“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”— Angela Davis
“When we identify where our privilege intersects with somebody else's oppression, we'll find our opportunities to make real change.” — Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race
Hello folks!
We have had a nice long break since the last Social Justice Newsletter back in June! So first, let’s take a brief look back at what's been happening before we discuss what’s ahead.
June
Juneteenth
June 8 WUU hosted a table at the NAACP’s Juneteenth celebration in Freedom Park.
Williamsburg PRIDE
June 27 WUU helped Virginia Organizing with the first annual PRIDE festival at the Jamestown Beach Event Park. It was a huge success, with many vendors and participants. Families were really excited about the children’s area, hosted by our own fabulous DRE Robin and her merry band of volunteers. A special shout-out to UUFP’s DRE Joanne, who single-handedly ran the very popular face-painting booth!
Share the Plate Sunday: Summer Meals for Kids
July
July 18 WUU cosponsered the John Lewis Day of Action with the WJCC Indivisibles at the Courthouse. Robin was a featured featured speaker.
Share the Plate Sunday: Heritage Humane Society
August
Virginia Organizing Retreat
August 14-16 Robin and Kate attended the Virginia Organizing annual weekend retreat at Smith Mountain Lake along with our local organizer, Meghan and several other members. It was exciting to hear from the small (but mighty!) groups from across Virginia. Williamsburg’s chapter of VO is always looking for more folks to join. If you are not yet a member, see the link for more information.
LGBTQ+ Potluck
August 17 The Rainbow Ministry and RE teams helped co-organize a Virginia Organizing LGBTQ potluck and discussion. Topics discussed included having a greater presence at local school board meetings.
Summer Meals for Kids: Our wonderful WUU bakers helped bake hundreds of cookies for the Summer Meals for Kids program, which hands out bagged lunches throughout the summer to over 300 local children. A huge thanks for all those who helped with this wonderful program.
Share the Plate Sunday: Habitat for Humanity
September
Solidarity Summit
The big event for WUU this month was the Solidarity Summit. Here is an update, provided by VUUSAN (Virginia UU State Advocacy Network):
Virginia’s first-ever statewide UU social justice conference happened on the weekend of September 26-27.
Thanks to the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists who hosted, and the UU Funding Program and UUA Side With Love who generously funded the event, Virginia’s UU State Action Network brought together at least 81 participants focused on passing Virginia’s 3 constitutional amendments.
To learn more about Virginia statewide UU organizing, and join in future events, please sign up for the VUUSAN mailing list.
It’s not too late to help pass Virginia’s 3 constitutional amendments, which all reflect our beliefs, in a more inclusive democracy, and in the sacred worth of every family and every person. Click through to the partner links below to join the campaigns.
Supporting the constitutional amendments, speakers were Han Jones from Virginians for Reproductive Freedom; Reed Williams from Equality Virginia; and Chris Kaiser, Lawrence Howerton Jr., and Shawn Barksdale on behalf of the ACLU for voting rights restoration. The program also featured workshops on how to bring your social justice efforts to the next level, with Meghan McNamara presenting for Virginia Organizing. We welcomed special guests Nicole Pressley of UUA Side With Love and Pablo DeJesús of UUs for Social Justice (Nation’s Capital). Revs. Eleanor Piez and Jude Geiger served as co-deans.
The energy of UUs and partners coming together from across the state was joyful throughout the two-day program. While most participants attended onsite in Williamsburg, at least 20 joined on Zoom, from all over the state, including a group meeting at Community Church in Glen Allen, Virginia. The following congregations and organizations sent representatives, either in the room or online:
Accotink UU
Bull Run UU
Community Coalition for Common Ground
Coastal Virginia UU (Virginia Beach)
First UU of Richmond
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Loudon UU
Charlottesville UU
Shenandoah Valley UU
UU Community Church (Glen Allen)
UU Fellowship of the Peninsula (Newport News)
Eastern Shore, VA UU
Williamsburg UU
Stay tuned for more Virginia statewide UU organizing with VUUSAN and congregations. You are welcome to contact Rev. Eleanor Piez, Consulting Minister, at eleanorpiez@gmail.com.
Bill Fogarty, Dean Wanderer, John Whitley, Rev. Jude Geiger
Board of Directors – Virginia UU State Action Network – October 2026
Share the Plate Sunday: Grove Outreach Center
October
Oct 11: Migration Film Series
This Sunday was the first screening of a monthly six-part series of documentaries by local film maker Laura Selzer-Duny. The first documentary showed the story of the a group of migrants sailing from Europe in 1940, hoping to seek refuge in the US. Thanks to several lawyers from Newport News, their wish was finally realized. For those who missed this screening, we will show it again at a later date.
Find out more here: https://www.wuu.org/sj-events/migration-film-series
Oct 17: No Kings Day. An amazing pat on the back to all of our WUUers who showed up at the courthouse with the WJCC Indivisibles. It was a very wet and windy day so we are so proud of those of you who braved the elements to help defend democracy!
Share the Plate Sunday: CDR - Child Development Resources
Ongoing Events
Migration Film Series
Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists invites the community to a special Migration Film Series featuring films by award-winning PBS filmmaker Laura Seltzer-Duny. The series explores migration, displacement, resilience, freedom, and the courage of individuals and families navigating pivotal moments in American history. Films will be shown on select Sundays at 3 pm through April 2027 at Williamsburg UU (3051 Ironbound Road in Williamsburg).
“Today American stories risk being erased, rewritten, or forgotten, we believe it’s essential to keep these stories alive,” Kate McGaw, Williamsburg UU Social Justice Chair, explains. “Laura’s films examine what happens when families are forced to leave home, fight for freedom, defend their way of life, or seek a better future.”
WUU’s goal for the series is to raise awareness and funds to help complete Seltzer-Duny’s current PBS film in production, THE GATE: The Story of America’s First Contraband Community. This descendant-led documentary follows two Virginia families as they trace their ancestors who self-emancipated during the Civil War and established the nation’s first Contraband community at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.
Crock Pot Ministry
Help provide nourishing meals to folks living long-term in local motels and hotels.
When folks in hotels sign up for the program, they receive a slow-cooker and a kitchen kit that includes a can opener, cooking utensils, measuring spoons, a paring knife, a cutting board, etc. This allows them to prepare healthy and filling meals for their families.
How WUU members can help
Sign up to provide ingredients for meals that can be made in the hotel rooms and drop them off in a bag at the hotels. Every other Thursday, two meal bags are delivered to each room. (You only need to sign up for one of the slots, but you can do more than one room.)
Read more here.
FISH Canned & Dry Goods Collection
Look for the red wagon down the hall at WUU. Please remember FISH will not accept expired items. Check out the FISH website for a list of current needs.
PLUS
We will shortly begin our annual holiday collection of new socks, underwear, and t-shirts for FISH. ALL SIZES appreciated. Please put your donations in the wrapped box in front of the Sanctuary doors starting Sunday, November 15. The collection will end on Sunday, December 20.
Community Partners
Williamsburg Indivisibles: https://indivisible.org/get-involved/find-a-group/?keywords=23188
Virginia Organizing: https://virginia-organizing.org
YJCW NAACP: https://www.yjcwnaacp.org
Monthly YJCW NAACP meetings on the 2nd Monday of each month at rotating locations. Meetings start promptly at 6.30 pm. December, January, and February meetings will be at WUU.