Welcome to The Social Justice Council (SJC)
of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church

Social Justice at Cedar Lane

Social Justice Council Seeks Your Input: In preparation for the January 2009 Congregational Social Justice Empowerment Workshop (please plan to come!) SJC is gathering information to share with the UUA facilitators who will help us assess our social justice programs and consider what we are doing to create a more just and caring world.  Just down load the form, or stop by the SJC table after the Sunday service to pick up a hard copy or talk with an “SJC lounge lizard.”   Thank you.

Some Ways to Support Relief Efforts in Myanmar (Burma) and China: The Social Justice Council would like to urge Cedar Laners to support relief efforts in response to the continuing humanitarian disasters created by Cyclone Nargis in Burma (Myanmar) and the earthquake in China earlier this summer. Some organizations that are working in these and other areas of need are listed below. Please see their websites for details. Thank you for your generosity. 

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee www.uusc.org UUSC-UUA Cyclone Nargis Relief Fund P.O. Box 845259 Boston, MA 02284-5259 Unicef www.unicefusa.org 1.800.FOR.KIDS or 1.800.4UNICEF U.S. Fund for UNICEF 125 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038 Red Cross www.redcross.org 1-800-HELPNOW American Red Cross P.O. Box 37243 Washington, D.C. 20013

Doctors without Borders www.doctorswithoutborders.org 1-888-392-0392 Doctors Without Borders USA P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030 Care www.care.org 1-800-542-care Care Gift Center PO Box 1871 Merrifield VA 22116-9753 Save the Children www.savethechildren.org 1-800-728-3843 or 1-203-221-4030, Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm EST Save the Children Income Processing Department 54 Wilton Road Westport, CT 06880

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 in work for social justice in the wider community, by encouraging members of the congregation to partner with us in translating our commitment into action.

Our decisions for 2007–2008 reflect the expressed priorities of the congregation and concentrate on the following issues:

• Strengthening the social safety net 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, and

• Peace in areas of conflict, particularly those affected by American military and foreign policy toward Iraq and the entire Middle East.

Working on these issues involves the members of the Social Justice Council (SJC)  and the congregation in educating, advocating, organizing, and spending resources of time and money. We do this work through task forces and activities.  Please join us!

What You Can Do

Have a few hours and want to make a difference?  Watch for opportunities to donate food, funds, talent or time through one of the established social justice groups at Cedar Lane.

Want to get more deeply involved in an issue? Join  the Cedar Lane group that is working on it.  If we don’t have a group working on the issue, contact the Social Justice Council about starting one.

Want to learn more?  Come to the Social Justice Council meeting on the first Thursday of the month at 7:30pm or attend an adult program or forum on social justice issues.

Not sure what you want to do?  Come by the Social Justice table during coffee hour and talk to one of the “Social Justice Lounge Lizards.”  We want to hear from you. 

Stay Informed: Sign up for the Social Justice Bulletin

 The Social Justice Bulletin is a moderated email listserv managed by Cedar Lane's Social Justice Council. We send out one, occasionally two, messages per week consolidating short announcements of events, meetings, and volunteer and advocacy opportunities on social justice issues in which the Cedar Lane community is involved.  You can join the list by sending an email message to socialjusticebulletin-owner@yahoogroups.com or by stopping by the SJC table in the lounge.

If you have information for us to include in the Social Justice Bulletin, please send it to socialjusticebulletin-owner@yahoogroups.com  by Friday for posting by Monday. Brief “list ready” text most welcome. (We may edit lightly, but prefer not to.) Feel free to include a website link or contact person for more information, and try to select the one or two most important items on your issue each week. We think “less is more” and hope to entice people to the list by making it a quick and easy read. We welcome your questions and comments.

Betsy Devlin-Foltz
betsy@devlin-foltz.com

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
Sunday Services at 9 and 11 a.m.
© 1998-2008, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Webminister