Social Environmental Justice Council

The Social Environmental Justice Council serves as an umbrella organization for all UUCWI Outreach Groups, including justice-related action or working groups yet to emerge, for the purpose of coordinating, as needed, all UUCWI efforts in social & environmental justice

We covenant to affirm and promote:

  • The inherent worth and dignity of all life.
  • Justice, equity, and compassion in all relations.
  • Respect and care for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

Our commitment is to:

  • Foster the worth and dignity of all life by promoting social, environmental, and economic justice, recognizing the interconnectedness of all forms of justice;
  • Grow the climate justice movement, recognizing that nothing currently threatens social justice more than Anthropogenic climate change driven by carbon pollution and degradation of the biosphere;
  • Promote the direct involvement of UUCWI to service, advocacy, and/or community organizing to create social/ environmental justice where we can;
  • Encourage connections among UUCWI members, citizens of Whidbey Island, Island County, the Pacific Northwest as well as national and global partners for the purpose of advancing social/ environmental justice;
  • Support a generosity of spirit and action in all aspects of our UUCWI community;
  • Honor all life as sacred and interrelated.
  • Respond to emergency or crisis needs as they occur.

We are UUCWI members and friends working within our congregation and partnering with other organizations — state, regional and local — to meet these commitments. We believe that social and environmental justice is about heart and mind, listening and advocacy, compassionate learning and individual and collective action.

Our active internal social & environmental justice groups at the present time are:

We collaborate with the following groups:

  • Greening Congregations Coalition of Whidbey Island
  • Lummi Nation
  • The Indigenous Environmental Network
  • The Whidbey Institute
  • The Whidbey Environmental Action Network

For us this is sacred work. We invite you to join us. Attend one of our educational/advocacy programs or other events. Let us know of your interest while there, or contact the UUCWI Administrator at admin@uucwi.org or call 360-321-8656 for more information.

“In these times, those who work for equality, justice, peace, and sustainability seem to face a daunting task. However, a great history of social movements began with visions when change seemed equally impossible. … Anchor [your] collective visioning in the possibilities that exist in [your] own local communities. Current realities we know exist can provide the spark of inspiration for imagining more widespread shifts on the societal level.” –Spirit in Action: Facilitating Circles of Change Curriculum Guide 2005, Spirit in Action, Inc.

“Justice is what love looks like in public.” Dr Cornell West