Author: Deva Jones

Message from UUCSJ Director

June 9, 2022 | Deva Jones |

It is a joy and a gift to join the College of Social Justice (CSJ) team as Director of Justice Education for the UUSC! I want to honor the commitment of the CSJ beloveds who have tended to the web of relationships – inspiring, equipping, and sustaining spiritually grounded activism – through a long pandemic […]

UUCSJ COVID-19 Response

March 13, 2020 | Deva Jones |

Dear UUCSJ Community, As news of the COVID-19 virus unfolds, we at the College of Social Justice are assessing next steps. While we are all in a state of uncertainty, we are acting with caution for the well-being of our participants, partners, staff, and most vulnerable community members. With the guidance of the UUA, UUSC, and recommendations from the CDC, and in communication […]

Partner Centered Planning

November 1, 2019 | Deva Jones | Honduras

“I plan my calendar a year out.” This is what I often hear from people considering a CSJ program. “I plan my calendar a year out, so I need to know when the dates are sooner.” From co-workers in my office I hear: “Ministers, especially, need to plan their year in advance if they’re going […]

Defend the Human Rights of Migrants: Root Causes

October 11, 2019 | Deva Jones | El Salvador, Immigration, Religious Professionals

At a time of deepening crisis for immigrants and asylum seekers, the UU College of Social Justice has organized an immersion experience with Cristosal specifically for religious professionals and lay leaders. This journey will help you deepen your understanding of the migration crisis and will support your justice ministry with theological reflection among colleagues. Our Root […]

Critical Connections in the UU Universe

September 12, 2019 | Deva Jones | Congregational Trip

Did you know that there are twenty-two established UU State Action Networks (SANs) and more forming as we speak (find out if your state has a SAN here)? Did you know that there is a Coalition of Unitarian Universalist State Action Networks (CUUSAN) that acts as a central “meeting place” and seeks to support their […]

Meet the Activate @ GA team!

June 8, 2017 | Deva Jones | General Assembly, Program Leader, Racial Justice, Sanctuary and Solidarity, Volunteering, Young Adult, Youth

UUCSJ offers a variety of Activate Youth Justice programs, including at General Assembly. This year, for the first time, we are excited to welcome a team of awesome Activate Youth Leaders who are helping shape, facilitate, and promote our youth justice workshops in New Orleans, in collaboration with the Youth Caucus team. Get to know the Activate […]

Standing in Solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux – What We Can Do

October 28, 2016 | Deva Jones | Environmental Justice, First Nations

Over the last few months, many of us have been moved by following the powerful movement of indigenous leaders defending sacred land, and the earth and water we all share, from the threat of the dangerous Dakota Access Pipeline. In recent days, we have also watched with horror as our computer screens have increasingly filled […]

Creating Space to Grow Racial Justice

September 1, 2016 | Deva Jones | General Assembly, GROW, Pastoral, Racial Justice, Young Adult

It had happened again. Another black man had been shot dead by police, another life lost to the brutality of racism, another painful reminder of the urgency of the Movement for Black Lives. News of Philando Castile’s death in Minnesota came less than a day after the police shot Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. They […]

First Church UU’s Human Rights Delegation to the Arizona Mexican Borderlands

November 13, 2015 | Deva Jones | Congregational Trip

We were shocked, we were saddened, and we are compelled to tell others about the violation of human rights perpetrated by our government. The economic and political systems of the global north have systematically undermined the livelihoods and survival of the most vulnerable of our neighbors to the south. We were members of a human […]

Justice in the Food Chain

October 30, 2015 | Deva Jones | Economic Justice

This post was written by Hannah Hafter, Senior Associate for Service-Learning Programs at the UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ). Did you know that over 30 million people in the U.S. alone are employed in the food chain, making it one of the largest sectors for employment in the country? Yet food chain workers are […]