Building Resilience Within Our Congregation

by Brian Dugas

I don’t believe that I have to give you an update on the current situation in our country.  Some people are finding that it is better for their mental health to turn off the updates and avoid the news altogether. I hope that those people can find the peace that they are searching for.

Others have decided to engage with the issues at some level, and many of them have joined our Congregations Social Action Committee. We are attempting to adjust our focus to better reflect the theme of resilience that we have discussed at our meetings.  Everyone is invited to attend those meetings which are on the first Tuesday of the month at 8:00PM on Zoom.

In this social action minute I’m going to provide you some information on a few things that are happening in the congregation that you may want to get involved with:

The first is the community garden - we are once again partnering with Hillside Farms for one part of our community garden program. We have 12 rows available for individuals or groups to sign up and take ownership of.  They will be responsible for the care and upkeep of their rows, with some cooperation, support, and training being provided by other members of the group, the amount and time being coordinated as we get closer to the growing season.  

Some important points:

• -We have a sign up sheet for the rows now available in the church
• -We have decided that Sunday, March 23rd, after the service will be our first collective workday
• -People are free to participate in our community garden program using their own gardens, we hope to coordinate what is being grown collectively so that at harvest time, we can share in a wide and varied bounty.  We encourage anyone to join us, regardless of their level of gardening skills.  I have learned a lot in the last year, and if I can do it, anyone can.

The food pantry has continued to evolve as the needs of the congregation have changed and grown.  Jenny has developed a system to better track items in the pantry, and we have decided to purchase Aldi gift cards for those items that are perishable or are not stocked in our pantry.  Please speak to Jenny if you have any questions, need a gift card, or would like to contribute to the food pantry fund.
We have frequently discussed safety issues for the congregation.  On February 16th after the service there is going to be a Safety and Security training and discussion. Please mark your calendars if you would like to attend, and speak to me if you have any questions.

It is evident that immigration has become a defining issue for our country. There are numerous organizations working on immigration issues, and some of them have reached out to us for support and assistance.  Among them are the Unitarian Universalist Social Justice organization which is looking for people to contact our newly elected government officials in NEPA, and the Community Justice Alliance who has made contact with a local congregation with a large latino population.  There is a meeting planned for Monday, February 24th at 5:00PM at B’nai B’rith Synagogue to discuss how we can help them if anyone would want to join me.