Unitarian Universalist's Animal Ministries

Unitarian Universalists have two animal rights ministries! Not all of the UU churches worldwide have these animal ministries but many do. It is a part of their huge social justice activism which includes human rights as well.

The two animal rights ministries are:

Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry
www.uuam.org



From their website:

"UUAM is a group of concerned Unitarian Universalists and UU friends who desire to grow and express their faith as compassion towards all beings. We do this not just for nonhumans, but for ourselves and all of life. For as we live a life of awareness based on our interdependence (UU 7th Principle) and the inherent worth and dignity of all beings (UU 1st Principle) we live fully, deeply, and authentically. As we come to love our neighbors as ourselves, we liberate not just others, but ourselves as well.

We serve as a central source of nonhuman animal awareness and education for UUs by relating the religious and spiritual aspects of our tradition to justice and ethical issues.

We provide a community to support one another. Whether we are undertaking personal changes in our everyday choices, or engaging in advocacy for nonhuman animals, we cannot do this work alone. We need one another.

We promote and support justice making efforts for nonhuman animals within congregations and within UU Association as a whole.

The seventh principle of Unitarian Univeraslism calls us to respect the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part. We of UUAM understand that human beings are only a strand in the intricate web of life.

While our Unitarian Universalist principles affirm the "inherent worth and dignity of every person and call us to seek justice and compassion in human relations, we extend these principles to include other species who also possess an intrinsic value.

Recognizing the beauty and interconnectedness of all species that call us to wholeness and toward justice for all beings, we dedicate ourselves to:

Growing our Unitarian Universalist faith in the interdependence of all life that reveals itself in the inherent worth and dignity of all beings.

Informing ourselves about nonhuman suffering

Seeking and promoting ecological justice

Inspiring respect and reverence for the earth all its creatures

Living in harmony with the natural world, which includes a deep respect and commitment to human as well as nonhuman animals"

Ethical Eating
www.uua.org/environment/eating



From their website:

"Ethical eating recognizes the moral dimensions of our food choices. The ways our societies raise, buy, and consume our food has direct effects on the earth, plants and animals, and humans who work to make our food available.

Delegates at the General Assembly in Charlotte, NC, approved Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice as a 2011 Statement of Conscience.

You can download the UUA Ethical Eating Study Guide and Ethical Eating Worship Resource Supplement (PDF, 33 pages)."


Some of the material mention minimalist activism...but the fact that the UU church is doing this as a religious organization for the animals and obviously is aware of the synergistic link in religion and animal rights is wonderful! But I would highly recommend you do further research into animal rights to go beyond the minimal knowledge of animal activism to help animals even more.

Wearing the Vegan Message

 I have been trying to think of another way to spread the vegan/cruelty-free message when I'm out and about. I don't own a car so bumper stickers are out. The message would have to be on my body or at least my handbag.

I checked out various jewelry but I think messages on jewelry--even a necklace--are too small to always notice. Plus, I always wear a necklace watch, and Unitarian Universalist, Wicca and Saint Dymphna charms around my neck in a necklace which could cover the vegan jewelry in moving around.

Patches can't been moved easily when I change handbags or clothing. I thought seriously about a cap but I don't always wear a cap.

So, I decided on a button! I can easily take it off and put it anywhere--clothing or bag. Average size buttons are large enough to be easily read (most are 2 inches around), and an added bonus is buttons are very cheap!

I went online and found two amazing websites with over a thousand vegan buttons here and here. Boy, did I have fun reading so many buttons!

Many were cute--so cute I felt the message was not taken seriously enough. Others were so in-your-face blatant to the point of sounding rude (true but  rude!), and a lot were spot on perfect. One of my favorites is the button above but I decided to get this one below, as it best represents my ministry:

Task Force Phone Conference

 

I had my very first phone conference this afternoon with 6 other people as we discussed ways of getting the word out more regarding having reverence for all lives, based on the Unitarian Universalist 7th Principle:

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Which, in simpler terms, means we need to take care of our planet, Earth, the home we share with all living things.


The one-hour phone conference went very well. We came up with a lot of great ideas, and decided to keep several old ideas that work. We also made some clarifications about certain issues. We decided to have another meeting--be it via phone or online--sometime in the near future.

I'm really looking forward to our next meeting!

Gary Kowalski - Minister and Animal Rights Activist

Gary A. Kowalski is a minister and an American author noted for his books on eco-spirituality, science, history, and animals. He is the author of eight books including:

The Souls of Animals, Science and the Search for God

Goodbye Friend: Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet

Blessings of the Animals: Celebrating Our Kinship With All Creation

The Bible According To Noah: Theology As If Animals Mattered, Earth Day

Green Mountain Spring and Other Leaps of Faith

Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers

A graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Divinity School, Kowalski was the senior minister of Burlington's First Unitarian Universalist Society for over 20 years. While there, he performed about 25 marriage ceremonies each year, including same-sex marriages because Kowalski said that the church should support all long-term, mutually committed relationships. He also served on the Vermont State Advisory Panel to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

In the summer of 2010, Kowalski left Burlington and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to begin a 12-month interim ministry for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe. In the following year, he became interim minister at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist, of Sudbury, Massachusetts.

The Souls of Animals

 

In this revised edition of his celebrated book, The Souls of Animals, Unitarian Universalist minister Reverend Gary Kowalski discusses the big spiritual questions around our relationship with animals--whether they have souls, self-consciousness, awareness of death, and a capacity for recognizing beauty. Rev. Kowalski combines heartwarming stories with solid science to show that other creatures are not insensitive objects devoid of feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient beings with an inward, spiritual life.

 

 

The Souls of Animals presents insights into the emotional lives of animals, their creative abilities, their sense of play, their experience of love, and their awareness of death. As John Robbins states in the preface: this book is a resource that is about "learning to take our place with reverence and respect in the council of all beings."