Side With Love at General Assembly 2023
Dear Beloveds,
The success of our movements depends on our capacity to hold a larger vision of what we seek to build, not just what we work to dismantle. Yes, fascism on a wider scale is a real threat–one that many of us did not and do not want to believe is possible. This is not a light thing to hold. And as we engage in collective learning about fascism and how we dismantle the systems of oppression that feed anti-democratic movements, we must also find collective space to imagine and build the world where we all live in the fullness and wholeness of our worth and dignity.
That has been the beautiful work of our faith and of UU the Vote. We are growing our capacity to imagine a new world and building the skill and will to cultivate it in our institutions, our communities, and in our larger world.
If we solely focus on blocking or dismantling we reject love, sustainability, and the interdependency that anchor our faith and the very idea of beloved community. I am overwhelmed by how our UU the Vote community has consistently held this essential balance. I believe it is why we continue to grow and welcome new folks into our work. We are not just preparing to fight. We are preparing to win! Thank each of you for joining in and creating a program that embodies the discipline of hope. I hope this is what you find as you engage in the amazing resources and opportunities we have coming out of this year’s General Assembly.
I believe that we will win!
In faith,
Nicole Pressley
Field and Programs Director, UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team
We hope those of you who attended GA – either virtually or in person – enjoyed your experience. Our staff was grateful for the opportunities to showcase our work for the last year with UU the Vote at our workshop – attended by nearly 1000 people! – as well as our Side With Love Morning Mixer for congregational justice leaders.
If you were a registered attendee, you can find the recordings of all programming here until September 15th. This includes our training, Hope is a Discipline: Creating Narratives for Justice as well as our live workshop UUtheVote: Mapping Our Impact, Charting Our Future. Both recordings will be available publicly after September 15th on the Side With Love website.
We’re especially excited to share the gorgeous visual notes from our UU the Vote workshop (see the gallery at the bottom of this post), created by Phoebe Dubisch, Senior Graphics Editor and Internship Coordinator with Unitarian Universalist Justice Arizona Network (UUJAZ). They so beautifully articulate the joys and lessons from our past work and help us imagine what UU the Vote will be doing in 2024.
Side With Love Morning Mixer
Congregational Justice Leaders: Join Our Online Mixer!
Thursday, July 20th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT
We know that these times ask a lot of us and that we need one another to stay in the work with hope, joy, impact, and accountability.
We had the pleasure of gathering with congregational justice leaders while in Pittsburgh, and we’re eager to meet with those who we’re not about to join us in person.
We’re inviting leaders doing the work on the ground and showing up for and with Side With Love to an online mixer so that you can connect with one another, build community across issues, and have some facetime with our staff.
Join us Thursday, July 20th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT.
Workshop: UUtheVote: Mapping Our Impact, Charting Our Future
Resist, Respond, Reimagine: A Side With Love Rally
Read the three Actions of Immediate Witness passed at GA2023!
Donate to UPLIFT and UPLIFT Action
We are so grateful that one of the dedicated General Assembly collections was for our programs! If you are able, we’d be grateful for your gift! Support both UPLIFT Action for LGBTQIA+, Gender and Reproductive Justice, our campaign for UUs to take action in support of trans rights and reproductive justice; and UPLIFT Ministries' direct ministry to and with LGBTQIA+ UUs.