On Wednesday October 26th a group of Unitarian Universalists met with Sen. John Kerry's staff to ask the Senator to stand with us in love to protect the most vulnerable from budget cuts by the super committee. This is what they told them:

• Jessica from First Parish Cambridge and Tuesday Meals said "We have three young children and have experienced our own overwhelming stress.  We were denied disability insurance and relied on unemployment benefits until they expired.  We have not, however, ever had to fear that we would not be able to feed ourselves or our children.  That is a fear that nobody, across the globe, should ever have to experience.  There are enough resources for all and basic needs of people should never be anywhere but at the top of our government's priorities." (Click Here for her full remarks.)

• Alex from Renewal House, a Ministry of UU Urban Ministry in Roxbury said "We get calls every day from women who are in unsafe homes. However, we cannot take them in because we do not have enough space at Renewal house. The reason is that our current residents have to stay beyond the normal three month period because they cannot find housing and we will not let them become homeless. We need more housing assistance not less."

• Becky from the UU Church of Greater Lynn and Promise the Children said "I am really concerned about cuts to healthcare for children. The federal government funds programs that support the basic medical needs of children and families. If these are cut our emergency rooms will be even more overflowing then they already are. These programs need to be protected."

• Lorn, an 8 year old, from First Unitarian Church of Salem said "My class has 30 students in it. We have kids who barely speak English and a kid who is always misbehaving and distracting us. The class is just too big for our teacher and it is hard for all of us to learn. I feel really bad for the kids who cannot speak English because they are really not getting enough help."

These are the stories that were told to Sen. Kerry's staff. He assured us that Sen. Kerry is with us in wanting to protect these programs and told us what we could do to help him is to continue to organize.

So UU Mass Action is calling on you to keep up the pressure. Here are some specific actions you can take to stand in love with the most vulnerable:

In the meantime, UU Mass Action will be keeping up the pressure our selves. The next step is to meet  with Sen. Scott Brown's staff after the super committee recommendations come out, to ask him to stand with us in love.  We'd love to flood him with our postcards, so please take the time this November to set up a table in your congregation.