“… AND SERVICE IS ITS LIFE”

Each Sunday morning we recite a covenant with this phrase in it. “Love is the spirit of this congregation and service is its life.” It is a reminder of our commitment to Justice and Service within and beyond our community.

Our congregation includes “justice” as one of our primary values. This leads us to act on our beliefs out in the world. We encourage the whole congregation to engage with justice issues. We strive to host community events in our building, to show up for justice-making actions out in the community, and to partner with local groups and organizations doing the work of making our world a better place for all. Our goal is to build relationships!

We have a “Social Action Huub” that gives administrative support and guidance to the congregation. We have various, dynamic “Social Action Teams“ that arise from the passions of our members and the needs we see in the world around us. The “Huub” exists to to help the teams fulfill their visions by providing support and helping make the connections. The “Teams” exist to implement the justice or service issue they wish to pursue.

Monthly Special Collections
Each month here at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, NY, we take a special offering during the worship service in support of a local charity or organization in need. It is an effort both to support the good work being done in our community and to enhance our connectedness with the world right outside our doors. Examples of past recipients include: The Southern Door Land Trust, Southern Tier Women’s Health Services, CHOW, YWCA’s Transitional Housing, CARES. North of Main community center, and Identity LGBTQ+ Youth Center.

Social Action and Faith on First Sundays
At UUCB, Social Action is a part of the regular cadence of worship and faith development throughout the year. We have our annual Social Justice Sunday, and we offer the first Sunday of every month follows a 1st hour/2nd hour format with a typical worship hour followed by an hour of workshops.
The workshops give us a chance to learn more interactively and in greater depth about the issues that matter to us and to put our convictions into action as a whole congregation.

Some past workshops include:
Assemble Easter Baskets for soup kitchen.
Bystander Intervention training.
Prepare “to go” Bags for at-risk LGBTQ Youth.
Civic Action Bootcamp.
Sanctuary Movement.
Prepare bagged lunches for the YWCA.
Pronouns in our modern culture.
Parent/Child Racial Justice.
Teach-in about the Culture of White Supremacy.