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News – June 2016 Greeting from the President

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News – June 2016 Greeting from the President News – June 2016 In 2014 we created a position for a Greeting from the President UUWF Affiliated Minister and Hello UUWF Friends, recruited Rev. Marti Keller to be Dr. Kirstie Lewis that person. She has been My three-year term as the increasingly active in developing our president of the UUWF advocacy actions and writing board is soon coming to an informative and passionate blogs, on end. There have been many positive an almost-weekly basis for our developments since my term began in July website. Through her alerts we have of 2013 including those described below: signed on to many Inter-faith letters and petitions which are being sent to • We re-imagined our state and national legislatures as administrative structure, when our ways of defending the rights of long-time executive administrator, women, especially with regard to Ellen Spencer, retired. We hired a reproductive health. We have signed new part time administrator, Dana on to several Amicus briefs to Robb, and found that there are federal courts. These hard-won rights rewards to becoming more of a are being eroded, but many voices working board ourselves. This shift are now being raised in protest – and also required many changes in our ours is one of those! She also financial activities and these have provides spiritual and programmatic been ably handled by our Treasurer, support to our Board of Trustees. Sue Boone. She informs us that we are financially stable and have the • We have had some wonderful resources we need to carry out our moments at the Providence and mission of “advancing justice for Portland GAs in our various women and girls and promoting their workshops and at our booth. We spiritual growth.” invite you to always come by and • Ellen helped us to move out of our say hello should you be present. offices behind 25 Beacon St. in • We developed a survey of UU Boston. This involved cleaning out women that has given us information files, and consolidating archival about the issues that are most materials which we are hoping to pressing to women today. place with Meadville-Lombard Responders told us that reproductive Theological School in Chicago. and economic justice are at the top of Since these changes, we have been the list of their important concerns. busy learning to function with a They also told us about the ministers more or less virtual office, rather they knew who have been speaking than a bricks and mortar one. out about those issues in local • Rev Marti Keller congregations and we have been sharing the names of these ministers and highlighting the work that they way to our New Prophetic are doing on our website. Sisterhood website as a way of • With the assistance of our VP for capturing our living history. This is communications, Gretchen Ohmann, just the beginning. we have expanded and updated our • Last Fall, we website. We have begun emailing welcomed the newsletters on a regular basis to keep twelfth Women’s you informed about our activities. Federation Clara Gretchen is also helping us to Barton Intern, become more active with social Shaya French, who media – which includes our is working out of Facebook page. Please visit us and the new UUA Like our page! offices in Boston. Her activities and achievements are highlighted in this issue of our e-news. We are grateful for the contributions she has made in • With the help of our VP for Funding her time with us. Programs, Lynn Thomas, we applied • to the UUA Fund for Social Justice for matching funds to develop a program we call The New Prophetic Sisterhood. Our VP for Development, Rev. Beth Dana, along with our Affiliated Minister, Rev. Marti Keller, are co-leading this group. This initiative began with the Claudia Jimenez goal of attracting 100 woman- identified UU ministers and Rev Joyce Palmer candidates for ministry. We have recently reached and exceeded that A Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley goal and have more than 130 scholarship has recently been ministers involved. The NPS awarded to Ms. Claudia Jimenez, as a woman of color entering the UU ministry. Rev. Joyce Palmer chairs this scholarship committee which was established in recognition of the work of the now deceased Rev. Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley, a well- loved minister and mentor who Facebook closed group is now a worked tirelessly to raise awareness place of lively conversation around of the need for more inter-racial, and issues of feminism and gender inter-cultural congregations in our justice, both outside UU and UU movement. A number of women institutionally as well. We hope and of color who are entering the UU expect that sermons, blogs, poems, ministry, education ministry or essays, and actions will make their music ministry have been aided with this scholarship over the past decade. There are more accomplishments that our Please help us spread the word about current board has achieved over the past the availability of these funds. three years, but these are the ones that rise to the top of my mind. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my board members, our affiliated minister, our administrator, and all those UU women out there who are standing with us in commitment to our mission and on behalf of women and girls everywhere. Although I will soon be turning over my Monica Simpson, Cecile Richards position to someone new, I know that our fight for justice and equality for women and Finally, this year, we have chosen girls is far from over. The spirit and energy two remarkable women to honor of feminism has been around for a very, with our Ministry to Women award. very long time and it is needed now more This award was first created by the than ever. UUWF in 1974 when Ms Magazine was the initial recipient. Dozens of — Dr. Kirstie Lewis well-known and highly respected women have received this award UUWF Advocacy Update: A Full over the years in honor of their Plate outstanding work on behalf of women and girls. In 2016, Monica Rev. Marti Keller Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color The UUWF issues Reproductive Justice Collective, and survey, which was Cecile Richards, the president of the circulated last year, Planned Parenthood Federation of helps guide our social America, have been named as justice advocacy work recipients of our award. Both of on behalf of women these women are passionate activists and girls. We have and leaders in the fight for continued to focus on reproductive choice and reproductive reproductive justice, economic justice, justice. We are thrilled to announce ending domestic violence and sexual assault, that they will be attending GA this and will be finding more ways to speak out year and engaging each other in a on the impact of climate change. This is a dialogue on the theme of “From full public policy plate. Reproductive Choice to Reproductive Justice” at our UUWF Assaults on reproductive freedom have workshop on Thursday, June 23 multiplied on the state level, including the where they will receive their awards. most recent bill passed by the Oklahoma If you are attending GA, you won’t legislature that would have criminalized want to miss this event!! abortion providers. It was vetoed by the governor. But there is much to watch on the national front in this Presidential election many cases passed in recent years. It would year as well. invalidate state TRAP laws (targeted regulation of abortion providers), end There are numerous and repeated attempts in requirements that doctors have hospital Congress to add and broaden abortion admitting privileges—which has so gutted restrictions to federal programs, including abortion clinics in places like Texas—and hearings held by a subcommittee prevent the numerous pre-viability abortion investigating the legality of AmeriCorps bans that so limit the decision-making members in New York City community agency of women. health center who provided compassionate emotional support to women seeking The UUWF has joined the National pregnancy termination. Throughout the Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood budget development process, there have Federation of America, the National Council been riders (language) prohibiting public of Jewish Women and other advocates in financing of abortion services. endorsing the reintroduction of the Access to Birth Control bill, reaffirming the right to While most of the activity on Capitol Hill is obtain contraceptives from pharmacies and uphill and defensive, there have been pro- requiring the provision thereof, without active efforts to make positive change. threats, harassment or outright denial of President Obama has issued an order services. mandating overtime pay for jobs previously not covered by this requirement: a little This year’s version of the bill has added more than half of the beneficiaries will be language prohibiting the use of the Religious women workers. The U.S. Senate just Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as a basis passed a bill that lays out a set of rights for for challenging the application or victims of sexual assault, including the right enforcement of this law. to be informed of forensic tests, to prevent victims from being charged for rape kit We will be joining other efforts in the testing, and to have evidence preserved coming weeks and months to object to the without charge for 20 years or until the use of RFRA to privilege one individual’s statute of limitations expires. It now goes to religious beliefs over another in exercising the House Judiciary Committee. her right of conscience in decisions about whether or when to have children. And even in the often discouraging arena of reproductive rights, two significant positive — Rev.
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