Helen Fogg Outreach Committee

A Force for Social Justice

Financial Assistance Application

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee is composed of interested volunteers in the congregation and elects its own chair. It is supported by funding from the annual church budget and, additionally, oversees Outreach Sunday collections to benefit worthy charities and causes. The committee meets after church on the third Sunday of each month. A representative of the committee meets with the Parish Committee once per year and attends Church Council and budget setting meetings.

Our Mission

In the spirit of the words of our covenant - “to minister to each other's needs and to those of humanity” – the Helen Fogg Outreach Committee empowers the ministry of social justice and outreach at First Parish by serving as a conduit for outreach to the wider community locally, nationally and internationally.

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee frequently coordinates efforts to reach our goals by working with and contributing to already existing social justice and outreach efforts.  Four areas of focus help to organize our work: Neighbor to Neighbor, Sustainable Development, Education and Human Rights.

Goals:

The Helen Fogg Outreach Committee reflects the values of the church in pursuing outreach to the larger community. Our goals are to:

  1. Contribute to local, national and international causes and crisis including social injustice and natural disasters

  2. Promote volunteerism within the congregation

  3. Raise awareness about worthy causes

  4. Support the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

In serving as a conduit to and from the parish on issues worthy of our response, we:

  1. Focus on on-going projects involving the parish (i.e.: Prison Ministry; partner church in Kadacs, Romania; Norwell Food Pantry; etc) and donations to local charities

  2. Coordinate Outreach Sunday collection where loose offering and designated checks are used for outreach to a project or organization the committee, on behalf of the congregation, deems worthy of our attention

  3. Communicate to the parish through articles in the Spire, Parish Hall visibility, and presence within the worship service to enable people to see their role in service and help them take action

  4. Communicate UUSC issues (Guest at Your Table, UUSC Action Alerts, etc) to the congregation

Committee Activities

Neighbor To Neighbor

First Parish of Norwell works with the following organizations to support needs at the local level.