Called to love and justice

Our love and justice work springs from our calling as Christians to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our broken and hurting world. We have come to realize that by serving, we are served; by seeking to help others, we ourselves are transformed.

The mission of the Love and Justice Ministry is to fulfill the Church’s mission to imagine and act on our vision of love and justice by empowering the congregation and its individual members to:

• offer compassionate service
• build relationships of solidarity and reconciliation
• work toward systemic change, and
• share our resources

The short video presented here features former Pastor Catherine Foote and four members of our congregation who are or have been deeply involved in our Love and Justice Ministry—Liz Gilbert, Tim Croll, Dave and Jeanne Powell and Toni Higgs. In talking about their volunteer work, they share what inspires them and how the work deeply affects and changes them. This video was produced in 2017. Since that time, Mary’s Place has evolved their program so that they no longer host participants in local churches. We retain this video, however, because it still features passionate church members who continue to work for love and justice.

Action and advocacy on many fronts

Our Love and Justice Ministry is organized into action teams of three or more people.

Click on the Get Involved and Serve button in the sidebar to explore the many ways to join this ministry. The areas that we are working in, and the specific issues we are focused on are listed below. Under Get Involved and Serve you will find specific ways to engage with this important work. Click on the Give Now button to make a financial contribution.

• Creating the Beloved Community—peace and justice advocacy, racial justice initiative, multicultural circle, gun violence prevention, LGBT equality, support for soldiers and veterans, refugee assistance.
• Child and Youth Wellbeing—UCUCC child care programs, University District Youth Services, Teen Feed, Roots breakfast team. Learn more about our involvement with children and youth in the Christian Education section.
• Economic Justice—Christmas families, Offering of Gifts Sunday, Hunger Outreach, United Churches Emergency Fund.
• Global Ministries—Mwanzo, Palestine Action Group. We also support global ministries through our work with the national UCC and Our Church’s Wider Mission.
• Homes for All—Affordable housing and the issues surrounding homelessness have captured the attention and imagination of this congregation for many years. We have hosted five homelessness encampments in our parking lot, beginning in 2008. We regularly host Mary’s Place in our building for two weeks at a time, providing safe shelter for homeless women and their children.Some of our lay leaders have become deeply involved with Habitat for Humanity, leading groups of builders to places in need of their skills, including our own state, New Orleans and Guatamala. We provide support to the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness and volunteer at the Downtown Emergency Service Center. We support homeless teenagers by sponsoring Teen Feed in our building three nights a week.
• Sacred Earth—Share the Harvest table, Superfluity, Sacred Earth Matters.
• Racial Justice—In 2019 we passed a Congregational Racial Justice Resolution, stating our intention to work toward ending systemic racism. Learn more about these efforts on our Anti-Racism page.
• Land Acknowledgement—read our Land Acknowledgement statement and learn about action items that you can take to support Indigenous communities.

If you find yourself called to this work, there are many issues with which to get involved. And remember, you don’t have to join a committee to get involved. Keep up with news about our efforts by clicking on the Love and Justice News button near the top of the right sidebar. Then express your willingness to go on a march, carry a sign, volunteer at a shelter. There are many opportunities for direct action here.