Rev. Bryan will speak about civic duty, and our friend Karen Wills will present information on the “UU the Vote” program. 
About her talk:
Pluralism versus Polarization: As we re-ground and commit to live into the shared values of our UU “community of communities,” it’s a joyful, powerful time to consider why and how our activism as congregations matters, and differs from our activism as individuals, or with other groups. 
Dr. Karen Wills, Democracy Strategist for MUUSJA (the MN Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance) joins Rev Dr Bryan Demeritte for the service and coffee-hour conversation about UU the Vote options and actions in Minnesota. 
 About Karen:
After stepping down last year as Executive Director of the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance, MUUSJA [pronounced “moose-jaw”], Karen currently donates her time as MUUSJA’s tech specialist and Democracy Strategist, facilitating “UU the Vote” with our 25 Minnesota congregations. 
She has worked in conventional ways, as a lifelong UU, activist and advocate — published Op-Ed letters, testified at hearings, managed state political campaigns, led rallies in the Capitol rotunda, and so forth — but one of her fondest memories is cooking porridge and brewing coffee on a camp stove in the north woods for the group of water protectors walking 250 miles from Itasca to Saint Paul, to protest construction of the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline. The lesson of the Treaty People Gathering was the lesson of every movement where people “pray with their feet” as well as with hearts and minds: We are connected, with one another, with all the creatures, with the Earth and water. We do not always win, but we persist.  We act with integrity and move at the speed of trust. We make friends and keep each other safe. We show up. And show up. And show up. 

Topics: Civics