Love as a practice, not just a posture: March 2026 Update from Side With Love
March arrives with both gratitude and a call forward. Our 30 Days of Love journey has come to a close — and yet, what you made possible together is still unfolding. Since January, you have shown what it looks like when love becomes more than a feeling. You hosted teach-ins and trainings. You wrote and called your elected officials. You showed up on the streets of your city and statehouses. You deepened relationships across lines of difference and gathered for worship that refused despair. In a political climate that tempts us toward fear and isolation, you chose community. You chose courage. You chose love as a practice, not just a posture.
Pause here for a moment. Take a breath. What you have done matters — not just strategically, but spiritually. Movements are sustained not only by urgency, but by the kind of deep, abiding gratitude that reminds us why we do this work in the first place. You showed up when it would have been easier not to. You organized when the weight of the world felt heavy. You led when leadership was costly. That is not nothing. That is everything.
We are not bystanders to history. Our legacy calls us to this task: James Reeb inspired us to reach over 4 million voters in the last five years; the symbolism behind our flaming chalice moves us to witness at detention centers around the country. We have access to that same life saving, grit-making power as our most celebrated ancestors and the ones whose work we may never know. We just have to recognize that spark in all of us that burn with the unshakeable truth that love is a force more powerful than hate. And we are on the side of love.
As Unitarian Universalists, we understand faith as a journey toward discovering the sacred by honoring the inherent worth and divinity within us all. This belief calls us not only to build democracy, but to cultivate the trust, relationships, and shared values that sustain it.
Now is the time to lean in. To reach for one another. To ignite solidarity and reimagine democracy. And now, we turn toward what's next, together. Our UU the Vote initiative will officially launch on March 25, marking the beginning of a new season of faithful organizing and democratic engagement. We invite you to join us as we launch this new phase of organizing that goes deeper, builds broader, and equips us to meet this moment with courage, love, and collective power.
With resolve and deep appreciation,
The Side With Love Team
PS: We Are Hiring! Climate Justice Fellow. Join the UUA's organizing strategy team as our Climate Justice Fellow! This temporary, part-time role will help support our Unitarian Universalist climate justice efforts. If you or someone you know is passionate about faith-centered climate action, please apply.
March 6: Immigration Solidarity Session
UU Solidarity Initiative (UUSI) Solidarity Sessions are an opportunity for folks working for immigrant justice to connect with one another, take action, and learn about the most recent changes in immigration laws and policies. First Fridays will include top-level updates and time for connection and shared learning. Third Fridays will be deeper dives into the administrative updates and the impact the changes they will have on folks seeking immigration relief. (Ex: Naturalization, DACA, asylum, TPS, victim's services, etc.) Register to join us on March 6 at 2pm ET / 11am PT.
March 9: The Gathering - How did we get here? Reframing the Narrative
In March, we celebrate one year of The Gathering, Side With Love’s virtual monthly event to nurture, inform, and inspire. This month, bēheld returns once more to offer the musical grounding and our special guests will help us examine the current narrative about our political moment and this stage of authoritarianism. We’ll also dive into stories and lessons from the recent UU delegation to Palestine.
All Gatherings are at 8pm ET / 5pm PT / 2pm HT . Register to join us March 9.
Congregational leaders! Now What: The Gathering for Congregational Leaders is specifically for staff and board members of UU congregations to provide daytime, condensed access to the content of the Monday evening Gathering with breakout groups designed to help leaders process, reflect, and strategize for the work ahead with your peers. If you want to be in community with your peers and with Side with Love and Congregational Life Staff, LREDA, UUMA, and AUUMM, this is for you! Now What: The Gathering for Congregational Leaders occurs on the Wednesday after The Gathering on the second Monday of the month.
March 18: Building Team Capacity – Green Sanctuary Community Meeting
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 Nourish your Team by Mapping Your Universe with Side With Love Leadership Development Specialist Rev. Cathy Rion Starr. Join us on March 18 at 8pm ET / 4pm PT.
March 25: UU the Vote 2026 Launch: Ignite Solidarity, Reimagine Democracy
Our faith calls us to build a movement beyond voter turnout. It calls us to strengthen relationships, shared leadership, and durable infrastructure that build and sustain democracy.
Join us for the launch of UU the Vote 2026: Ignite Solidarity, Reimagine Democracy -- an expanded program to meet this moment and the next — at 8pm ET / 5pm PT / 4pm AK.
Resources
Six Questions Congregations Need to Answer About Community Safety in this Moment
Unitarian Universalist congregations have a critical role in resisting violence and protecting our communities, and UUs have a long history of showing up to resist authoritarianism, xenophobia, racism, transphobia, and other attacks on communities.
Meaningful, effective response requires us to engage in faithful, values-based risk assessment and discernment that recognizes our unique landscape and community.
This worksheet is an invitation for your congregational leadership and members to have a resourced, grounded, and accountable analysis of your congregation’s capacity to nimbly and resourcefully respond to any crisis.
30 Days of Love 2026
30 Days of Love might be over, but all our incredible resources are available all year at https://sidewithlove.org/30daysoflove
This year's theme - Love At The Center: Reimagining the World As It Could Be - was explored each week with a written reflection from Side With Love staff; a conversation with a UU theologian; multigenerational family activities; reflection questions for journaling; a meditative body practice; and an original coloring sheet connected to the weekly theme.
