Social and Environmental Justice
Who We Are
The Social & Environmental Justice Committee is a group of UUs that put our shared UU values into action, with Justice at the heart of our work. Guided by Equity, Interdependence, and Love, we seek to create a more just and sustainable world through advocacy, service, and education. Rooted in our UU commitment to dignity and liberation for all, we engage in local and global efforts to address systemic injustice and environmental stewardship. Join us as we work together for meaningful change!
Join Us!
The Social and Environmental Justice Committee meets in the Church Annex and on Zoom on the 3rd Sunday of every month at 11:30 am. Click here to join on Zoom.
Trans People are Divine
In light of the rising hate and attacks against the transgender community, it is important that we side firmly in support of Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex, and Gender Diverse individuals. Supporting these communities is a vital expression of our UU faith. At the 2024 General Assembly of the UUA, delegates voted strongly in support of the Business Resolution, Embracing Transgender, Nonbinary, Intersex and Gender Diverse People is a Fundamental Expression of UU Religious Values. Everyone is encouraged to read this resolution.
On April 10, 2025, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) issued a statement titled, Fierce, Unshakeable Love in response to a recent White House proclamation designating April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This proclamation was made by the President on April 3, 2025, and contains many harmful, untrue claims about trans kids and their families. In their response, the UUA encourages support for transgender families by volunteering with or donating to PinkHaven, an organization focused on creating safer environments for these families. They also recommend taking the class, Responding to the Anti-Trans Movement. This class, designed by the Transforming Hearts Collective, aims to educate Unitarian Universalists on how to effectively support the transgender community during this dangerous time.
Peace Sunday
Since January of 2024, our congregation has gathered for monthly “Peace Sunday” circles on the first Sunday of the month. These circles began in response to the violence in Gaza, but they have grown into spaces where we talk about war wherever it is happening, especially wars our own country is involved in. But also, where we share our personal fears and hopes. In those gatherings, we practice Pluralism, holding space for many truths and voices, and Interdependence, recognizing that the suffering of others is bound up with our own humanity. To learn more, click here.
Abolition, Transformation and Faith Formation
At the 2025 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association, the delegates voted to support a Congregational Study/Action Issue titled “Abolition Transformation and Faith Formation.” Click here to learn more.
Justice for Peter Villalobos!
Members of our Social & Environmental Justice Committee recently heard directly from the mother of Peter Villalobos and community organizers calling for transparency and accountability in his death while in Riverside Police Department custody. Rooted in our Unitarian Universalist values of Love, Justice, Equity, and Transformation, we are inviting church members and community allies to take action. To support the family, we have created a letter-writing toolkit for church members and community allies. The toolkit includes:
- Background and UU grounding
- Contact information for the Riverside Police Chief and the Riverside County District Attorney
- Talking points tailored to what each office has the authority to do
In addition to letter-writing, the family and organizers shared information about ongoing community protests calling for Justice for Peter Villalobos. Those opportunities include:
- Tuesdays
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
10540 Magnolia Ave - Thursdays
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
7474 Madison Ave
Sheriff Oversight Ballot Initiative
The Social & Environmental Justice Committee has endorsed the Riverside County Sheriff Oversight ballot initiative, a community-led effort to establish independent civilian oversight of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
This initiative would create a civilian oversight commission with investigatory authority, establish an independent Inspector General, and increase transparency and accountability around complaints and in-custody deaths. If qualified, the measure will appear on the 2026 countywide ballot.
Our support is grounded in Unitarian Universalist values of Love, Justice, Equity, and Transformation, and aligns with the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Congregational Study/Action Issue, Abolition, Transformation, and Faith Formation, which calls UU congregations to engage in faithful, community-rooted work to transform systems of harm.
Petitions are currently available after Sunday services. To learn more or get involved, contact the Social & Environmental Justice Committee at socialjustice@uuchurchofriverside.org
Film Screening & Discussion: 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture Friday, March 27 | 6:30–9:30 PM Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, 3933 Mission Inn Ave, Suite 103, Riverside
How much damage can a single word do? This thought-provoking event hosted by the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California invites us to find out. Join neighbors and community members for a screening of the 2022 documentary 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, followed by a panel discussion.
The film investigates how a specific mistranslation introduced into a 1946 edition of the Bible inadvertently became a cornerstone of anti-LGBTQ+ teaching within Christianity, shaping decades of theology, policy, and lived harm for LGBTQ+ people.
As Unitarian Universalists committed to justice, equity, and the inherent worth of every person, this is exactly the kind of conversation we are called to engage with. Come explore how language, power, and scripture intersect, and what it means to reclaim the truth.
Rally: No Kings in Riverside Saturday, March 28 | 11am–1pm Market St & University Ave, Riverside
Democracy is not a spectator sport. Join your neighbors for a noisy, family-friendly sign-waving protest in the heart of Riverside to stand up for the principles our democracy was built on: no unchecked power, no authoritarianism, no kings.
As Unitarian Universalists, we have long affirmed the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process. When those foundations are threatened, we are called to show up, loudly and joyfully, together.
Bring your signs, bring your kids, and bring your voice. We the People reject fascism.
RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/900898/
Panel Discussion: History of Section 14 — Memory, Justice, and Community Saturday, March 28 | 1:30–4:00 PM Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, 3933 Mission Inn Ave, Suite 103, Riverside
Some histories are deliberately buried. This event helps unearth one of them. Join the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California for a powerful panel conversation with survivors and descendants of the Palm Springs Section 14 demolitions — a largely forgotten chapter in which Black and Latinx residents were forcibly displaced and their community destroyed.
Moderated by Monet Warren, panelists Betty Taylor Mayfield, Deiter Crawford, and Dr. Robert D. Jiles will share personal stories of lived experience, attempted erasure, and the enduring resilience of communities whose histories continue to shape our region.
As Unitarian Universalists committed to justice and the goal of a beloved community, we are called to bear witness to these stories — and to understand that the struggle for racial and economic justice in the Inland Empire is not abstract. It happened here, to our neighbors, on our land.
RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/4zu23hxm
Love is Resistance: The Sharps’ Faith, Our Calling Sunday, March 29 | 10:00 AM Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, 3525 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside
As part of our “Famous UUs” series, this Sunday’s sermon, “Love is Resistance,” explores the courageous lives of Martha and Waitstill Sharp, a social worker and minister who risked everything to rescue refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe. At a time when neutrality was the socially acceptable choice, the Sharps chose a “faith of resistance,” navigating dangerous bureaucracies and sacrificing their own safety to save intellectuals, dissidents, and children. Their legacy, which led directly to the founding of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), reminds us that our tradition begins with conscience rather than obedience and that the inherent dignity of every person must be defended against systems of dehumanization today. Please join us for this powerful service, followed by a screening of a film about Matha & Waitstill Sharp
BLX AMERIKKKA by POPE
In the summer of 2021, Lot 1 Productions filmed a music video at our beautiful, historic church about police brutality & killings of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Watch it below!
CUUR
Some members of our committee are involved in the community through our subcommittee Concerned UUs of Riverside (CUUR – pronounced ‘cure’). Check out our CUUR page!
Our Partners
- Riverside All Of Us Or None
Part of a national organizing initiative addressing discrimination and human rights abuses faced by incarcerated/ formerly incarcerated people. - The 28ers
The 28ers stand for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to create exclusive public financing for all federal elections. - Riverside People’s Free Market
The Riverside People’s Free Market is modeled after the Really Really Free Market. We are a horizontally organized collective of volunteers who gather once a month to distribute food, clothes, blankets, hygiene items, tents, and more. Everything at our market is always completely free for anyone who needs it. - Inland Equity Community Land Trust is committed to promoting social equity and sustainable development by providing high-quality, affordable housing. We use long-term ground leases to create homeownership opportunities and preserve affordable rental housing for those who are housing cost burdened.
- Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity is a California-based organization that connects clergy and people of faith to social justice work. It focuses on making the criminal justice system more just and the immigration system more fair and humane. - Riverside Food Not Bombs
We are a group of volunteers dedicated to nonviolent direct action by providing our local community and surrounding areas with fresh, cooked, ready to eat meals. - Riverside CAT 911
The vision of Community Alternatives to 911 is a city and region where local communities have the resources and strong, interpersonal relationships needed to respond constructively and healthfully to problems together. We know that we cannot depend on the broken criminal justice system to solve our problems and that calling 911 often just makes the situation worse — if they respond at all. CAT 911 is about building transformative justice that lets us take control of our lives and our communities into our own hands and nurtures each other’s growth and human possibility.
Take Action
#BlackLivesMatter
Learn how to take action with Black Lives Matter IE by checking out their Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/blmie
#Justice4Ernie
On December 15th, 2020, Ernie Serrnao was killed by the Riverside Sherriff’s Department in the express checkout line of Stater Bros. on Rubidoux and Mission Blvds as he was attempting to buy cookies. (https://www.tmz.com/2021/01/05/ernie-serrano-mother-sues-wrongful-death-riverside-sheriffs-stater-bros/)
- For information on how to get involved, check out their Facebook Page
Contact the White House
Make your voice heard! Have a concern you think the new administration should know about? Click here to contact the White House!
End the Senate Filibuster
Click here to sign a petition to end the Senate filibuster.
Upcoming Events
| Date/Time | Event |
|---|---|
|
May 17, 2026 11:30 am - 2:30 pm |
Social & Environmental Justice Committee Meeting
Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, Riverside CA |
|
Jun 21, 2026 11:30 am - 2:30 pm |
Social & Environmental Justice Committee Meeting
Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, Riverside CA |
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