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Social Justice Sunday: Order of Service, May 1, 2005
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice" -Theodore Parker
Call to Worship (Read by Donna Savicki)
The choice to bless the world can take you into solitude to search for the sources of power and grace, native wisdom, healing, and liberation. More, the choice will draw you into community, the endeavor shared, the heritage passed on, the companionship of struggle, the importance of keeping faith, the life of ritual and praise, the comfort of human friendship, the company of earth, its chorus of life welcoming you.
None of us alone can save the world. Together--that is another possibility, waiting.
By the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, theologian and president of the Unitarian Universalist Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California; these words are from "Choose to Bless the World," written for the 1992 Starr King catalogue.
Opening Hymn: We are a Gentle, Angry People
Lighting the Chalice (Led by Kelly Pelham)
Let this flame be to us a symbol of the wholeness we seek
Its brightness dispelling gloom, lighting a path to faith and hope
Its glow reminding us of the sacred bonds that link us to all people
Its radiance calling us to cast the light of freedom, justice and peace upon all the world.
Welcome (Tim Temerson)
RE Appreciation
Offertory
Children's Recessional
Announcements
The Social Responsibility Committee is unique in our church in how a person
can serve. You will be hearing about next year's committees being formed by
the nominating committee and we will vote on those at the annual meeting.
But Social Responsibility is very easy and open. Anyone can join and you can
serve as long as you want. We meet the second Sunday of each month during
the church year at 9:15. Our priorities get set by the interests of the
members. Next year we plan to have our regular programs and a speaker with
the Trustees on socially responsible investing. We are planning a Friday
night peace and potluck series with discussions, speakers, films or book
reviews. We are working on a program to have Catherine Cullen discuss and
explain the Supreme Court decision when it comes in June on the 10
Commandments in public buildings. You can ask anyone of us about this after
church.
Finally, one of the things we do is petition or letter writing. We will have
a table after church to sign a petition to support Dennis Kuchinich's
proposal to have a department of peace. We hope you will stop by and talk
about it. (Delivered by Nancy Landgren)
Anthem
Sermon
Changing the World without Losing Your Mind Delivered by Hillary Rettig
Small Steps for Justice Delivered by Tim Temerson
I have a confession to make. For most of my life I've wanted to be a social activist but done nothing about it. As a child I was taught to reject racism and hatred, and to admire leaders like Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez. But as I grew older, my passion turned into passivity. I watched the horrors of genocide, starvation, and disease on the evening news. But I never took action. I was afraid of getting involved, of wasting my time and energy. What could one person really do in a world wracked by so much violence and so little regard for basic human dignity? I couldn't answer that question. So I sat on the sidelines, watching in silence and doing nothing.
Then about ten years ago I discovered a small movement that was determined to change the world. This movement had the audacity to believe that it could end the use of sweatshops. The anti-sweatshop movement was not discouraged by the enormity of its task. It didn't sit on the sidelines while workers were exploited and abused. This odd collection of college students, labor unions, and church activists simply rolled up their sleeves and took small steps for justice - one consumer and one factory at a time.
I wish I could tell you that I became a leader in this movement, that I helped to write a new law or that I participated in a raid on a sweatshop. I did none of those things. But I began to take small steps. I sent letters and emails to congress and to companies like Nike and the Gap. I talked about sweatshops and child labor with friends and co-workers. Along with a couple of colleagues I even started a small newsletter that gave advice to consumers about making responsible purchases. By themselves these small steps made little difference. But in conjunction with the thousands of other steps taken all over the world, something exciting began to happen. Companies adopted stricter codes of conduct for their factories. Consumers started demanding to know how their purchases were produced. The world began to move, ever so slightly, in the direction of justice. I felt a sense of accomplishment - that I had really done something to change the world. My passivity turned back into passion. I now believed that one person, taking small steps, could make a difference.
Taking small steps for justice is something we do here at First Parish Church. The Social Responsibility Committee sponsors a host of wonderful programs that make it easy to take those small steps. I invite you to look at this insert, which briefly describes most of those programs. But I want to draw your attention to one program that I am particularly proud of because it demonstrates how the smallest of steps can create a more just and humane world.
As some of you know, the coffee we drink after Sunday worship is fair trade coffee. In simplest terms, fair trade means that coffee growers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their crops. That price is well above the market price, which is frequently so low that it drives growers and workers into desperate poverty. Fair trade has enabled small growers to stay on their land and to send their children to school rather than having them work in the fields. Fair trade companies like Equal Exchange are turning a profit, which is having an impact on the major coffee companies. In fact, after years of stonewalling, Proctor & Gamble recently decided to offer fair trade coffee through its Millstone brand.
Just think of it. We are making a real difference. We are reaching out the hand of brotherhood and sisterhood to people struggling to save their homes and feed their children. If the fair trade movement continues to grow, the entire global market place will be transformed. Wages and prices that leave bellies empty and put children in the fields will be a thing of the past. I hope all of you will encourage your friends and co-workers to join the fair trade movement. Tell them that drinking a cup of fair trade coffee is like drinking a cup of justice.
I want to leave you this morning with the wonderful comment by one of our greatest Unitarian ministers, Theodore Parker. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." I share Parker's confidence that the moral universe is bending towards justice. I also believe the arc is being bent by churches like this one that are striving to make a difference. I hope all of you will leave today confident in your ability to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice. We can do it. We are doing it. Together, let's keep taking those small steps for justice.
Amen
Hymn: One More Step
Social Responsibility Recognition: The Soup Kitchen: Kelly, Linda and Russ Pelham (Delivered by Donna Savicki)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of our involvement with the Soup Kitchen at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brockton, (which was begun by Betsy Bayer, who unfortunately, isn't here today. Betsy is a remarkable worker for social justice.) Since 1985, on the fourth Saturday of each month, volunteers have traveled from here to St. Paul's, bringing with them casseroles, desserts, and in recent years, salads prepared at home, beforehand by First Parish members and friends. The volunteers leave here around 9:30 in the morning and return between 2 and 3:00 in the afternoon. When they arrive at St. Paul's, they heat up the casseroles, set the tables, lay out the desserts and do whatever is needed to prepare to serve a hot meal to between 50 and 100 people. Those of you who have traveled to the Soup Kitchen know what a rewarding experience it is.
Although the Soup Kitchen is clearly a team effort, it requires a leader. Every month, someone must make sure we have enough casserole tins, select and copy a recipe, prepare a sign up sheet, and set these all out at church. Every month, someone must make sure there are five or six people willing to travel to Brockton and spend the bulk of their day at the Soup Kitchen. (If there are fewer than six, it can be quite a workout.) Since 1999, our Soup Kitchen coordinator has been a High School student. This year, Kelly Pelham, who lit the chalice this morning, led our Soup Kitchen program, and she has done a marvelous job. Because Kelly is still too young to drive, her parents, Linda and Russ Pelham, also made a significant commitment.
Kelly, Linda and Russ, we are extremely grateful for your work and especially for your willingness to make a commitment and take on this responsibility. We know how difficult it is to give up one Saturday a month. We also know that the burden can be lessened significantly if First Parish members and friends step up and volunteer, not just to cook (we are good at that) but to spend a day at St. Paul's. I encourage anyone who's interested to speak with the Pelhams
or me during coffee hour.
Today, the Social Responsibility Committee wishes to recognize Kelly, Linda and Russ for their commitment and leadership. I know from conversations with Linda that the recognition the family would find most gratifying is a contribution to the Soup Kitchen and it is my pleasure to announce that the Committee will send a donation to St. Paul's Soup Kitchen, in the Pelham's honor.
Recognition: Carrie Meier: The Box Project (Delivered by Donna Savicki)
I was stunned to realize that 11 years have passed since Carrie Meier created what we at First Parish fondly refer to as the Box Project, although it might more aptly be called the Bag Project.
Having worked as a teacher, Carrie knew there were children in local schools who were ostracized by their peers because of their clothes, or because of poor hygiene. Carrie knew these children's families were simply too poor to afford nice clothes, too poor to afford detergent and sometimes even soap and deodorant. When she heard that the Social Responsibility Committee at First Parish was looking for hands-on programs that would directly benefit people in our own community, Carrie proposed that we team up with Head Start to help their neediest families.
Each year, Carrie recruits about 40 First Parish members and friends to serve as Box Project coordinators or team members. She creates teams of four and pairs up these teams with needy families selected by Head Start. Each month, Head Start sends Carrie lists of the things the families need most. Carrie creates a master list and sends it along with individual lists to her cadre of coordinators and volunteers. We in turn do our best to secure the items on the lists. We deliver them to Carrie's home and she arranges transport to Plymouth.
One of the most uplifting holiday experiences I know of is to stop by Carrie's house the weekend before the Box Project is due in December. There are piles and piles of wrapped gifts for our Box Project children and their parents. The gifts fill Carrie's sun porch and usually spill into her living room. In fact, stopping by Carrie's any weekend before the Box Project is due fills me with admiration and affection for all of you, but most of all, for Carrie.
When there are special requests, say for a crib or a bed or a sofa, Carrie works to find a suitable used item or money to buy a new one. She solicits and organizes donations of used clothing through the church school. She inspires us all by sharing the wonderful notes she receives from the Box Project families and by her own leadership and example. We all know that if something falls through the cracks, Carrie will be there to catch it.
Carrie, on behalf of the Social Responsibility Committee and all of your Box Project volunteers, thank you for making this project possible. Thank you for all you do.
Recognition: The Congregation - UUSC Creating Justice Award (Delivered by Nancy Nowak)
Recognition: The entire congregation (Delivered by Nancy Landgren)
We of Social Responsibility took this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts
and contributions of the Pelhams, Carrie Meier and Donna Savicki but we need
to acknowledge the entire congregation. We learned in the course of the
Interim work we did before Catherine came here that we tend to operate
independently but Social responsibility wants you to know that we do this
work in your name also. Our convictions come from our UU principles and all
of us are involved.
So I now invite you to stand if you are able if you are
part of the Social Responsibility Committee.
And continue standing, but please stand if you have helped at the Soup
Kitchen, serving or preparing food.
Please stand if you have helped with the box project, including the Christmas
gifts
Please stand if you contributed to GAYT
Please stand if you signed one of our letters or petitions.
Please stand if you have pledged to the work of the church or made an
offering as our committee has made contributions in your name from our
budget.
(If people are not standing) and finally please stand if you are here today
for our service
Hymn: We'll Build a Land
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