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The First Parish Faith in Action Committee serves the congregation towards the UU principal of striving for a goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all. We sponsor First Parish outreach efforts through six focus areas:
- Item Donations
- Share the Plate
- Donations and Grants
- UUA Study Action Issues,
- Social Action Liaison
- Programs and Initiatives.
In these ways, we hope to make positive changes in our society by increasing our congregation's awareness, becoming a more generous community, and by reaching out and helping those in need.
We meet at First Parish, four times a year, after our Sunday morning worship service - Join us! Call Tom Arnold or Judy Deutsch for more information.
We are a core team with the entire congregation participating in our projects, initiaves and efforts.
Current Initiatives ==
Our Secret Santa Program provided over 70 needy children in Framingham and Sudbury with holiday gifts of needed and wanted items.
Our Annual Backpack Drive was again successful. In partnership with HOPEsudbury (http://hopesudbury.org) we collected backpacks and school supplies. We outfitted all the children at Sandra's Lodge (an emergency family shelter in Waltham) and provided backpacks to keep for welcome packages for new children throughout the year.
Our Prison Ministry continues. We continue the Partakers program and sponsor an inmate through the College Beyond Bars Program.
Last year, we participated with two other Sudbury congregations in helping an Algerian refugee family seeking asylum in the US. The RIM organization supports the family and our Sudbury Cluster. We helped financially, with driving and other volunteer time, and assisted the family become self-sufficent.
Fair Trade Coffee Program is in its seventh year, and we have started selling chocolate too. Pick up an order form on the FIA bulletin board, or call Beth Rust.
The 2009 Project Bread - Walk for Hunger was held on the first Sunday in May and we raised almost $6,000.
The 2009 2nd Annual Walk for Literacy - sponsored by Barakat World was held on October 24 and we raised almost $2000.
Come celebrate all you do by just looking at everyone's answers to the question "What do you do to live according to your Unitarian Universalist principles?" See CelebratingAllWeDo
Financial Grants and Share The Plate Initiatives ==
Share The Plate Monthly we share the collection plate with worthy organizations, as suggested by the congregational community. Last year we donated almost 8% of our annual budget through various grnts, share-the-plate and outreach collections.
Revision 3. Last edited Mon 8 Mar 2010 1:20pm by CarolynLee