District, Region, and Association News – May, 2017

by Jim Merrill
Wow, do we have a lot to celebrate, despite unsettling times at the UUA!
Our own Tanner Akseven, aka Tanner Linden, has been elected Youth Observer to the UUA Board! His term begins at the close of this year’s General Assembly, at which time he will serve alongside the current Youth Observer, Bailey Saddlemire, during the final year of her term. Tanner is the second of the last four Youth Observers to come from the PSWD.
The PSWD Justice District Assembly in southern Arizona was an inspiring, moving, and motivating success. Attendees participated in immersion excursions to learn about the services that dozens of organi­zations throughout Arizona and in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, provide to support the justice, well-being, and very lives of migrants making their way across our border in the Sonoran desert. The business meeting, held together among three sites by the Internet, baling wire, and chewing gum, proceeded smoothly. Following the business meeting, attendees at all three sites heard reports from Camp de Benneville Pines about an exciting capital campaign to make much-needed improvements.
The weekend’s activities concluded with an experiential Sunday service at the border “wall” between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora. Participants were challenged to consider how their own experiences related to migrants’ experiences. Participants were moved to deep reflec­tion, and sometimes to tears. Nine of us from UUCV attended Justice DA and are planning how to share our experiences with the congregation.
With all the introspection, grief, resignations, and ongoing dialogue about concerns regarding the history of and inherent systems in our association’s practices, the Congregational Life Staff – those profession­als who provide services to our congregations in crisis, in collaboration, and in transition – continue to provide those services on a daily basis.