May 14 through June 18th
Join Us For Reproductive Justice: Expanding Our Social Justice Calling Congregational Study/Action Issue
Facilitators: Rev Pat Ray and Sarah Ritzman
As Unitarian Universalists, we are the inheritors of a 50-year history of reproductive rights advocacy of which we should be very proud. We also share a strong commitment to racial and social justice that is fundamental to our theology  and modern identity. At the convergence of these interests, UUs are called to answer the chilling political debate on reproductive rights with calls for reproductive ‘justice’ and respect for the fullness of every person’s reproductive and sexual life. The election of the 2012-2016 Congregational Study/Action Issue, “Reproductive Justice: Expanding our Social Justice Calling,” is a milestone opportunity for Unitarian Universalists to live into this call. This  curriculum was written to help prepare Unitarian Universalists to take on this call to action. If we are to succeed as  reproductive justice advocates in our communities and in the larger world, Unitarian Universalists must be comfortable  with our individual and collective identities, and know ourselves as partners with other organizations in the reproductive justice movement. Thus, this curriculum prioritizes the development of our theological understanding and  conversational capacity rather than the provision of facts. The 2012 election and concurrent ‘war on women’, etc.,  is not as much a political argument over information and misinformation as it is a conflict of values about life, sexuality, and religious freedom. We must be prepared to respond to this conflict as progressive people of faith.

Week 1: Introduction: What is Reproductive Justice?
Week 2: Sacred Sexuality
Week 3: Inherent Worth and Dignity
Week 4: Reverence for Life
Week 5: Right of Conscience
Week 6: Conclusion: Moving Forward

Rooting us in our religious history and theological callings, this six-week curriculum outlines the distinctions between  reproductive “health,” “rights,” and “justice”; opens awareness of reproductive oppressions; offers opportunities to learn about ourselves and each other as sexual and reproductive beings; and equips us to move forward, out into the world, with integrity and vision.