All serving in social justice

Greetings Social Justice Team Members!​

This Sunday, we look forward to adding some members to our Social Justice Team. How exciting to have our friends fully commit themselves to becoming a part of our UCC family! How so, you ask? You may not realize that all new and current members, and even all our guests, are part of our Social Justice Team! We all have a place on the Social Justice Team and we try to practice social justice from our youngest children to our most senior members.

In fact, you are invited to participate in one of our favorite and most fun social justice events - The Period Party - after church this Sunday. This project will benefit Hope Medical Clinic, and possibly Out Youth, Casa Marianella, Safe Alliance, and some of our school partners. Hope Medical Clinic is a new recipient for our products and they offer free primary, compassionate, and high-quality healthcare to resettled refugees, immigrants and other underserved people. We will also be making a donation to Flo Code, our long time partner in this project. Flo Code has changed their operations since COVID, and they now supply unopened packages of period products to their partners which they can purchase with our donation. Many thanks to Katherine Griffin-Erickson for making this happen.

It is not too late to purchase period products! And Dads, it’s not too late to introduce your sons to the feminine hygiene aisle of the grocery store. Bring anything you purchase on Sunday. 

And did you see the pictures of the youth from last Sunday making dog and cat toys for Williamson County Animal Shelter? Our youth have such a heart for helping - making lives better for people and animals. They did hard work in Appalachia this summer and will continue to do the hard work soon at Bethany Food Pantry by assembling, decorating, and filling Thanksgiving boxes for their clients.  

We are so excited and thankful that on October 1st, GECKO (God Encourages Caring Kindness and Outreach) will be starting for our 4th and 5th graders. Our older elementary students will meet once a month to practice what they have learned in our Children’s Ministry with a monthly service project. Thank you especially to Tracy Brown and our adult volunteers for heading up this effort.

One of the improvements that came out of our legislature this season was that period products and baby care items, including diapers, are no longer being taxed at the cash register. If you want to continue to vote for people who reflect values like this, I will be available for the next three Sundays in Fellowship Hall to assist anyone who needs to register to vote, change their address, or change the name on their voter registration. The deadline for registering before the November Constitutional Election is October 10th. I am now able to assist those in both Travis and Williamson County. I also have mail in registrations for those who live in other counties.  

Watch for upcoming collections of canned goods for the Bethany Thanksgiving boxes and a special Advent project.

With you in service and justice,
Diane Baker
Social Justice Team Lead