Commit2Respond — Blog — Side With Love

Earth Day: The Beginning of New Commitments

Today is Earth Day, when people all over the planet celebrate our beautiful, life-giving, and fragile Mother Earth.

This year our eight Unitarian Universalist organizations teamed up and created an unprecedented network of concern and action: Commit2Respond. Climate Justice Month, which has been running since World Water Day (March 22), ends today-and we ask you to join us in committing to action in the face of climate change!

Saving our biosphere is possible, but it will take a paradigm shift and a revolution of values to get there. Our framework is simple: to meet this challenge, we need to shift to a low carbon future, advance the human rights of affected communities, and grow the climate justice movement.

Side With LoveApril 22, 2015Climate Justice, Commit2Respond

Fighting for Air

In Denver, we talk a lot about air—mostly because there’s less of it here, up at a mile high. It’s a reality I confront during a long, exhausting ultimate frisbee game.

I think there’s value in feeling the fatigue, in really experiencing it. When I gasp for breath after chasing down a receiver or defending a pass, I feel acutely air’s vital importance. Each sprint renews my commitment to protecting this invaluable resource, for my lungs find themselves fighting for air.

Healing the Waters, Healing Ourselves

There is a potent stream running from the 50th anniversary of the civil rights struggle in Selma, through the fast-growing movement of Black Lives Matter, to our Unitarian Universalist-inspired Climate Justice Month, which begins on World Water Day this Sunday. The stream springs from stories of pain, resistance, and renewal, and it is enlivened by the truth that these stories are intricately and inherently connected.

This weekend we, and forty others, were bathed and renewed, hearts changed in that stream at the “Healing the Waters” conference organized by DRUUMM (Diverse, Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) and ARE (Allies for Racial Equity).

Side With LoveMarch 19, 2015Racial Justice, DRUUMM, ARE, Climate Justice, Commit2Respond

Why Climate Justice is a LOVE issue!

This time last year (and the two years before it!) we were in the midst of a campaign near and dear to many of our hearts called Thirty Days of Love. It was a transformative project; bringing together Unitarian Universalists, the Love People and our justice and faith partners to learn, reflect and take action together on a wide range of justice issues. We got tons of feedback from folks all over the country on this campaign, and one big request we heard over and over again: what if UUs and others got together for a month of education and action, but focused on a single justice issue? What if together we put all of our hearts and collective energies towards one important goal?

This is why I am excited to participate in Climate Justice Month, an amazing collaborative effort being spearheaded by an incredible array of UU organizations.

Side With LoveFebruary 25, 2015Environmental Justice, Racial Justice, Commit2Respond, Climate Justice, Courageous Love

365 Days of Love: Resources you can use all year long!

Thanks for checking out these resources from past Thirty Days of Love that you can use all year round! This year, we are excited to support thirty days of action on climate justice from World Water Day (March 22) to Earth Day (April 22).

Many of our UU partners are collaborating on this exciting new venture, so check out Commit2Respond to learn more about how you can get involved. Resources will be available in early 2015, so be sure to check back with Commit2Respond then to learn more!

We have also curated resources from our many partners who collaborated with us over the past three years to create Thirty Days of Love that ran approximately from MLK Day to SSL Day. See below for fantastic worship service ideas, religious exploration, themes to use for congregations, and so so much more. While this year will be different, we are excited by what is to come, and we hope you join us on this next part of our shared journey!