Ever Flowing Streams 2013
In This Issue
First Give Thanks...Then Let's Change the World
UCC Leaders Applaud President Obama's "Immigration Accountability Executive Action"
Preparing for the Grand Jury Announcement from Ferguson
Report: Celebrating 30 Years of ONA in Massachusetts
MACUCC Signs on as Friend of the Court in Supreme Court Climate Change Case
Multifaith Prayer Vigil for a Climate Agreement
Only 4 Spaces Left in the 2015 Youth Spiritual Journey to Chile
UCC Disaster Ministries: Volunteers Needed
Equal Exchange Tour Educational and Tasty!
Celebrating the Victory of Gains in Minimum Wage and Sick Time
Work Volunteers Needed in Haiti
Alternative Christmas GIft Fair
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November 2014
First Give Thanks..Then Let's Change the World
by Edith Rasell
Minister for Economic Justice
United Church of Christ

Thanksgiving is really a religious holiday - maybe the best kind of religious holiday. Not an over-the-top commercialized day, not a dress-in your- best-and-show-off day. If we slow down and postpone the shopping, hopefully we will remember that it is a day to give thanks.

Following the lead of those first settlers, we can express our gratitude to God for the abundance given to us. We dwell in a land overflowing with milk and honey or, in today's language, we live in a country where the size of our economic pie continues to expand and the stock market climbs ever upward. But, wait - we all know there is something wrong with this picture.

In a very rich country with stores overflowing with every imaginable thing, why are so very many of us suffering from inadequate income and too few resources? Or, at the very least, why do we worry so much about our economic futures? 
UCC Leaders Applaud President Obama's "Immigrant Accountability Executive Action"
from UCC Justice and Witness Ministries

Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the UCC Immigration Taskforce applaud President Obama's "Immigration Accountability Executive Action" that will offer millions of our undocumented community members the opportunity to apply for temporary relief from deportation.

Rev. Linda Jaramillo Executive Minister for the Justice and Witness Ministries responded saying, "Leaders from throughout the United Church of Christ have been working hard to change our broken immigration policies for years. We have advocated, held vigils, marched, fasted and joined in civil disobedience to stop the deportations and stop family separations. We are deeply heartened that the President's executive action reflects the call to hospitality and welcome that is at the heart of our faith traditions and is a core American value. We applaud the President for this historic move to do the morally right thing and provide relief from deportation for 5 million people. In the absence of congressional responsibility to address immigration reform, the President's action was essential to address this critical national issue."

Preparing for the Grand Jury Announcement from Ferguson
A letter from Jim Antal
Minister and President

As we approach Thanksgiving, there is so much to be
Jim Antal thankful for.  Serving God in this Conference is among our greatest blessings.  Thanks be to God for you and the ministry of our churches.

Even as we give thanks, we are all aware that soon, the grand jury will announce whether the police officer who fired on Michael Brown will be indicted on criminal charges for Michael's death.

Earlier this week, the leaders of the Connecticut Conference UCC's Sacred Conversations on Race Ministry sent out an email.  With permission from CTUCC Conference Minister Kent Siladi, we are sharing that message with you.  

You can read the message, find Sacred Conversation on Race resources, and learn about an opportunity for conversation following the announcement, here.
 
Report:  Celebrating 30 Years of ONA in Mass.

by Kathie Carpenter

Chair, ONA Ministry Team


 

The day dawned crisp and sunny and the mood only climbed higher as the 30th anniversary of ONA in Massachusetts was celebrated on November 8. The beautiful UCC Congregational in Boxborough hosted the event called "Never Turning Back."  The congregation was so accommodating, the space lovely and welcoming, and the sanctuary decorated with differently colored fabrics in its brass sconces.

 
The warm-up was cabaret tunes by singer and pianist, the Rev. Kent French and Tim Harbold. Then The ONA Turning 30 Band lifted the congregation into the first worship service. 

Read more and view pics here.
 

MACUCC Signs on as Friend of the Court in Supreme Court Climate Change Case

By vote of the Board of Directors, the Massachusetts Conference has signed on as a "friend of the court" in a Supreme Court case related to climate change.  The case is being brought by a group of youth and young adults who argue that the government has an obligation to protect essential natural resources for present and future generations.

The Conference joins legal scholars, economic and national security experts, climate scientists, conservation and social justice organizations, native communities, business and government leaders, and cities who filed amicus curiae briefs with the United States Supreme Court in support of Our Children's Trust.

"The MACUCC can be proud to be listed among the organizations filing as "friends of the court" in this case," said Massachusetts Conference Minister & President Jim Antal.  "In joining this case, we demonstrate once again our leadership among mainline churches in America when it comes to the issue of climate change."  Read more here.
Multifaith Prayer Vigil for a Climate Agreement
While world leaders are working on climate issues in Lima, Peru on Sunday, December 7, people around the world from diverse faith and spiritual communities will gather for public vigils. #LightForLima was organized to let leaders and politicians know that people around the world are watching and praying for action.
People of faith can make a difference.  You can find resources to organize a local "Light for Lima" vigil through this link.   

This event has been endorsed by the Environmental Ministries Task Force
Only 4 Spaces Left in the 2015 Youth Spiritual Journey to Centro Shalom, Chile

Trip Dates: Feb. 14 - 24, 2015

The Chile Partnership Committee is looking for high school students to join the MACUCC youth delegation to Chile in February 2015. Eight students and two leaders will leave Massachusetts on February 14 and return on February 24. During their time in Chile students will stay at the rustic Shalom Center, a retreat center in the Andes Mountains. Massachusetts students will share the Shalom Center with participants from the Pentecostal Church of Chile in Rauco, combining a spiritual retreat with a cultural exchange. Delegates will also work to maintain and improve the Shalom Center by performing tasks such as trail and road maintenance and constructing a challenge course. 

Learn more here

UCC Disaster Ministries: Volunteers Needed
by Zach Wolgemuth 
Executive of UCC Disaster Ministries

Brethren Disaster Ministries is seeking volunteers at their Toms River, NJ site, where new homes are being built in partnership with O.C.E.A.N. Inc. Earlier this year UCC Disaster Ministries provided a grant of $50,000 to O.C.E.A.N. Inc. to help offset the cost of construction materials for homes that are being built for Sandy survivors (renters) who were displaced. Upon completion, these homes will be owned and maintained by O.C.E.A.N. Inc. and rented on a sliding scale.

Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers are building the homes, and are in need of 15 volunteers to work from Nov. 30-Dec. 5. BDM provides all the tools, construction management, cooking and accommodations for volunteers.  There is no cost for volunteering and all transportation between the volunteer house and work site is covered.  To learn more,  contact Kim Gingerich at 717-586-1874.   
Equal Exchange Tour Educational and Tasty!
Southeast Area Missions hosted a "roaster tour" of the Equal Exchange facility in West Bridgewater on Oct. 13. The tour included a talk about the coffee crisis that brought about "fair trade", the covenant between Equal Exchange and poor farmers all over the world, and contemporary issues such as the coffee rust problem that is wiping out hundreds of thousands of farms - followed by a tour and a chocolate tasting.

Equal Exchange is one of the largest worker-owned, democratic cooperatives in the country, and the company behind the United Church of Christ Coffee Project. Visit their website for more information and to purchase products.

 

Celebrating the Victory of Gains in Minimum Wage and Sick Time

A letter of celebration from Mass. Faith Voices

Over the past year, the faith community played a critical role in raising the minimum wage and passing earned sick time. Today, because of our work, one million people in Massachusetts will no longer have to choose between caring for themselves or a loved one and losing their job. We couldn't have done this without faith leaders like you. Thank you!

Our work is not over.  Yet before we lament that the Promised Land still feels a long wilderness away, like the Israelites on the far side of the Red Sea, let's take time to celebrate this redemptive moment and to thank our congregants and one another for stepping up, taking risks, and passing Earned Sick Time for some of the most vulnerable among us.  


 
View a sample congregational announcement here.

Work Volunteers Needed in Haiti March 2015 

Join Workdays for Adults and Youth in Service (WAYS) from March 14-21, 2015 to work on a construction project for one of the Haitian Baptist Convention's outreach ministries, or March 21-28 helping out a medical team working in five different schools and churches. Alternately, you can help with Bible school and activities for children in each community, come either week as a willing helper and volunteer for the more skilled folk, or assist at a children's therapy center, offer training for school teachers, or explore the development of a life affirming program for young girls.


And there are other ways for churches and individuals to help...
For individuals or churches who would like to help but are unable to travel, there are projects that help support this ministry. Read more information here.  

Alternative Christmas Gift Fair

Wondering what to get for your Aunt Flora who has everything? Tired of buying gifts that don't seem to mean anything? Want to make a positive difference in the world? Want to give gifts that bring joy? 

Come to Edwards Church, 39 Edwards Street in Framingham, for alternatives to the typical gift on Saturday, December 6, from 1-4 pm. Gift ideas include:
 

  • Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate
  • Handicrafts from artists' co-ops around the world
  • Furry Friends photo cards and blankets for  NEADS (Assistance Dogs)
  • Geese, trees, bees, or cows through Heifer Project
  • Blankets for disaster relief through Church World Service.

For more information and directions, visit  edwardschurch.org, or call 508-877-2050.


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The Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ