Social Justice & Activism

First Parish is a service-oriented congregation, and we are happy to roll up our sleeves (physically or metaphorically) to help those in need. But we also recognize that, very frequently, the problems and suffering in the world are caused by greater systems of prejudice and injustice.

Social Justice Task Force

Our congregation has a Social Justice Task Force whose mission and purpose is to:

• Raise awareness within our church community, of social justice initiatives sponsored by our Church, the broader UU community, the Weston community, and the Metro-West and Boston communities.
• Provide a forum to explore, in depth, specific social justice issues or initiatives.
• Provide an opportunity to propose specific actions related to a social justice issue.

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Learn About Our
Current Projects & Initiatives

Our Ongoing Commitments:
Spiritual Values, Social Responsibility

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First Parish has a long history of charity, philanthropy, and engaging with social justice. We feel that we have a social responsibility connected to our spiritual values.

Our support for social justice issues stems from our shared theological ethics and personal moral beliefs:

• Our Unitarian heritage teaches us to follow the guidance of reason and insights of science.
• Our Universalist forebears taught us to show love & kindness to all creation, to use compassion as our pole star, and that all of humanity is beloved (no exceptions).
• Our Christian roots call us to follow the wisdom and teachings of Jesus, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

We may not have a specific project or initiative currently active, but First Parish remains committed to addressing systems of inequity and oppression; read on to learn about some of our beliefs and values regarding issues of social justice.

Looking to Get Involved?

Each area of focus includes a drop-down menu that offers various ways to get directly involved – how you can volunteer to help, donate to support an organization, or educate yourself about these specific issues. Click the arrow or text that says “GET INVOLVED: [SUBJECT]” to see a full list.

First Parish in Weston believes that Black Lives Matter.

We believe that saying “black lives matter” is stating a basic fact of human dignity, and that it is our job to remove racism from systems of power. We invite you to review our statement about “Why We Have Displayed a ‘Black Lives Matter’ Banner” and to join the dialogue about what it means to be actively anti-racist.

We are a LGBTQ+ Welcoming Congregation.

God loves everyone – no exceptions. We have always been welcoming and supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, and we are proud to be officially certified as a U.U. Welcoming Congregation! Through engaging with this program, we have improved our congregational life & policies, deepened our personal education, expanded our public outreach, and reinforced an ongoing commitment to advocacy.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

Despite all the progress made over the years, women still face widespread violence, unequal decision-making power, significant income and wealth gaps, and threats from fundamentalist, patriarchal movements. The sheer breadth of the impact of sexism is extraordinary.

• Financial:  Women earn an average of 83 cents for every dollar a man earns, are only 27% of the top 10% of earners, and are 67.9% of workers who earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Political:  Women are only 28.7% of the United States Congress. Coincidentally, the United States is also the only developed country without paid maternity leave.
• Personal Safety:  81% – 1 in 5 women – have been sexually assaulted or raped. Globally, one woman or girl is killed by someone in her own family every 11 minutes.
• Dignity & Respect:  Reproductive choice is a basic human right. Women have been stripped of personal autonomy – their bodies, health, and welfare are governed, monitored, dictated, and abused by those in power.

We still have a long way to go.

Climate Change is an urgent and critical concern.

First Parish believes that climate change is real (since we also believe in science and empirical facts) and is a dangerous threat to our planet and all humankind. Members of First Parish helped to found the MetroWest Climate Solutions group and continues to be active in the planning of events and initiatives.

“There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.”

– MAHATMA GANDHI

All life is sacred, and violence against anyone is harmful to everyone. We believe in the power of peace, and that it is a goal worthy of our time, attention, hard work, and support. It is the work of the faithful to bring about the kin-dom of God here on earth.

…they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.

(Isaiah 2:4)

Secure housing & healthy food are basic human rights.

As people of faith, we are called to not only feed the hungry and clothe the poor, but we must also ask how we can live in one of the richest countries in the world where still over 15% of children under the age of eighteen live in poverty, where 1 in 6 children—12.5 million— live in households where they don’t know where they will get their next meal.

First Parish believes everyone – regardless of age, race, immigration status, income, physical ability, or any other delineator – deserves a safe place to live and healthy food to eat. Our members are actively engaged with issues of affordable housing and food scarcity.

Immigrants and refugees deserve respect & support.

First Parish supports refugees and immigrants fleeing violence and persecution, hoping to make a better life for themselves. Local organizations have been resettling Afghan families in the Greater Boston area, but many people arrive with no possessions or financial resources, and our congregation helped a refugee family in their first year acclimating to life in the United States. First Parish hopes to offer our support for those people caught in this urgent and ongoing humanitarian crisis.

We are asked to care for others, and others will care for us.

We believe, as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, that all life is interrelated, and we are “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” Humans depend on one another and our planet, and we must recognize our interconnection and act accordingly. Dignity is a basic human right, and every person deserves to thrive. As Jesus said, “just as you did to one of the least of these people, you did unto me.”

We support compassion and kindness. Some of our projects have included:

• the Weston CARES Fund – at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Weston residents and members of First Parish created Weston CARES to make a difference locally, thoughtfully, and immediately. The fund raised more than $200,000 and provided grants to local non-profit organizations & individuals, with priority given to assisting local residents confronting food and housing emergencies.

These are just the start.  Want to get involved?

Learn more about our Current Initiatives, contact the Social Justice Task Force (ask the main office), or speak to one of our ministers.

In addition to social justice work, there are many ways you can serve and connect with our community:

–  Get Involved at First Parish –Learn about our committees, teams, and leadership.
–  Outreach & Community Service – Support local outreach programs.
–  Congregational Life – Participate in our “in-reach” programs and social events.
–  Public Programs for the Weston Community – Speaker series and family events.