Once again it was time for members and friends of the Elora and Fergus Unitarian Universalist Church to dedicate a recent Sunday Service to putting principles into action and take part in the annual letter writing campaign of Amnesty International, this time called Write for Rights.
At least four of the seven Unitarian Universalist (UU) principles are very much applicable to doing that:
– the inherent worth and dignity of every person;
– justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
– the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; and
– the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
The members believe letter writing to any government or company protesting their injustice to people and also writing letters to give hope to those people being treated unjustly can be very powerful.
It also can be a spiritual and moving experience to have a letter be part of the 600,000 letters written every year by Amnesty International supporters and to give someone, who might not have any hope left, a spark in the darkness to hold on to.
Wangari Maathai, a rights defender in Kenya, stated, “I count the times Amnesty members have saved me.”
Gabriel Shumba, a torture survivor of Zimbabwe, said, “Without Amnesty I might not be here today.”
Riad-al-Turk, a prisoner of conscience in Syria, said, “I could always feel that you were concerned.”
Helping others is one of the mandates of most spiritual institutions, traditional or somewhat unusual like the Unitarian Universalists, who have a base of at least 450 years.
It recommends members and friends consider becoming a member of Amnesty International and encourages anyone to do so.
The current action can be found on Amnesty’s Write for Rights webpage www.amnesty.ca/writeathon/.
For more information about the Elora and Fergus Unitarian Universalist Church, visit www.efuuc.org or call 1-800-565-2353 for Ellen Papenburg, past president and a lay-chaplain.
