Faith in Action Sunday
Once a month the Sunday Worship Service focuses on a particular justice issue or community need. Each service includes a Time for All Ages to help adults and children think together about how they can make a difference.
The offering on Faith in Action Sunday is shared with a local, national or international organization. The recently formed Share the Plate Advisory Group elicits input from the congregation regarding organizations they would like to have the church contribute to. They then decide on a plan using that information.
Faith in Action Committee
Partnering With Our Neighbors
UUCC partners with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to help reduce hunger and poverty in the local neighborhood by supporting the Angel Food Network (free public suppers), Augusta Food Bank, Essentials Pantry (Diaper Drive).
Social Justice in Religious Exploration
Young children participate in Faith in Action in a variety of ways, such as cleaning the Kennebec Rail Trail, making and buying for the giving tree during the holidays, gathering food/ money for the food bank and world wide need.
We start faith in action work early, with group projects in the children’s program. Each project is introduced in a worship setting, explained through story, and linked to the Unitarian Universalist principles. As the children grow in their understanding of the wider world, we add ideas of community organizing and activism, legislative lobbying, hands-on mission work, and nonviolent communication. Most of this work is done through the senior youth group Peace Jam, which is attached to a world-wide service learning/social justice program established by eleven former Nobel Peace Prize Winners. We are devoted to helping children, youth and adults come alive through action, through connecting with others, and through connecting with dreams of better conditions for all beings.
Welcoming Congregation
The Welcoming Congregation program started in the Unitarian Universalist Association in the early 1990’s with the intentional program of welcoming gays and lesbians. This was revolutionary. There were few gay or lesbian clergy, we were beginning the struggle of civil rights in Maine, and UU sexuality education that included gender and sexual affiliations was truly ‘cutting edge’. The intervening years have been evolutionary. The spectrum of intentionality has expanded to include people who identify as bisexual, transsexual and transgendered, and questioning, from the young to the elderly. Our Whole Lives curriculum, resources used in RE, session plans in Small Group Ministry, and educational and awareness programs offered throughout the year weave Welcoming Congregation into the fabric of the congregation. Welcoming is what we model for each other, for our children, and for the larger community with our public affirmation, interactions and language.
We voted to become a Welcoming Congregation on March 1, 2009, and received the UUA certification.
Welcoming Congregation Alliance
Contact Person: Helen Zidowecki
Marriage Equality
Members of the congregation work tirelessly toward a vision of marriage equality for all couples. Information regarding ongoing events and advocacy are noted in the Newsletter. Many individuals in the congregation have been involved in the Marriage Equality campaign. This has included the availability of our space for calling and meetings. Members of the congregation participated in the hearing on the same sex marriage legislation.
Contact Person: Maggie Ricker
Unitarian Universalism is an active faith tradition, with a call to continually put our faith into action. We promote social justice, equity and compassion through words and actions. Our time and resources and leadership forge connections within the congregation toward our outreach to the larger community.
Getting Involved:
- We welcome those who are interested in helping the church and our community to join the Faith in Action Committee. We meet, form goals and objectives in the areas of direct service, education, witnessing and solidarity, then focus on projects for the church year of September to May.
- Continue to support and participate in the Religious Exploration of concerns for all ages, such as Our Whole Lives (OWL) and other programs in order to become familiar with the many facets and complexities of issues.
- Become involved in various activities related to Marriage Equality.
