This year we embarked on a journey of discovery, to understand the tireless and comprehensive work UU activists were doing to make our world more just. Our call for submissions drew interest from active social justice committees and congregations from every corner of the country. We are pleased to collaborate with them in sharing best practice approaches to justice work for our readers to learn from and to bring inspiration. Enjoy the stories, share in the efforts and use the ideas you see here as a model for your continued work in economic justice.
This article was developed in collaboration between UUJEC Board member Jim Black and Mountain Vista UU member Elizabeth Reed. You can find the full article featured on our Spotlight page and also in a printable version here. Please share this information with your congregations and feel free to participate in the comment section below.
"The Mountain Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation (MVUU) has a vision. Since its founding in 1989 with fifty-five charter members, MVUU has dedicated its energies to outreach in northwest Tucson. The members then and now provide pantry supplies, meals-on-wheels, rides to doctors’ appointment, home handymen for the elderly, and financial support to those in need. When the congregation’s minister, the Reverend Ron Phares, arrived in 2013, action and advocacy around economic justice exploded. Rev. Ron came up with an idea: a Justice Coordinating Committee (JCC), made up of a few members and himself that would focus on justice work through a “lens.” The first several years, that lens was “Economic Disparity” in Tucson and the United States..."