During the month of November, we will be sharing our weekly offering with a wonderful human rights organization: the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, or UUSC.
UUSC works in the US and internationally, supporting grassroots movements on behalf of people who are confronting unjust power structures and challenging oppressive policies. UUSC’s focus, as a smaller human rights organization, is on the needs of people who have been overlooked by larger aid agencies.

During WW2, both Unitarians and Universalists helped people escape Nazi persecution in Europe. Later the 2 U’s joined together to form the UU Service Committee. Since then, UUSC has developed a model of “partnering” with organizations in places of crisis, conflict, and oppression. Partnering means being an ally, supporting community leaders, lifting up local initiatives, and centering the voices of the people most affected by injustice.

UUSC often enters a community by providing relief after a natural disaster (Haiti) or a human made crisis (Royhinga in Myanmar). The issues of immigrants or aspiring immigrants in their own countries in Central America, at the TX/Mexico border, and in or just out of detention in the US have been a focus. Water access for impoverished populations in California and Mexico have been a focus of UUSC’s work, helping to defend the right to safe, affordable water for all in court.
UUSC’s work puts our UU principles into action. We can be proud of the voice and helping hands of our faith doing this highly intersectional justice work, addressing issues of climate justice, ethnic and racial prejudice, poverty, violence, and gender based violence. UUSC has a wonderfully informative website about its many programs, including articles, photos, worship resources, educational material for kids, and videos of religious and human rights professionals talking about UUSC’s history and present work.

Take a look, and thanks for your attention!