Friday, October 23, 1–3 p.m. in the Knatvold room

UUC’s chapter of UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) has endorsed a letter of support for Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi . In publicly taking this position, we join the national UUJME organization, the ACLU, and UU congregations and individuals across the country in advocating for immigrant justice, free speech, and the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We encourage members of our beloved community to join us in signing the letter of support . Mohsen moved from Palestine to the United States in 2014, and attended Columbia University, where he co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition, and the Palestinian Student Union. Like many students who have participated in actions for Palestinian solidarity, Mohsen has been targeted by the U.S. government for his work, under the guise of upholding immigration law. While attending what he thought to be a routine interview as part of the process to obtain U.S. citizenship, Mohsen was arrested and detained for over two weeks in a Vermont prison. He was later released on bail. In February 2026, a federal immigration judge dismissed the government’s attempt to deport Mohsen, but that ruling was overturned by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals at the request of the Trump administration. In May 2026, another judge ordered that Mohsen be deported. Currently, Mohsen remains under imminent threat of deportation. The following is from the letter of support: “Unitarian Universalists are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of siding with love, justice, and peace and believe in the inherent dignity of all people. When speaking about Mohsen, Rev. Karen G. Johnston, the Senior Minister at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington said ‘Mohsen has been a Unitarian Universalist nearly as long as he has been a Vermonter; he is often heard naming both as part of his wide family whom he embraces and who embraces him. As UUs, we are enriched by Mohsen's spiritual depth, his moral courage, and his authentic commitment to Love at the Center and the possibility of universal healing through justice.’ As Nate Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project said, ‘Mohsen should never have been detained for his speech, and a federal judge has already agreed. The government’s continued persecution of our client for his beliefs should send a chill down the spine of everyone in this country, because once we start allowing exceptions to the First Amendment for speech the current government doesn’t like, there’s no telling where the censorship will stop.’ As Unitarian Universalists, our foundational commitments rest upon values of pluralism, justice, inquiry and debate, and democratic freedom of expression for all people. It is these commitments that compel us to sign this letter of support and rally behind Mohsen Mahdawi in his defense against the administration’s attempts to use his case as a means to directly silence him and to set alarming precedents in our legal system.” The members of UUC's UUJME group believe that adding our support to this letter is a way of living out our congregation’s vision statement, “We will vocally and actively oppose injustice and stand in prophetic judgment of all that would diminish the equality and dignity of human beings or harm the web of life.” It is also a direct exercise of the following UU values: -Justice -Equity -Interdependence -Pluralism -Generosity -Love Our signing supports UUJME’s mission to educate and mobilize individuals and congregations to recognize and counter inequality and injustice in Palestine and to support our allies in the global justice and anti-oppression movements. For questions or concerns, please contact Emily Joseph , co-chair of UUC's UUJME group. 

From UUC's Acting for Racial Justice Team: On October 10, Jacob Johns, Hopi and Akimel O-odham, and a fellow Unitarian Universalist, came from Spokane to share his story of art, courage, and activism. He shared a story of finding his spiritual heart of flaming love and courage. He told us of his journey from time in a maximum security prison where he taught himself to draw and paint portraits as a way to cope with hours of solitary time and begin to heal his soul. As Jacob continued to develop his art practice and move into climate activism after his release from prison, he would become a tender of hearts, as he connected with other Indigenous spiritual leaders and Elders to bring their prayers and wisdom to United Nations climate talks. He described being at a protest in Arizona, before the 2023 UN climate conference, where he was shot by a counter-protester and nearly died. As he recovered, he continued to raise funds for the Indigenous Wisdom Keepers delegation and attended the climate talks months later. Jacob is a great example of courage in living our UU values to the fullest. His commitment to still show up after being shot and using the funds he received from the lawsuit against his shooter for the work to continue demonstrates a level of courage and living our commitment of centering love and the interdependent web of life that goes well beyond what many of us aspire to. Jacob shared deeply from his wounded heart, ablaze with love and courage. A wounded heart’s love, “responsive to the suffering of the world” (1) and courage that Rev. Victoria reminded us of — “ a communal practice, built and rebuilt through shared memory and mutual accountability” (2) — a courage that abides. Links Wisdom Keepers at the Conference of the Parties UN climate talks Earthrise Collective, Pooven Jacob Johns art Rev. Jacob Kalendae in their September 27, 2026 sermon Rev. Victoria Poling in her October 18, 2026 sermon

Sunday, November 8, 8:30 a.m. online (link provided upon RSVP )

Thanks so much to everyone who have participated in our UU the Vote Team’s democracy work in the last few months! Let’s celebrate what we've done so far this season: We completed and sent 4,000 Reclaim Our Vote postcards to voters in the key states of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas as part of the voter engagement/get out the vote work for the midterm elections. We partnered with League of Women Voters (LWV) , learning about their voter engagement work, being inspired to visit the King County Election Office, and hosting LWV here at UUC to provide voter registration and notification services information for our congregation. Some of us joined the League and are involved in their ongoing work to protect our democracy. We hosted Common Power to learn about their national voter engagement work, and many UUC members and friends have supported their work financially or by participating in doorbelling select voters with them to various states including Alaska, Iowa, and more. We organized, in partnership with UUC's Acting for Racial Justice Team, meeting up to participate in the October 17 No Kings “Vote Early” march and voter information fair downtown. We had a turnout of more than 15 UUC folks. On October 18 we also jointly hosted a Ballot Party in which 12 people participated and then marched across the John Lewis Memorial Bridge with our Side with Love signs to deliver our ballots to the dropbox at North Seattle College, where the election workers were preparing to pick up the ballots deposited that day. One of the workers took our group photo! (See below) More opportunities to participate: Reclaim Our Vote - Check out their website for more information and to sign up for their textbanking and phonebanking efforts if you are interested: https://www.centerforcommonground.org/reclaim-our-vote Common Power - https://commonpower.org/volunteer League of Women Voters - https://lwvwa.org/ We so appreciate your support! We will continue to work with the national UUA UU the Vote team and with our local partners to support democracy in these challenges times. Stay tuned. UUC's UU the Vote Co-Chairs Betty and Meta Betty Williams - Betty.Susan.Williams@gmail.com Meta Thayer - metathayer@gmail.com (Click below to see full image)