| Living Our Faith At First Parish of Sudbury Unitarian Universalistlivingourfaith@fpsudbury.org
Winner of the 2005 Unitarian Universalist Association James Bennett Award For Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead
Living Our Faith at First Parish is an important part of our community. Unitarian Universalist theology is often promoted as "deeds, not creeds." People with different understandings of God, death, and the meaning of life come together to try to make our world a better place. Our Faith In Action committee, our Green Sanctuary and Welcoming Congregation committees, and our Director of Religious Exploration and Youth Ministry involve many members of the congregation (and would welcome many more) in working to improve the quality of life for all people living in our world. In addition, many members of our congregation work toward this same goal in ways not directly connected with First Parish. |
We welcome you to learn about the many initiatives and programs that happen here at First Parish, and invite you to participate in the ones that awaken your spirit and put your talents to create justice, equity and compassion in an often-unequal and unfair world.
♥ "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~ Anne Frank ♥
The Faith in Action Committee at First Parish sponsors a wide variety of meaningful and worthwhile outreach efforts. We hope to make positive changes in our society by increasing our congregation's awareness, becoming a more generous community, and reaching out and helping those in need. We are a core team with the entire congregation participating in our initiatives and programs.
- Share The Plate: Twice monthly, we share the collection plate with worthy organizations. Last year, we donated almost 8% of our annual budget to non-profit organizations trying to make the world a better place. We welcome suggestions on whom to support.
- We send a team of walkers each fall to raise funds for the Annual Barakat Walk for Literacy.
- Our Secret Santa Program provides holiday gifts to over 70 children in Framingham and Sudbury.
- Through our Annual Backpack Drive in partnership with HOPEsudbury, we collect backpacks and school supplies for all the children at Sandra's Lodge (an emergency family shelter in Waltham).
- Our Prison Outreach includes two members mentoring a prisoner in the BU Behind Bars program & support for outreach at MCI Concord.
- We actively support the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee helping people throughout the world help themselves. We have received both the "Creating Justice" and the James Luther Adams awards from the UUSC many times.
- The Annual Project Bread - Walk for Hunger is held on the first Sunday in May. A multigenerational group organizes our annual walk team and fundraising effort.
- Since 2003 we have been helping a Haitian immigrant family, and now we are supporting efforts in Haiti to rebuild and provide essential services through programs in the pulpit and fundraisers.
- Other initiatives include supporting the Sudbury Food Pantry, Renewal House, and UU Urban Ministries.
Water Conservation Project: 
In 2009, First Parish won a grant from the Rivers Stewardship Council for the Sudbury, Assabet and Concord Rivers to start a water conservation program. Our 2011 program encourages members to reduce household water usage use by 10% and/or to practice other water conservation actions.
Green Initiatives: We seek to promote greater practice of the Seventh UU Principle: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Our green initiatives include participating in the 350.org work, our Low Carbon Group, and the Water Conservation Project. We strive for broad community participation in activities and lifestyle changes that result in our treading more lightly upon this planet.
We Are A Welcoming Congregation:We strive to be welcoming to all people, particularly those who have felt unwelcome in other religious places because of racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and other diversities. Through the denomination's "Welcoming Congregation" Program, we overtly express a specific welcome to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. Our Welcoming Congregation Committee works to educate the congregation and the wider community about social justice issues affecting this minority and organizes a group to march in Boston's Pride Parade each June.
Faith in Action in our Religious Education programs and Youth Ministry: From fundraising for a worthwhile organization to helping local people, we introduce our children and teens each year to many different types of community service and social action projects. We also seek to empower our children and teens to respond to immediate needs as they come up (such as from disasters or social justice issues). We do this because community service and social action are important parts of our Unitarian Universalist faith and a good way to practice our UU promises. We welcome adults to join us by engaging in projects side-by-side with our young people.
Individual Initiatives: Many members of our congregation actively engage in Living Our Faith work in the community. Some of our best projects started as a seed planted by someone suggesting a favorite cause. Our Faith in Action committee is very interested in helping to start and support new initiatives. Contact us with your ideas.
How can I learn more about Living Our Faith? Please email
livingourfaith@fpsudbury.org, call the office (978-443-2043), visit the Living Our Faith pages on our website at www.fpsudbury.org, see the Faith in Action bulletin board in the Parish Hall, and read the First Parish newsletter for more ongoing information. Join us!
Calendar
Gary will lead a book discussion group starting January 8 from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Brackett Room using Huston Smith's classic The World's Religions, an eight week tour of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Primal Traditions. The class is free and open to the public, but you might want to add this book to your Christmas list if you want to participate. Please note: we will be using the non-illustrated version of Smith's book. The pictures are nice, but the text is much abbreviated in the illustrated edition.
Our speaker will be Peg Espinola, who will talk about her experiences creating her music. Have you ever wondered how Peg and other musicians come upon ideas for their compositions? Just how does the "creative process" happen for them? Peg will discuss this subject and illustrate by playing and singing some of her own songs. It should be a fascinating hour, so do join us on Tues., Feb. 28th!
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