11/07/2019 - Take Action: Urge Your Governor to Declare Welcome to Refugees
Justice and WitnessFrom Church World Service. On September 26, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO 13888) that could end the resettlement of refugees in 16 ...
News Briefs
News Briefs
10/22/2019 - LGBT Asylum: Building Bridges of Hope
Justice and WitnessThe LGBT Asylum Task Force hosted its third annual Gala themed "Building Bridges of Hope" on October 5 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. It was a sold-out event at which 500+ supporters dined, danced, and listened to the remarkable journeys of some of the LGBTQ ...
06/26/2019 - How to Help the Children at the Border
Justice and WitnessOur government is detaining asylum-seeking children and adults in squalid conditions across our country. As people of faith, we are full of rage and pain, and want to help. Here are a few ways to stand in solidarity and offer assistance (many of these come from this New...
05/06/2019 - Call ICE on Behalf of Lucio Perez
Justice and WitnessA message from the Rev. Vicki Kemper Dear friends, We continue to feel profoundly grateful to each of you and your faith communities for all they ways you lift up and support Lucio Perez and his family in sanctuary. Our fight against his deportation continues and we ...
02/14/2019 - Time for Actual Justice in MA Criminal Justice Reform
Justice and WitnessFollowing the monumental passage of the omnibus criminal justice bill in Massachusetts in 2018, the mood throughout the commonwealth for continued ...
12/04/2018 - Shine the Light on Immigration
Justice and WitnessJoin the UCC churches of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, as we seek together to learn more about the issues surrounding immigration. During this Epiphany season, as a congregation, consider a commitment to reading the book Dear America: Notes from an ...
11/14/2018 - Armistice Day: Ringing Bells for World Peace
Justice and WitnessFirst Congregational Church in Rockland's historic bell Last Sunday, November 11, was the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day - a day marking the end of fighting in WWI. At 11 AM, when the fighting stopped, church bells rang all over the world in celebration and hope...
10/31/2018 - Help Keep Boston Youth Warm this Winter
Justice and WitnessCity Mission, along with Citizens Bank, believes that all children in Boston deserve to be warm and safe this winter. Coat Boston has spent nine years ensuring that children, from toddlers to teens, have the warm winter coats they need. City Mission partners with ...
10/16/2018 - UCC Churches, Conference in Phoenix Offer Hospitality to Migrant Families Released by ICE
Justice and Witnessby Connie Larkman UCC News A United Church of Christ congregation in Phoenix that provides a safe space for migrants seeking asylum in the United ...
08/23/2018 - 10-Year Marriage Equality Anniversary Approaching
Justice and WitnessThis November 12 will mark the 10th anniversary of the beginning of marriage equality in Connecticut, a cause that was championed by many United Church of Christ clergy and churches at the time. Anne Stanback of Immanuel Congregational Church UCC in Hartford, who was ...
07/19/2018 - Supplying Help at the Border
Justice and WitnessHas your church been looking for a way to help in the crisis at the US / Mexico border? Here are two collections of supplies that your church can contribute to now. Our fellow UCC churches are doing the work at the border directly with both the children and adults who ...
07/13/2018 - Clergy: Sign on to Keep Families Together
Justice and WitnessThe Immigration and Refugee Task Team urges clergy of all faiths to sign on to this petition in support of immigrant families and an end to separating parents from their children. Read the document and sign here. Questions? Contact Rev. Noel Andersen, Church World ...
06/20/2018 - Bullying Resolution, Transgender Rights, and an ONA Milestone
Annual Meeting Justice and WitnessBullying Resolutions Discussed in MA and CT Conference Annual Meetings On June 15, 2018, a joint hearing was held for Massachusetts and Connecticut ...
05/04/2018 - Conference Seeks Racial Justice Training Leaders
Conference programming Justice and WitnessThe Massachusetts Conference, UCC is seeking additional facilitators to present racial justice trainings to local churches. If you have completed a Racial Justice Level I Training through the Conference and feel called to this work, you are invited to join the team. ...
04/20/2018 - ONA Updates
Justice and WitnessAnnual Meeting Resolution on Bullying for MA and CT Conferences Be sure to look out for a proposed resolution at the MA and CT Annual Meetings this June. The CT Conference ONA Ministry Team created the resolution and graciously shared it with the MA Conference ONA ...
02/28/2018 - Springfield Pastor Chosen For Oral History Archive
Justice and WitnessLouis Mitchell, associate minister of South Congregational Church in Springfield, was recently selected for an in-depth interview by the LGBT Religious Archives Network as part of their Oral History Collection. Mitchell is a pioneering "intentional man", known around ...
01/24/2018 - News from the Open and Affirming Ministry Team
Justice and WitnessMassachusetts Anti-Transgender Ballot Measure “In 2018 Massachusetts will vote for fairness” says the banner on the website of Freedom Massachusetts. Next November, Massachusetts will vote on a ballot measure that would roll back the hard-won rights in Massachusetts ...
12/05/2017 - UCC's 'Podcast for a Just World' connects faith, justice and community building
Justice and WitnessAnother tool for UCC clergy, community activists, and people who want to find a way to promote justice and deepen their faith debuted last week, in ...
11/09/2017 - Anti-Casino Coalition Plans Bridgeport Gathering
Justice and WitnessThe Coalition Against Casino Expansion in CT is encouraging church members to come to a panel discussion on a proposed casino in Bridgeport - and to invite their legislators to come as well. The free luncheon meeting, being held Thursday Dec. 7, from noon to 1:30 PM at...
10/20/2017 - Churches Invited to Join The Fight for 15
Justice and WitnessConference churches are invited to participate in the signature-gathering campaigns to qualify referenda for the ballot for the "Fight for $15" and "Paid Family and Medical Leave" ballot initiatives. By participating with Essex County Community Organization and ...
09/12/2017 - RI Council of Churches Holding Race Conversations in Four Locations
Justice and WitnessThe Rhode Island Council of Churches is sponsoring a series of 5 two-hour session based on Merciful Conversations on Race: Let’s Talk White Privilege,...
08/30/2017 - City Mission Offers Youth Immersion Program
Justice and Witness Making DisciplesDid you know that the average age of a person experiencing homelessness in the state of Massachusetts is 8? What would happen if more people—especially youth—knew this, and even more about homelessness in their own neighborhoods? City Mission is excited to offer two new...
08/22/2017 - Faith Leaders: Sign On, We Are With Dreamers
Justice and WitnessThe Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 800,000 young people from deportation and provides them work authorization, is under immediate and existential attack.
08/11/2017 - A Mess into a Message: Making Mats for the Homeless
Justice and WitnessFollowing the many (and intense) town discussions on the controversial plastic bag ban in Shrewsbury, a member of Trinity Church of Northborough ...
07/20/2017 - UCC Young Adult Service Program Has Opening in Simsbury, CT
Justice and WitnessFirst Church in Simsbury, CT, has one more opening for a young adult intern interested in living in intentional community with other young adults who...
06/21/2017 - ONA Team Urges Outreach in Support of Transgender People
Justice and WitnessThe new Trans Still Speaking initiative is launching this month at the Open and Affirming Coalition's National Gathering in Baltimore. The MA ...
05/18/2017 - MA Faith Leaders Stand Against Transgender Discrimination
Justice and WitnessThe following was submitted by The Rev. Tom O’Brien on behalf of Freedom Massachusetts. He is Pastor and Teacher at Memorial Congregational Church UCC...
03/27/2017 - Searfarer's Friend Needs Ship Visitors
Justice and WitnessSeafarer's Friend, a ministry that serves the men and women that work and live on the sea, is looking for volunteer ship visitors. The organization, which has long had ties with the Massachusetts Conference, sent the following statement: "We visit the ships that come ...
03/07/2017 - UCC Offers Five Steps for Refugee Accompaniment
Justice and WitnessYour commitment to faith-inspired welcoming and advocacy for refugees in the USA is especially important in these uncertain times.
02/21/2017 - Sacred Conversations on Immigration
Justice and WitnessIs your church interested in learning more about immigration? Does your congregation understand the difference between refugees and asylum seekers? Do they want more information on the sanctuary process? Invite the Immigration and Refugee Task Team of the Massachusetts...
01/30/2017 - Center for Progressive Renewal Offers 100 Days of Action
Justice and WitnessThis is an opportunity to stay connected, focused and engaged over the next 100 days.
01/30/2017 - Resources for Fighting Hate and Speaking Up
Justice and WitnessAs a people of faith focused on wholistic health within our UCC churches and the communities we serve, some of our health promotion interventions must be broadened this year beyond the physical and mental health challenges we have addressed in the past. The following ...
01/11/2017 - Baby Jesus: Refugee?
Justice and WitnessSubmitted by the Immigration and Refugee Task Team The Christmas season has ended, but the Christmas story has not. If we imagine that the Magi indeed did visit the Holy Family on January 6th, the Day of Epiphany, then is today the day that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled...
01/04/2017 - Back Bay Mission Accepting Applications for the 2017 Shari Prestemon Social Justice Internship
Justice and WitnessThe Shari Prestemon Social Justice Internship provides people between the ages of 19 and 35 with a unique opportunity to participate in a 10-week ...
01/04/2017 - Back Bay Mission Opens 2018 Mission Trip Calendar
Justice and WitnessBack Bay Mission's 2018 mission trip calendar opened at midnight central time on January 1, 2017.
01/04/2017 - UCC contingents to take part in Women's Marches in DC, Boston, Greenfield
Justice and WitnessPeople from all over the Massachusetts Conference are planning to take part in the upcoming Women's March on Washington, as well as in sister marches ...
12/20/2016 - Worship Resources Available for Day of Remembrance for Interned Japanese Americans
Justice and WitnessWorship and study resources for the “Day of Remembrance” for Japanese Americans who were exiled and imprisoned during World War II are available for ...
07/05/2016 - UCC looking for local captains for Our Faith, Our Vote
Justice and WitnessFrom the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network In this 2016 election cycle, with its heightened polarization, partisanship and mean-spiritedness, ...
03/10/2016 - Your Church's Mission/Justice Activities - A Survey
Justice and WitnessGreetings Siblings in Christ! Your Justice and Witness Council is asking churches to fill out a survey about your mission, witness and justice ...
04/14/2015 - Help the Hungry in Western MA: Call your Legislator about MEFAP
Justice and WitnessDear Friends of Faith: Greetings from the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Berkshire Interfaith Organizing is a group of clergy, their ...
11/21/2014 - UCC Leaders Applaud President Obama's "Immigrant Accountability Executive Action"
Justice and WitnessUCC Justice Witness Ministries issued this response to President Obama's new immigration action.
11/19/2014 - Forum: A Migrant's Journey
Justice and WitnessA forum sponsored by South East Missions of the MACUCC focused on the unaccompanied children now in detention centers in the U.S.
11/18/2014 - Report: Celebrating 30 Years of ONA in Massachusetts
Justice and Witnessby Kathie Carpenter, Chair of the MACUCC ONA Ministry Team and ONA Registrar of the UCC Coalition Scroll down to see photos and 30th anniversary ...
08/13/2014 - Minister and President invites members to join in prayers, advocacy, support for religious and ethnic groups in Northern Iraq
Justice and WitnessMassachusetts Conference Minister and President Jim Antal is inviting members of the Conference to join together in prayers, advocacy and support for ...