The UUSC Gala, held across from the Charlotte Convention Center at the Westin Hotel last evening, demonstrated the powerful potential for transformation that our Building Bridges program offers. Even though the room was packed with well over 400 people, the atmosphere made the audience feel as if they were intimately involved in the conversation. The dialogue between President and CEO Bill Schulz, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and Daisy Khan was inviting and informal.

Rich discussion flowed naturally between Schulz and the two guests of honor, as they delved into issues such as women's role in Islam, the current status and progress for the Cordoba Center in New York City, and how LGBT rights could be realized within the Muslim community. For their tireless work, they were presented with UUSC's highest honor, the UUSC Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, by Schulz and outgoing Board Chair John Gibbons.

Even though much of the furor from last year's public outcry over the Cordoba Center has largely died down, Rauf and Khan's reflection over the events demonstrated that an affront to people's civil liberties anywhere is an affront to civil liberties everywhere. They poignantly described how the media facilitated the deceptive recasting of the peaceful center for education, association, and worship (much like a Christian YMCA) into "the Ground Zero mosque" to stoke fear and anger from the public. Rauf noted that the struggle is not between Islam and Christians, or Muslim Americans and Christian Americans, but between the voices of truth and extremists of any of those groups. Khan discussed how the rights of women varies globally from state to state, and much of what is viewed as how Islam treats women is as much an issue of how a particular culture or tradition of a nation is treating women, rather than what is written in religious law.

To further participation and engagement, attendees were given an opportunity to write questions on index cards while UUSC Vice President for Mission, Strategy, and Innovation Brock Leach moderated the inquiries as the remaining time allowed. Khan and Rauf offered their thoughts on what non-Muslim religious communities can do to support tolerance for diversity and reduce anti-Muslim rhetoric. Khan commented about what she perceived to be the success of the Arab Spring: the fact that a new generation is boldly claiming their rights and that, in Egypt for example, the people stayed in Tahrir Square until dictators — who promised peace, but delivered nothing but pain, suffering, and hardship — gave the people what they wanted.

The UU Musicians Network, conducted by Leon Burke, played three songs of traditional Sufi music. Rauf told the crowd that the opening number, "Welcome to the Prophet," was particularly meaningful to Muslims, and that the presentation of it at this gathering illustrated how two cultures, traditions, and beliefs can actually enrich each other. When we take the time to understand perspectives different from our own and gather experiences directly from the source, we are living the eye-to-eye partnership model. Tonight's reception showed not only what building bridges within the Muslim-American community looks like but also gave those in attendance a taste of what is possible.  

Old friendships rekindled. New friends made. This is the scene the first day at the UUA's General Assembly (GA) in Charlotte, N.C. It began quietly as a small group of UUSC staff put the finishing touches on booth #512 in the downstairs exhibit hall. But it grew to a loud buzz with waves of people as the opening ceremonies ended and the evening reception began in the vendor area. There were even cupcakes, provided by the UUA to mark the 50th anniversary celebration!

Dedicated UUSC volunteers Bob Keim and Gay Ann Gustafson were on hand to help talk about UUSC and human rights to visitors at UUSC's booth. We've got new merchandise on display, including "I love GA" and "College of Social Justice" t-shirt designs, which will be available in UUSC's online store after GA. People got their first taste of the Two Degrees nutrition bars, which you can purchase now online. And for the fourth year in a row, we are sharing the exhibit space with our economic-justice partner Equal Exchange to provide fair-trade coffee samples, tea, chocolate, and other snacks.

Today was a day to celebrate the force for good that Unitarian Universalism can be in the world, and our booth demonstrated the vehicle UUSC can be to put that faith into action. Tomorrow, as our workshops begin, we'll dig into the practical knowledge to make that happen. Stay tuned to our blog for on-the-ground updates.

We're also excited to have Gary Nissenbaum at the booth, signing copies of his new book, Assembling the Pieces, which gives practical and inspirational instructions on how congregations can supercharge their social-action committees. He has tested his model of engagement with great success at his congregation in Summit, N.J., and GA attendees can look forward to learning more in tomorrow's workshop, presented with UUSC staff member Lauralyn Smith.

Folks who are not attending GA can watch some proceedings streaming live from the UUA website — don't forget to tune in around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to catch UUSC President and CEO Bill Schulz's speech during Plenary IV!

In the days since UUSC posted its statement of support for New York City Mayor Bloomberg and the unanimous vote of the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the Cordoba House to move forward, we've had a lot of constructive dialogue with members who feel strongly either in equal amounts of support or opposition. The debate continues on our Facebook page and throughout the blogosphere and other news and opinion outlets.

I am proud to work for an organization that sees this issue for what it is: defending the rights that make up the fabric of our nation.

One of the arguments consistently made against the Cordoba House is that a majority of people are against a mosque at this particular spot. If we've learned anything from Judge Walker's recent ruling for gay rights in striking down Prop 8 and ensuring equality for LGBT Californians, it's that inherent rights should not be subject to a popular vote. Minorities must be afforded protection of the law, in effect to say, "We will not trample your rights simply because we do not believe as you do or practice as you do." If the Bill of Rights is our touchstone, then freedom of worship and freedom to assemble must not be undermined.

Another argument given: "This will open old wounds, so why does it have to be here of all places?" But if not here, then where is it acceptable? Should the Constitution now stipulate that freedom of religion is valid only in certain geographical places and available only to certain faiths? History is littered with examples of marginalized groups being ghettoized, restricted to their own corner of the world by those who hold power, which only leads to an "us" and "them" mentality — but never a "we." Until people's worldview of "there" becomes and includes "here too," we'll never reach the lofty goal we all repeated as schoolchildren: "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Surely there's a space for prayer and peace two blocks away from the former World Trade Center site.

What happens when we collectively buy into the divisiveness? Its ugliness spreads: mosques are protested, even violently, in Tennessee, California, Kentucky, Wisconsin,  Illinois, and elsewhere. Stephen Salisbury, writing on Alternet, skillfully gets to the heart of the matter: "The mosque controversy is not really about a mosque at all; it's about the presence of Muslims in America, and the free-floating anxiety and fear that now dominate the nation's psyche." So we come to find that the xenophobic politicians who would exploit people's fears are the only terrorists to be found in this equation. And again, William Saletan echoes in Slate: "This is the real argument behind the campaign against the New York community center: It's Muslim, it's big, and it's too close to where a bunch of Muslims killed a bunch of us." Or in Newt Gingrich's words, there should be no mosque in lower Manhattan "so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia." Again, it's us versus them, here and there.

Which brings us to Mayor Bloomberg's eloquent leadership, when he put on notice all those who would wrap themselves in the patriotic cloak of supporting 9/11 victims to justify their prejudice:

"On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?' . . . We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights — and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked."

And last, so that we can all take a breath and pause from all the contention — and since I am a huge comics geek — I'll add that even Superman, the symbol for "truth, justice, and the American way," shares this worldview: "It's only when over there becomes here that we can stop this once and for all."

Please join with UUSC, stand up for human rights, and let's build bridges so that "here" can come to meet, and include, "there."

At UUSC, we have always sold goods as a way to raise vital funds for our human-rights work. But what if we multiplied the good achieved from that transaction by adding to it direct financial support for our eye-to-eye partners around the globe?

As our tagline states, "Advancing human rights is the work of many joining hands." And these days our partners are feeling the money squeeze just as much as everyone else.

This year at UUA General Assembly, we featured goods made by some of our worldwide partners, Barakat, Southern Alternatives Agricultural Cooperative (SAAC), women in Darfur, Military Families Speak Out, and Equal Exchange, among others. We used these goods to connect UUs to their work, enabling them to support and uplift that work with their available purchasing power.

I attended the workshop Stories of Joy and Inspiration, led by UUSC President Charlie Clements. We watched two videos: Weaving a Web of Protection for Women and Girls in Darfur, Sudan and The Southern Alternatives Agricultural Cooperative (about our partner SAAC, a Georgia pecan-processing cooperative run entirely by African-American women). Attendees witnessed examples of a domestic and an international partnership where UUSC is making a difference in people's lives.

Individuals in the audience got the chance to share in this success when Clements directed people to UUSC's exhibit hall booth, where pecans produced by SAAC and baskets made by Darfurian women were on sale.

After the workshop, we had a hard time keeping our tables fully stocked! Thirty pounds of pecans were purchased, and nearly every one of the hundred baskets were bought up. In all, nearly $2,500 was directed back to our partners, and just under $2,000 went to UUSC, just from sales at GA.

It's an amazing thing to realize that amid the myriad of consumer choices we are faced with on a daily basis, we can leverage our purchasing power — however reduced in these lean times — to make even more of a difference.

Even better, UUs at GA who purchased something from UUSC got more than just an item for its own sake, to add to the all "stuff" in the world, but something they could actually consume (food) or use and reuse (a basket, a stainless steel water bottle, a beautiful scarf).

Above that, they had a tangible way to support UUSC and its partners.

In today's economic climate, individuals have to make difficult choices with what's left in their pocketbooks. We may want to use our hard-earned dollars to write a check to support out favorite charity, yet there are only so many dollars to go around and many good organizations in need. It would be hard to find other opportunities where your purchases can have such a ripple effect for everyone involved.

In the coming months, we'll be looking at ways you can make your shopping dollars have an even greater impact for human rights.

Keep an eye on our online store for exciting new changes this year.

Camilo Mejía worked tirelessly on behalf of UUSC this past week. Over the course of this year's General Assembly in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., he presented at four workshops, an activist training, and two youth events — and still had time and energy to sign books at the UUSC booth.

Numerous UUSC staff have remarked that his contributions are always thoughtful and responses to questions gentle yet powerful — I couldn't agree more. For example, when asked if the withdrawal of troops from Iraq would produce chaos, Camilo's simple and direct response: "There already is chaos there." He followed up that assertion by likening the occupation and withdrawal of Iraq to a common occurrence: a house raid. "We invade your house, tie up the women and children, take the men. We shoot them. We break things. We destroy the home. And then instead of leaving, we say, we are going to stay in your home indefinitely because if we leave there will be chaos."

This reasoned, leading approach, as if he is extending a hand and inviting you to follow him, was particularly pronounced in Camilo's candor with the youth groups he interacted with throughout the week. Sitting among a group of high school-aged students on Saturday, he talked about military recruitment. Camilo spoke of his experience of "just happening to be home" when the recruiter called — a time when he was looking for friends and a community to belong to in the States.

Now, years later, he has the experience to explain what signing an enlistment agreement really means. He did not discuss "stop-loss" in a hysterical, fear-inducing tone; instead, he presented this counter-recruitment discussion in a calm, peaceful one, meant to give young people an accurate depiction of the devil's bargain that is offered to them.

At Saturday afternoon's program "Join Patriots and Veterans in Saying No to the War in Iraq," Camilo poignantly framed his internal struggle, which continues to inform his outward struggle. It's his grappling with these forces that makes him such a great activist. "We were trying to reconcile the people who we were with the people who we are after the war." His efforts to deal with the moral questions that came with participating in war "came with a lot of guilt, a lot of confusion, of fear, and of pain."

He acknowledges that veterans groups such as Iraq Veterans Against the War are the ones at the forefront of the resistance — protesting this unjust war and working hard with communities, faith-based groups, and NGOs, like UUSC, for change. Each time I heard him speak, I felt proud and privileged to be a part of an organization that partners with such courageous, outspoken people like Camilo. If you haven't heard him speak firsthand, I encourage you contact UUSC and arrange to invite him to your congregation or other community gathering to witness his courage — and to join hands with him.

At the UUSC workshop entitled Bring the War Home, UUSC Associate for Civil Liberties Fatema Haji-Taki began by quoting Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's recent majority opinion from the Boumediene decision (a writ of habeas corpus made on behalf of a Guantanamo Bay detention camp detainee), in which he declared that our rights are designed to withstand intense pressures, that our nation's Constitution should survive in extraordinary times. That decision, another razor thin 5-4 rebuke of the Bush administration's steady erosion of civil liberties, probably got less media attention than what some Hollywood celebs were up to that day.

In fact, media and its impact was a large part of the discussion. Camilo Mejía, who was court martialed and imprisoned for refusing to return to his post in Iraq after deciding the war was morally unjust, spoke to the group, telling how the mainstream media was not giving the full picture of the war from the outset. News outlets were not talking about the killing of civilians and not showing the blood and the suffering. Instead, they focused on the morale of the troops and whether it remained high in the name of patriotism. He reminded the audience that as much as mainstream media may choose what to report or ignore based on its parent company's interests, the independent media, bloggers, and activists have a power too - many times not fully realized - but which has enormous potential for impact.

Toward the end of the workshop, Haji-Taki reminded participants that another potential place for change is fast approaching in November, but she added that "elections are not a panacea." She noted that even with a White House and Congress that respects human rights, the hard work only begins after the election. We must struggle to ensure that our government respects its citizens enough to tell them the truth and to restore its peoples' constitutionally guaranteed liberties.

As a new staff member attending GA with UUSC for the first time, I have had the privilege of interviewing our workshop presenters each day. After Frances Moore Lappé’s presentation, I enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss social justice issues and hear her advice for those who want to get involved in effecting change.

Lappe’s parents taught her early that an engaged life was the good life and the issues of the day that faced the world were also the issues discussed at the family dinner table. She remarked, though, that the Vietnam War was a "wake-up call" for her and social justice has been her life's work ever since.

When I asked what advice or words of encouragement she had for UUSC's hard-working activists, she replied that “what the world needs now precisely is to raise our voices.” By speaking up, she said, we face our fear of rejection and we risk feelings of humiliation, but these emotions that rise up inside are signals to us that we are in new territory, and are doing the right and just thing.

GA attendees lined up to speak with Lappe as she signed copies of Democracy’s Edge at UUSC’s booth. She will be taking pre-orders for her next book, Getting a Grip, throughout summer by contacting info@smallplanetinstitute.org before its public release on October 5.