Social Justice at Cedar Lane

Mission Statement:  As members of the Social Justice Council (SJC) of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, our mission is to affirm and promote the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism and to honor the legacy of Cedar Lane’s leadership to work for social justice in the wider community, by encouraging and supporting members of the congregation to take action on a range of social justice issues including:

• Strengthening the social safety net locally and globally for those in need,

• Environmental sustainability,

• Human and civil rights for all, especially as they affect aspects of identity and enable us to celebrate diversity,

• Peace in areas of conflict, particularly those affected by American military and foreign policy,
• Other issues raised by the congregation.

We do this work by inspiring, supporting, and facilitating Cedar Lane's involvement in groups and activities to educate, advocate, organize, and spend resources of time and money on social justice concerns.

What Does the Social Justice Council Do?  The Social Justice Council encourages and supports social justice work of the congregation by:

• Coordinating and supporting the activities of the existing social justice groups (See below for list of existing activities and their contact information.)
• Expanding the commitment to social justice by organizing congregation-wide activities and providing an incubator process for the creation of new groups. 

• Providing financial support to selected social justice activities in the community through allocating the funds the council receives from Cedar Lane’s budget and facilitating the choice of organizations to receive the proceeds of the periodic 50-50 split of the Sunday collection.

Social Justice Council

(2012-2013)

Officers

Mike Burski, Co-chair          mga1960@earthlink.net         301-523-2827

Don Cleary, Co-chair          DPCleary@aol.com                301-933-9442

Connie Nissley, Treasurer    cl.nissley@verizon.net           301-530-3442

Liaisons

Anne Fretz, Board Liaison                               annefretz@gmail.com          301-652-3589

Rev. Heather Janules, Ministerial Liaison     hjanules@cedarlane.org     301-493-8300

Members

Kay Gottesman        kgottesman@verizon.net         301-530-5504

Marilyn Hathaway     marilhat@gmail.com                301-652-8025

Louis Mayo              astronomer2go@verizon.net     301-641-8206

Catherine Scott       scottneuner@starpower.net     301-320-6932

Betty Smith             bettytomsmith@msn.com         301-460-6817

Deborah Vollmer       dvollmer@bellatlantic.net         301-652-5762

Becky White            rwhite_20814@yahoo.com       301-656-2073

Social Justice Groups and Liaisons    

Moving From the World as It Is Toward the World as It Should Be

Please click here for a graphic representation of many of Cedar Lane's social justice activities.

On January 9 and 10, over 100 Cedar Laners gathered for a Social Justice Empowerment Workshop to explore the congregation's social justice history and the connection between social justice and spiritual values. Plans generated by the breakout groups on a range of issues are available. Click here.

Got a social justice idea? Feel some passion? Wonder if Cedar Lane can help you take action?

The Social Justice Council (SJC) wants to foster and develop the passion for social justice action at Cedar Lane.  If you
have an insight or a concern, and you want to find out how to make something happen or get involved with others who
share your passion, we want to help you.  We’re happy to brainstorm with you, help connect you with others, and to
provide support getting you started and as you travel your journey. Click here for more information.

Stay Informed: Sign up for the Social Justice Bulletin

Cedar Laners are invited to share information about social justice events, meetings, programs and other opportunities on the Social Justice Bulletin.  You can sign up by sending an email to socialjusticebulletin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. 

Any member of the listserv can post a message by sending it to socialjusticebulletin@yahoogroups.com. We ask those who do to follow these simple guidelines to avoid too much email traffic and make this an effective communication tool for all:

• Please post no more than one message per week per person (fewer if possible, as there are many people on the list).

• Be selective. People can only digest so much information.

• Consider combining messages with others working on the same issue. Perhaps your task force or committee would like to put out an occasional bulletin with a number of items on related topics.

If you would prefer not to receive each message as it is posted, you can sign up to receive:

• A daily digest--which will automatically consolidate all messages and deliver them in one email per day (click on the link at the bottom of a message to choose this option)

• No e-mail--which will allow you to read the messages on the yahoogroups website at your convenience (email socialjusticebulletin-owner@yahoogroups.com and the moderators will make the change for you.) 

SJC Minutes 2011-2012: July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 February 2011 SJC Fair Comments

STJ Minutes from 2010: January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 1010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010   SJC Financial Statement - October 2009 SJC Financial Statement - March 2009   SJC Other: The Judi Maurer Scholarship Fund Congregational Social Justice Assessment Form SJC Input for 2008-2009 Annual Report SJC Archives

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4099
Tel:  301-493-8300; Fax:  301-897-5713
e-mail:  office@CedarLane.org
© 1998-2012, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
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