SOCIAL ACTION
The Meetinghouse has a “share the plate” program where each month we take a collection for an organization that is alignment with our principles. Examples include the Art Monastery Project BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Fund, Black River Action Team (BRAT), Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP), Equal Justice Initiative (Bryan Stevenson’s organization), the Springfield Family Center and the World Food Program for Syrian refugees. We also collect non perishable goods for the Family Center Food Shelf and donate items for local students and people who are incarcerated in the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
Our congregation has a commitment to work on Climate Change and Environmental Justice. Our connection with the land and the web of life are so important -- we're committed to make ours a "regenerative church." We've been enriched by our films and books which have expanded our understanding on climate and justice. Along with some folks from Mountain Valley Climate Action 350.org in Chester, we discussed the Climate Church, Climate World work of Jim Antal. We deepened our understanding of the crucial need for native trees and plants to support ecosystems, in Nature's Best Hope by Doug Tallamy. Over the years, we developed the Kids Pollinator Garden and reduced the amount of mowing done on the Meetinghouse grounds to provide food and habitat for pollinators. Now we're excited to undertake a plan to increase native plants on the property, consulting with an Ecologist/Landscape Designer, a step toward becoming part of the Home Grown National Park movement!
Our Worship Committee has also kept Social Justice in the forefront, with topics such as “Nurturing Native Wisdom,” "We are a Gentle, Angry People" with Vermont poet Rajnii Eddins, "Racial Amity: A Friendly Way Forward!” with Rev. Mellen and Ahmad Abdel-Mawgood, “Race Amity” with Dr. William “Smitty” Smith and “Radical Abolition” with historian Jane Williamson. Many were coordinated with book groups, discussions and/or film showings.