Allegheny UU - Advocacy

Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church is committed to just living and to meaningful, effective work for a just church, a just neighborhood, and a just world. Enriched by the "Inspired Faith/Effective Action" workshop we brought to Pittsburgh in 2008, the church is involved in numerous projects in the neighborhood, city, region, nation, and the world. Whether for women's suffrage or marriage equality, our church commits to justice. In the 1950s we were holding forums with Jewish and African Americans who testified to their experiences as victims of injustice, while at the same time we suffered under McCarthy's witch-hunts. In the 1960s, we were pivotal in the creation of the Central North Side Neighborhood Council (CNNC) as a way of giving neighbors a powerful voice to make sure local service providers were providing appropriate, dignified service to our blighted neighborhood. In the 1980s we were the first church to open our doors to people living and dying with AIDS, including offering the sanctuary as a place to hold services when even funeral homes were refusing victims of the disease. In the 1990s we advocated (successfully) for a local needle exchange program and worked (unsuccessfully) for living wage legislation. We have held peace vigils for probably every war since Korea. We were instrumental in establishing the North Side Common Ministries and the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, ensuring a foundation that was truly inter-faith and inclusive.

		Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church CELEBRATE LIFE. NOURISH THE SPIRIT. COMMIT TO JUSTICE. We are a welcoming, urban congregation that puts Unitarian Universalism into action by celebrating life, nourishing the spirit, and inspiring a commitment to justice
	Home Introduction to Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church Religious Education Programs Meet Our Minister Meet Our Director of Worship Music Church Calendar Maps and Directions Ohio Meadville District Unitarian Universalism Pittsburgh Links Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church 1110 Resaca Place Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: 412-322-4261 Who to Contact for more information Read "Reflections on Social Justice from Rev. Dave."
		Social Justice Council Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church is committed to just living and to meaningful, effective work for a just church, a just neighborhood, and a just world. Enriched by the "Inspired Faith/Effective Action" workshop we brought to Pittsburgh in 2008, the church is involved in numerous projects in the neighborhood, city, region, nation, and the world. Whether for women's suffrage or marriage equality, our church commits to justice. In the 1950s we were holding forums with Jewish and African Americans who testified to their experiences as victims of injustice, while at the same time we suffered under McCarthy's witch-hunts. In the 1960s, we were pivotal in the creation of the Central North Side Neighborhood Council (CNNC) as a way of giving neighbors a powerful voice to make sure local service providers were providing appropriate, dignified service to our blighted neighborhood. In the 1980s we were the first church to open our doors to people living and dying with AIDS, including offering the sanctuary as a place to hold services when even funeral homes were refusing victims of the disease. In the 1990s we advocated (successfully) for a local needle exchange program and worked (unsuccessfully) for living wage legislation. We have held peace vigils for probably every war since Korea. We were instrumental in establishing the North Side Common Ministries and the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, ensuring a foundation that was truly inter-faith and inclusive. The congregation continues this legacy of spiritually-grounded pursuit of justice. So far in this century, that has included: becoming a Welcoming Congregation; establishing a respectful working relationship with one of the few remaining recreation centers in Pittsburgh, Jefferson Recreation Center; hosting multi-racial anti-oppression workshops with participants from throughout the neighborhood and the district; receiving recognition from the district and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) for our commitment to justice; engaging in direct action and advocacy for environmental justice; and working to reduce violence and the sources of violence among the marginalized in our community. We hope you will join us in this deep commitment to justice, equity, and compassionate service to the neighborhood and the planet. Work for justice is directed by the church's Social Justice Council. *These are some of the ways we walk the talk. Walk with us!* *Operation Save-a-Life* Every Tuesday from 5:45PM, volunteers gather in Founders' Hall to make meal bags for the homeless population in Pittsburgh. Community Empowerment As a historically Euro-American institution, we are conscious of our responsibilities for the historically marginalized. We celebrate Black Heritage Month, welcome African-American community leaders to the pulpit throughout the year, participate in the North Side Old Timers, hold anti-oppression workshops, and host musical performances and other artistic events that empower women and people of color. In addition to our work with neighbors who are poor or homeless, we staff programs at Jeff Rec, the neighborhood recreation center, and support anti-violence work through, among other projects, One Vision One Life and the North Side Peace Network (NSPN). (See coverage of the NSPN "Peace Gathering 2012" from the New Pittsburgh Courier here.) North Side Common Ministry In the autumn and summer, we collect food for the NCM Food Pantry, the largest pantry in the city. You can read about our Fall 2010 campaign in the Post-Gazette, Youth group delivers donations to North Side food pantry. Church members and friends also prepare meals at the mens shelter there once a month. Civil Rights for All We embrace bisexual, gay, intersex, lesbian, transgender, and questioning people and in 2007 became certified by the UUA as a Welcoming Congregation to declare that we are a congregation welcoming for all! Read more... And the second Sunday in June is the one day in the year that church starts an hour early so that we make sure to catch our bus in time for "Pride Fest." As the first congregation in Pittsburgh to bring an openly ordained gay man as called minister (with 100% vote of the congregation!), we continue to put our faith into action taking our affirmation of the lives and rights of BGILQT people to the streets! Join us this June--and come even earlier than our 9:30AM worship time and we may have a bagel for ya. (Photo credit: ginnerobot) Neighborhood Our building is often used by a variety of neighborhood groups to provide a public forum. Call the church office at 412-322-4261 for schedule availability. Also, the church is an institutional member of Central North Side Neighborhood Council and supports its mission that includes sustaining a diverse North Side and advocating for our neighbors' needs. Care for the Earth We are committed to creating a Green Sanctuary, a designation given to UU congregations that work to restore the Earth and renew the Spirit. We have supported recycling at Steelers games. We purchase our electricity from renewable sources. And you can do the same and support the church by following this link! We joined with Sierra Club to bring attention to the issues to Sen. Specter's at a Town Hall Meeting in Kittanning. And in 2001 the congregation received the Energy Hall of Fame award from Penn Future. And for our UU sacrament of coffee, we serve fair-trade, triple-certified organic coffee during Fellowship Hour and at other church events. Advocacy Our congregation is one of the founding members of Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN). We work together with other PIIN organizations to advocate for just and equitable policies for the nation, the commonwealth, the region, and the city. And we are a supporting congregation for the denominational organization, the UU Service Committee that advocates for justice throughout the world. PIIN Public Meeting Autumn 2011 John Heller/Post-Gazette Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11308/1187390-53.stm#ixzz1ckQgfkmo Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (*& Your* *Values Are)* We made a $2500 investment several years ago to a credit fund in Oikocredit, a Washington, DC, that continues to be reinvested to support micro-finance throughout the developing world. At our Fellowship Hour that follows every worship service, we serve only fair-trade, triple-certified organic coffee. We support and promote alternative gift-giving both locally through North Side Common Ministries alternative gift program and internationally both through a holiday booth with a variety of hand-crafted textiles from Fundación Chol-Chol (www.cholchol.org) with 95% of the profits going back to the weavers in Chile, and through the UU Service Committee's "Choose Compassionate Consumption" program. And as of 2010, we share every Sunday worship cash offering with our Share-the-Plate Justice Partner chosen every quarter by the Social Justice Council. Justice An'At Even with all that, the Social Justice Council is always open to new efforts wherever the spirit of justice inspires you! Feel free to contact them through the church office. Other activities and programs we participate in and promote include: Election Protection, Get-Out-the-Vote, North Side Old Timers, Pittsburgh United, and Young Men & Women's African Heritage Association. Here are links to other social justice activities and activist organizations that we have a relationship with or support... Pittsburgh B-PEP (Black Political Empowerment Project) CAUSE (Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies & the Economy) CEA (Community Empowerment Association) Just Harvest North Side Coalition for Fair Housing Occupy Pittsburgh Peaceburgh - Love In Action Penn Future The Pittsburgh Project Rachel Carson Institute Thomas Merton Center National and International Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Unitarian Universalist Service Committee Unitarian Universalist Multiculturalism Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community Unitarian Universalist Allies for Racial Equity Standing on the Side of Love Sojourners (Justice-focused Progressive Evangelical Christians*) Network of Spiritual Progressives Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity Habitat for Humanity Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
		* If this is the first place you've heard those terms used together, you're welcome.
		Our Vision: "We will strive toward focusing on what we have in common, while appreciating the different ways to fulfill our mission. We will honor our history and principles while daring to affect responsible change. We will become more inclusive and accessible. We will care for each other and the earth. We will embrace the synergy between nourishing the spirit and performing our justice work as an urban congregation." We hope you'll join us in realizing our vision together! This website is maintained by webmaster <at> alleghenyuu <dot> org. Last modified May 2012.

We hope you will join us in this deep commitment to justice, equity, and compassionate service to the neighborhood and the planet.

Work for justice is directed by the church's Social Justice Council.