New social justice consulting program

Anew UUA antioppression consulting program called JUUST Change is helping congregations in their existing justice efforts and encouraging them to build on their strengths to expand their justice work.

The new program joins with congregations where they are in their current justice efforts and helps them build from there. The in-depth consulting program explores how a congregation addresses antiracism and antiopression work, helps it build leadership and identify next steps, and follows up as it acts on them, said the Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris, the UUA's director for Congregational Services.

JUUST Change will also help groups connect with UUA resources as they are developed. It's empowering for people working on a project to find out that they don't have to start from scratch, said Paula Cole Jones, lead consultant and member of the coordinating team. "It gives us a real chance for shared learning," she said. "Learnings are continuous; there's always something more to learn and share."

Robinson-Harris recently started matching the first round of applicants with consultants. The program can work with up to 24 congregations per year. Congregations can continue on beyond one year if they feel it would be helpful or if they are in the middle of a project.

Existing UUA antiracism workshops will continue to be available, and Cole Jones said congregations are encouraged to do Jubilee I and II workshops, which introduce congregations to antiracism thinking.

For more information visit www. uua.org/programs/justice/ antiracism/consultancy.html or contact Robinson-Harris at trobinson@ uua.org, or (617) 948-6462.

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