Recording: Preparing for Pride - a webinar for religious professionals
As UU congregations are increasingly being targeted by right wing hate, we anticipate an uptick in attention and disruptive tactics heading into Pride month. In this informal space for religious professionals, we will share some observations about patterns we're seeing on the national scale, point toward some existing resources for support, identify gaps, and make connections to fight back against overwhelm, fear, and isolation.
This was an informal gathering of religious professionals of many stripes from across the US, and we spent time sharing observations about the national context and emerging patterns among our congregations, offering some resources for congregations as you make plans for security and crisis response, and engaging one another’s experiences, wisdom, and questions to both foster connection and shape future resource and training creation at the UUA. We were grateful for all those who gathered in real time and are happy to share the video and collected links and resources offered yesterday.
UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE:
Fact Sheet: Anti-LGBT+ Mobilization on the Rise in the United States
Far right protests targeting the LGBTQ community show a troubling correlation with violent attacks
SECURITY AND PLANNING RESOURCES
NOTE: Many of these resources recommend or mention involving police or other law enforcement as a part of security responses. Rooted in our UU values and an ethic of aspiring abolitionism that yearns for a world in which policing and systems of punishment are not central to our society, we highly recommend ongoing conversations and praxis to help our UU communities understand safety differently and to move away from depending on law enforcement as our only form of crisis response. And, we recognize that in certain cases – sometimes at the urging of our partners – we do not currently have access to alternative infrastructure and viable safety structures, and therefore must work with police and other law enforcement. We urge UU communities and congregations to think critically and in advance about whether and when to engage with law enforcement, and to take into consideration the ways in which police often make people from targeted communities – especially trans and queer people – inherently more unsafe by their very presence.
Protecting Pride, An organizing guide for safely and successfully celebrating LGBTQIA2S+ joy in these times
“Risk, Courage and Discernment: Spiritual Preparation”, an exercise by Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen
Facilitation Guide for Congregational Conversations about Risk Discernment. From Side With Love. A guide for engaging congregations/congregations in their discernment of risk when planning action(s).
Community Power & Resource Mapping: A Guide for Congregations. From Side With Love. A resource guide and assessment tool for supporting congregations in their identifying partnerships when planning actions.
Southern Poverty Law Center & Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab: Two resources, one for Parents/Caregivers and the other for communities, which lay a foundation for understanding the nature of extremism, dynamics of radicalization, and steps you can take to prevent them from taking root in your community.
ASIS International - Security Resources for Houses of Worship
DEESCALATION & SECURITY TRAININGS: