Social Justice Committee

• Contents
• Arlington Food Pantry Donations
• Affordable Housing
• Red Cross Blood Drive
• Urban Connections
• Partakers
• Green Sanctuary/Climate Change Group

The Social Justice Committee seeks to be a central resource and conduit for social justice work expressed by the values, concerns, and interests of the congregation. Various working groups are approved, funded, or supported by the committee. There are numerous ways that we can make a difference in the world. We can donate food, we can walk for affordable housing, we can support the Urban Ministry, we can support advocacy and education for prisoners, and we can educate ourselves about climate change. If you have a passion for a social justice issue and would like to find out how to start a working group or if or would like to join the Social Justice Committee, please contact a committee member or email socialjustice .

If you want to schedule a social justice-related one-time event, please complete an application form.  Return this form one week before the Social Justice Committee's monthly meeting to get on the agenda.  The meeting is usually the first Wednesday of the month.  It is very helpful if you allow a couple of months for the event to be scheduled.

The following Working Groups have news to share:

Arlington Food Pantry Donations (Contact Person: Jean Nagle)

Donation boxes are by the front door and the office door; donations are delivered to Church of Our Savior on Fridays. Items desired for donation include:

Dried cereal; milk; canned fruit and vegetables; jelly and jam; peanut butter; tuna fish and canned meats; meals in a can such as spaghetti, stew, hash, ravioli, soup; fruit juices; coffee; tea; spaghetti; pasta; rice; tomato and spaghetti sauce; crackers, cookies, and baking mixes; baby food; soap, detergent and shampoo; toothpaste and toothbrushes; toilet tissue and paper towels. Avoid glass and perishable foods.

Monetary donations to the Arlington Food Pantry can be sent to:  The Arlington Food Pantry, Department of Human Services; 670R Mass Ave., Arlington, MA 02476

Consider volunteering, either Fridays from 1-3pm or on the Monday before the second Tuesday of each month from 1-3pm. Location:  Church of Our Savior; 21 Marathon St.; Arlington. Call (781) 316-3250 to volunteer.

Affordable Housing (Contact Persons:  Debby Lewis and Jan Blodgett)

First Parish is a member of the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA). It's time for the seventh annual Walk for Affordable Housing. Come join a First Parish group in a leisurely three-mile walk through Arlington Center on Sunday, April 13, from 1-3pm to increase public awareness around the desperate need for more affordable housing in Arlington. HCA will provide music, food and entertainment for kids, making this a family-friendly event. For walk pledge sheets or more information, contact First Parish members Debby Lewis (deblewis(at)rcn.com) or Jan Blodgett (janb(at)dancing-data.com) or HCA's outreach coordinator, Kari Wiley, at 781-316-3606.

Red Cross Blood Drive (Contact Person: John Hodges)

Social Responsibility sponsors the hosting of several blood drives each year in our church. The work is spearheaded by John Hodges and utilizes a good pool of volunteers in setup, registration, entertainment for those waiting, clean up and more. Blood drives in winter/spring of 2007 are scheduled for these Saturdays -- March 1 and May 10. To sign up to help, use this form.

Urban Connections (Contact Person:  Lorraine Cooley)

Through the generosity of First Parish members and coordination by the Urban Connections Group, the UU Urban Ministry in Roxbury (www.uuum.org) had wonderful food at its December 2007 Holiday Party.  Please click here to see more about our activities and pictures of the UU Urban Ministry Christmas party. 

Urban Connections is a working group of the Social Justice Committee.  For more information about the group and the date for our next meeting, e-mail uconnections@firstparish.info .

Partakers (Contact Person:  Susan Jordan)

Partakers is an advocacy group that champions legislative reform and provides mentors for prisoners seeking a college degree through the joint efforts of Partakers and the Boston University Prison Education Program. First Parish has two mentor visiting teams - one visiting Hector at Norfolk and one visiting Robin at Framingham. Both Hector and Robin are exceptional students and are excelling in the BU program. They both are grateful to the church and to their mentors for the support and encouragement.

Green Sanctuary/Climate Change Group

Last year we were excited to have Arlington resident and president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Kevin Knobloch, as our guest speaker for the Shinn service.  He spoke to us about climate change and what we can do to influence the sustainability of our world.

Please click here to see more information that we have about climate change, including Van Jones wonderful talk at General Assembly.

We are exploring what it would take to become a "Green Sanctuary."  More information on the Green Sanctuaries movement can be found at UU Ministry for Earth.

Please stop by the social justice table at coffee/friendship hour if you have an interest in working on issues concerning global climate change or email gogreen@firstparish.info.