2021 Online Justice Convenings!
Due to the continued need to protect our communities’ health, we will not be returning to in-person trainings in 2021. However, we are excited to be offering three online Regional Justice Convenings in May and June of 2021.
During these convenings, UUJMCA and our partners will be providing updates and opportunities for collaboration/action in our four key “issue areas” of climate justice, economic justice, immigrant justice, and racial justice. We will also be sharing opportunities to connect and reflect with other UUs in your region of California using an organizing model developed during our 2019 Regional Justice Trainings.
You can find out more about our 2021 Regional Justice Convenings at uujmca.org/RJC.
What is a Regional Justice Training?
UUJMCA works with local congregations in areas around the state to host cluster-based social justice trainings. Programming begins on Friday night with community building and spiritual grounding, and continues on Saturday morning thru afternoon with skill-building and issue updates. Regional Justice Trainings typically draw members from 4 to 10 congregations to strengthen our collaborative work for justice in three primary ways:
- Spiritual Grounding. At each training we explore UU values and history that grounds our work for justice as integral to living our our faith. On Friday evening, programming focuses on further developing Unitarian Universalists as grounded in our shared heritage of social justice, with connection and community built on honoring our justice-making ancestors and those of our interfaith partners.
- Skill Building. A typical Regional Justice Training includes a workshop component on a particular skill/set of skills, such as how to identify and develop partnerships with impacted communities, effective and accountable allyship, how to do one-on-ones in justice outreach, public speaking basics and/or social media for social change. The specifics of the workshop components of the weekend’s program is based on input from the justice leaders of the attending congregations.
- Issue Updates and Action Engagement. The third common component to a Regional Justice Training consists of updates on key issues as indicated by statewide and local partners, along with legislative actions and ways to engage. We typically include two-to-four breakout sessions on topics that can include immigrant justice, climate and water justice, economic justice or racial justice.
Most trainings run Friday evening, and Saturday from mid-morning to late afternoon. Friday includes dinner and community building opportunities; Saturday includes lunch and time to collectively discern action opportunities. Dates for trainings are generally between April and June of each year and finalized by the end of February. If your congregation and/or cluster is interested in hosting a Regional Justice Training in 2020, please fill out the contact form below so we can schedule for a day that works for you!