11.11.25 Action Center Update

Side With Love

Welcome to the Action Center Weekly Update. Each week, we’ll share:

  • A brief analysis of critical issues in this political moment

  • Immediate actions you can take

  • Resources to deepen knowledge and strengthen our collective work to side with love

Nothing is inevitable. Justice movements are built by ordinary people who come together to defeat oppression and nurture a loving world. You are not alone. We have power. Together, we can create a just and thriving future.

Movements are strongest when we act together. Organize with your teams and networks, and take these actions in community. For practical tools, see our Organizing School and Skill Up resources.

Democracy

Core Principle: Democracy is not a destination but a practice rooted in interdependence and the worth and dignity of all. While authoritarianism consolidates power, we are the majority—and we must organize to build a truly multiracial democracy.

The Update: Last week, we celebrated historic voter turnout in critical elections across the country. Today, we witness the end of a government shutdown—yet see no change to the deadly cuts to healthcare.

In a true democracy, our leaders should represent the needs of the people. Healthcare and food must never be bargaining chips.

The task before us is clear: our movements must continue to build the power that ensures people have a seat at every negotiation table. We do this on multiple fronts—by being a force in the upcoming midterms, by being neighbors who nurture communities of care and safety, and by dismantling the systems that uphold inequality through courageous acts of noncooperation.

Take Action:

Resources:

  • Join:

    • Defending Democracy: The Role of South Korean Labor Unions

      Monday, Nov 17th at 5:00 pm Eastern

      This webinar, part of the Albert Shanker Institute’s Defending Democracy: How to Stop a Backsliding Democracy series, and in partnership with APALA and AFT’s AAPI Task Force, will focus on the role of labor unions in mobilizing protests in response to the South Korean president's martial law declaration; the call for the resignation of the president and the move to elect a new government.

Decriminalization & Immigration

Core Principle: Criminalization and dehumanization deny the dignity of our communities. Safety cannot come at the expense of others. As people of faith, we proclaim a future of care, abundance, and mutuality—not domination.

The Update: Last week, my local organizing in the small state of Delaware had a win: Wilmington City Council unanimously passed a resolution against contracts with companies like Avelo that contract with ICE. The same day at the other end of the state where I live, ICE appears to have assaulted and abducted an immigrant without a warrant and with the help of local police. Usually these updates are general—but today I write to you about the very local organizing in the semi-rural place where I live because what we see and need to organize here is different than the whistles on the streets of Chicago or the militarized context of the southern border. Here in Delaware, we celebrate the City Council win even though there is so much more work to do to get Avelo out of our state, address the needs of returning citizens, and build our ICE watch. Though the ICE presence here is less than in many cities, it is still destroying families and lives.

At Side With Love, we mean it when we say all work is local. We hope that you are working with partners in your local context to discern the needs and opportunities and to show up for care and mutuality, to celebrate the wins, mourn the losses, and commit to stay in the struggle for a community where all can thrive.

Take Action:

  • Join a No War on Our Cities protest today, Veteran’s Day! Veterans are leading protests in cities that Trump has threatened with military occupation including New York, D.C., Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Memphis and Boston. In addition, communities are hosting Solidarity Actions in more than 50 cities nationwide.

  • Join and support the Free DC, Free Chicago, and Protect Oregon movements to end military occupation in these areas.

  • Organize your congregation and friends to donate to the Defending Our Neighbors Fund by United We Dream and ACLU. The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is a dedicated fund designed to ensure that immigrant families have fair access to lawyers and are not facing a complex and punishing immigration system on their own. At a time when legal support is increasingly out of reach, the Fund provides urgently needed financial support to trusted legal organizations working in communities across the country. By providing grants to organizations offering legal representation and, when possible, bond assistance, the Fund helps keep families together and ensures more people can navigate their cases with dignity and due process. **If you have a local immigrant-led fund, then organize your congregation to give to that!**

Resources:

Climate Justice

Core Principle: A just and loving world is also a flourishing one. A fossil-free future is possible, where clean energy is a human right and all beings thrive. To get there, we must create new systems, norms, and practices.

The Update: Thousands of UUs joined the first-ever UU Climate Justice Revival in over 400 UU congregations from last September to today with impacts felt both within congregations and in the broader communities. Where Georgia UUS joined a coalition effort to advance energy justice at the Public Utility Commission, UUs in Colorado started in the City of Denver. The Climate Justice Revival brought together the First Universalist Church of Denver Green First Team and the Racial Justice Team in right-relationship and mutual support with each other. During the Revival, they identified a need for improved energy efficiency programs for lower-income or fixed-income residents. Xcel’s electric prices are projected to climb 50% during the next 5 years. Within 25 years, the Denver area could experience between 75 and 100 days of extreme heat per year, compared to fewer than 10 in recent years.

Shortly after their Revival, the City’s contract with Xcel energy was up for renegotiation, presenting a huge opportunity to advance climate justice. The new proposed energy contract had an insufficient and not contractually binding plans for utility relief, which was exacerbated by the withdrawal of Federal funding for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), and—as often happens—there was no community engagement during the negotiation process that would impact thousands of Denver residents. Following frontline leadership and advancing their priorities, UUs in both the Green First Team and Racial Justice Team at First Universalist Church of Denver joined forces with a nonpartisan, multi-racial, and multi-faith community organization to fight back. They identified neighborhoods most impacted then targeted City Council Members representing those neighborhoods. They met with the City’s Department of Transportation, the Mayor’s Office, Xcel, and City Council Members and showed up to Council meetings to testify. Thanks to this dedicated and strategic campaign, 7 of the 13 Council members voted against putting the Franchise Agreement on the November ballot for approval until our demands are met. City and Xcel officials were stunned! Denver UUs are committed to increasing community awareness of this critical advocacy process and the opportunities it holds to keep their community safe. This is a perfect illustration of how climate justice is economic justice and a powerful example of how faith-based, community-oriented people power can beat the financial power of a big monopoly utility company.

This is a perfect example of how one strategic campaign can advance all four of the UUA’s Essentials for Climate Action: Congregational Transformation, Community Resilience, Justice and Mitigation. The new Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice’s Annual Recognition process encourages ongoing actions that deepen over time—which is exactly what we need to consistently advance our climate justice goals. Side With Love is delighted to celebrate Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice Recognition to the First Universalist Church of Denver for their engagement in this campaign. Learn about the completely revitalized Green Sanctuary 2030 process and start sharing your progress today!

Resources:

  • Join:

    • Carbon Neutral by 2050 - Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting

      November 19, 2025 7:00 PM–8:30 PM ET, Online

      The Boise UU Fellowship has committed to become Carbon Neutral by 2050 as part of their Green Sanctuary 2030 commitments. Engaging the entire congregation in a 2023 special appeal “Imagining A Carbon Neutral World,” BUUF launched their carbon neutral campaign which will focus on reducing the BUUF carbon footprint and supporting members to reduce their individual emissions while also building strong relations with community groups doing mitigation work. Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary 2030 community meetings take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes.

    • Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration

      January 28, 2026 7:00 PM–8:30 PM ET, Online

      The annual Green Sanctuary 2030 Celebration is a time for our Active Green Sanctuary Teams to come together to share what they’re working on. It’s a fast-paced, inspirational review of all the good work our congregations are doing. Come to learn how UUs are transforming our congregations through climate justice or share what your congregation is working on in your GS2030 ministry. Join the fun!

      If your congregation is actively engaged in the Green Sanctuary 2030 process, please sign up to Share your Progress at the Celebration!

      What ideas emerged from the Revival and how are those actions taking shape in your community? Add to the ongoing inspiration that we all need so much right now by sharing the story of your Revival!

  • Learn:

  • Watch/Listen:

    • Side With Love’s Climate at the Intersections Video Series explores the ways climate justice intersects with all of UU justice priorities. You can watch them as an individual, host a watch party in your congregation, or share them at an existing event like a coffee hour or social justice meeting. These short 10–15 minute videos are designed to help UUs understand how climate justice is social justice, gender justice, economic justice, and more.

Together, we practice the world we long for. Together, we win.

11.18.25 Action Center Update

11.4.25 Action Center Update