The Ministry Visioning Team (MVT) announces the formation of the Social Justice Leadership Team to coordinate Social Justice (SJ) work at FUSIT. Matt Franke-Singer and Mary Clabby were recruited by the MVT to join Rev Peaches Gillette and joAnn kowalski (members of MVT) to form this Team. The Social Justice Council came to MVT for help last fall. When the previous SJC leader, Jackie Jablonski, stepped down, the team was left without anyone able to take on the additional responsibilities of the team leader role. MVT met with SJC in November to ask them their ideas of how they imagined re-organization. SJC asked MVT to come up with a plan. A congregational conversation in January generated lots of good ideas for activities, plus a suggestion for a team rather than a single leader.

For this spring the SJ Leadership Team was tasked with:
1). Support and communicate information about the projects and opportunities for SJ work already being done at FUSIT.
2). Identify one or two congregation wide projects each year.
3). Encourage and support those who want to initiate a project or activities on a particular SJ issue.
4). Collecting and distributing a list of local organizations doing Social Justice work and ways to support them.

Plus, the team will continue to re-imagine SJ work at FUSIT looking at issues such as charity versus long term relational involvement, looking at partnering with other community organizations outside FUSIT, looking at where the need is greatest in our community, and looking at our issue of privilege as we continue SJ work and embark on new efforts.

Thanks to all who have showed up with your ideas, your presence and your energy! If you wish to participate in social justice activities or offer suggestions and ideas, contact the new Social Justice Leadership Team at SJLT@uuithaca.org.