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The Unitarian Church of Sharon
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Unitarian Church of Sharon
4 N. Main St.
Sharon, MA 02067

781-784-3652
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UCS Social Justice News

July 2010

Thank you to the UCS volunteer marchers in this year’s Boston Gay Pride Parade on Saturday, June 12th. We had a total of 29 people which was our largest group to date. We joined several other UU churches as a UU contingent to promote our support of gay rights. Many thanks to: Susan Allison, Liz Moore, Mia Joiner-Moore, Valerie White, Rory and Beth McGregor, Joe, Licia, Halie, Alora, and Juliette; Gare, Alison, Rebecca and Gare; Louise and Yvonne; Jon and Naomi; Janet Schmidt and John Schumacher; David Schoenfeld; Melissa Leonard with Sara, Ian and Olivia; and Amy, Lori and Lili.

The Social Justice Committee is grateful to report that as of June 1st a total of $6,313.78 was donated to the following organizations and causes through the “Brown Envelope” offerings received and supplemented with Equal Exchange sales profits:

Thank you to the many volunteers who helped with lunch-making for MainSpring House for this church year. Your service to the homeless was greatly appreciated!

Thank you also for your Equal Exchange purchases.

The SJC would like to ask you to continue to support the Stoughton-Sharon Food Pantry or your local food pantry during the summer months. Their need for can donations actually increases during the summer months when children no longer have access to meals provided at schools. We will continue to collect can foods at the church during the summer and deliver them to the food pantry. But most local libraries are collection spots as well. Please find your town’s collection location and continue to give. Thank you!

If you have any suggestions or questions for the Social Justice Committee, please email justicecommittee@uusharon.org. Have a great summer!

May 2010

The Social Justice Committee would like to thank and congratulate the youth, supporting adults and contributors on the very successful fundraising event supporting ShelterBox relief in Haiti. Over $4,000 was raised to shelter families through the rainy season which is enough to send more than four shelter kits to Haiti (each with supplies to help ten people). Great social justice work!

Thank you also to the Senior Youth Group and Eastern Bank Foundation for service to Rosie’s Place in March. The Eastern Bank Foundation contributed $275 for a lunch program which our youth prepared, served and cleaned up after.

The Social Justice Committee would also like to thank the congregation for your generous contributions for the “Brown Envelope” offerings. This church year through March, the Unitarian Church of Sharon has contributed a total of $5,213.78 from the “Brown Envelope” offerings with some supplements from the profits of Equal Exchange sales. Here is a list of the contributions to date:

The "Brown Envelope" offerings in May will support two organizations locally and internationally whose missions are to break the cycle of poverty one child at a time by providing academic support and schools. School on Wheels provides backpacks filled with school supplies, books to build personal libraries, and after school one-on-one tutoring and mentoring for grades K-12 for children experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts. Central Asia Institute promotes and builds community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Kyrgystan. The full story of CAI is outlined in the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

Save the Date! The SJC will coordinate a group to participate in the Boston Pride Parade on Saturday, June 12th with other UU churches. We will attend the Pride Service at the Arlington Street Church and then carry our UCS banner in the parade. We would love to have a larger group from UCS this year. Please plan to join us!

If you have suggestions for the SJC, please email justicecommittee@uusharon.org.

Upcoming Dates:

  • Ongoing - Can food collections for the Stoughton/Sharon Food Pantry
  • May 23rd – Lunch-making for MainSpring House (during coffee hour)
  • June 6th – Rainbow Sunday
  • June 12th – Interfaith Pride Service at Old South Church 10:00 AM UU Pride Service at Arlington Street Church 11:00 AM Boston Pride Parade (march with UU churches) Noon

April 2010

The Social Justice Committee would like to thank those who participated on Social Justice Sunday, March 28th, during our worship service and Diversity Matters workshop, and especially Angela Park for her engaging program. If you have comments or suggestions, please email justicecommittee@uusharon.org. We welcome your feedback!

The Social Justice Committee would also like to thank the congregation for your generous contributions for the “Brown Envelope” offerings in February to support relief efforts in Haiti. Because of your generosity, we were able to make donations of $600 each to Partners in Health and to the UUSC/UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

This church year through February, the Unitarian Church of Sharon has contributed a total of $4,518.61 from the “Brown Envelope” offerings with some supplements from the profits of Equal Exchange sales. Here is a list of the contributions to date:

  • $695.17 MainSpring House Lunch Supplies
  • $265.00 UUA Association Sunday
  • $570.84 New Hope, Inc. (Attleboro, MA)
  • $392.80 UU Urban Ministry – Explorers Club
  • $794.80 ATRAVES
  • $120.00* Stoughton-Sharon Food Pantry
  • $120.00* Foxboro Food Pantry
  • $120.00* Canton Food Pantry
  • $120.00* Norwood Food Pantry
  • $120.00* Walpole Food Pantry
  • $600.00 Partners in Health (Haiti relief effort)
  • $600.00 UUSC/UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief
  • March BE Father Bill’s & MainSpring
  • March BE Rosie’s Place

April is Environmental Justice month. Honoring Earth Day and environmental justice, the Social Justice Committee has selected these two organizations for April’s “Brown Envelope” offerings: ACE and IMEC.

ACE (Alternatives for Community and Environment) is a Boston-based organization whose focus is to: organize for equitable public transit: support youth organizers; advocate for green jobs; and help neighborhoods fight environmental justice.

IMEC (International Medical Equipment Collaborative) is based in North Andover and their mission is to serve doctors and nurses in developing countries by providing them with quality medical equipment to advance the standard of health care for their nation’s poor. IMEC fulfills this mission by collecting donated surplus medical equipment and supplies and then recycling them by shipping them to impoverished hospitals in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Peru, Kenya, Grenada and more. Robert Schlenig is a volunteer for IMEC and recommended them to the SJC for “Brown Envelope” offerings to aid with shipping costs.

Upcoming Dates:

April 18th – Lunch-making for MainSpring House (during coffee hour)

April 25th – Social Justice Committee Meeting (6:30 PM)

March 2010

The “Brown Envelope” offerings for March will support local efforts towards homelessness and hunger, including Father Bill’s & MainSpring and Rosie’s Place. An in-depth study released on February 2nd reported that about 9% of Massachusetts’ population is now relying on food pantries, soup kitchens or shelters. This is a startling 23% jump over the past four years. The majority of these people - about 394,300 of 571,600 - live in the 190 communities of eastern Massachusetts, where 8% of the population uses the emergency food network. For additional information, please see www.fatherbillsmainspring.org and www.rosiesplace.org

Thank you for your contributions to the “Brown Envelope” offerings. We have received and donated to date in this church year:

*$583.92 was received for January’s “Brown Envelope” offerings. Additional funds were added from the profits of Equal Exchange sales to round up the donation amount.

Volunteers will be needed on March 21 to make sandwiches and assemble 85 lunches for residents of MainSpring House. Please lend a hand after the service that Sunday. This homeless shelter organization also needs the following items (new or used): twin size linens and blankets and bath towels. They also need bath and personal care items. Items donated will be delivered with the monthly lunches, so please bring them on March 21.

Every week the Social Justice Committee collects can food donations for the Stoughton-Sharon Food Pantry. Please leave your can donations in the baskets on the second floor entryway and a SJC member will deliver them directly to the Food Pantry. Soups, vegetables, and peanut butter are food items that they report as always needed.

Cradles to Crayons is in urgent need of winter clothes for kids-in-need. They need boys’ and girls’ clothes sizes 18-24 months through youth 14-16. If you wish to donate, please see http://boston.cradlestocrayons.org for drop-off location sites.

Clothes for the World, Inc. is compiling a community cook book that will combine recipes from all areas in which CFTWorld provides its services. Erin Rosenbaum, President and Founding Director, shared that she “would love for members of the Sharon Unitarian Church to provide her with our favorite recipes and any family stories or experiences about the recipe”. Please email recipes to erosenbaum@gmail.com.

Also, if you donated to Clothes for the World in 2009 and have not received a tax receipt, please contact Erin via email or by phone at (617) 602-7453.

If you would like to give the Social Justice Committee suggestions or comments, please email justicecommittee@uusharon.org. We welcome your input!

February 2010

The “Brown Envelope” offerings for February will support two relief efforts for the earthquake crisis in Haiti. Partners in Health is a Boston-based nonprofit that has worked in Haiti for 23 years. They have established a field hospital to treat the wounded. Also, the UU Service Committee and UUA have established the UUSC/UUA Joint Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund that will focus on those survivors less likely to have access to aid, such as child domestic workers, women-headed households that work in the informal sector, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Haiti has a vibrant grassroots movement with a vision of empowering people. UUSC will work closely with partners in this grassroots movement to reach those survivors at greatest risk of being overlooked. Please check the UUSC website for updates.

Thank you for your contributions to the “Brown Envelope” offerings. We have received and donated to date in this church year:

  • $695.17 MainSpring House Lunch Supplies
  • $265.00 UUA Association Sunday
  • $570.84 New Hope, Inc. (Attleboro, MA)
  • $392.80 UU Urban Ministry – Explorers Club
  • $794.80 ATRAVES
  • January BE Stoughton-Sharon Food Pantry
  • January BE Foxboro Food Pantry
  • January BE Canton Food Pantry
  • January BE Norwood Food Pantry
  • January BE Walpole Food Pantry

SAVE THE DATE! March 28th will be Social Justice Sunday. The Social Justice Committee has invited Angela Park, the founder of Diversity Matters, to join us. Angela is a dynamic speaker who will participate in our worship service and then will facilitate a workshop on cultural diversity from 12:30 to 3:30 PM. More information will be coming soon, but please plan to attend.

Volunteers will be needed on February 21st to make sandwiches and assemble 85 lunches for residents of MainSpring House. Please lend a hand after the service that Sunday. This homeless shelter organization also needs the following items (new or used): twin size linens and blankets and bath towels. Items donated will be delivered with the monthly lunches, so please bring them on February 21st.

Every week the Social Justice Committee collects can food donations for the Stoughton-Sharon Food Pantry. Please leave your can donations in the basket near the door to the Vestry and a SJC member will deliver them directly to the Food Pantry. Soups, vegetables, and peanut butter are food items that they report as always needed.

The next meeting of the Social Justice Committee will be on Sunday, February 28th, at Noon at UCS. Members and friends of UCS may participate on this committee at any time. If you are not able to attend SJC meetings, but would like to give us suggestions or comments, please email justicecommittee@uusharon.org. We welcome your input!

 

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