Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix

Author: Tech UUCP

Earth Justice Ministry Update – Sept 9, 2021
Earth Justice Ministry will hold its next regular meeting on Sunday, September 12 at 1:30pm.

Please Join Us!

You can easily join us on Zoom from a smart phone, computer, or tablet:

Open Zoom Webinar ID 929 0550 6684

Passcode: Earth | Newcomers are welcome!

If you have not expressed your opinion to SRP about their plan to build 16 new (there are already 12) gas-fired power plants in Coolidge, a $1 Billion investment in fossil fuels rather than clean energy, please do. See the Sierra Club toolkit for signing a petition and sending postcards: If you have not already, please sign this petition opposing the expansion of this gas plant.

If you have not already, please sign this petition opposing the expansion of this gas plant.

Eat Plants for the Planet: Fruits and vegetables purchased during the season they are harvested locally helps reduce the transportation cost of them, hence lowers their carbon footprint. Peaches and nectarines are in season now. So you might try this recipe!

Recipe: California Marinated Salad
- Combine first 6 ingredients in a lg. bowl.
- 2 medium or large nectarines cut in bite-sized pieces
- ½ lb. mushrooms, quartered
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup pitted ripe olives, drained
- ½ cup sliced scallions
- 1 jar (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts
- Dressing: Mix next 6 or 7 ingredients and pour over salad, mixing.
- Chill, covered, at least 1 hour.
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ tsp. @ salt and pepper
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp crumbled tarragon leaves
- ½ tsp. crumbled thyme leaves
September 8, 2021
Arizona Needs Your Signatures!
Referendum Petitions, Fall 2021

The AZ Legislature passed bills this year that will:
1. cut deeply into voter-approved education funding, and
2. make it harder to vote
These bills will go into effect at the end of September UNLESS we get enough registered voters to sign petitions to “refer” them to the 2022 general election. This would put the bills on hold until citizens get a chance to approve or reject them. The petitions must be turned in by September 25th.

You will have a chance to sign these six petitions at the outdoor UUCP event at Grenada Park on Saturday, September 11, from 9:00-11:00 am. If you cannot attend that event, you can email us at civicengagement@phoenixuu.org if you need someone to bring the petitions to you.

Education-Related Referendums

If a sufficient number of signatures is obtained on all three of these, the effect would be to:
- Restore billions in critically needed funding cut by the legislature in June 2021. This would solve the teacher shortage crisis, lower class sizes, add more aides and counselors, and expand career and technical education.
- Prevent Arizona legislators from overturning the will of 1.7 million Arizona voters in a bait-and-switch scheme to destroy Prop 208 by exempting their rich friends from paying taxes that Arizona voters passed.
- Ensure Arizona invests in its schools and infrastructure, instead of handing a billion dollars to millionaires in the form of massive tax cuts. Stronger schools mean a strong economy.
Do I have to sign all three petitions? YES, because Gov. Ducey and 47 Republican legislators used a combination of three bills and workarounds to cut education funding, including the “flat tax” scheme and SB 1783. To fix what they destroyed, we need to recall all three parts.

Voting Rights Referendums

If a sufficient number of signatures is obtained on these three petitions, the effect will be to:
- Keep the “Permanent” in the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL)
- Allow state and local election officials to continue to supplement the insufficient funds they receive by obtaining outside grants for voter registration and election administration.
- Block proposed ten “ballot fraud countermeasures,” including bar and QR codes, which could violate the ballot secrecy guarantee of the AZ Constitution.
Again, we hope to see you at the outdoor UUCP event at Grenada Park on Saturday, September 11, from 9:00-11:00 am. If you cannot attend that event, you can email us at civicengagement@phoenixuu.org if you need someone to bring the petitions to you.
September 8, 2021
Kudos, Ann Ezzell!

Have you checked out the new website yet? We are so excited to share with you a fresh face to the new UU year! It’s time need to give a huge SHOUT OUT to Ann Ezzell, our webmaster extraordinaire to design the new site. She has constructed a technical pathway that includes all and eases the load. Simplification for all – while incorporating Reverend Christine’s favorite color (purple). Let us know what you think after you navigate through and check it out. We appreciate and welcome all feedback, and as always, your photos to add to the on-going efforts, managed by Becca Briley, our Communication Technology Coordinator.

Thank you for your incredible energy, knowledge, yes humor—and mostly your heart, Ann!

The Congregation

September 3, 2021
Earth Justice Ministry Update – Sept 2, 2021

Earth Justice Ministry is sharing news received from the Sierra Club. For more information on it, please open and use the toolkit attached to the email. Use this toolkit to take action.

The demonstration at SRP over the 16 new natural gas plants planned for Coolidge will NOT be on Sept 10. Instead, there is a Press Conference and protest planned for 9 am, Wednesday, September 8, 2021 in front of the SRP main office on North Mill Ave. Tempe. Speakers include Rep. Mitzi Epstein, Paul Hirt, Randy Miller, Columba Sainz, and Brian Mecinas. This is a huge issue as more investment in fossil fuels will raise rates, tie the industry into the use of fossil fuels for 10-40 years, and the world is on fire now!! We need renewables Now!

If you have not already, please sign this petition opposing the expansion of this gas plant.

Eat Plants for the Planet: from Anne Lackey–Consider processing. For the most part the more processed the food the worse it is for your body and for the planet. Think of the hierarchy of processing: whole oat groats is the least processed, then cracked, rolled, instant oatmeal, and with flour being the most process. Soy beans: edamame, tempeh, tofu, milk, soy meat substitutions. Processing takes energy and uses more resources.. Try to move toward eating more whole, unprocessed foods.

Check this article in The Lancet

Recipe: African Vegetables

Sauté 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped green bell pepper, 4 cloves minced garlic in 2 T. veg broth till soft. Add ¼ t. cayenne, 1 t. cinnamon and cook another minute. Add 1 c. water, 1 sweet potato cubed, 2 c. frozen spinach, ½ c. corn, 4 T. tomato paste, a 15. Oz can of tomatoes, 1 zucchini, sliced. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potato is soft. Add more water if needed. Stir in ¼ c. peanut butter. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or quinoa or other grain.

September 1, 2021
Share the Plate: September 12, 2021 – Hope’s Crossing

Hope’s Crossing is an organization dedicated to serving women who are reclaiming their lives from the cycles of physical and emotional abuse, trauma, sexual assault, addiction, incarceration, and homelessness. Hope’s Crossing offers job skills training and a program of emotional support geared toward rebuilding self-confidence, unveiling a sense of self-worth, and promoting whole and healthy living. A significant proportion of the alumnae return to support the programs and mentor those who follow.

Donate here (Please designate your donation for “Share the Plate”)

September 1, 2021
IRC Welcome Center in Phoenix is Receiving Refugees from Afghanistan
- The IRC Welcome Center in Phoenix is beginning to receive refugees from Afghanistan in addition to the hundreds per week from other countries. Help is needed there more than ever. Find a way you can help by donating money, ordering needed items from an Amazon wish list, or volunteering in person.
- The Welcome Center does not have laundry facilities on-site. Another much-needed way to lend a hand is to use your home washer/dryer to launder one bag of dirty items once a week. Contact us at civicengagement@phoenixuu.org if you can help with this.
September 1, 2021