JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Join Interfaith Power & Light to view Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek, an award winning film about the unjust impact of climate change on an historic black community, and attend an IPL webinar to learn ways we can practice being allies in the fight for safe and healthy black communities.

Click here to watch a preview and purchase a ticket for the film and webinar.

Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek follows the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Derrick and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians and face ordeals that include Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice.

Watch a preview and purchase your ticket to view this critically acclaimed film online August 2 through August 4 and attend the webinar.

The webinar will be at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern on August 5 with filmmaker Leah Mahan and Derrick Evans.

Moderated by Susan Stephenson, the conversation will center around the disproportionate impacts of climate change on black and brown communities. We’ll also hear updates on the fight to achieve environmental justice for Turkey Creek and learn measures we can all take through policy and direct action to create more just systems and healthier communities.

$20 for an individual ticket. You will receive the link to view the film and the password, plus access to the webinar.

$50 for a congregational screening ticket. You will receive a link for up to 150 members of your congregation to view the film for free and attend the webinar.

Click here to purchase. Funds will go to support climate justice for Turkey Creek and to reimburse the small independent film team.

May justice and mercy prevail,

Sarah Paulos

Community Engagement and Program Manager

Interfaith Power & Light

A pipeline to nowhere? TC Energy’s bid to keep B.C. project alive frustrates residents in its path

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But despite the fact the LNG terminal has been nixed, TC Energy isn’t giving up on its plan to build the pipeline. No other LNG terminals have been publicly proposed for the Prince Rupert area, but the company appears to be holding out hope that someone pitches one —and gets it built.

. . .

“Continuing to force communities, First Nations and stakeholders to spend their time and energy responding to ill-advised project extensions like this one is an exercise in futility and a waste of taxpayer and investment dollars,” he wrote in a letter to TC Energy. “You guys are like zombies, you keep trying to rise from the dead.”

Read more here.

Administration Ignores DACA Ruling

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On July 28th, the Trump Administration announced that it would not accept new applications for the DACA program despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month that rejected the Administration’s last attempt to terminate the program. While we are not surprised by the Administration’s cruel decision, we are heartbroken that it dashes the hopes of hundreds of thousands of young people around the country who aspired to join the program. The announcement also creates new hardship and uncertainty for current DACA recipients by limiting any new renewals for the program to one year rather than the two-year extensions that have been in place for much of the program’s existence.

NW Immigrant Rights Project anticipates that yesterday’s announcement will bring new legal challenges but, in the meantime, we have updated our DACA community advisory (click here for our Spanish advisory) to answer some of the questions we have already been receiving in light of the Administration’s announcement. And we will continue to provide assistance to current DACA recipients who need help in completing their renewal applications. If you or someone you know would like to schedule a spot in an upcoming DACA renewal clinic, please contact us by calling our DREAM line at 1-855-313-7326.

Calling Congregations: Survey to Explore COVID’s Influence on Giving

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Faith communities are invited to participate in a survey on giving

Lake Institute Survey on COVID-19 Financial Impact

Building upon what they learned through their 2019 National Study of Congregations’ Economic Practices (NSCEP), our partners at the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving are now seeking to better understand the unique ways that the COVID-19 crisis is impacting congregations financially.

They are currently inviting the participation of congregational leaders in a survey that will take about 15 minutes to complete. If you represent a congregation, you may participate directly. If you represent an organization or denomination, they invite you to forward the survey to your colleagues and networks. Your participation is valuable to other congregations that are seeking to address many of the same pressing financial questions.

https://iu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2fAds2RN0IcaoW9