UUCA JUNE Monthly UUpdates
June 2021
- Rev Kate's Corner
- Ice Cream Social
- Religious Education
- May Board Summary
- Ministerial Search Committee
- Racial Justice Task Force
- Hermitage of the Heart
- Integrated Health Ministry
- Support Group for Being Human
- Brown Bag Lunch
- Women's Book Group
- Community Garden
- Immigration
- Stewardship of the Earth
- UUWA
- Memories with Cathie Finn
- Banter with Bay
- Donation Station
- Summer Institute
- UU General Assembly
- Get to Know the Staff
Rev. Kate's Korner
Dear Ones,
It is June and every plant is reaching it’s grateful face to the sun, absorbing the long-awaited warmth of summer. What a long winter- it felt a decade long. Pandemic lock-down and the resulting isolation was hard on our spirits. We humans are social creatures and we need each other! As the fresh summer sun shines, infections are receding. More than 80% of people in the US over 65 are vaccinated! Nearly half of the people in Ohio have had both shots. Hopefully soon children will be able to be inoculated. It is getting safer and safer for us to gather together.
After this long time of isolation it is normal to have a lot of feelings about returning to a more social church life. I feel excited to meet you in person (finally!) but after sixteen months of caution I feel vulnerable being face-to-face. I am a very extroverted person but I find myself tired after short in-person interactions. Perhaps you are also having complicated feelings. There is grief, remembering all those we lost to Covid. And there is joy because a vaccination was developed so much earlier than expected, and now we in the US are much safer. There is fear about the virus’s spread around the world, especially for our Unitarian kin in India. Perhaps you feel guilt because you made it to safety when so many other people did not.
Grief is a strange and unpredictable journey. Be gentle with your tender heart as we move away from this international trauma. Impatience, tears, anger, and exhaustion are all normal feelings to have at this time. You will likely need extra rest this summer. You might feel more cautious and desire more time alone. Kids might not want to leave home for camp or spend time in group activities. We might feel nervous spending time with elders or people with compromised immunity, even if we are fully vaccinated. We spent sixteen months in an extreme state of caution. It will take a while for our bodies and spirits to feel safe again. You aren’t doing it wrong and there isn’t something wrong with you- we all feel strange.
If you would benefit from greater social interaction please join me on Tuesdays on Zoom for the Support Group for Being Human or in-person on Thursdays at noon for a brown-bag lunch outdoors at UUCA. If you would like to talk one-on-one I would love to meet with you, but let me know sooner than later, because I am off duty in July.
Most excitingly, we are having an All-Church Ice Cream Social on June 18th from 5-9PM. Come hear great music, eat sweet treats, play fun games, and see your wonderful church family. If you don’t feel quite ready for a big group event, don’t worry- we will have another picnic in late summer. Be gentle with yourself! You are precious!
We hope to be together again for in-person worship services this fall. For a few months we may need to have two worship services. The fellowship hall has a high-tech air filtration system to keep us healthy, but it isn’t as big as the sanctuary. While it will be hard to not see all our friends at one service it should be temporary. Please be patient as the worship team, musicians, and I move to multi-platform worship (meaning we will be online and in-person). Glitches will happen. However, we hope to be able to offer you a choice of high-quality, participatory worship in your living room or at the church. How cool is that?
We are moving out of a time of international crisis. It will take time to feel normal again. Go slowly and trust your intuition- you are wiser than you can imagine. You know what is right for you. Let’s make gentleness- for ourselves and for each other- our theme for this new time.
With great affection,
Rev Kate
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Hello, Friends!
As we move toward the sunny warmth of early summer and our season of Sunday morning teaching-focused classes takes a break, we’re looking forward to connecting with children, youth, and families on our church grounds for UU centered connection and fun. Keep an eye out for emails of upcoming events this month and in the weeks and months to come!
So, what’s the UUCA RE got going on this summer? Take a look below!
June 1st: Our online parent meetings and morning meditations are taking a break! Please join Elizabeth Reilly and Abby L’Bert for our first and final morning meditation for the month of June @ 6:30am (June 1st) on Zoom. As always, please contact Elizabeth Reilly (reilly@uakron.edu) and Abby L’Bert (dre.uuakron@gmail.com) with any questions you may have.
July 10th: COYA is going Kayaking again! This delightful summertime event is open to all youth in 7th through 12th grade (must RSVP no later than June 19th).
July 11th: BYOB (bring your own blanket) event for families is making a comeback! This time we plan to do a movie viewing (movie title TBA :) on the UUCA lawn @ 5pm. Yay for warm summer nights! Email Carolyn Stevens or Abby L’Bert @ dre.uuakron@gmail.com with questions ahead of this event :)
7th - 12th graders are welcome to join COYA’s online Zoom meetings on 4th and 1st Sundays at noon! COYA involvement offers youth a great way to connect with others, get creative, develop leadership skills, AND get together for socially distanced fun. Those interested in learning more, please contact Kelly Urbano (kell100@yahoo.com) and Abby L’Bert (dre.uuakron@gmail.com).
Please make a note of my current, RE-online office hours as well! Feel free to connect with me by email or text at (dre.uuakron@gmail.com) or (330)701-9839 Tuesdays through Fridays between 10a - 3p!
Abby L’Bert
DRE @ the UUCA
(330)701-9839 (text)
May Board Summary
Ministerial Search Committee
As I was re-reading portions of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) “Settlement Handbook,” the book that will guide our search for a new settled minister, I was struck by the list of six things to know about searches. Number five on that list reads “Search committees often carry the anxiety for the entire congregation in the search process. This is a lot to take on…” I thought long and hard about applying for the Search Committee. I knew, as I know my fellow Search Committee members knew, that we were taking on an awesome responsibility. And that there is a lot of anxiety about bringing to you, for your approval, the ministerial candidate that the Committee feels is the best fit for our church.
A slate of candidates for the Search Committee was presented for a vote by the congregation at a congregational meeting in March. During a worship service in April we introduced ourselves to you and were charged with our responsibility by Cir L’Bert, Jr., the congregation’s President-Elect. We are Susan Gallagher, Kyle Jozsa, Akrista L’Bert, Sharon McWhorter, Samuel Prince, Bill Thombs, and Susan Wynn. The group elected Samuel Prince and Susan Wynn to be co-chairs of the committee. Bill Thombs is our treasurer and Sharon McWhorter, our assistant treasurer.
We are looking forward to working with the UUA’s Transitions Office. We also hope to work closely with all of you as we undertake our work. There are several ways you all will be able to share your thoughts, hopes and dreams. We will be doing a congregational survey late this summer, and cottage meetings and focus groups in the early fall. Please watch for more information about the survey and dates for the cottage meetings.
Thank you.
Ministerial Search Committee, Susan Wynn, co-chair
Sarah Mae Flemming
On June 22, 1954, a year before the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a young Black woman named Sarah Mae Flemming sat in the “white only” section on a segregated bus in Columbia, South Carolina. The driver, legally vested with the powers of a deputy sheriff to enforce segregation assaulted her a she attempted to exit.
The South Carolina NAACP identified the incident as an opportunity to challenge segregation on the heels o the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down racial segregation in the schools in Brown v Board of Education. A federal lawsuit seeking damages for violating the Fourteenth Amendment was filed on behalf of Ms. Flemming. The federal court in Columbia dismissed the case, asserting that the Brown decision declaring the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional applied only to educational facilities.
Ms. Flemming’s lawyers appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit, where NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall joined the case. The Fourth Circuit reverse the decision, ruling that the “separate but equal” doctrine no longer applied to justify segregation on buses. The bus company appealed to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear the appeal in April 1956.
Ms. Flemming’s case was tried in civil court before an all male, all white jury which deliberated for only 30 minutes before denying her request for damages. Although Ms. Flemming did not receive any compensation, the Fourth Circuit’s decision on her case advanced the end of segregation helping to lay the groundwork for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Supreme Court’s order ending racial segregation on Alabama buses in Gayle v Browder.
Hermitage of the Heart
Every first and third Thursday, Hermitage of the Heart creates spiritual community in a contemplative setting. Each service explores a theme connected to the rhythms of nature and spirit, to provide a space and time for renewal, stillness and peace amid the maelstrom, so we are able to emerge ready for life. Together, we seek respite, find ways to refresh our spirits, rest in an oasis of peace. Come join our community, seeking wholeness of body, spirit and mind. We experience light and darkness, silence and song, inspiring words and images, and sustained time for reflection and meditation as sources of hope and courage. Take the time to nurture, ground and center yourself.
The sacred space is open from 6:45-7 PM for entering music, and the service begins at 7 PM. You are welcome to invite others who may seek to experience a time of being held in compassionate community, finding and storing the energy to be at peace within themselves before reentering the world. Join us June 3rd and June 17th. Please note: Hermitage of the Heart will be held through June, be on hiatus for the month of July, and will return in August on its usual first and third Thursday evenings. Please send any concerns or questions to Elizabeth Reilly at reilly@uakron.edu, and thank you for extending me the grace to take some time away. I hope you can continue your own contemplative practices of renewal, and very much look forward to spending June with you and returning refreshed in August
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97615742417?pwd=Q29HdnZxbzIxeG8rUlFLS0g0WVBUdz09Meeting ID: 976 1574 2417
Passcode: 414097
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Integrated Health Ministry
THE TREVOR PROJECT WEBINAR: SUPPORTING LGBTQ YOUTH
The Integrated Health and Queer Ministries are joining together on June 30th after church in one of the Zoom breakout rooms to be present for a Q & A discussion of The Trevor Project webinar on supporting LBGTQ youth created for Akron Children’s Hospital for the surrounding community
View this 90-minute Trevor Project webinar at your own pace.
The Trevor Project: Supporting LGBTQ Youth link: https://youtu.be/oRKcLgnPYck
The webinar is divided into 3 sections: 1. LGBTQ Allyship 2. LGBTQ and BIAS (starts at 43.27 minutes) 3. LGBTQ and Suicide Prevention (starts at 1.06.42)
We encourage you to view the following optional support video and resource:
• Empathy Video: https://youtu.be/1Evwgu369Jw
• Glossary – The Trevor Project
Questions to ask yourself as you view the video:
• Did you find that you held any personal biases?
• Are there any portions of the webinar that made you uncomfortable?
• What resonated with you that you would want to share with others?
• What questions do you have for the Q&A panel on how to support LGBTQ youth after watching this webinar?
SUPPORT GROUP FOR BEING HUMAN
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 918 3721 1026
Passcode: 732551
BROWN BAG LUNCH WITH REV. KATE
Women's Book Group
The WOMEN'S BOOK GROUP will meet on ZOOM at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2. We will be discussing " The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabriella Zevin. All women are welcome. There will be no book group for the months of July and August. Any questions or concerns, please contact Jan Schrader.janzst@yahoo.com
UU Church of Akron UUCA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Women's Book Group
Time: Jun 2, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 976 3614 4894
Passcode: 957013
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Meeting ID: 976 3614 4894
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COMMUNITY GARDEN NEWS
Now that we have crops planted, we need to take care of them. Please reach out to Karen Hoch if you would like to volunteer for a shift helping to weed and water this year, a week at a time. We have 27 weeks to cover. Please consider volunteering to help for a week. We can't do it without you!
Mentors are available to show you how to get started if you have never done this before. One person can usually get a day's watering done in an hour; two people, in half the time (we have two hoses). If it happens to be a rainy week, you may not have to water at all! Weekly duty begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday.
Remember, we grow this food in order to feed those in the community who are in need of nutritious, organically-grown food. They are counting on us.
IMMIGRATION NEWS
It’s spring, almost summer, and if you are a kindred spirit, a time for joy and anticipation, in addition to a lot of yardwork. The flowering trees and bushes are glorious and the stark outlines of trees are being fleshed out in shades of green. Birds sing, frogs croak, what’s not to love?
Gladly, many of us have easy and convenient access to parks and wooded areas where we can witness nature’s show time. For immigrant families, many of whom were raised in rural farmlands, the change of seasons meant a change in daily living – planting, harvesting, preserving, herding. The lush climates of Central America offer magnificent displays of trees, flowers, bushes in bloom and fresh streams and waterfalls flowing from mountains in the distance.
Here in Akron it’s a different story. Low cost rental housing does not come with lush foliage and expansive gardening spots. Some families do grow some tomatoes or herbs (or more) in thin strips of land beside a garage or near a front porch. But the fresh air, expansive views of wooded hills, rivers or open farming fields are nowhere to be seen. Yes, you say, all that exists in our Metroparks and the spectacular Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There are even beaches and lakes within a short drive.
Recently I enjoyed a beautiful hike in my favorite outdoor meditation space – Virginia Kendall Park’s Ledges. All I could think of as I walked was how relaxing and peaceful a space like this is. And, how much the struggling families we know through our immigration ministry would appreciate some time at a place like this. Public busses do not run to the CVNP, and fearful unlicensed drivers are unlikely to take an exploratory drive, even if they had an idea where to go. And yet, who needs peace more than they?
Remember that old slogan “Hearts starve as well as bodies. Give us bread, but give us roses too.” While we scurry to deliver food or furniture to immigrant families, drive them to doctor or legal appointments, let us not forget that hearts starve for fresh air, blossoming nature, open fields, rushing water, open space and nature sounds. Let’s take some immigrant friends for a ride, a hike, through some beautiful natural space that warms the soul and offers tranquility that is often rare. All aboard, volunteers? ~ Cathie Finn
Stewardship of the Earth
Climate Catastrophe! Yikes! What can I do?
As Unitarian Universalists, we wish to do something to turn the climate catastrophe around. Our 7th Principle calls us to exercise “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” As a caring people, we must acknowledge that if we abuse this beautiful system that supports life, it might not be able to support us. In the 4 billion years of life on this Earth, many a species has come and gone.
What to do? There are so many opportunities. Make donations to, or be politically active for environmental causes. In conversations with friends and family thoughtfully bring up the topic of our lovely planet upon which we depend. The need is so great that doing something, some things, is likely more important than exactly what one does.
Learning about one’s own environmental footprint, and ways to diminish it, is an excellent approach that can be easily incorporated into other activities. Environmental footprint can be thought of as the number of Earth-sized ecosystems that would be required to provide sustainability if everyone on the planet were to live the same lifestyle, with the same consumption of goods and resources as oneself. So, if everyone on the planet had an environmental footprint of 1.0, or slightly less, we could agree that would be fair and sustainable. Likely it will come as no surprise that 1 for everyone is not the current situation. Sometimes “Earth Overshoot Day” is used instead of environmental footprint. Same basic idea, except that is the date at which one has used up the years-worth of resources.
Many websites are available that will calculate your environmental footprint for you based on your response to questions about your use of goods and resources. Try web searches such as “my environmental footprint” and see what you get. Respond to the queries as honestly as possible, note the results, then go through again to see what changes in your lifestyle might result in a somewhat more sustainable lifestyle.
Here are some examples:
https://www.footprintcalculator.org/ Overall good and useful. Not quick, it covers some detail and provides a considerable amount of good information. I last visited May 5, 2021. Good.
http://ecologicalfootprint.com/ Quick and interesting. The only choices available for “I live in” are “the United Kingdom”, or “the rest of the world”. After selecting “the United Kingdom” I completed the balance of the inquiry, and my footprint was 2.4 Earths. When I changed to “the rest of the world” footprint went down to 1.0
Never forget, the sustainability of our planet is more important than profit, greed, and consumption. For the committee, John Edgerton
UUWA
June 18th at 10:30
The June 18th UUWA program will focus on Edwin’s long journey from El Salvador to the US. He was 18 at that time. Cathie Finn spent many hours with Edwin recording his journey while he was in sanctuary at our church. It is a sadly typical story of many fleeing horrible conditions in their home country. With Edwin’s permission, she will relate events what are for most of us, unbelievable, and certainly heroic. We are especially pleased that after many years in court, and significant effort on the part of attorney Jeff Stewart, Edwin has recently been granted asylum in the U.S. The program will commence at 10:30 am outside if weather permits.
Pictures from our May Meeting
We had a great time in the Memorial Garden!
It was great to see every one in person!
Memories Make it Personal- Memories and Musings from Cathie Finn
When a black woman pulled drowning Ella Marie Beha out of the Ohio River in the later 1890’s, it changed the lives of generation of her heirs. My grandmother was the daughter of German immigrants who eventually settled in northern West Virginia where they farmed to support themselves. When Grandma was rescued the word went out to all: “you will never speak ill of or mistreat a (person of color – not sure what original wording was) again, nor will your descendants.” Ella Marie went on to raise a family of eight children in the Twinsburg area of Ohio, with her husband and two eldest sons working in the steel mills to support their family. She lived to a ripe old age, thanks to that woman years ago. I heard the family rule when I was in elementary school in suburban Cleveland. It sort of had little meaning to me as I grew up in an all white suburb and never actually met a person of color until I went off to college in the late 1960’s. But during the civil rights movement, I remembered, and sobbed at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King. My progressive private college offered a few Black Studies courses. I was the only white person in the first such class I took. I wanted to understand. Lots of experiences and acquaintances have helped me along the way, like my twin “sister”, Carlotta, a co-worker I met in the mid-‘70’s who shared a birthday with me. Our lives had followed very different paths, but we were of the same heart. She was in my wedding and we shared family stories, social life and birthday wishes for over four decades. We were such twins that when we shopped separately, we came home with the same items!!
So I have not been afraid, even when guns were pulled on me, even when living on the South Side of Chicago or the inner city of Cleveland. A very important lesson was gifted to me very early on. We are all humans, and we all need each other. I hope Ella Marie’s hundreds of descendants remember.
UUJO News
Government Oversight Committee Contact Information:
Rep. Bill Seitz (Sponsor)
(614) 466-8258
Rep. Shane Wilkin
(614) 466-3506
Rep. Andrea White
(614) 644-6008
Rep. Bride Rose-Sweeney
(614) 466-3350
Rep. Cindy Adams
(614) 466-9091
Rep. Rick Carfagna
(614) 466-1431
Rep. Tavia Galonski
(614) 644-6037
Rep. Tim Ginter
(614) 466-8022
Rep. Stepahnie Howse
(614) 466-1414
Rep. Don Jones
(614) 644-8728
Rep. Brigid Kelly
(614) 466-5786
Rep. Phil Plummer
(614) 644-8051
Rep. Emilia Sykes
(614) 466-3100
Script for Members:
My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY, OHIO]. I’m calling all members of the Government Oversight Committee to share my concerns about HB 294.
Ohio has a long history of voter suppression and House Bill 294 just adds to it. The bill would cut early voting hours, stiffen voter identification requirements, limit the existing ability of the Secretary of State to prepay postage on election mail, eliminate voters' ability to cure an absentee ballot if it is mistakenly mailed in the wrong envelope, and limit the usage of ballot drop boxes.
Additionally, your colleague, Rep. Seitz, said that emails and calls do not matter. So, please take this as an opportunity to understand that Ohioans deserve the respect of our legislators and that we want our message to be heard and made clear.
As an Ohioan, I want voting to be accessible to all. Please do your part to protect democracy and vote NO on HB 294.
Script for Rep. Seitz.
My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY, OHIO]. I’m calling all members of the Government Oversight Committee to share my concerns about HB 294.
During your sponsor testimony during the Government Oversight Committee you said that emails and calls do not matter. So, please take this as an opportunity to understand that Ohioans deserve the respect of our legislators and that we want our message to be heard and made clear.
Ohio has a long history of voter suppression and House Bill 294 just adds to it.
We need to be implementing pro-voter policies to expand access to democracy, not actively working to make it harder to exercise our right to vote.
Please stop working towards the passage of HB 294. Ohioans do not want voter suppression in our state.
Banter with Bay
In the late 1960s, very few bars remained that catered to gay and lesbian clientele. As I mentioned a couple months ago in this very column, those that did were often run by the Mafia. Such was the case for Stonewall Inn, the only gay bar in New York City at the time that allowed dancing. It had no liquor license, instead operating as a “private bottle club”, meaning patrons had to sign their name in a book indicating that they were club members to gain entry. The entry fee was $3, for which you got two drink tickets before you had to start paying cash for drinks. The interior of the bar was painted black, with pulsing gel lights. They had a special light system where if a white light came on, you had to either hide (if you were illegally crossdressing) or stop touching on the dance floor (which was also illegal for two men or two women). Police raids were frequent, perhaps as often as once a month; during a raid, typically, the lights would be turned on, liquor would be seized, and the patrons would be lined up to be investigated. If a woman wasn’t wearing three pieces of feminine clothing, or a man was wearing such, they would be arrested for crossdressing. Female police officers would take patrons dressed as women to the bathroom to check which genitals they had. Everyone else would be allowed to leave. There had just been a raid on Tuesday, June 24, 1969; that Saturday, there were rumors there’d be another, but it was late in the evening and the usual tip-off hadn’t come through. Four gay bars that didn’t allow dancing had closed in the previous weeks, so attendance on Saturday was higher than average. At 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes policemen in dark suits, two patrol officers in uniform, and Detective Charles Smythe and Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine arrived at the Stonewall Inn's double doors and announced "Police! We're taking the place!" Some tried to flee, but the doors were immediately barred. Many younger patrons were frightened, having never been in a police raid before, but the old-timers knew what to do. People began lining up, but things went awry almost immediately. The police began to feel up some of the female patrons inappropriately, and many of the male patrons did not present identification. When many of the patrons dressed as women refused to go with the female officers to be checked, the police decided to take all 200 people in the bar to the police station and sort out who was under arrest there. Taking that many people down to the station was no peaceful thing. The police slammed patrons into walls, hurled insults at them, and when a stone butch named Stormé DeLarverie complained her handcuffs were too tight, she was beaten in the head with a baton. As they forced her into a wagon, she cried out, “Why doesn’t somebody do something!?” By this point a crowd of nearly 100 more gays had gathered around to watch the arrest. People started taunting the officers, yelling “Pigs!” and “Copper!” and throwing pennies at them, followed by bottles; some in the crowd slashed the tires of the police vehicles. The cops responded by trying to beat back the crowd with their batons. Two transgender women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, were said to have resisted arrest and thrown the first bottle (or brick or stone) at the cops, respectively. One patron explained, “We all had a collective feeling like we'd had enough of this kind of shit. It wasn't anything tangible anybody said to anyone else, it was just kind of like everything over the years had come to a head on that one particular night in the one particular place.” Police violence against LGBT people hasn’t abated. Though many of the laws they enforced in the 60s have been overturned, they continue to target lgbt spaces. Last year, as peaceful demonstrations took to the New York streets in spite of the pandemic, videos show police pepper-spraying those assembled and shoving them with batons. In Raleigh, during the Black Lives Matter protests, the Ruby Deluxe Bar was vandalized with White Supremacy symbols and slogans; the next night, the owner decided to set up a first aid stop with water and granola bars for protestors, and got raided by police and shot with a flash-bang for his efforts, despite not protesting in any way or participating in any violence and being on his own property. In a 2015 Urban Institute study of young LGBTQ people, 15 percent of respondents reported that simply having condoms when stopped by police was enough to justify sustained questioning, and even arrest, for prostitution-related offenses. LGBTQ people face higher rates of incarceration and are particularly vulnerable to carceral violence. According to an analysis of the 2012 National Inmate Survey, self-identified lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) people are incarcerated at a rate of 1,882 per 100,000—a rate three times higher than the heterosexual US adult population. More than 40 percent of women who are incarcerated identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, compared with only 5.1 percent of all US women. The 2015 US Transgender Survey found 2 percent of the transgender population had been to prison or jail—nearly double the share of cisgender people in the US. Fifty-eight percent of transgender people reported some form of police mistreatment in their encounters with law enforcement. In both Cleveland and Akron, police are present to help “protect” Pride from anti-gay protesters. How are black and brown transgender people supposed to feel welcome at Pride when the people who harass and arrest them are present in force, with guns? How are homeless queers supposed to feel welcome? How are sex workers supposed to feel welcome? At Columbus pride, there was an incident in 2017 where Black organizers protested the main, white, pride parade: “Then, we stretched across the street — well, we didn’t even have enough people to stretch all the way — and we blocked the parade. After about a minute, there were a million officers shouting, “Move! Get back! You are obstructing!” We tried to stand there, but we started getting shoved back. A friend of mine started screaming, “Black Lives Matter.” That’s when a police officer ran up and pepper-sprayed him, dragged him out of the line, slammed him to the ground, and jumped on him. I let go of the line and tried to get to him, but the police pushed me to the ground. I felt somebody trying to stop me from moving. While I was flat on the pavement, I heard them shouting, “Stop! You’re resisting arrest!” The arresting officer constantly misgendered me and talked about my genitals to everyone in the precinct. He said things like, “He has male genitalia, he thinks he’s a girl.” I just said, “Oh my God, stop talking about my genitals to every passing person.” I was held for hours in a cell that smelled like piss and had boogers on the wall before we were finally bailed out.” Is this what we want Akron pride to stand for? White queers, who statistically face less brutality from police, telling everyone else to shape up and fly right or they’ll be beaten into line?After all, Akron police are no better than Columbus police, despite having an LGBTQ liason; Steve Arrington, director of the Akron AIDS Collaborative, reports just this year that “People are still getting abused in our community. We are still being ignored as far as LGBTQ+ issues, especially in the African American LGBTQ+ community. [...] When I think about the issues that I’ve been dealing with as far as trying to get the police to even do domestic violence (calls) between transgender loving couples, it’s always looked at as a joke... I’ve witnessed it, I’ve seen it, and they come in laughing.”
In the words of Stormé DeLarverie, “Why doesn’t somebody do something?” It’s not as though Akron Pride’s organizers are hard to find: safety and services are organized by Gert Wilms (Chair) & Al Fite/Angie Falcone (Co-Chairs). If you feel strongly about this issue, perhaps reach out and let them know how you feel. And if you feel strongly about our having a presence at Pride or not, please feel free to reach out to me at pride@uuakron.org
DONATION STATION
The Donation Station is being built soon! Look for a cute little shed being built on the grounds at the back of the parking lot. This building will be used to house and distribute the clothing and household donations that come through UUCA. We have wonderful partnerships with several organizations that all work together to put donations in the hands of people who need them.
We are in need of volunteers mid month to help organize and sort items. Also If you have a table you no longer need, we are sure it can be put to use for sorting items. Contact Elicia Prior at 330-371-1699.
Registration is now OPEN for CER Summer Institute ONLINE
Food for the Soul: July 11-16, 2021 https://uua.wufoo.com/forms/mkqvxig0fpdltc/
Learn more about the CERSI 2021 Menu here: https://www.cersiuu.org/...
Ask Carolyn for details!
2021 GENERAL ASSEMBLY June 23-27
Circle 'Round for Justice ● Healing ● Courage is the theme for General Assembly 2021 held virtually June 23-27. General Assembly is a time to circle ‘round in community. We circle ‘round in care and healing; for liberation and justice; and for love and courage. We share stories of the work happening at our Association. and in our congregations. We study ways to implement and live into our mission. UUA GA 2021 will incorporate recommendations from the Commission on Institution Change report, “Widening the Circle of Concern” and dialogue with the Article II Commission about our Principles and Purposes. Through programs and workshops, professional and lay leaders will learn and develop skills to equip them with tools to continue the mission of our faith.
Registration is $200 per person. Financial support for registration as well as a payment plan are available. General Assembly registrants receive access to the 2021 Online Participation Portal, including live, simu-live, and on-demand video content, the virtual exhibit hall, chat features, support, and a (new!) GA mobile app.
Register here: https://www.uua.org/ga/registration
This year’s special Ware Lecturer guests are Stacey Abrams and Desmond Meade. Read more here! https://www.uua.org/ga/program/highlights/ware-lecture
Worship open to the public (do not need to be registered)
The Service of the Living Tradition (SLT) is Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 4 pm PT / 5 pm MT / 6 pm CT / 7 pm ET. The service is open to the public and video is streamed live online on UUA.org.
Sunday Morning Worship. This powerful, communal worship experience will stream on Sunday, June 27, 2021 at 9 Pacific / 10 Mountain / 11 Central / noon Eastern. Members of the public are welcome to view the service.
GET TO KNOW THE STAFF- Sue Michael
I was born and have always lived in Akron, for the exception of 1 year in Indianapolis to open a new Borders Book Store as a General Manager.
2. When did you start working at the church? What do you do? What do you like about it? I started working at the church, as the bookkeeper, in 2007. Before my position as the bookkeeper I was the Church treasurer for 3 years along with my dear friend Norma. I’ve always loved the finance part of a business so the church bookkeeper has been a good fit.
3. What is something people wouldn’t guess about your job? That church finances and the bookkeeper job is actually fun!
4. What are you the most proud of? While I’m certainly proud of my children I believe I’m most proud of being my mother’s daughter. She’s been an amazing role model my entire life.
5. What would your ideal Friday night look like? My ideal Friday would consist of a pizza, a beer and a movie with my husband, Dave.
About Us
Email: uuakronoffice@gmail.com
Website: www.uuakron.org
Location: 3300 Morewood Road, Fairlawn, OH, USA
Phone: 330-836-2206
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UUAkron