Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA
A diverse, welcoming community of open hearts and minds since 1948
Moya Marlene Atkinson's Page
Profile Information
- How long have you attended UUCAVA?
- On and off since 1986
- What does multiculturalism mean to you?
- Multiculturalism is a word that is fraught with meaning, undercurrents and implications.
Multiculturalism to me means a society where different cultures not only co-exist, but actively share and respect each other's diversity and cultures. It implies lack of prejudice, support for immigration, and close relationships between races and cultures.
As a European/American humanist I am conscious ofdifferences class, in gender and age, health, illness, income, social and physical attributes etc., which result in conflict, discrimination and exclusion.
While I give lip service to the benefits of living multi-culturally, I haven't taken many steps yet to move out of my zone of comfort, although I do engage with people of varying backgrounds in my peace and justice and elder-care work.
I grew up in various countries including N. Ireland (as a teenager in the late '40s and early '50s in a society segregated by religion, economics and class). Social work is a good profession to expose one to the complexities and ambiguities.
- What religion or spiritual practices did you grow up with?
- A bit of Methodism as a child, and humanism (the Golden Rule).
- Tell us a little about yourself/your family/your interests:
- I'm a single woman and have three grown "kids". My oldest son, Patrick Bond lives in Durban, S. Africa, teaches at the Kwa Zulu Natal University and is director of the Centre for Civil Society in Durban; he has two children ages 3 and 17. My second son, Niall is a senior lecturer at the University of Lyon and researcher at the Ecole d'Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, France, where he lives with his partner. My daughter Kate and her husband Myat Htoo live in Maryland with their 9 year old son; Kate works with the FDA in public health.
I've spent most of my working life as a social worker, developing and administering programs, more specifically with elderly and disabled people. Currently I'm a member of the Lake Barcroft Village - neighbors helping neighbors - and have just started working as its Volunteer Coordinator. I've lived in Lake Barcroft for 27 years.
My most recent concerns have been war, peace and social and economic justice. As a volunteer I helped to finance a film "Finding Our Voices" opposing our country's invasion and occupation of Iraq, worked with the National Association of Social Workers to promote peace and social justice, am active with N. Virginians for Peace and Justice and the Women's International League for Peace and freedom, and with the church's Global Peace through Justice group.
- Why are you a Unitarian Universalist?
- I attended a UU church in Silver Spring originally for spiritual support when I was going through divorce. I was also seeking a base for activism and friendship. When I moved to this area, I joined in the mid-late '80s, and when my job required a daily commute to Baltimore, I dropped out. I rejoined after 9/11, hoping to find people who, like me, were appalled at the direction this country was taking. I've been active with the Peace Initiatives Network and its successor Global Peace through Justice and the Immigration Working Group. We've held educational programs, including most recently programs relating to the Occupy Movement and Income Inequality and corporate malfeasance, raised funds for Iraqi children, and held two successful fund-raisers for the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition. I represent UUCA, which is a member of the National Religious Campaign to Abolish Torture (www.NRCAT.prg) and the Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture.
Moya Marlene Atkinson's Blog
Wed. Jan. 11, 2012 - Guantanamo Bay Rally (noon), Public Witness/Human Chain (1pm)
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:09am
Sat. Jan. 14, 2-4, Shirlington Library, Organize for constitutional amendment re: Citzens United decision
Posted on January 1, 2012 at 4:37pm
Why we can't ignore our government's position on past CIA torture of detainees
As a member of our church, I urge you to pay heed to the most recent assault on justice by our very own Attorney General, Eric Holder, and by extension President Obama and the current administration.
We know CIA interrogators subjected dozens of detainees to many abuses including waterboarding,…
ContinuePosted on July 8, 2011 at 8:51am
Mother's Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe
Sent to me by one of my three children this Mother's Day - as relevant as in 1870, alas.
Moya Atkinson
Mother's Day Proclamation
by Julia Ward Howe. This was one of the early calls to celebrate Mother's Day in the United States. Written in 1870, Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation was a pacifist reaction to the carnage…
Posted on May 8, 2011 at 10:20pm — 3 Comments
Blog Posts
Improvement Update 5/23
Posted by Brian Smith on May 23, 2013 at 3:00pm
Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 2nd
Posted by John L. Bohman on April 30, 2013 at 11:00pm
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