Social Justice

South Church is committed to acting on our faith “in the wider community.”  Our members and friends act both independently and through the church, especially through the church’s Social Justice Associates and the less formal Community Action Team (CAT).

Local Focus

SJA usually focuses on state and local issues, choosing one or two a year. These have included homelessness, hunger, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental concerns, voter rights, gun violence prevention, racism, and, in 2023, indigenous rights. 

That focus included showing the film, The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking The Domination Code, followed by a lunch and discussion featuring Denise and Paul Poulliot, spokespeople for New Hampshire’s Wabenaki people. At their suggestion, we moved to integrate the value of native plants into the church’s annual Pocket Garden Tour. We also advocated for including in every Sunday service an acknowledgement that our church is on land once occupied – and never seceded – by Indigenous people.

2024

SJA is responsible for organizing the church’s shared plate program that designates half of donations collected on Sundays to different social justice organizations. In 2024, SJA plans to offer church members more information and paths of action in conjunction with at least some of the shared plate recipients.

Seacoast Family Promise

Seacoast Family Promise is part of a national organization that works with congregations to house temporarily homeless families.

Volunteers provide meals, donate household items, and other support. During the remainder of the year, there are many ways to help out. Members can donate household items for families transitioning into permanent housing, help with SFP’s annual auction, volunteer in the SFP day center and more.

If you’d like more information about SFP and how to plug in, please contact our SFP Coordinating Team at sfpcoordinator@gmail.com.

The Seacoast Family Food Pantry provides food for our Seacoast neighbors of all ages. South Church has engaged in a number of initiatives over the years, including our annual Bring Your Weight in Food Drive which takes place in early fall. The event is timed to boost the Pantry’s stores at a time when they tend to run low. In summer of 2015, the church sponsored a Summer Meals for Kids program. Each week, members were encouraged to bring a different fresh fruit or vegetable, to be sent home with families whose access to free lunches stops over the summer.

Community Action and Events

There are many more opportunities during the year. Keep an eye on our Nuusflash to hear what's happening now!