Support love that saves lives!

As Unitarian Universalists, we are called now more than ever to bear witness to our world. Our incarcerated members regularly share their stories with us and let us know time and again that our love saves their lives.

This work is not getting easier. 

As the new US administration targets those on the margins, our members will need the love of their faith more and more. Among the earliest targets of President Trump’s cruelty were transgender people incarcerated in Federal prisons, and while a judge has just this week blocked his order to move transgender women to men’s prisons, the basic humanity of our siblings cannot be left to judges to arbitrate.

We receive letters of deep concern daily from our transgender incarcerated members. They are consumed by fear for how they will be treated in their facilities as more and more draconian policies are enacted. 

They know that too often, the “solution” that prisons enact to keep transgender people “safe” is the torture of solitary confinement. And they fear that their faith will abandon them as things get harder and harder. Tia wrote to us just this week, “Now that I’m now a non-person, with other transgender persons, are we still members and accepted?”

We can at least reassure them that their Unitarian Universalist congregation is still here for them. We can assure them that we still love them and value their worthiness and dignity. We can assure them that our ministry and our theology are not conditional on policial winds. The life-saving love at the center of our faith is solid and strong.

Because of this, our members are spreading the word. The Church of the Larger Fellowship’s Worthy Now Prison Ministry is the most rapidly-growing part of Unitarian Universalism. In the last five years, our incarcerated membership has doubled. We now serve almost 2,000 incarcerated Unitarian Universalists, and new people come to us every day.

Every dollar you donate today goes TWICE as far.

Thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors, every donation will be matched dollar for dollar.*

The Worthy Now Prison Ministry program has seen rapid growth as more incarcerated individuals in the United States seek to connect with the UU community — many are probably in your state! The CLF deeply feels the growing demands on our resources and the need for increased support to sustain and expand this vital ministry. That is where you come in.

Prison ministry is a shared responsibility for all Unitarian Universalists, not just those directly involved with the CLF. It requires a commitment by our entire UU community to support and engage with those who are experiencing incarceration, providing them with a sense of connection and hope. When you support Worthy Now, you are stewarding Unitarian Universalism.

Cir L'Bert Jr., the Director of Prison Ministry for CLF shared, “The Worthy Now Prison Ministry of the Church of the Larger Fellowship is committed to the call of Unitarian Universalism that we are all worthy of love, generosity, and equity whether we live in the free world or are currently experiencing incarceration. We are also committed to the call of Abolition to reorganize the way we live our lives together away from practices where prisons are solutions for systemic problems.”

With limited access to religious services or online resources, incarcerated CLF members rely on written correspondence to explore UU teachings and forge connections with the wider UU community. And that is a life-saving ministry as the single most determining factor in surviving incarceration is continued connection with someone in the “free-world”. 

* Every dollar you donate today goes TWICE as far. Thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors, every donation will be matched dollar for dollar, every dollar up to $25,000 given to this campaign will be matched.