2.24.26 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.

Gender & LGBTQ Justice

Core Principle: Every body is sacred. We affirm that trans people are divine, abortion is a blessing, and no one is disposable. Attacks on identity are designed to divide us—solidarity is our moral and strategic mandate.

The Update:

We are living in a tender and complicated time. Nationally, many are feeling the tightening of rights around gender identity and bodily autonomy. And yet, this is not only a story of contraction -it is also a story of care and growing.

Even now, some states are expanding protections for reproductive freedom and privacy. Connecticut is one example, with recent reporting by Molly Ingram (WSHU) highlighting efforts to safeguard abortion access at the state level. Resources like the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Queering Reproductive Justice toolkit also remind us that trans liberation and reproductive justice are deeply connected.

In moments like these, spiritual community matters. That’s why The Woodlands (this Sunday, March 1) exists - a gentle space to be seen, held, and accompanied.

And just ahead, Trans Day of Visibility (March 31) invites us to celebrate trans lives and recommit ourselves to building communities rooted in belonging and love.

In uncertain times, hope often looks like practice - gathering, caring, and continuing to make room for one another.

Take Action:

The Woodlands — This Sunday

The Woodlands is a monthly online spiritual gathering for trans, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, gender-expansive, and intersex people — and for the parents and caregivers who love and support them.

Sunday, March 1

Eastern: 4:00 PM

Central: 3:00 PM

Mountain: 2:00 PM

Pacific: 1:00 PM

Alaska: 12:00 PM

Hawaii: 11:00 AM

Join us for a gentle, affirming space to connect, reflect, and be held in community.

Resources:

  • Read: Even as national restrictions increase, some states are doubling down on protecting abortion access and patient privacy, showing real resistance and resilience at the local level. CT is one of those states - article written by Molly Ingram from WSHU.

  • Learn: Check out the QUEERING REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: A MINI TOOLKIT For advocates who work on the intersecting issues of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Rights and liberation and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice by the National LGBTQ Taskforce

  • Join: Coming Soon: Trans Day of Visibility — March 31

Trans Day of Visibility is just around the corner. Observed each year on March 31, it’s a time to celebrate the courage, creativity, and sacred worth of trans and nonbinary people - and to recommit ourselves to building communities where everyone can live openly and safely.

We’ll offer reflections and ways to engage as the day approaches.

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:

As ICE activity increases in small towns, on farmland, and in surges from Minneapolis to Maine, regular people are taking action to block ICE abductions and slow down the kidnapping system, even as the Trump administration continues to chip away at our right to protest.  We do, indeed, have power as people to impact the weaponized systems harming our communities and people around the globe.  Victory is far from certain, but we know that what we do matters. Let us continue organizing our blocks, our town councils, and our cities to cast a vision of safety through community and work to make that real. 

Take Action: 

Resources:

  • Read: 

    • Layers of Detention: ICE Detention Expansion Under Trump 2.0, Detention Watch Network explores the Trump administration’s cruel expansion plan that has proliferated ICE operations into other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Prisons and growing ICE partnerships with local sheriffs and county jails. The expansion of large-scale detention facilities on military bases will exacerbate the well-documented abuse inherent to the detention system, and the secrecy and impunity with which ICE operates. Use this resource to support your advocacy to end immigration detention in its entirety. In this resource you will find a compiled list of the latest developments, the “players” executing the plan, a  brief history. Versión en español 

  • Learn: 

  • Mandated Reporting Harm Reduction: Balancing Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT)

    • Navigating the everyday realities of mandatory reporting and concerns about the harms of criminalization can feel daunting. People concerned about the harms of mandated reporting face a slew of messages from "We need mandated reporting to keep children safe," to "Don't report! Never comply with unjust laws." The Mandated Reporting Balancing Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT) outlines some of the most common questions practitioners and community-based groups encounter when navigating the realities of mandated reporting and supports them to develop practices that align with their values, reduce the harms of criminalization, and assess the various risks associated with mandated reporting.

  • Join: Defend and Recruit’s trainings:

    • ICE Defense Strategies - March 5th, 8 ET , 5 PT Learn about immigration defense campaigns and strategies to defend our people and build power in your community. This introduction training will cover the basics of immigration defense, including starting a neighborhood ICE watch,  building 4th Amendment Workplaces, winning municipal resolutions and legislation to support our communities and taking on corporations enabling ICE

    • Fourth Amendment Workplace Training (Virtual)- March 4th, 7 ET, 4 PT A 4th Amendment Workplace is a business that proactively trains staff to uphold employees' constitutional rights against unreasonable government search and seizures, especially regarding immigration enforcement, by requiring federal agents to have proper judicial warrants for non-public areas and protecting all workers. These workplaces use legally vetted protocols to identify invalid warrants (like administrative notices), secure private spaces (like break rooms, restrooms), and train employees to calmly assert their rights, creating a safer environment and preventing overreach. This is a great way to help your local businesses understand their constitutional rights and come together as a community to support. We hope to see you there!

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:
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for our climate as the Trump administration continues to remove the regulations that keep us safe while padding the pockets of big oil and big ag. But we can change the tides if we work together.  

Two weeks ago the EPA repealed the Endangerment Finding.  Last week,  Trump issued an executive order to boost production of the toxic chemical glyphosate, and the EPA weakened limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants.  

So why does this matter?   Both moves  have the potential to increase your risk of cancer, infertility, neurological damage and more while polluting our air, water, soils - the very systems that support life on Earth.  We’ll cover glyphosate this week, Mercury next.  We can only take in so much at one time!

Here we go.  Glyphosate weed killers cause multiple types of cancer.  In 2019, Trump’s very own Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, argued that the maker of roundup knew the weedkiller caused cancer.  He won that argument, resulting in a landmark $289 million jury verdict.  In 2024, Kennedy said, “The chemicals pollute our bodies the same way that they pollute the soil.” Last year, Kennedy chaired a commission that singled out glyphosate and atrazine as potentially harmful to children.  MAHA groups are crying, betrayal! with the potential to fracture Trump’s coalition. 

Let’s break it down. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup weed killer, the primary herbicide used in agriculture.  Farmers grow Roundup ready crops that have been genetically modified to survive being drenched in the toxic glyphosate.  This means a farmer can spray roundup everywhere, and it will kill the weeds but not the crop.  The glyphosate soaked crop then comes into our food system and the glyphosate runoff flows into our water systems, delivering carcinogens to bodies - human, animal, and water -  which can lead to cancer in us and dead zones in our water.  Further, the executive order could shield glyphosate manufacturers from lawsuits brought by cancer patients and their families.

While we could be securing a clean and healthy food supply by promoting organic agriculture, our government is instead offering gifts to the pesticide and chemical industries at our expense.  

If you make it this far in the Action Center updates, you know that everything is a lot right now.  We can’t fix it all tomorrow, but we can talk about the issues with our colleagues, friends, and family.  You can ask them to consider the full spectrum of the issues when voting this November.  You can go to candidate forums and ask questions.  You can write letters to the editor.  You can vote your values.  

Take Action: (2–3 partner actions)

Resources:

When a congregation adds an action to the Action Report Form, it populates our new searchable database where you can:

  • Browse actions by Congregation

  • Search by Keyword

  • Filter by Essential and

  • Filter by State/Province

The search will show the name of the action, a brief description of the action, and what Essentials apply to the action.  When we celebrate progress together, we create a community of shared learning and mutual supports.  Itching to check it out?  You can find the link in the new Green Sanctuary 2030 materials!  If you haven't downloaded the new materials, today is a fantastic date to do so!

Do you have questions about the Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice process and community?  Check out our GS2030 Frequently Asked Questions document. If you still have questions after that, please email climatejustice@UUA.org and we'll do our best to help you.

Join: 

Mobilizing for Climate Justice in small congregations

March 12, 2026 7:00-8:30 ET

Join this webinar to learn from UUA Climate Justice Strategist, Rachel Myslivy, how small congregations can mobilize for climate justice.  March is Small Congregations Month.  Over the course of the month, participants are invited to take part in a webinar series that is intentionally designed to support the vitality of small and lay-led congregations.  Small Congregations Are Doing the Work! When you sign up, it’s for the whole series, but don’t let that scare you off.  You can join whichever the ones you want - but they’re all fantastic!  

Tuesday, March 3 at 7 pm ET — Topic: Creativity in Religious Education

Thursday, March 12 at 7 pm ET — Topic: Mobilizing for Climate Justice

Wednesday, March 18 at 7 pm ET — Topic:  Building Containers for Justice

Tuesday, March 24 at *7:30 pm ET — Topic: Holding the Sacred

Building Team Capacity with a Friends of Green Sanctuary Group - GS Community Meeting

March 18, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM ET - online

Engaging more of our congregations in our Green Sanctuary 2030 work is a challenge for everyone, but creative solutions abound! Learn how the Bradford Community Church in Wausau, WI is organizing a "Friends of Green Sanctuary Group" to do just that! BONUS! Get some ideas on how to Nourish your Team by Mapping Your Universe with Side With Love Leadership Development Specialist, Cathy Rion Starr. 

Come together for shared learning and mutual supports with other UUs transforming our congregations through climate justice. Green Sanctuary 2030 community meetings usually take place on the third Wednesday of the month at 4PT - 5MT - 6CT - 7ET for 90 minutes.

  • Watch/Listen: 

    • “I love how thoughtful you're being about supporting children in being leaders. It's the dream!”  - participant sharing genuine appreciation at last week’s Green Sanctuary 2030 Community Meeting: Green Sanctuary for Our Kids.  Julie Rigano, Director of Family Ministry at the UU Church at Washington Crossing in New Jersey, shared how she used the UU Climate Justice Revival Curricula for Pre-K to Young Adult to engage children and youth in shaping the ongoing work of the congregation's environmental initiatives - and how her approach has enhanced programming for all. Julie joyfully shared several ways to involve the youngest members of our congregations in our climate justice ministries, including two activity plans that she created to supplement the Revival curricula. A huge takeaway for many attendees was the idea of identifying a Green Sanctuary Team liaison to communicate with the Director of Religious Educator.

    • “The chemicals pollute our bodies the same way that they pollute the soil.” Robert Kennedy Jr.

    • Agricultural Runoff and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone | Big River: A King Corn Companion

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



2.17.26 Action Center Update