By Elizabeth Corbett, Programs & Membership Coordinator
Can you feel it…the coming of spring and new growth at Westside! Reverend Carol wrote in her blog last week about ways we are growing and about some changes going on. It’s fun to sit back for a moment and feel the energy of those changes and visitors. If you’re one of those visitors, please mark your calendar for Sunday, April 28 after church, when Carol and I will hold a Q and A luncheon for anyone wanting their questions answered or who may be thinking about becoming a member.
So, last month when I wrote I said I was at a loss for a new Justice and Generosity Project, and I’m happy to report I received a few suggestions. We are thinking about how to more closely tie the Share the Plate partners with the JGP’s, and we are figuring out a project to help support next quarter’s partner. Stay tuned! But as always, if you know of a local organization that needs support with a project or who would like to partner with us on something as a future STP, let me know. You can email, text, or call me with your ideas. My contact information is membership@westsideuuc.org .
If you didn’t snag tickets to Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, our current Share the Plate partner, The Bottom, has a remedy for you! On Saturday, March 16, they’ll be hosting J Bu$h who’ll give a concert of his own. You can check out a sample song at the link and find several others on YouTube. This concert is in addition to a number of other cool events this month, such as a Women’s History Tea party and an event that combines storytelling and weaving.
Here are a few (easy) ways you can get involved politically to support the LGBTQ community:
● TODAY, Wednesday 3/13, email (Use this easy form) the Civil Justice Committee and ask them to represent your thinking on SB1738/HB2169, a bill that stops LGBTQ-affirming policies in adoption and foster care.
● TODAY, Wednesday 3/13, email (Use this easy form) the Senate Education Committee and the House K-12 Subcommittee to urge they vote NO on SB2766/HB1634, a bill that removes sexual orientation from policy and removes gender identity from the family life curriculum.
● TODAY, Wednesday, 3/13, email (Use this easy form) the Senate Education Co
mmittee and ask them to reject SB1810, a bill that forces schools to out trans and non-binary students.
● TODAY, Wednesday, 3/13, email (Use this easy form) the Senate Commerce and Labor and House Health Committees and ask them to vote your conscience on SB2396/HB2816. This bill appears to be about healthcare for those who wish to detransition, but is actually a major and dangerous scheme of data reporting that presents risks for privacy.
The 2024 TN General Assembly will be concluded in the next several weeks, but if you’re interested in keeping tabs with how to support LGBTQ folks during this time, The Tennessee Equality Project does a great job organizing information and giving us links and scripts to use to contact lawmakers
I also welcome comments and questions in general 🙂. You can email me at membership@westsideuuc.org.
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