Follow Our Blog!

Blogger just introduced a new feature called "Following", that lets you keep up to date on our blog, and let people know (if you choose to follow us publicly), that you are a fan of the blog.

The advantage to you is that when you become a follower of a blog, the blog will also be added to your Reading List on your Blogger dashboard. You can read more here about following.

Just look over on the right hand side of the blog, and scan down until you see the item called "Followers". If you want to become a follower, just click the "follow" link.

A helpful web page as the election approaches

I stumbled across a page recently that gives you a guide to how Obama and McCain compare on gay marriage, LGBT adoption and sex education.

I hope you find this useful.

One-to-One Education To Protect Marriage Equality

The following is a "call to action" from UUs in California fighting to preserve marriage equality.

Dear Unitarian Universalists,

Here in California, UUs and our religious allies are working night and day to defeat Proposition 8 which would eliminate the existing right of same sex couples to marry. We must protect not only couples, but also our constitution. We must stand on the side of love.

1 of every 8 people in the US live in California. The outcome of Proposition 8 will impact, for decades, the rights of same sex couples and the role of wedge issues in politics across the nation.

$22.8 million dollars has been raised to enshrine discrimination in our constitution, and eliminate marriage for same sex couples. Much of this money has come from out of state religious groups.

California UUs working on the No on 8 campaign need your help.

Nothing is more important than one on one conversations with undecided voters to help us dispel misleading ads. Now you can help by phone banking from remote locations using our on-line system through your computer.

To get started in on-line phone banking, please contact Jeff Melcher and he will help you. There is a good script to follow, and some of the people you will talk to are downright inspiring.

While you can phone bank as an individual, it is even better to phone bank with a friend or two, or to organize a phone bank with your congregation. All you need is a computer, a phone, and high speed internet access for each person.

You can also help with a donation. Their ads are claiming that congregations will be sued if their ministers don’t marry same sex couples. We can’t let lies have the last word. Please consider a gift to the campaign. DONATE NOW to the No on 8 campaign! (The UU Legislative Ministry Action Network, CA-PAC is part of the No on 8 coalition, and your donation through this link will be flagged as a UU donation to the cause.)

Unitarian Universalists have been at the forefront of marriage equality for years. Keep the flame burning!

Please join the action now and help us make history – it is well within our reach!

Thank you for your support.

Blessings,

Rev. Lindi Ramsden,	Jeff Melcher,
Executive Director	Interfaith Phone from Home Organizer
	jmelcher@uulmca.org

Connecticut's Equal Marriage Decision

Rev. William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, issued the following statement on October 10, 2008:

On behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I rejoice today at the Connecticut Supreme Court's decision to end discrimination in the state's marriage laws and to grant the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. While civil unions have provided some legal protection over the past three years in Connecticut, they cannot confer the dignity and respect that comes with marriage. We know from our nation's painful history that separate is never equal.

I thank the brave justices for honoring the spirit of the Connecticut constitution and extending its protections to same-sex couples. Today's decision strengthens thousands of families in Connecticut, and it offers renewed hope for committed same-sex couples across the country. Marriage is a civil right.
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Sinkford's statement is online at
http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/120896.shtml .
A statement from Rev. Josh Pawelek, who serves as Chairman of Connecticut Clergy for Marriage Equality, can be found at
http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/120904.shtml .