On This Earth Day, May We—and Our Movement—Flourish Again

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On This Earth Day, May We-and Our Movement-Flourish Again

By Mike Givens on April 19, 2024

The original Earth Day in 1970 was envisioned as a series of on-campus teach-ins that immediately captured national interest, culminating in the participation of 20 million Americans-nearly 10% of the US population at that time.

In 1990, Sam Love, one of the organizing staffers for the original teach-ins, reflected: "What has surprised me, is the staying power of the environmental movement. A lot of people were saying this was a flash in the pan. History has proven them wrong."

The environmental movement-in all the ways it has been articulated over the years-has been at the forefront of UU justice ministry. Our faith has striven to address the various facets of climate change with tactics at the local level through our participation in the global international movements and covenings.

This year, Unitarian Universalists across the country will echo the fiery passion felt on the first Earth Day with our nationwide, local-but-connected celebration, Reimagine Together: From an Extractive Age to a New Era. This multigenerational celebration-a UU climate justice revival - is a powerful response to the moral call for climate justice.

The Revival is an opportunity for UU congregations to engage in dialogue, worship, and actions locally, and in solidarity and partnership with all participating UU congregations. It's an ambitious plan to connect us to each other in our genuine desire for a world where all communities thrive.

Who's Involved?
Institutional Sponsors include:
Unitarian Universalist Association
Side With Love
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUs for Social Justice
UU the Vote
UU Ministry for Earth
UU College of Social Justice

We've never before attempted such a wide-spread action, but necessity has inspired us to increase our engagement to achieve climate justice. This Revival consolidates and mobilizes us as part of the national movement working to meet critical climate goals.

Join the UU Climate Justice Revival, "Reimagine Together: From an Extractive Age to a New Era on September 28-29, 2024 at your congregation. Inspired by those teach-ins from the very first Earth Day and grounded in our liberatory theology, the revival planning team is creating facilitation toolkits, training, music, projects, coordinated justice action, and more. UUs are coming together to inspire, reawaken, and transform our churches through climate justice. All materials will support congregations to:

• nourish relationships;
• make connections;
• build capacity;
• vision the future; and
• and chart a course together!

Together, we can move past systems and cultures of extraction to usher in a new era with love and justice at the center of our climate actions. This revival is just another thread interweaving our powerful legacy of joyful resistance and flourishing community organizing, building a beautiful tapestry of advocacy, activism, partnership, and resilience.

Sign your congregation up to participate!

Questions? Review our FAQ or sign up to attend one of our information and listening sessions this May!

This Earth Day, we hope your congregation will join us in honoring the flourishing climate justice movement so strongly held by our denomination, celebrating the many wins over the last 60 years and calling us into collective collaboration for many more years to come!

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