Social justice is a core practice for many Unitarian Universalists. The mission of the Social Justice Coordinating Team is to advance our UU values and principles through action-based social justice initiatives, educational programming, and compassionate outreach that encourage engagement within the MUUS congregation and the wider community.
The Social Justice Coordinating Team is committed to the following goals: alleviating Food Insecurity, addressing Income and Racial Justice, addressing Environmental Justice, providing LGBTQ and Immigration Support.
Our bi-monthly Share the Plate program enables us to financially contribute to non-profit organizations that champion the Social Justice Team goals. Examples include contributions to The Equal Justice Initiative, the World Central Kitchen and Earth Justice.
Food Insecurity: On October 22, 2011 MUUS voted to address the issue of hunger and we have been working since then to engage with our community to address food insecurity. Efforts include supporting GWIM (Greater Waterbury Interfaith Ministry) in various ways. GWIM is a multi-faceted non-profit addressing the needs of the Greater Waterbury inner-city population including the homeless and families living in poverty. This includes making 250 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each month and periodically engaging the MUUS congregation in food drives for both GWIM and the Woodbury Food Bank.
Income/Racial Justice: Recently MUUS has been active in both the “Justice Southbury” and “Justice Woodbury” rallies which grew out of the public outrage in response to the murder of George Floyd. This ministry of witness has happened every Sunday since May 31, 2020. MUUS is proud to have members participate in both groups.
We volunteer at Children’s Community School with tutoring and mentoring and use Fair Trade coffee at all social gatherings.
Environmental Justice:
The SJCT participates in Earth Day, annual town wide clean-ups and other community events related to the environment.
LGBTQ Support: MUUS is a certified Welcoming Congregation. Guest speakers from the LGBTQ community have shared experiences and perspective providing an opportunity for the congregation to become more knowledgable about current LGBTQ issues. In January 2023 MUUS dedicated the new LGBTQ flag as a symbol of our continued commitment to ensuring full participation of members of the LGBTQ community.
MUUS participating in Waterbury PRIDE - free temporary tattoos , stickers and chocolate.
Immigration Support: MUUS is one of sixteen area congregations that established New Start Ministry to support refugee resettlement efforts. New Start Ministry works with Iris (Integrated Refuge and Immigration Services) to sponsor refugee families in the local resettlement process. Multiple families have already been welcomed into the Waterbury community. Please visit the New Start Ministry Facebook page to learn more.
