Outreach through Community and World Action

"United Christian Church is a leading congregation for ecumenical and interreligious concerns in the community. The leadership offered by the congregation of UCC has fostered improved relationships among all. Your involvement in community service events has made a difference in the lives of neighbors, both around the block and around the world. Austin is a better community with your faithful witness."– local non-profit director

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
There are many local needs where we can answer the call to service. We invite you to find out more about any of them by contacting the church office at 218-8110.

Children’s Collection
Every Sunday during the worship service our children collect donations of items from members and friends as they make their way to the front of the sanctuary for the Children’s Time with Rev. Tutt. During 2007 we collected food for the Capital Area Food Bank, Christmas gifts for SafePlace in partnership with Purple Santa, money for UNICEF, school supplies for Pecan Springs and Summitt Elementary Schools, animal food for Crowe's Nest Farm in Manor, undergarments for the Center for Child Protection, and books for Reading is Fundamental Organization of Austin.

CROP Walk
The CROP Walk, an annual March event, raises money for the hungry as walkers solicit sponsors for donations. Twenty five percent of the money is used locally and the rest world-wide. The 2008 CROP Walk is March 1 and March 2.

Open and Affirming
Our Church voted to be Open and Affirming (ONA) and adopted a statement on June 10, 2007.

Interfaith Hospitality
For several years, members of the church have provided meals and overnight hosts for homeless families who are in the IHN program. Gayle Luke has coordinated this.

Canned Goods.  The Hill Country 56ers is a group that uses our church.  At each meeting they donate canned goods for our church.  Those are then distributed to people in need.  Tim Tutt and Pat Pore oversee this. 

Benevolence Fund.  A general budget line item that Tim oversees as a discretionary fund to help people in need. 

Recycling Program 
The committee has placed collection baskets for glasses, cell phone, and hearing aids in the foyer.   Also, the committee is working to get a recycled paper collection dumpster on site.

Austin Area Interreligious Ministries
Austin Area Interreligious Ministries (AAIM) is an inclusive, interreligious, caring community that generates mutual respect, trust and social justice through education, advocacy, social services and community building. They sponsor a widely attended Thanksgiving service each year in a different church and area of the city at which Christians, Jews and Muslims join in dedication to serving the God they all worship. AAIM sponsors a number of mission opportunities including the Peace and Justice Commission, the Youth Commission and the CROP Walk. Rev. Tutt pastor served as the AAIM President for 2004 - 2005 and as a AAIM board member in 2006-2007.

Sweat Free Austin
The Religion and Labor Network of Austin asked us to join this campaign; we did with a Council vote.  Because of this campaign, the city voted to end buying uniforms from sweat shops. Now, RLNA is asking us to join "Sweat Free Travis County," to encourage county to vote to end buying uniforms from sweat shops.  The CWAC is exploring this and will make a recommendation to the Council.

SERVING THE WORLD
National and global mission projects we have supported include: money for the victims of the Gulf Coast Hurricanes, backpacks and school supplies for Mexican children, selling Fair Trade coffee, tea, and chocolate as well as the on-going missions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.

Hurricane Katrina Adoptee.  Our church continues to be ministered to by the presence of Ali Conteh, a New Orleans evacuee, among us.  Thanks to  Charlie Jamison, Greg and Janice Wallace, and Rufus Dye for their care for Ali.

Focus on Africa
During 2007, CWAC asked the congregation to focus on Africa as a way of learning about our world, understanding Africa, and meeting human needs.   That has been very successful with congregational letters to politicians about Darfur, a guests speaker about, African themed music in worship, a VBS focused on Africa, and an adult education series.

Fair Trade Coffee. Ongoing coffee sales to benefit coffee bean farmers and to raise money for youth mission trip.  Melissa Selden coordinates this successful project.

2008 Adult Mission Trips.  Marilyn Cooper is organizing two trips. The first trip will be to the Rio Grande Valley in late February and the second trip is planned for Ecuador in October.

Youth Mission Trip. A Summer 2008 is being planned to New Orleans.

United Mission Offering.  This is the special over and above offering to support our denominational causes.  The committee is discussing ideas about our 2008.  One concern is how we promote this collection while still promoting our general budget offering needs.  

Increased Mission Giving.  The Committee is going to recommend to the Finance Committee that in 2008, our overall mission line item be increased one percent (1%), in keeping with our Long Range Vision goal of making budgeted mission giving 10% of general budget. 

Denominational Partnerships. This committee oversees the relationship with the UCC, DOC and AAIM.  Our church elects representatives who then pass on the mission work taking place by those groups. 

Bread for the World Covenant Church. Bread for the World is a faith-based, bi-partisan, lobbying group that seeks to end world hunger. We voted to become a Covenant Church in 2005, have not done much to promote it.  The CWAC is seeking ways to promote, learn about and lobby to end hunger.

"Global Mission Church" of Global Ministries. Global Ministries is the common overseas mission and justice program of the UCC and the Disciples. The CWAC has provided our listing as a "Global Mission Church" -- by doing this churches promise to support global missions and to learn about global missions. 

 

"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’" (Galatians 5: 13-14)