25 Ways for Your Congregation to Get Involved with the UU Urban Ministry!
1. Invite someone from the UU Urban Ministry to preach at your church.
2. Take a collection for the UU Urban Ministry.
3. Teach English or provide childcare at our English as a Learning Language (ELL) Classes on Monday or Wednesday Mornings.
4. Plan/host a trip or activity for Renewal House residents and their children.
- Follen Church Society invites Renewal House residents to their East Village Fair in October and provides each resident with some spending money so they can buy food, crafts, etc…
- First Congregational Parish, UU in Kingston throws a holiday party for Renewal House every December and hosts a picnic over the summer.
5. Plan a Saturday activity or field trip for the children in our Stand High Stand United weekend enrichment program.
- First Parish in Wayland brings the children ice-skating every winter.
- A small group ministry group from Brookline taught the kids about gravity with a hands-on egg drop experiment.
6. Hold a supply drive.
- Congregations have collected: toiletries for Renewal House, school supplies for Roxbury Youth Programs, Halloween costumes for Explorer’s Club and books for our give-away library.
7. Move your Sunday morning worship service to the First Church in Roxbury for the day.
- Follen Church Society has an annual Thanksgiving service in Roxbury;
- The UU Society of Wellesley Hills worshipped in Roxbury in 2009; and
- Winchester Unitarian Society will be worshipping with us in 2010.
8. Participate in our annual Renewal House Mother’s Day Card fundraiser.
9. Volunteer as a tutor for Roxbury Youth Programs one afternoon a week.
10. Offer a Santa’s Workshop table at our Holiday Party in December.
11. Participate in a UUUM Work Day.
- Volunteers from First Parish in Wayland built stairs, cleaned gutters, organized games, replaced ceiling tiles and painted the entryway at their Spring UUUM workday.
12. If your congregation rotates its focus on social justice topics, make the UU Urban Ministry one of its foci.
13. Form a UU Urban Ministry Congregational Team that can work towards strengthening your congregation’s communication, involvement, and relationship with the UUUM.
14. Create a column in your church newsletter for regular UU Urban Ministry updates and announcements.
15. Become a mentor to a child in the Stand High Stand United Explorer’s Club program.
- Mentors volunteer at monthly Saturday Explorer’s Clubs and meet regularly with their mentee throughout the year.
16. Lead a Reading Circle for Roxbury Youth Programs.
- Circle leaders spend one hour a week reading a required Boston Public Schools book and reviewing vocabulary with a small group of students.
17. Help us with dinner!
- The UU Urban Ministry serves dinner every week night to the high school students and hosts monthly potlucks for students, families, and volunteers.
18. Support our Wednesday Game Nights.
- Volunteer to play chess, bring pizza, help set up and clean up or donate board games for our weekly Roxbury Youth Programs Game Night.
19. Be a helping hand at Annual Meeting.
- Volunteers help us to put together delegate packets, mailings, and lunches for our Annual Meeting each May.
20. Facilitate an Enrichment Workshop.
- We need volunteers to lead workshops on nutrition, health, interviewing skills, financial management, and other life skills.
21. Sponsor a Beyond Shelter Event.
- First Parish UU of Medfield, First Church in Belmont, First Parish of Sudbury and others have supported these quarterly gatherings for current and former Renewal House residents by providing lunch, gift bags, children’s activities, and/or educational programming.
22. Cook a meal for residents of Renewal House.
23. Plan a fundraising, educational and/or awareness raising event at your church that incorporates information about one (or more) of our programs.
- Possible topics include: domestic violence, poverty, education, race, class, anti-racism/anti-oppression, the history of Roxbury, etc…
24. Lead an SAT prep session for our high school students.
25. Be on our “please do call” list.
- Needs often arise last minute. We always need people we can call on for help.
If any of these UU Urban Ministry opportunities are of interest to you and your congregation, please contact our Coordinator of Congregational Outreach and Volunteers:
Rev. Kate Wilkinson
617-318-6010 x214
kwilkinson@uuum.org
Also, remember to check out our website (www.uuum.org) for our online volunteer application, a calendar of events, current Renewal House needs, and other relevant information about the UU Urban Ministry.
