Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness

Updated announcement:
2023 Denny & Jerry Davidoff Semon Award:

Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness (UUJA) is seeking entries for the seventh Denny & Jerry Davidoff Sermon Award. One prize of $500 will be awarded for a sermon preached in January 2020- April 2023.



Entrants can be UU ministerial aspirants, candidates and ordained ministers, other UU religious professionals (Religious Education Professionals, Music Directors, etc) and lay members of congregations.



Inspired by recent events in the US, this year's UUJA annual sermon award theme is:



The Oldest Hate

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that in 2021 incidents of Anti-Semitic violence, harassment, and vandalism was at an all-time high, with 2,717 incidents reported. This is an average increase of seven incidents per day and a 34 percent increase of incidents year over year since the ADL began tracking these incidents in 1979. What can UUism do as a movement to address this issue within and outside of our association?



The award is named in honor of the late Denny & Jerry Davidoff, early members of this group, who were instrumental in helping lift up the often overlooked Jewish presence in our religious movement. UUJA offers resources to those interested in Jewish issues, celebrations and heritage, either personally or on behalf of congregations.



Sermons will need to have been delivered between January 2020- April 2023



Entries should be submitted via e-mail in Word or RTF document formats.



Please send all submissions to UUJA President Arthur Thexton at athexton@hotmail.com.



The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2023



Winner will be announced concurrent with the 2023 UU General Assembly, Honorable Mentions will be awarded as appropriate at that time.

Dear UUJA'ers:

The current expression of our Purposes, Principles, and Sources is about to change. We want to be sure you are aware of this, and that there are opportunities to give feedback right now.

A commission appointed by the UUA to review Article 2 of our bylaws, which includes our Principles, Purposes,and Sources, has proposed a wholesale revision of the statement of what we stand for, and our inspirations. That new draft language is available for you to read.

The goal of the commission is a renewed expression of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist today. You will want to review the new statement to see what you notice and appreciate, or you notice and may have alternatives to suggest.

Here are a couple of examples of changes.

In the principles or values section:
Many congregations have adopted the 8th principle and this new draft includes language about our commitments to dismantling racism and other oppressions and building the beloved community.

In the sources or inspirations section:
Rather than describing six sources of our religious tradition and faith, the proposal states we get inspiration from "the full depth and breadth of sacred understandings, as experienced by humanity."

So, please take the time to review and reflect on the changes, to participate in the process, and to give feedback.

The Commission will be listening to feedback as they draft the next version to be sent on to the UUA Board, and ultimately the General Assembly in June.

Here is the draft proposed language of our Principles and Covenant, Article 2:
https://www.uua.org/files/2022-10/article2_draft_language_102022.pdf

Here is the current language of our Principles and Purposes, Article 2:
https://www.uua.org/files/documents/coa/articleii/articleii_present.pdf

Below you will see links to participate in Zoom feedback sessions this weekend and on Monday, as well as a Google Form for feedback with a deadline of November 28th.

We think it's important for us all to participate.

Your UUJA Board

With this draft completed, two more feedback sessions are being held in November. You'll need to register to attend a session. When you do, you'll receive the draft via email. We look forward to hearing from you as we help chart the future of our faith together.

Zoom Feedback Session Dates:

Sunday, 11/13 at 2 pm Eastern https://unitarianuniversalistassociation.cmail20.com/t/t-l-ahhkttk-fxukhus-e/
Monday, 11/14 at 9 pm Eastern https://unitarianuniversalistassociation.cmail20.com/t/t-l-ahhkttk-fxukhus-s/
You can also submit your feedback on the draft via this online Google form https://unitarianuniversalistassociation.cmail20.com/t/t-l-ahhkttk-fxukhus-g/ by November 28. After this new round of feedback the commission will put together its proposal in early 2023 to send to the board. The proposal will be considered in mini-assemblies before the vote at General Assembly 2023.