MAKE A DIFFERENCE right here in our own community! Join members of the fellowship in helping out at the San Diego Food Bank on Tuesday, February 12 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Usually we just put food in boxes, on an assembly line – really easy, no lifting, no bending, great camaraderie! This is a wonderful way of helping those in need and strengthening our UUFSD community as well. Anyone 7 and older can help. Get on the monthly email list! Contact Sara Ohara at sara@saraohara.com

Do you know the story of the Black Empowerment Controversy in the Unitarian Universalist Association?

At the 1968 General Assembly, delegates voted for $1 million for programs to support black empowerment in the Unitarian Universalist Association over four years. A controversy over the funding began at the 1969 General Assembly in Boston, and many Unitarian Universalists walked out of the Assembly. By 1970, the funding was reduced and eliminated.

Many black Unitarian Universalists left the denomination following these events. Since then, for the most part, we have carefully not talked about what happened in 1968-69. “The Black Empowerment Controversy” is treated as a family secret that we simply don’t discuss.

Please join in a Black Empowerment Controversy Discussion on Saturday, February 2nd, from 10:00-1:00 p.m. in Founders Hall. We will view Wilderness Journey: The Struggle for Black Empowerment and Racial Justice within the Unitarian Universalist Association, 1967-1970, a video documentary of the Black Empowerment Controversy (75 minutes). A facilitated discussion will follow.

Open to all. RSVP to Katy Swanson, katyk12@gmail.com or 562-346-4787 to reserve space.

“Silences and the telling of partial truths…have clogged our spiritual and relational arteries.” – Rev. William Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 2001–2009

On Saturday, June 9th, about 20 volunteers from the UUFSD community joined a few friends from outside the fellowship to participate in Project Facelift. Project Facelift is a City Heights community project, organized by Community Housing Works, in which hundreds of volunteers come together to revitalize a community, one block at a time. The event was a complete success in so many ways! It brought adults, young adults, and YRUU together to live our faith through action. In addition, the homeowner whose house we worked on has generously offered to donate 30 gallons of paint to UUFSD-sponsored community projects in Tijuana. The generosity of this homeowner, as well as the connection he has now forged with UUFSD are two examples of how living our faith through action inspires those around us to create a better world through community.

Have you recently moved to CA or changed your address? Are you going to be 18 by Election Day? Do you want to change your political party or have you changed your name? If so, it’s time to register or re- register to vote. I will have voter registration materials in the Core Area after service on Sunday, May 13, so you can stop by to update your voter information. The CA primary is June 5 and updated materials must be mailed 15 days before this election day, so don’t delay!

For anyone planning to attend the General Assembly 2012, there will be GA planning meeting on Saturday April 14th, from noon to 1:00 in the Library. We will discuss the experience of GA, delegates, getting together while in Phoenix, the GA agenda and what to expect. For those of you who cannot go to Phoenix and would like the flavor of meeting with many other UU’s in conversation and shared purpose, please consider coming to District Assembly held April 27-28 at First Unitarian Church in Los Angeles, CA.
For more information, contact Rev. David Miller at revd@uufsd.org