Justice Values & Projects

Social and Environmental Justice at WBUUC

 

Social Action Committee Mission Statement:

The mission of the Committee is to promote, facilitate, and directly engage in social and environmental action in accordance with Unitarian Universalist Principles and the Mission of the Church, which calls for “service to the broader community and the world.”

To take part in one of these programs or in others not listed here—contact the church office or email the Social Action Committee at justice@wbuuc.org

 

Racial Justice:

Our church supports racial justice in a variety of ways, including small groups, workshops, education, public witness, and personal reflection.  Members of our church have been active with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, locally in Minneapolis and beyond. After an anniversary trip to Selma in 2015, our church established an advisory team titled Facing Race to help our congregation reflect on and engage issues of privilege, oppression, and collective liberation.
Read more about Facing Race
See a timeline of WBUUC’s Engagement in Anti-Racist Work

 

Environment:

Climate Action
Educates the congregation, urges action, and collaborates with other organizations to address climate change. Hosts meetings, initiates advocacy projects, and attends rallies at the State Capitol.
See more about our Solar Expansion Project

Green Sanctuary
After extensive work by WBUUC members, our church is now certified as a Green Sanctuary by UUA standards, which touch on environmental justice, sustainable living, religious education, worship, and celebration.
See a description including photos of our Phrenology Project.

 

Homelessness:

Finding Home
Our church was instrumental in the creation of a youth drop-in center in the East Metro, while working to support other initiatives addressing homelessness in the northeast suburban area including Washington County.

Habitat For Humanity
WBUUC members donate funds and thousands of volunteer hours to build affordable housing in the East Metro area.

 

Special Collections:

Two Sundays a month WBUUC gives away the offertory collection to a nonprofit chosen by the Social Action Committee. Donations usually are in the $50,000 to $70,000 range.

 

Other Programs:

Service Trips
The Committee organizes trips to distant locations to experience the reality of people in dire need and to develop friendships.

Twin Cities Pride Festival
WBUUC members and friends march in the annual LGBT Pride Parade in Minneapolis.

Martin Luther King Breakfast
For more than a decade, WBUUC hosted the largest remote site in the Twin Cities to celebrate the MLK holiday in January. In January, of 2023, WBUUC joined with Parkview United Church of Christ to co-host the event, in a partnership that is likely to continue. Read more

 

Past Programs of Recent Years:

In recent years, WBUUC also contributed significant financial and/or volunteer support to other social action programs—providing a month of shelter to homeless families in Project Home, preparing a monthly meal for persons at People Inc., and assisting with overnight shelter at Hope for the Journey Home.

Our congregation has a history of confronting injustice:

• 1990 Vote to oppose Gulf War One.
• 1995 Vote to become a Welcoming Congregation affirming gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.
• 2003 Vote to oppose the impending war against Iraq.
• 2003-5 Our Lead Minister, Reverend Victoria Safford, testifies to the state Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of marriage equality.
• 2004 Board supports minister’s refusal to sign marriage certificates until same-sex marriages gain legal recognition.
• 2006 Vote against a proposed state constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.
• Members donate over $25,000 to set up microbanks in Nicaragua.
• 2008 Vote to make poverty and economic justice the church-wide focus for social action.

Come and join us as we grow our souls and serve the world!