SAC Announce
Bethany L
In this email, you'll find information about some exciting events sponsored, supported, or promoted First Parish in Concord's SAC.
The announcement contains information on (red bold indicates new news items):
- Investing Your Values Discussion March 8th at 9 - 9:45 AM
- Grant Review Period Open Until Wednesday, March 11th
- Congregational Discussion on Divestment on Sunday, March 15th at 11:30 AM
- Concord Area Group 15 of Amnesty International Meeting on Tuesday, March 17th at 7 PM
- “The Future of Water: Too Little and Too Much” Panel Discussion on Sunday, March 22nd at 3:30 PM
- “Visionaries in the Field of Hunger Relief” Event on Sunday, March 29 at 3:30 at The Fenn School - Ward Hall
- UU Mass Action Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 14 at the Arlington Street Church – Registration is Now Open!
- Household Goods in Desperate Need of Essential Items
Investing Your Values Discussion March 8th at 9 - 9:45 AM
Come to this discussion on how we invest with our values. Bethany Lowe, Director of Social Action, will lead us in a discussion of how we balance our desires to see a return on our investments and invest in companies that promote our personal values. We will not seek to inform how you invest, but ask you to examine how your current investment philosophy does or does not reflect your values. We will not provide investment advice, though resources on how to invest with your values will be provided. All are welcome. Coffee, tea and light snacks will be available.
Grant Review Period Open Until Wednesday, March 11th
The First Parish Social Action Committee grants group has posted a list of the Grant Requests received for the 2014-15 grant cycle on the First Parish website at http://www.firstparish.org/cms/social-action-community/sac-grants.
Parishioners are welcome to review and comment on these Grant Requests. A notebook with all Grant Requests is also available in the First Parish office. All comments are due by Wednesday, March 11th. Comments can be mailed to Bethany Lowe, c/o Social Action Grant Requests, First Parish in Concord, 20 Lexington Road, Concord, MA 01742 or emailed to Bl...@firsparish.org.
When commenting, please reference the Grant Request number and applicant name. Please keep comments brief. Be aware that these comments are just one factor used to evaluate SAC grant requests. The SAC grants group makes decision by applying policies which are available on the SAC website.
Congregational Discussion on Divestment on Sunday, March 15th at 11:30 AM
Over the last year, a small group of parishioners — Bruce Blumberg, Bob Andrews, and Laura Bernstein — has been working alongside the Standing Committee, Trustees and the Environmental Leadership Team to research the current fossil fuel divestment movement and a possible action on the part of our congregation. This has been brought to the attention of these parishioners by recent votes at Concord Town Meeting, and the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association last year. The next step in this process is to hear from you! Come to a congregational discussion on Sunday, March 15 at 11:30 AM to learn about divestment, ask any questions you have, and give input on how you’d like First Parish to respond to this international movement. Standing Committee member Kate Crosby will be present at this discussion. Can’t make it on the 15th? Additional conversations will take place on Sundays April 12th and May 17th at 11:30 AM.
Concord Area Group 15 of Amnesty International Meeting on Tuesday, March 17th at 7 PM
AI Group 15 meets regularly on the third Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8:30 in the Ripley Room. Our next meeting is March 17. We will be signing letters and petitions in support of human rights activists worldwide and against the death penalty in the US. At this meeting we will also brainstorm about our next actions to support legislation against solitary confinement in Massachusetts, to campaign against global violence against women, and to advocate for the release of two journalists currently imprisoned in Swaziland. We welcome all to join us in March and beyond. If you’d like more information about Group 15, please contact Kathy Taylor, the group’s coordinator, at Kly.t...@gmail.com or 781-718-7640.
“The Future of Water: Too Little and Too Much” Panel Discussion on Sunday, March 22nd at 3:30 PM
In recognition of World Water Day, the next event in the Climate Solutions Speaker Series will be about the future of water and how we can act now to make that future a more positive and sustainable one for all life on this beautiful planet. The event will begin a short video by water expert Sandra Postel and then a live panel discussion with Drs. Paul Kirshen and Patricia Jones. Paul Kirshen is a Civil Engineer and Research Professor at UNH. Patricia Jones is the Senior Program Leader for The Human Right to Water with the UU Service Committee. A half hour reception will follow the panel discussion. This even is free and open to everyone. This event is co-sponsored by the Social Action Community Council, as part of its Commit2Respond campaign between World Water Day and Earth Day.
“Visionaries in the Field of Hunger Relief” Event on Sunday, March 29 at 3:30 at The Fenn School - Ward Hall
A multi-generational panel discussion with three Visionaries who turned hunger awareness into hunger action:
Doug Rauch, Founder, Daily Table; former President of Trader Joe's
Katie Stagliano, Founder, Katie's Krops; high school student, winner of Clinton Global Citizenship Award
Ashley Stanley, Founder of Lovin' Spoonfuls; one of Boston's most innovative leaders under 40, TEDx speaker
Come prepared to be inspired and join the discussion. If not you, who? If not now, when?
Please register. Carpool if you can! Questions: Contact Program Manager, Fan Watkinson at f...@gainingground.org, 978 610 6086. Hosted by Gaining Ground, 341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742.
Backgrounds of the panelists:
Doug Rauch spent 31 years with Trader Joe's, the last 14 years as President, helping grow the business from a small, nine-store grocery chain in California to a nationally acclaimed retail success story with over 340 stores in 30 states. Doug is currently the Founder/President of Daily Table, an innovative retail concept designed to bring affordable nutrition to the food insecure in cities by utilizing the excess, wholesome food that would otherwise be wasted at growers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
Katie Stagliano is the 16-year-old Founder & Chief Executive Gardener of Katie’s Krops, a nonprofit organization with the mission to create vegetable gardens of all sizes and donate the harvest to help feed people in need, as well as to assist and inspire others to do the same. Katie's Krops currently has over 80 kid-run gardens in 29 states that have produced thousands of pounds of healthy, fresh food for families in need. Katie also runs a soup kitchen in her community. She is the the youngest recipient of the Clinton Global Citizenship Award for her leadership in civil society, is featured in the award-winning documentary film "The Starfish Throwers," and is the author of "Katie's Cabbage."
Ashley Stanley is a born and bred Bostonian. Since founding Lovin’ Spoonfuls in 2010, Ashley and her team have rescued and distributed over two million pounds of fresh, healthy food into the social service stream. She has created unparalleled awareness for food rescue, with dedication to addressing the significant consequences of food waste. In 2012, Lovin’ Spoonfuls was a two-time winner of the Mass Challenge competition, the largest global startup accelerator. In 2013, Ashley was selected by Boston Business Journal as one of Boston’s most innovative business leaders under age 40. She serves on the Boston Food Policy Council and is one of Oxfam International’s Sisters of the Planet Ambassadors, as well as a TEDx community speaker.
UU Mass Action Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 14 at the Arlington Street Church – Registration is Now Open!
Come join Unitarian Universalist activists from around the state at UU Mass Action’s 10th Annual Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 14th. Events from 9:30 AM – 4 PM at Arlington Street Church (351 Boylson St., Boston) and the MA State House. We will hear a special message from Bill McKibben, world renowned climate activists and co-founder of 350.org. Our Keynote Speaker is Senator William Brownsberger, D-Belmont. Senator Brownsberger is a Unitarian Universalist, Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, and strong leader and ally in legislation to address climate change, ending mass incarceration, immigrant rights, and economic justice. Our Worship Leaders are Rev Nathan Detering, Senior Minister and Rev Heather Concannon, Assistant Minister for Youth and Family from First Parish in Sherborn.
Following the morning program, we will break out into groups to prepare for the legislative meetings at the State House. Each group will be facilitated by lead issue organizers. Participants are asked to choose their preferred issue focus when registering for the event.
Legislative Priorities
• End Mass Incarceration: End Mandatory Minimums, Pre-Trial & Bail Reform, Justice Reinvestment Act
• Immigration Rights: Trust Act, Safe Driving and Education Equity
• Economic Justice: End Homelessness, Paid Family & Medical Leave
• Environment/Climate Change: Green Bank, C-PACE and Fossil Fuel Divestment
Registration: http://tinyurl.com/mzuo33z
Register by April 1st and the appointment with your legislator will be made for you.
Ticket Price $25 - Covers breakfast, lunch, beverages & building use fee
Reduced Fee $10 tickets & scholarship passes are available
Household Goods in Desperate Need of Essential Items
Household Goods has been hard hit by the continual onslaught of winter storms. These storms have cut into the key, regular flow of donations that we count on to help people and families in need. Each day 12 families are scheduled to come to our facility!
Right now, Household Goods is in very short supply of queen-size sheets, blankets of all sizes, towels, pots, pans and flatware.
If you have new or gently-used sheets, blankets, towels, pots, pans or flatware that you can give to someone in need please bring them to 530 Main St., Acton, on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday mornings from 9 to noon. Please ask your book club, place of worship, neighborhood group, employer or others to help you collect these much needed items! Contact Sharon Martens, Executive Director, for more information: sha...@householdgoods.org, (978) 635-1710 x 7.