As part of this fall’s Social Justice Committee project, congregation members are writing short essays looking at democracy in the US.  The latest essay, “Rebuilding Democracy with Interpersonal Communication and Electoral Fairness” is available on the UUFE website. In this essay, Joyce Dowling explores two books that serve as guide, mirror, and catalyst for collective action: Loretta Ross’s “Calling In” and Stacy Abrams’s “Our Time is Now.” While their focal points differ—Ross on movement culture and interpersonal dynamics, Abrams on policy and electoral engagement—both books are animated by a commitment to inclusion, dignity, and transformative change.

The theme for the Social Justice Common Read this year is Our Democracy, with various activities culminating in a UUFE service in October exploring the book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder.