Join us for our Sunday Service in a social justice service led by members of our newly formed Social Justice Committee. We will introduce the congregation to the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, a group we’re considering joining. Marcia Hams, a fellow UU from the First Parish Church of Cambridge, and an activist with GBIO for the past six years, will be our guest speaker. Her talk will describe her experience with the organization. Readings, music, and a social-justice themed Time For All Ages will complement the day’s theme.
Before attending service in person please read our Covid Policy.
Our service will be in-person in our sanctuary. If you are unable to join us in person, you are welcome to join via Zoom, which you can do in one of the following ways:
- By clicking this link.
- In the Zoom app, by entering meeting ID: 951 0079 7168 and passcode 792402
- By phone: +1 929 205 6099, and enter meeting ID: 951 0079 7168 and passcode 792402
This past August, a dozen members of the UUCM gathered to reconstitute the church’s Social Justice Committee. Members decided to pursue the theme of Racial Justice in this 2021-2022 year, and chose to involve the SJC in two efforts: The first would be allying in a local racial justice campaign involving the Medford community; the second would be affiliating with a broader Boston-area interfaith social justice organization. Research and discussions have led the SJC to strongly consider recommending joining the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. This October 17 th Social Justice Service is intended to introduce members of our church to this organization. To this end, our guest speaker will be Marcia Hams, a member of the First Parish Church of Cambridge (UU) and an activist with GBIO for the past half-dozen years. Marcia will describe the work of the GBIO from her own personal experience.
The UUCM has a long tradition of social justice activism. Between 2006 and 2018, we had a very active Social Justice Committee, which took up campaigns around immigration reform and immigrant support, combatting mass incarceration, supporting Black Lives Matter, sponsoring a year-long film festival of films of interest to the LGBT community, and others. We are excited to be reconstituting this important committee and planning activities for the coming year.
The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), founded in 1998, is a broad-based organization that works for the public good by coalescing, training, and organizing people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines. Membership consists of over 60 dues-paying members in Greater Boston representing more than 107,000 individuals. GBIO organizes people and institutions at neighborhood, city, and state levels. By engaging thousands of people in identifying important problems and using proven organizing methods to engage and develop leaders, GBIO has built and demonstrated collective strength to achieve a wide variety of goals. As times change, so, too, do the issues GBIO selects. Currently, GBIO is focusing on three areas.
After a “listening campaign” involving over 1400 members, which took over eight months during in the first part of this year, GBIO’s membership decided to focus its activities on three areas… (1) Affordable Housing (both Home ownership/rental and Public housing), (2) Mental Health (including focus on substance use, racism, and education), and (3) Criminal Justice (especially Reentry from incarceration and Policing.)
Topics: Cultivating Relationship