Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Many of us at Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota are members of the UU Service Committee (UUSC) which is the national UU social justice arm of our faith tradition. This organization advocates and advances human rights in the US and around the world by partnering with those who confront unjust power structures while mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies. The UUSC tries to bring aid to those who have been left behind by larger relief organizations. The UUSC staff teams up with partners local in the areas served with the understanding they know more of what is needed and how to connect with the people requiring the most assistance. With the upheaval caused by Covid, the UUSC realizes that the world cannot return to the old ways that often did not honor basic human rights - we cannot return to ways that do not serve humanity. Right now they are focusing on climate forced displacements, human rights, immigrants rights and disaster relief. For more information about their work, please go to their website at UUSC.Org.
Becoming a UUSC Member
This organization relies upon congregations to make up the bulk of their funding. Our congregation takes pride in generously giving to the UUSC. You can join this inspiring group of professional activists by supporting them financially and becoming aware of what they do. And you can be sure you are giving to an organization with the highest rating by Charity Navigator.
For just $40 you can become a member along with your family. Or for $150 or more, your contribution will be matched by a well- endowed congregation on Long Island - The Shelter Rock Congregation. To join, donate, or renew your membership go to: https://donate.UUSC.org/UUSarasota2022. Checks can also be sent directly to
UUSC
P.O. Box 808
NEWARK NJ 07101-0808.
Be sure to write UU Sarasota on the memo line of the check. You will get lots of information about the work of the UUSC and will know that your support will be applied in healthy and sustainable ways.
For questions please contact our congregation’s liaison to the UUSC, Linda Bodycomb using the form below.
Many of us at Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota are members of the UU Service Committee (UUSC) which is the national UU social justice arm of our faith tradition. This organization advocates and advances human rights in the US and around the world by partnering with those who confront unjust power structures while mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies. The UUSC tries to bring aid to those who have been left behind by larger relief organizations. The UUSC staff teams up with partners local in the areas served with the understanding they know more of what is needed and how to connect with the people requiring the most assistance. With the upheaval caused by Covid, the UUSC realizes that the world cannot return to the old ways that often did not honor basic human rights - we cannot return to ways that do not serve humanity. Right now they are focusing on climate forced displacements, human rights, immigrants rights and disaster relief. For more information about their work, please go to their website at UUSC.Org.
Becoming a UUSC Member
This organization relies upon congregations to make up the bulk of their funding. Our congregation takes pride in generously giving to the UUSC. You can join this inspiring group of professional activists by supporting them financially and becoming aware of what they do. And you can be sure you are giving to an organization with the highest rating by Charity Navigator.
For just $40 you can become a member along with your family. Or for $150 or more, your contribution will be matched by a well- endowed congregation on Long Island - The Shelter Rock Congregation. To join, donate, or renew your membership go to: https://donate.UUSC.org/UUSarasota2022. Checks can also be sent directly to
UUSC
P.O. Box 808
NEWARK NJ 07101-0808.
Be sure to write UU Sarasota on the memo line of the check. You will get lots of information about the work of the UUSC and will know that your support will be applied in healthy and sustainable ways.
For questions please contact our congregation’s liaison to the UUSC, Linda Bodycomb using the form below.
In May, Myra Dahgaypaw, Senior Partnership Officer for International Justice and Accountability, attended a conference organized by UUSC partner Chiricli, and described her unforgettable experience in Ukraine.
Here is a short excerpt: The air in Kyiv carries a weight that goes beyond the humidity of a spring evening. It is heavy with the memory of explosions and the constant, rhythmic hum of anxiety. I arrived in Ukraine on May 14, 2026, just hours after a devastating night of massive drone and missile strikes that left seven dead and dozens injured. The city was quiet, deceptively calm, but the silence was broken the next morning by a cascade of air raid alerts, including a piercing red alert that sent the city into a scramble for shelter. This is the backdrop against which I spent five days witnessing the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people. My journey, undertaken on behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, was not just a mission of observation. It was a profound encounter with a society navigating the impossible intersection of total war and the struggle for basic human dignity.
Read Myra’s full blog post here.
Here is a short excerpt: The air in Kyiv carries a weight that goes beyond the humidity of a spring evening. It is heavy with the memory of explosions and the constant, rhythmic hum of anxiety. I arrived in Ukraine on May 14, 2026, just hours after a devastating night of massive drone and missile strikes that left seven dead and dozens injured. The city was quiet, deceptively calm, but the silence was broken the next morning by a cascade of air raid alerts, including a piercing red alert that sent the city into a scramble for shelter. This is the backdrop against which I spent five days witnessing the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people. My journey, undertaken on behalf of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, was not just a mission of observation. It was a profound encounter with a society navigating the impossible intersection of total war and the struggle for basic human dignity.
Read Myra’s full blog post here.
Good News About the UU Service Committee Campaign
On March 22nd, the service was about UUSRQ’s participation with the UUSC.
We have 39 NEW households who have joined, bringing us up to 90 members! Donations totaled $4,911 with eleven being $150 or more, which will be matched by the foundation at Shelter Rock UU. Many thanks to those who joined for the first time and for those who faithfully renewed their memberships. We’re almost at 25% of the congregation so we just need a couple more new memberships to be an Honor Congregation with the UUSC!
On March 22nd, the service was about UUSRQ’s participation with the UUSC.
We have 39 NEW households who have joined, bringing us up to 90 members! Donations totaled $4,911 with eleven being $150 or more, which will be matched by the foundation at Shelter Rock UU. Many thanks to those who joined for the first time and for those who faithfully renewed their memberships. We’re almost at 25% of the congregation so we just need a couple more new memberships to be an Honor Congregation with the UUSC!
Eighteen seconds into the following video you may recognize our own Josh Leach, son of Julie and Rev. Brock Leach.
UUSC News
Converging Futures: Where Gender Justice, Democracy, and Faith Meet
In March 2026, UUSC convened approximately 50 faith leaders, movement organizers, researchers, and funders from more than a dozen countries in Lisbon, Portugal. Over three days, participants worked across Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and secular traditions, as well as across feminist, LGBTQI+, racial justice, democracy, and human rights sectors. They came together around a shared premise: the intersection of faith, gender justice, and democracy is one of the most strategically important and most underinvested fronts in the global struggle against authoritarianism. This report synthesizes what they surfaced, analyzed, proposed, and committed to. At its center, the convening reached a clear conclusion: progressive movements cannot win without faith, and faith-based organizing is democracy infrastructure. Across the countries represented, progressive faith leaders are already doing this work. They are training imams, mobilizing rabbis, reclaiming Hindu theology, marching with migrants, contesting authoritarian legislation, building queer faith communities, and telling stories that make new futures imaginable. What they need is not a new vision or a new analysis, but resources, coordination, and the recognition that their work is not peripheral to the defense of democracy but central to it. The full report offers analysis, sector-specific guidance, and the action plan this emerging field needs. Read the report here, share it widely, and consider where you can help build this ecosystem. UUSC staffer Shay Stewart-Willis also offered this first-person reflection from the convening here.
In March 2026, UUSC convened approximately 50 faith leaders, movement organizers, researchers, and funders from more than a dozen countries in Lisbon, Portugal. Over three days, participants worked across Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and secular traditions, as well as across feminist, LGBTQI+, racial justice, democracy, and human rights sectors. They came together around a shared premise: the intersection of faith, gender justice, and democracy is one of the most strategically important and most underinvested fronts in the global struggle against authoritarianism. This report synthesizes what they surfaced, analyzed, proposed, and committed to. At its center, the convening reached a clear conclusion: progressive movements cannot win without faith, and faith-based organizing is democracy infrastructure. Across the countries represented, progressive faith leaders are already doing this work. They are training imams, mobilizing rabbis, reclaiming Hindu theology, marching with migrants, contesting authoritarian legislation, building queer faith communities, and telling stories that make new futures imaginable. What they need is not a new vision or a new analysis, but resources, coordination, and the recognition that their work is not peripheral to the defense of democracy but central to it. The full report offers analysis, sector-specific guidance, and the action plan this emerging field needs. Read the report here, share it widely, and consider where you can help build this ecosystem. UUSC staffer Shay Stewart-Willis also offered this first-person reflection from the convening here.
UUSC Denounces Supreme Court Decisions Endangering People in Migration
Violence, climate change, land grabs, war, and persecution force many people to leave their homes. But instead of finding safety, they face harsh immigration laws that make their journey to freedom more difficult and dehumanizing. UUSC advocates for policies that treat people with dignity and compassion by offering spaces of welcome and strengthening access to asylum. UUSC denounces the June 25th rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado and Mullin v. Doe, which represent a devastating setback for the human rights of people in migration, their families, communities, and everyone who cares about justice and equality. Read UUSC’s full statement here. In keeping with UUSC’s work in solidarity with grassroots migration justice partners, two UUSC staffers recently participated in the 23rd annual Migrant Trail walk. The Migrant Trail is both a memorial and an act of solidarity with people in migration and the thousands who have died after crossing the border. You can read a blog post about this moving experience here.
Violence, climate change, land grabs, war, and persecution force many people to leave their homes. But instead of finding safety, they face harsh immigration laws that make their journey to freedom more difficult and dehumanizing. UUSC advocates for policies that treat people with dignity and compassion by offering spaces of welcome and strengthening access to asylum. UUSC denounces the June 25th rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado and Mullin v. Doe, which represent a devastating setback for the human rights of people in migration, their families, communities, and everyone who cares about justice and equality. Read UUSC’s full statement here. In keeping with UUSC’s work in solidarity with grassroots migration justice partners, two UUSC staffers recently participated in the 23rd annual Migrant Trail walk. The Migrant Trail is both a memorial and an act of solidarity with people in migration and the thousands who have died after crossing the border. You can read a blog post about this moving experience here.
