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Justice and Witness Education and Advocacy Partner Organizations Justice News

Justice and Witness

Justice & Witness
Ministries at FCC

As a church dedicated to doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8) our first priority is to focus on the Biblical and faith-based foundations of our work together. We strive to be faithfully correct rather than politically correct when it comes to Justice & Witness Ministries. Opportunities for book studies, Bible studies and topic specific sermons are offered throughout the year. FCC also seeks to speak and act prophetically through:

  • community mobilization,
  • leadership training,
  • issues education,
  • public witness,
  • and public policy advocacy.

Education and Advocacy

The Justice & Witness Team at FCC has identified four areas of education and advocacy. These include:

Indigenous Rights

Team Lead: Rich Stuart

FCC is exploring ways to advocate for legislation and policies that improve the lives of Wabanaki citizens and our neighbors around the state, protect and preserve our environment, and honor tribal history and culture.

Resources from the Wabanaki Alliance

In June of 2020 the tribes in Maine (Mi’kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation) formed the Wabanaki Alliance to educate people of Maine about the need for securing sovereignty of the tribes in Maine. Below are links to resources the Wabanaki Alliance has created.

Understanding Tribal Sovereignty
Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act (MICSA)
Legislative and Policy Calls to Action

Ending Poverty

Team Lead: Jonathan Frost

Justice & Witness Ministries at FCC provides programming aimed at understanding the structural causes of poverty and finding and advocating for ways to dismantle those causes. This includes:

  1. learning how to end our complicity with the systems that enforce and perpetuate poverty,
  2. and increasing our knowledge about how we can take steps to disrupt such practices and advocate for and with the poor.

Study, discussion, and social action on issues related to poverty are central to our work together.

Queer Lives

Team Lead: Sarah Reynolds

The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and equips UCC congregations to become effective witnesses to Christ’s extravagant welcome. As an ONA church, FCC embraces diversity and affirms the dignity and worth of every person.

Recognizing that too often Queer people and people of faith are discussed as if those were mutually exclusive categories, FCC seeks to change the narrative about religion and LGBTQIA+ people by changing the narrators. To that end, FCC has developed a photojournalism exhibit featuring ten different LGBTQIA+ people from around the state of Maine, gorgeously photographed and framed, paired with personal faith reflections. This exhibit, Queer Faith Stories, has been on display in Rockland and West Gardiner and will be hosted by churches and organizations across Maine to deepen understanding on LGBTQIA+ concerns.

Queer Faith Stories

If you are interested in hosting a display of our Queer Faith Stories photo exhibit, contact the church office (207-236-4821 or churchoffice@camdenucc.org).

Gun Violence Prevention

Team Lead: Anna Weber, Jenna VanRyn and Roy Hitchings

United Church of Christ national leaders have urged members to call on the Senate to act immediately on pending gun violence legislation. They have also urged voters to attend town halls and candidate appearances and ask the candidates what they plan to do to end gun violence. FCC Gun Violence Prevention efforts seeks to educate members and friends about the history of gun violence in the US and equip them to:

  • Find and understand unbiased, credible information.
  • Learn what other people are saying about the issue.
  • Develop the skills needed to make an impact and
  • Find resources that can be used to put one’s voice into action.

The Justice and Peace Action Network (JPANet) is our denomination’s grassroots advocacy network composed of individual members and local UCC congregations across the country. The JPANet both educates and engages its members in shaping public policy and keeping with God’s vision of a just and loving society. Our work is grounded in General Synod resolutions, consonant with historic UCC witness, and formed by a biblical understanding of prophetic ministry. While our congregation is a registered participant, you can also participate as an individual. Members receive education, event notifications and resources including a Weekly Legislative Action Alerts comprising a brief email synopsis of pending legislation or current justice issues and a call for action each week. You’ll also receive a monthly newsletter and Biblical and liturgical material for interpreting issues and action. Join JPANet by using this link.

Take Action!

Each week, the UCC Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C. creates an action alert based on what is happening at that time in Congress, and offers you the opportunity to contact your legislators with just one click! You can find all the alerts here.

Partner Organizations

 

Maine Gun Safety Coalition

Our two organizations focus solely on reducing gun violence. Our members include responsible gun owners, healthcare professionals, educators, parents, grandparents, and other concerned citizens focused on gun safety and increased personal responsibility, not gun control.

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The Landing Place

Located in the heart of downtown Rockland, The Landing Place youth center is part of Homeworthy’s comprehensive suite of services for highly resilient and often marginalized youth living in Midcoast Maine.

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Homeworthy

At Homeworthy, we believe everyone is worthy of a home. We welcome individuals, families and youth who are facing homelessness in Knox, Waldo, and Lincoln counties, providing hope and a path to a brighter future.

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OUT Maine

At OUT Maine, we have an ambitious goal: to help Maine’s diverse queer youth thrive by demonstrating how much they matter. We do this by creating more welcoming and affirming communities for LGBTQ+ youth in all of their intersectional identities. We seek to strengthen communities by changing the very systems that serve youth—schools, health care, foster care, community organizations, and more. No other organization in Maine focuses exclusively on listening and responding to the needs of LGBTQ+ youth.

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Midcoast Habitat for Humanity

Midcoast Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization, Habitat International. They are dedicated to fulfilling a mission of eliminating substandard housing locally through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes. The Midcoast Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Rockport is a nonprofit home improvement store and donation center.

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Camden Area Christian Food Pantry

We are a group of Christian churches working to provide food to anyone with need in the Camden area. It is our privilege to serve God by answering this call.

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Justice News