Justice work is fundamental to Unitarian Universalism and to our spiritual community. The Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire has a deep commitment to programs supporting the many needs of our community and around the world. We provide opportunities for members and friends of our congregation to serve the local and world community. We have an active social justice program in addition to our community outreach activities. To see our current justice calendar and work, you can check out our latest newsletter and our events page for upcoming programs.
Once a month, we have “Share the Plate” Sunday when all the monies collected during our service (that are not part of an annual pledge) are donated to a non-profit. As part of this program we have supported organizations including: Multicultural BRIDGE, Railroad Street Youth Project, Greenagers, Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Construct, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Berkshire Immigrant Center, UU Mass Action, Hands in Outreach, Soldier On, among many others. Many of our members also volunteer for these organizations.
We partner with many local organizations including:
People’s Pantry – Once we begin meeting in person again, we will restart our practice of collecting food donations from our congregation on a weekly basis and providing them to the People’s Pantry. Many of our congregation also volunteer with the food pantry operation, helping to provide this service to the community.
Bikie Primary School in Bikie, Congo – We support the efforts of one of our members, Pauline Dongala, in building and supporting a primary school in her hometown of Bikie, Congo.
Hands in Outreach – We sponsor the education of inner-city women and girls in Kathmandu
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee – We provide financial support through our “Guest at Your Table” collection and many of our members are also members of the UUSC.
BRIDGE Race Task Force – A gathering of local individuals and organizations to support anti-racism work in the Berkshires.
UU Mass Action – We believe that our faith calls us to change the world. Grounded in democracy, powered by hope, we organize and mobilize Unitarian Universalists to overcome injustice. We participate in the annual UU Mass Action Advocacy Day each Spring and meet with local legislators to discuss issues of importance on immigrant, economic, climate and environmental justice.