All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Braintree, MA, USA

Upcoming Events

Sunday, May 18	Budget Hearing - Noon
Wednesday, May 21	Depression and Other Related Issues - 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Saturday, May 24	Potluck Supper - 6 PM
Tuesday, May 27	Buddhist Reflections - 7 PM
Saturday, May 31	Flea Market - 9 AM - 2 PM Bring donated items the prior Wednesday, Thursday & Friday evenings
Sunday, June 8	Annual Meeting - Noon

More ways to stay informed

Printed Newsletter: Our monthly newsletter, The Chimes, is mailed to arrive in mailboxes by the first of each month. Let the office know if you would like to be added to the mailing list. You can access the current issue by following the link on the left sidebar of this page.

The deadline to submit articles is mid-month with the exact date listed in the previous issue.

Weekly E-mail List: A list of members and friends of All Souls is used to send weekend updates and other timely announcements. To be added to the list please give the office your email address with your full name.

Calendar of Events

See The Chimes - Our Church Newsletter. You can access the current church newsletter by following the link on the left sidebar of this page.

All Souls Flea Market - Saturday, May 31, 9 am - 2 pm

Start gathering your treasures now - give new meaning to your spring cleaning chores this year. Reduce the amount of stuff going into our landfills! Bring your items to the church on Wednesday, May 28, Thursday, May 29, and Friday, May 30 at 7 PM. Rent your own table for $20. Workers are needed on these evenings to sort and price items. Help is also needed to work on Saturday. Contact Rick for more info.

Upcoming Events in the Wider Community

In Braintree, South Shore Habitat for Humanity has monthly meetings where you can find out about other volunteer opportunities. Attend a "Ways to Help" session, on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:15 PM at the Braintree Heritage United Methodist Church, 236 Grove Street. Call 781-843-9080 ext 12 for more information.

Saturday, May 17 - 10 AM - 3 PM. Unitarian Universalist Revival - Canton UU Church, Canton, MA. CANCELLED

Monday, May 19th - 7:00 P.M. Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston. Organizational Meeting for the Boston Chapter of the Gray Panthers. Get in on the ground floor of this unique organization which advocates for justice in a variety of areas and includes members of all ages. The Social Justice/Environmental Committee at All Souls hosted a representative of the Gray Panthers at its February meeting and has discovered common interests in promoting peace and economic justice.

Water Activists from Ecuador Visit All Souls Church

All Souls Church recently welcomed the founder of a grass-roots activist group in Guayaquil, Ecuador. El Movimiento Mi Cometa (The My Kite Movement) has been instrumental in upholding the constitutional and consumer rights of Ecuadorian citizens to sufficient, safe, affordable, and accessible water. Joining Mi Cometa's founder, Cesar Cardenas Ramirez, were an attorney with the group, Cesar Agosto Parada Campos, and Emily Joiner, author of Murky Waters, an investigation of the privatization of the water and sewerage services in Guayaquil. Mi Cometa is a partner of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), which was represented by Rebecca Brown, a Program Associate in Environmental Justice with the UUSC.

During his visit, Cesar Cardenas announced that his country is in the process of re-writing its constitution, and has adopted the position that access to water is a basic human right and that the delivery of water must be a function of government agencies rather than private companies. The group shared stories about the problems which have resulted from the privatization of water and sewerage services in Guayaquil. Foremost is that the private company involved, InterAgua, a subsidiary of Bechtel Corporation, views water as a commodity from which they must make a profit, rather than as an element that is absolutely necessary for people to survive. Because of this perception, InterAgua has shut off the water of thousands of citizens without regard to their age, health, or family situation. This forces them to either buy water from tanker trucks that come through town if they can afford it, or to beg for water from their neighbors. The group cited inequities in billing practices, for instance, billing citizens for estimated water use rather than for actual use, and tacking on charges for sewerage services for customers that did not actually have access to those services. The group also cited instances of conflicts of interest and corruption.

The UUSC's Environmental Justice program supports the work of its grass-roots partner organizations in many countries. Locally, it partners with Massachusetts Global Action and its Color of Water campaign, which has found that in the city of Boston, the number of households which had their water cut off tripled in the years from 2003 -- 2006. The group seeks to increase awareness about the Human Right to Water in meaningful and substantive ways.

Learn more about the UUSC's work for environmental and social justice on its blog.

Long-Time Member of All Souls Receives Martin Luther King, Jr. Peacemaker Award

John Cobble, currently serving All Souls Church as Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee, was one of four Braintree residents awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Peacemaker Award at a celebration held at Town Hall in January 2008. John has served the Town of Braintree as president of the Friends of the Thayer Public Library for the past nine years. Library Trustee Jeffrey Kunz spoke on John's behalf, commending him for his vision, perseverence, and dedicated and resourceful leadership. The Braintree Forum quoted John's remark, "I accept this recognition on behalf of those legions of people who feel that service to others is not only personally rewarding, but the right thing to do."

All Souls Church is proud of John and is appreciative of all that he brings to our church community as well as the larger Braintree community.

John Cobble receives his Martin Luther King, Jr. Peacemaker Award from Braintree's Fair Housing Director, Sonya Shaw at a ceremony at Braintree Town Hall on January 21, 2008.

Faith In Action at All Souls Church

/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
OUR SOCIAL ACTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTRY

The Social Action/Environmental Committee seeks to serve the wider community outside the walls of the church, and to involve the members and friends of All Souls in this endeavor. The committee works in a variety of modes, incorporating social service projects, educational events, opportunities to witness for social and environmental justice, and advocating for legislative action in these areas.

SOCIAL SERVICE
This year, our social service projects included the donation of school supplies to fill nearly thirty backpacks which were given to the Morrison School for distribution to children-in-need. This was followed by our participation in Braintree's Make A Difference Day, where we collected women's career clothing for the Career Closet at Quincy's Interfaith Social Services. During the holiday season, members and friends extended their care and concern to those outside their immediate circle and generously provided gifts for nearly thirty children served by the Department of Social Services in Weymouth. The annual Italian Dinner to benefit the Braintree-based Dianne DeVanna Center, which works to prevent child abuse and neglect, was held in April at All Souls Church and was well-supported by the Braintree community.

EDUCATION
The committee is active in environmental issues, organizing educational opportunities for the community at-large. Working with Sustainable South Shore, it seeks to nurture a fledgling Braintree-based environmental group, Sustainable Braintree. It sponsored a site on the Green Building Open House Tour in October, which featured a co-generation heating system that generates electricity as it heats the home. The committee has also presented a program on the Low Carbon Diet and is encouraging the formation of small groups to provide support for energy-saving lifestyle changes. Monthly meetings of "Peace and Pizza" (bring your own pizza) provide information and opportunities for discussion on a variety of timely issues, from health care (a screening of the film, Sicko) to the war in Iraq.

WITNESS
Our young people were encouraged to demonstrate their concern for child laborers on cocoa farms in West Africa at Halloween. Participating in the national Reverse Trick-or-Treating initiative, they gave out fair trade mini-chocolate bars along with information about the unfair working conditions that characterize many cocoa plantations. All Souls Church supports growers around the world as it serves and sells Equal Exchange coffee at its coffee hour after Sunday worship. Fair trade tea and chocolate from Equal Exchange is also offered for sale at this time, providing an avenue for our members and friends to take concrete action in support of economic justice throughout the world.

ADVOCACY
Members have been active and vocal on issues of social justice, which resulted in All Souls Church being one of three south shore Unitarian Universalist congregations honored at the 2007 Annual Awards Ceremony of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. The event was covered in UU World magazine. The committee continues to encourage members and friends to contact their legislators on important economic, social and environmental issues, and works collaboratively with the UU Mass Action Network the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, and the Gray Panthers.

MEMBERSHIP
Your participation in the Social Action/Environmental Committee is welcome. There is much that needs doing, and your interest and energy are needed. Meetings are generally held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 P.M. Check the church newsletter for more specific information.