Advancing Human Rights
The Peace, Justice, and Democracy Team thinks globally and acts locally to bring about a movement that supports a just transition to peace, justice, democracy, equity, and inclusiveness. We acknowledge the importance of building relationships and valuing the gifts and talents each person can bring to this work. We support members of the congregation to take action on specific initiatives that specifically speak to them as individuals, and we collaborate with other groups within our congregation, and with local and international allies.
Past Initiatives:
- Provided sponsorships and promoted Hiroshima Nagasaki Remembrance. International Day for Peace, Holy Innocence Day, Paying for War, Praying for Peace.
- Collaborated with Adult Programming Team and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa to host a showing and discussion of “God and Country.”
- Met with League of Women Voters regarding effort to turn out the Vote.
- Held A Forum on Apartheid – Free Congregations
- Shared Information on the UUA Action of Immediate Witness 2024; Solidarity with Palestinians
Allies: UU Social Justice; UU Side with Love Action Center; UU For Justice in the Middle East; IUUWAN, AMOS, Des Moines Faith Committee for Peace, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Catholic Peace Ministry, American Friends Service Committee, Just Voices, ACLU; League of Women Voter’s; Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.
Compassion & Choices
Compassion & Choices is a 501(c)(3) organization striving to expand options and empower individuals to chart their own end-of-life journey. C&C works nationwide in communities, state legislatures, Congress, courts and medical settings to educate and empower the public and to advocate for improved medical practice that puts patients and their values, treatment plans and quality of life first. We advocate for expanded options, including medical-aid-in-dying, and against efforts to restrict access to them. Check out Compassion & Choices Facebook page.
Our Central Iowa Action Team meets the first Thursday each month at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Environmental Justice
Green Sanctuary
The Green Sanctuary Leadership Team has joined Green Sanctuary 2030: Mobilizing for Climate Justice to engage in an ambitious environmental and climate justice movement that seeks to fully live our values and covenants in achieving a just vision of a sustainable and just world for all. Click here for more information: Green Sanctuary.
Our team is currently developing our intersectional actions on the Four Essentials of Climate Action. We are working to receive yearly recognition for the actions we define for our yearly goal(s).
The Four Essentials include:
- Congregational Transformation: Working together to improve the ways we organize and collaborate
- Community Resilience: Cultivating communities of care to prepare for and respond to climate disruption.
- Justice: Partnering with those most harmed by climate change to build thriving communities
- Mitigation: Reducing emissions from energy usage, transportation, waste, & consumption
We will be collaborating with church members, friends, committees and teams and partnering with community organizations as we engage in actions focused on the four essentials. We will be integrating materials we utilized in hosting the Climate Justice Revival in October, 2024. We will be practicing Deep Listening Grounded Curiosity, Mindful Communication, and Genuine Appreciation. We want to recognize everyone in our congregation who is engaged in actions.
Click here to view Green Tips information.
Housing and Hunger
First U Food
This social justice task force concerned with hunger and hunger issues attempts to identify, pursue and facilitate projects for church members interested in helping to alleviate hunger in central Iowa. Activities since inception in 2008 have included preparing and serving dinner monthly at the Central Iowa Homeless Shelter, quarterly at Children and Family Urban Movement (CFUM), and collecting for the DMARC Food Pantry.
Immigration Justice
UU State Action Network
Iowa UUWitness Advocacy Network (IUUWAN)
The Iowa Unitarian Universalist Witness Advocacy Network (IUUWAN) serves as the statewide action network. Our purpose is to form connections, collaboration, and unity among UUs in Iowa and to deepen an understanding of how our faith compels us to act for social justice. As Unitarian Universalists, we covenant, congregation-to-congregation and through our Association, to support and assist one another in our ministries and work for justice. We draw from our heritages of freedom, reason, hope, and courage, building on the foundation of love. Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values of Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. Based on our Unitarian Universalist faith, and our values and covenants we strengthen UU voices in ending oppression and give rise to equity, fairness, and inclusion. We build and strengthen relationships between UU Congregations in Iowa, the UUA, and other social action groups.
How Can First Unitarian Best Connect with and Utilize the Services of IUUWAN
To share your ideas, connect with us by filling out the contact us form!
Visit our Website: iuuwan.com Click on our Facebook link on the website to like us. Our Facebook is Iowa Unitarian Universalist Witness Advocacy Network
Please Join our Efforts in Strengthening our Network and Creating a World Centered in Love!
LGBTQ+ Justice
Welcoming Congregation
Since 1992, First Unitarian Church has been a Welcoming Congregation, a volunteer program to take intentional steps to become more welcoming and inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. After nearly two years of work we were one of the earliest churches in the Unitarian Universalist Association to earn this designation.
Our congregation identifies Five Practices of Welcome which guide our work. Welcoming Congregations should implement each of these practices annually.
- Becoming a Welcoming Congregation, or working to renew your designation
- Holding Welcoming Worship Services that include honoring a milestone or rite of passage for an LGBTQ+ member of the congregation
- Participating in Welcoming Days of Observance, which commemorate and elevate landmark days and seasons in LGBTQ+ communities (Pride Season, Transgender Day of Visibility, World AIDS Day, etc.), through worship services, public events, or other gatherings organized by the congregation
- Supporting Welcoming Faith Formation programming that highlights LGBTQ+ issues and topics for all ages
- Engaging in a Welcoming Project by providing monetary support to a local LGBTQ+ organization
Learn more about our work as a Welcoming Congregation, or talk about implementing a practice.
Queer & Trans Action Group (QTAG)
The Queer & Trans Action Group (QTAG) has several areas of focus. These include education, public witness, and advocacy on LGBTQ+ issues, especially in the areas of transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, and other gender expansive (TGQNB+) identities, rights, and acceptance, both within the congregation and the larger community. Another focus is to provide fun and joyful social activities to build a queer and trans safe space at church in which to create community. We work to maintain and increase our welcome to queer and trans folks within our congregation and also increase our presence and the awareness of us as an LGBTQ+ Welcoming Congregation in the larger community. All queer, trans, and allied folks are welcome. For information on meetings, activities, and how to become involved click on “contact us.”