On June 27, 2015 at a meeting of the UUA Pacific Northwest District held during GA in Portland, OR, delegates and Board members unanimously approved a resolution requesting the PNWD District to become signatories to the following document.  This was done upon the formal resolution passed by the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and supported by many other regional UU congregations and groups.

Stay tuned as now that GA is over, some of us will be working to pulling together UUs throughout the region to work on making this Declaration a living document, not only within our UU denomination, but within the greater faith community as well.

A Poem for the Earth by Christopher Sims

In the afterglow of GA, especially the Saturday June 27th events with the two First Nations Workshops with Lummi and the Public Witness event on Climate Justice with Lummi, I'm sorting through my emails and rediscovered this jewel.  Christopher's name came up very early when conversations had just begun about inviting Lummi to GA along with Rev. Florence Caplow's and Rev. Kurt Kuhwald's. Christopher also stepped up at the last minute as a Witness during the workshop with Lummi Council member Julius and Lummi Elder Jewell James.

I thought it deserved a reprint . . .

The Earth has returned. She is living, breathing,
Realizing her breath was leaving. She
was needing us to remember her worth,
to recognize her worth all over again.
We used to be her friends. We used to help
her heal us. Help her, heal us. Help her heal us.
And then, she lost all trust and faith in us.

 She has returned mad, saddened. Mad, saddened.
However, she's empowered by this new commitment
We are signing on to. We are signing on to.
She wants you, me, and the rest of the human beings
Who populate this planet to never take her for granted
again. To never take her for granted again.
If she is dying, then who wins?
If she is dying, then who wins?
If Earth is dying, who really wins?

 She is providing for species.

 We live in a cycle that provides
for one another. That provides for
one another.
You and I, we are Earth's sisters
and brothers. We must take care of one
another. We must take care of one another.
Her lungs are smothered with toxins,
radioactive chemicals, and plastic
She cannot digest. She has cancerous
garbage in her breasts. We have polluted
Earth to death.
Unless, we take a step forward and reverse
Our damaging effects, our damaging effects.
Our damaging effects.
Our next steps should be radical movements
that peacefully changes things. That peacefully
changes things with civility.

We have the ability. We have the ability.

 Earth is alive. We can't let her die.

I want my Earth back.
I want my Earth back.
I want my Earth back.
I want to take each of our solutions
Then spin them into 180 degree revolutions
We all have effective contributions
We need to turn our passion into action,
execution.
Drum circles, live spoken word theater,
or even getting arrested. We are all a collective
that can't be defeated. That can't be defeated.
Immediate action is needed, is needed.
What about our children?
 What about future generations?

Who is going to save the lungs of the
eco system? Who is going to save
the lungs of the eco system?
Toxic water slaughters the frogs and
the fish. Imagine how much they wished
We didn't pollute their habitats. Clean
water, clean air, imagine that!
We need our Earth back, she returns.
We need our Earth back, it is her turn.

Christopher Sims is a spoken word poet, an environmental justice activist, and a member of the Board of Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM).