Social Justice Ministry Team
Update: December 1, 2007
Over the past two months the Social Justice Ministry Team (SJMT) has reviewed our mission and decided that we currently have enough volunteers to support four main action areas: Literacy, Housing, Peace and Anti-Violence, and Homelessness. We are also working on awareness efforts around the issue of Racial Justice which weaves through all four of these action areas. We are most interested in finding volunteers to support and sustain these five activities, but you will continue hear about action opportunities in other areas, like GLBT equity and environmental concerns.
The next SJMT meeting will be Sunday, December 16, from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. in the Parish Room. The first hour will be spent in three small groups focused on Racial Justice, Housing, and Homeless and Literacy. We'll then join together to report and celebrate. If you are interested in social justice in one of these areas please join us! Together we can make a difference in Philadelphia.
Peace and Anti-Violence
While our social justice ministries in the areas of housing and tutoring have developed over many years, the Peace and Anti-violence Ministry is new and still taking shape. It is concerned primarily with reducing the number of murders and other violence in our city, but we seek to link this work to larger issues relating to peace and violence worldwide, race and racism, and our responsibilities to our children. To date, our work has focused on two initiatives: (1) making connections with religious and community-based organizations in Philadelphia that are already doing work to end violence; (2) engaging middle and high school students in educational activities relating to Philadelphia African-American history. Joan Bauer is leading the first of these initiatives by meeting with people from faith-based and community organizations who are directly involved in anti-violence ministries as she seeks to find a way she can help in this work. See The Beacon for periodic updates or to learn more, contact Joan at jebauer9[AT]navpoint.com or 215-563-2744. Amy Hillier Fraatz is leading the second initiative in conjunction with her project at the University of Pennsylvania called "Mapping the Du Bois Philadelphia Negro" based on W.E.B. Du Bois's 1899 book, The Philadelphia Negro. First church volunteers interested in mentoring high school interns from the Freire Charter School on Thursday afternoons, developing curriculum materials, or working with at-risk youth on a mural of Du Bois are encouraged to contact ahillier[AT]design.upenn.edu or 215-222-1347.
Economic Justice & Housing
WinterShelter
Our committment of helping to feed the 22 men who come and stay the night at 22nd and Spruce Sts.( basement of Trinity Memorial Church) is starting November 23. We have a team for the day after Thanksgiving (beef stew is planned) but many more need to sign up for the other nights from now until April. Families and teams are encouraged for the cooking and serving. Sign up sheet is available at the back of the church. Teams of people, families are encouraged to take part but registration MUST be made at least a week ahead of serving with the coordinator. Call Ginny Beier to register, 215-545-7831 or vhbeier[AT]hep.upenn.edu.
Fair Trade Coffee
Our church continues to serve only Fair Trade Coffee that we get from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned coop. The UUService Committee receives a portion of their profits. In addition to this service on Sunday we encourage you to look for the fair trade symbol on products you buy elsewhere . If enough people are interested this service could be offered at the church. Contact Ginny, 215-545-7831 or vhbeier[AT]hep.upenn.edu.
Recycling
Please bring your mixed paper and cleaned, crushed plastic bottles with a neck to the corner of 22nd and Spruce Sts. on the first and third Saturday of every month (between 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.). Also bring cardboard and mixed paper. The good news is that many neighborhoods have started to go single stream recycling: the bad news is that more volunteers are needed to help sort and load the materials onto the trucks at Trinity.
Volunteer as a Literacy Tutor
The Social Justice Ministry will be exploring the ways FirstUU can support literacy. Without improvements in literacy in Philadelphia, improvements in economic and legal equality are not likely to occur. Sharon Tomalin is looking for volunteers who will tutor children and adults at AchieveAbility, a social service agency serving homeless families in West Philadelphia. For info/training, contact Sharon 215-735-5047.
Criminal Justice
Books Through Bars
We continue to support this program which sends books to prisoners. Packing takes place at the A Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave. every Tuesday 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. and the first and third Saturday of the month 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Check the flyers attached to the donations bin in our lobby, and on their website, www.BooksThroughBars.org. They do not need hardback fiction, out of date reference, old textbooks.
Declaration of Life
During Rev. Nate's sermon on October 21st he proposed [During the sermon of October 21st we considered] a moral justice in which we seek reconciliation not retribution and in which the response doesn't have the capability to become what it opposes nor to otherize those with which we might disagree or judge to be flawed.
Inspired by those sentiments, the Social Justice Ministry Team would like to offer for consideration the personal signing of a Declaration of Life which designates the legal systems and one's loved ones NOT to seek the death penalty if one is murdered. You can find this declaration at http://www.uuadp.org/declaration.html and can learn more about Unitarian Universalists for Alternatives to the Death Penalty at http://www.uuadp.org/about.htm.
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