Future Vote on Joining the CT UU Social Justice Ministry

For the past several years, social justice leaders in a number of UU congregations have been meeting to create a UU social justice network in Connecticut. Such networks exist in a number of states and have received organizational and material support from the UUA. The coalition of these state-level organizations is CUUSAN, Coalition of UU Social Action Networks. (At the time of writing their website is down)

The Rev. Sierra-Marie Gerfao, who is one of the people spearheading the initiative, held information sessions on the proposed UU Social Justice Ministry in 2025, announced in our eblast and attended by a number of UUSE members and friends.

The group has gotten a grant from the UUA. It is currently incorporating as a non-profit and forming a board. Sierra-Marie Gerfao has been hired as the executive director, at 5 hours per week for year one. The first goal of the CT UU Social Justice Ministry is to build relationships with partner organizations and build relationships among UU congregations in CT. It will likely focus on issues not addressed by existing faith-based coalitions in CT (e.g. trans rights; reproductive rights). Besides the Board (which will be small in size), the CT UU Social Justice Ministry will have a congregational liaisons group and an annual conference to develop relationships among congregations. The first conference is planned for Fall 2026. The CT UU Social Justice Ministry is already active, participating in both local actions, for example with Equality CT, and national actions in partnership with Side With Love campaigns. If you would like to be among the first to know about CT UU Social Justice Ministry activities, reach out to uuseoffice@uuse.org. They will also be shared by the SJ/AO Committee through its Basecamp list.

The time has now come for UU congregations in CT to consider formally joining this network. The SJ/AO Committee, which met with Sierra-Marie during its December meeting, believes this is an important effort that our congregation should commit to. We have a long history of activism and have strong partnerships in the state. It is an opportunity to work on issues that other faith-based coalitions like GHIAA may be unwilling to take on. It is also an opportunity to build a coalition that has the capacity to support smaller UU congregations in their social justice work. Joining this coalition requires a vote by the congregation. This vote will be held at our May congregational meeting. The SJ/AO Committee will hold information sessions prior to the vote.

As would be expected, joining this coalition entails a financial commitment. The funding model for the CT UU Social Justice Ministry is based on the experience of other statewide networks. (The organizing committee was given extensive advice by the North Carolina coalition.) The likely funding structure is: (1) individual donors—largest source; (2) project-based grants; and (3) congregational contributions. Expected congregational contributions would be 1/4 to 1/2 of 1% of the congregation's annual budget. The UUA grant for year 1 is about $20,000. The group hopes to get another UUA grant for year 2.

One possible way for UUSE to raise the ¼ of 1% of the congregation’s annual budget (about $1385 in the case of 2025/26 budget) would be to dedicate fifth Sunday plate collections to the coalition. This idea has been received favorably by the Policy Board and the members of the outreach committee that decides on the beneficiaries of the plate collection.

The SJ/AO Committee welcomes any thoughts or questions you may have. Reach out to the Committee co-chairs, Monica van Beusekom and Sid Soderholm.

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