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Guest at Your Table and the UUSC
First Parish Church has a long tradition of supporting the Unitarian
Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). The
UUSC has been a powerful voice for human rights and social
justice around the world for more than six decades. First Parish
Church donates one dollar per member annually out of its operating
budget to the UUSC. In addition, First Parish participates in the annual
Guest at Your Table (GAYT) fund-raising campaign to benefit the UUSC.
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Guest at Your
Table is a major annual event embraced by many UU congregations as a
way for adults and children to learn about and support social
justice programs worldwide. Funds collected through GAYT help the
UUSC operate its many social and economic justice programs
world-wide. Caring cartons, about the size of a school milk carton,
are available in the parlor of the Parish House on Sundays through
the holiday season. Families take them home and make a contribution
at every meal to help someone less fortunate then they. In 2006,
First Parish Church families contributed nearly $3,000 to UUSC
through this campaign.
Contributions totaling $40 for a family ($20 for seniors, $10 for
students) qualify for an annual membership in the UUSC.
Contributions of $100 or more are matched dollar-for-dollar by a
special fund set up by the Shelter Rock, NY, UU |
congregation. As a pilot program this year, this year we are offering
grants from our cell tower outreach funds to help First Parish Church
families reach membership level with their UUSC donations. (Contact
Cindie White at
dresdenisfree@yahoo.com about
this confidential program.) GAYT boxes may be returned to church on
Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, or earlier if you prefer.
The Brockton Soup Kitchen
Since 1985, volunteers from First Parish
Church have prepared and served meals one Saturday each month at the
Soup Kitchen at St. Paul's Church in Brockton, from September through
May.
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We presently
prepare and serve the meal on the fourth Saturday of every
month. High School student and HIP Group member Julia Angley is
our Soup Kitchen coordinator this year. Volunteers are needed
each month to prepare casseroles and salads at home or to serve
them on Saturdays in Brockton.
On Soup Kitchen Saturdays, we leave from First Parish around
9:30 in the morning and return in the mid-afternoon.
If you are interested in knowing more about the Soup Kitchen or
would like to volunteer, please contact Julia in the church
school supply room on Sunday morning or through the church
office (781-934-6532 or by email at
uuduxbury@verizon.net). |
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Young people and adults prepare and serve a
meal at the soup kitchen of St. Paul's Church in Brockton one
Saturday each month. |
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Give a
Christmas gift
to a family in need
Our annual
Box Project Christmas gift campaign will be held the first week
of December. Gift tags with a Christmas wish on one side and the
recipient family's number on the other will be on the main
bulletin board in the Parish House entry hall on Saturday, Dec.
1. The tags indicate gender and age of the recipient. It's
simple to help:
● Take a tag on Saturday when you
come to the Decemberfest Holiday Fair or on Sunday, Dec. 2.
●
Buy the gift, wrap it, attach the tag SECURELY and
bring the gift to church the next Sunday, Dec. 9
We'll take it
from there! |
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FPC members Bob Hughes and Carrie Meier load a
station wagon with Box Project Christmas presents. |
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The Box Project
The Box Project
provides basic necessities such as food, household supplies, clothing
and furniture to needy families on the South Shore. The program is one
of the most popular social service opportunities at First Parish
Church.
Each family served by
the program is matched with four First Parish families. The client
family fills out a monthly request form, listing their food, household,
clothing and furniture needs. First Parish families purchase the items
and drop them off at a church member’s home in boxes or bags labeled
with a number assigned to the client family. If the requests are large
or contain costly items, additional funds are provided by the Social
Justice Committee. The items are then delivered by First Parish
volunteers.
Social Action Table
Building on a long
tradition of social activism at First Parish Church, the Social Justice
Committee periodically sponsors Social Action Table.
Held after the service
during coffee hour in the Harvey Assembly Hall, Social Action Table
provides information about an issue and a letter to political and/or
corporate leaders. The goal of Social Action Table is to inform the church community
about an issue of social concern and to help members make their voices
heard.
Recent Social Action
Tables have covered the following issues: shopping with a conscience;
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; the Massachusetts Clean
Election Law; sweatshops' and increasing the minimum wage.
The response to Social Action Table is always extraordinary.
It is not unusual for a table to generate between 50-100 letters as
well as lively discussion and debate.
A discussion about the Iraq crisis sponsored by the Social Responsibility
Committe led to the writing of a letter to President Bush that was
signed by 72 members and friends of First Parish Church.
The Social Justice
Committee is always looking to expand the Social Action Table program.
The First Parish Church tradition of participating in
Amnesty International prisoner of conscience letter writing
campaigns has recently been renewed.
Other potential topics are always being discussed and suggestions are
welcome.
Anyone with an idea is urged to contact any member of the
Social Responsibility Committee.
Journey Toward Wholeness
In an effort to
understand and combat racism, First Parish Church is an active
participant in
Journey Toward Wholeness.
Journey Toward Wholeness is an anti-racism program sponsored by the
Unitarian Universalist Association. The program empowers UU congregations to recognize and
acknowledge racism, and to work for
racial justice. Journey
Toward Wholeness helps us to educate ourselves about the causes and
consequences of racism, and to take meaningful action both locally and
globally.
Each year, First Parish
Church holds a Journey Toward Wholeness service.
Previous services have focused on housing discrimination, campaign
finance reform as a civil rights issue, slavery and civil war in Sudan,
and the causes and consequences of environmental racism.
Individuals active in the fight against racism and injustice speak
at the service and engage in dialogue with the church community after
the service. In addition, a
special collection is taken to support an organization engaged in
anti-racism work.
Organizations benefiting from these collections have included the
Plymouth Coalition for the Homeless, the
National Voting Rights Institute, The
Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, the Gbudue Scholarship Fund
for victims of the civil war in Sudan, and
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE).
Along with our Journey
Toward Wholeness service, First Parish Church seeks to engage in
anti-racism projects.
To this point, we have undertaken one such project, creating an
affordable/fair housing study group. The Social Justice Committee looks
forward to future Journey Toward Wholeness services and projects.
Ideas and suggestions are always welcome and should be directed to
a member of the Social Responsibility Committee.
Social Justice Grants
First Parish Church has a long-standing
tradition of social activism and a commitment to peace, social justice,
and the democratic process. Much of our activism is channeled into charitable activities
like the Soup Kitchen and the Box Project.
But we also seek to make a difference in the struggle for a more
just and peaceful world. To
that end, the Social Justice Committee donates a portion of its annual
budget to organizations working toward these goals both locally and
globally.
Organizations receiving social justice
grants have included the
Boston Women’s Fund, Common
Cause,
Doctors Without Borders,
Oxfam America,
Planned Parenthood, the South Shore Women’s Center, the
Southern Poverty Law Center, and the
Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry.
The Social Justice Committee welcomes input
from the church community about our social justice grants.
If you are a friend or member of First Parish and would like to
make a suggestion, please contact a member of Social Responsibility
Committee.
Habitat for Humanity
- The
Duxbury Habitat for Humanity Committee is working to bring affordable
housing to the town of Duxbury.
The Duxbury Habitat Committee is part of
South Shore Habitat for Humanity and is affiliated with
Habitat for Humanity International.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven Christian ministry
seeking to provide affordable housing by helping people construct and
own new homes. Families
create a down payment through their sweat equity and the home is built
with volunteer labor. A
no-interest loan is given to the family and restrictions are placed on
the future sale of the home.
- Soon
after the Duxbury Habitat Committee was established, First Parish Church
made a covenant with South Shore Habitat for Humanity to provide meeting
space and volunteers.
First Parish volunteers range from people working directly on
the Duxbury Committee to individuals who pounded nails or painted walls
on the first home. First Parish has also provided financial support to the
Duxbury Habitat Committee.
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Shortly after the Duxbury Committee was established, a successful
fund-raising effort was undertaken.
The Annual Town Meeting in 2000 voted to donate a parcel of land and,
with the help of numerous volunteers, the home was completed in August
of 2001. The committee has
raised additional funds and has pledged to build two more houses.
Currently we are looking for possible building sites.
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