The mandate of the Albany UU Social Justice Team (SJT) is to:

“….guide and coordinate education and action
in the realm of social issues or moral and ethical significance.”

In addition, the SJT may issue statements of public support and endorsement as long as they are consistent with the positions of Albany UU and/or the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA).

Social Action Service Projects

STJ initiates and encourages congregation participation in local activities that promote social justice, such as those listed below and at Justice/Service Projects. To get involved contact Chair Jean Poppei.

• With Albany UU’s Inclusivity Team and other partners, SJT supports two weekly Black Lives Matter vigils in the Capital Region.
• The church gives away our entire offering plate up to five Sundays per year, to 501(c)3 organizations that support our commitment to social action and change in our community and wider world. Look for these opportunities in our email newsletter, Windows Weekly.
• Every fourth Sunday of the month, Albany UU collects donations for the Focus Interfaith Food Pantry, our local source offering emergency food supplies to families and individuals in our neighborhood.
• The Social Justice Team sponsors reduced-rate or free rental space for not-for-profit groups that might not be able to hold their event otherwise.
• The congregation provides an annual budget to support these endeavors, as well as to support justice-related undertakings in the wider communit

Get Involved

The Team welcomes newcomers and current congregation members to visit and join our monthly meetings. Your ideas are welcome! We discuss current activities and identify new ways to make a difference.

Join us for our monthly meeting:
Day:                Fourth Tuesday of the month
Time:               6:45 pm to 8:00 pm
Where:            Zoom, contact Chair (below) for link
Who:               SJT welcomes everyone, whether you just want to check us out or to join
Contact:          Chair Jean Poppei

Actions of Immediate Witness

As an expression of our faith and values, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) takes positions on relevant issues of social justice, often introduced, and voted on at the General Assembly. Congregations are strongly encouraged to study and act on them but are not obligated to. 

Delegates to the 2023 General Assembly affirmed three Actions of Immediate Witness:

Protect the Dreamers, the Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrived (DACA) with a Pathway to Permanent Residence
This AIW expresses UUA support for the Dreamers and calls on Congress to pass legislation giving them a pathway to permanent residence. It also calls on UUs to support the Dreamers in their communities and contact their members of Congress to advocate for their protection.

Organizing for Healthy Equity
Attacks against abortion rights, against gender affirming health care programs, and against the very young and the very old, combined with the impact of systemic racism, pandemics, poverty, and other problems, have raised awareness about the need for health equity and mutual aid. This AIW calls for new partnerships to secure personal and social wellness, with justice for all people, in all nations.

Rise Up to Stop Cop City
In light of the nation’s largest militarized police training center being approved by Atlanta’s City Council, which will result in severe deforestation, and resistance to the training center being severely criminalized, Unitarian Universalists are called to use our voices to say NO to Cop City.