JOIN US FOR THESE IMPORTANT SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES!
Contact Lucy Manning at lucymnnng@gmail.com
1. JOIN IN THE HOLIDAY CARD WRITING SUPPORTING MAID
After the worship service on December 29 we will write cards to Gov. Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senator Tedisco, and Rep. Carrie Woerner.
Want to do them at home? Here are the addresses and simply drop off completed cards to the collection box in the back of the sanctuary. These cards and letters should be short, positive, and to the point, and contain the following messages:
Best Wishes for the New Year and perhaps other holiday greetings- Your wish for the New Year: passage of New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Why it is important to you to help ensure that the bill passes
Addresses:
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
28 Wells Avenue, Building #3
5th Floor
Yonkers, NY 10701
Speaker Carl Heastie
1446 East Gun Hill Road
Bronx, NY 10469
Senator James Tedisco
636 Plank Rd, 2 nd Floor
Clifton Park, NY 12865-2046
Rep. Carre Woerner
112 Spring Street, Suite 205
Saratoga Springs, NY. 12866
2. Help a refugee family arriving soon to our area!
The Saratoga Area Welcome Circle is a grassroots group formed to sponsor a refugee family through Welcome Corps, www.welcomecorp.org, a program that matches private groups with refugees waiting to be resettled in the United States. We have a young Afghan family of 3 assigned to us and they arrive on January 23!
Our goal is to make the family self-sufficient in 3-4 months. You may a make a tax-deductible gift by sending a check to UUCSS and mark that it is for the
Saratoga Area Welcome Circle or volunteer your time in many other ways. They will need a 1- or 2-bedroom apartment, furnishings and supplies, plus
ideas for employment. The father has a degree in electrical engineering and speaks English!
Contact Lucy Manning at lucymnnng@gmail.com if you want to help the Circle!
3. New Yorkers United Against Mass Deportation Rally, Jan 8
Make plans to join us and carpool to this rally!
If your yellow Side With Love UU shirt is large enough, wear it over your coat!
What: New Yorkers United Against Mass Deportation Rally
When: January 8, 2025 at 11AM (Rally/March) + 12PM (Press Conference) t
Where: Capitol Building, Albany, NY, exact location TBD
4. Medical Aid in Dying Rally, Jan 14
Yes, that’s our own Marian Bigelow holding the “THE” sign making a difference! Efforts are beginning now to support the Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) and we will do all that we can to see this happen in 2025!
According to NYUUJ and their recent convocation in Albany, this year really could be it!
- We now have the support from the large New York State Nurses Association for the Medical Aid in Dying Act as well.
- This is not an election year, so representatives will be more willing to address a controversial issue.
LET’S CARPOOL TO THE KICKOFF MARCH AND RALLY ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 14!
This is the 2025 Campaign Kickoff Lobby Day, with advocates coming from around the state. As part of the fun, we will be marching from the Legislative Office Building to The Egg, in conjunction with the Governor’s State of the State presentation. Register with Compassion and Choices.
5. UU Common Read is here again soon!
Last year those who participated in the reading and discussions of On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg found it very enlightening. The 2024-25 UU Common Read is Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families (Skinner House, 2023). There will be a series of 4 sessions sometime in March. Here’s your chance to get a head start on the reading! Purchase the book from the UUA Bookstore or Northshire.
In Our Community:
Youth Squared – Youth Helping Youth presents our book, “Let’s Give Back to our Earth: DOABLE Eco-Friendly Actions for Children & Families” to promote living in a sustainable manner for generations to come.
Our Board has worked hard to share many ideas of environmental advocacy and protection in the areas of land use, upcycling, trees, gardening, recycling, water use, advocacy, transportation, composting, energy use, and how to best survive the winter. The book encourages one to seek out ways to help the environment. Through actions in our homes and in our world, we as a community can contribute to a better future for all living things.
Price: $14.99
Written by Magdalene Maciag, Luna McDermott, and YouthSquared, edited by Jean Fei
Age-level: Elementary student to adult.To arrange to pick up in Saratoga Springs, call or text Luna
518-495-3352 asking for Eco-Friendly Book.