detentions,and deportation, in many cases resulting in separationfrom their children and other members of their families?Moises Escalante, of the Interfaith Coalition forImmigrant Rights, described the immigrant experienceand pointed out the contributions of immigrants,including the fact that undocumented immigrantscontribute an estimated $7 billion to Social Securityand $1.5 billion to Medicare annually.

In the keynote address, the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra,executive director of CLUE (Clergy and Laity Concernedfor Economic Justice) stressed the importanceof making immigrants visible and giving them a voice,and described the trajectory of four undocumentedimmigrants who have sought sanctuary through theNew Sanctuary Movement. There are now 37 cities thathave sanctuary churches, and there are five in SouthernCalifornia. At least two of them have been targetedby demonstrations by Minutemen and other right winggroups. (Further information on the New SanctuaryMovement can be found at www.newsanctuarymovement.org)

Peter Schey, attorney and president/executivedirector of Center for Human Rights and ConstitutionalLaw, discussed the need for a comprehensive immigrationreform that would, among other provisions, provideopportunities for undocumented immigrants witha clean record to legalize their status, and create a systemfor a rational distribution of visas that meet laborneeds in the U.S. Several immigrant rights, labor, andcommunity groups met in January 2007 and drew up aproposal, the Unity Blueprint for Immigration Reform,available at www.unityblueprint.org, identifying theissues that should be included in such a reform.

Conditions in the San Pedro detention center, oneof the centers where immigrants rounded up by immigrationauthorities are held pending deportation, weredescribed by Dominique Quevedo, an attorney. As shepointed out, many immigrants have been forcibly separatedfrom their families through roundups at theirhomes or workplaces. Those whose hearings are pendingare entitled to be bonded out; the Immigration TaskForce of the Southern California UUSC is trying to raisefunds for bond money. (A few days after the Encuentro,the San Pedro center was shut down without warningto detainee families or their lawyers, and detaineesmoved to other detention centers as far away as Texas.According to authorities, the measure is a temporaryone for preventive maintenance and the center will bereopened in four to six weeks.)

The Encuentro, which took place on October 13,also included workshops indicating how people canbecome involved in different initiatives on behalf ofimmigrants.

- Nora Hamilton

General Assembly in Portland, OR

The UU's General Assembly will take place in Portland, Oregon, this yearfrom June 20-24. Details of the program, events, housing, volunteer opportunities,etc., are available at http://www.uua.org/ga/index.html.