Social Justice

As a congregation and individually, we strive to promote justice in all of our interactions.  We recognize that there are many injustices in our world and we make efforts to bear witness, to take action and to advocate for systemic change.  We bear witness by expressing our opinions, participating in vigils and marches, by conducting activities to draw attention to unjust conditions.  We take action in many ways, in many areas. We feed and shelter those in need, we promote fair trade in our dealings with others, and we work to promote peace.  We seek to make our presence in our world greener.  We work to identify opportunities to make our views known to governmental entities in efforts to change regulations or laws that treat people in an unjust way. 

 

Black Lives Matter - Standing up for Racial Justice

Beginning September 20th, 2015 and continuing weekly between services, All Souls congregants and community members stood in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.  Holding our Black Lives Matter banner we sang and witnessed for racial justice. 

 (Photo credit Sean Elliot)

All Souls New London is a UUA certified Welcoming Congregation

Pies for Peace - Sunday, September 12th, 2021 - a donation to Start Fresh, New London for refugee resettlement

On September 11, 2011, All Souls launched what is now a tradition in “Pies for Peace.”  To mark this most difficult anniversary, congregants brought homemade pies to the service.  During coffee hour these pies were savored and enjoyed while a “free will” offering was taken up.  Proceeds – totaling over $1300 – went to the Voluntown Peace Trust – a local organization that teaches the ways of non-violence.  With the maiden year’s success, Pies for Peace happens the second Sunday of September and will raise money to help in the realization of peace. Our 2012 Pies for Peace proceeds were donated to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. In 2013 our proceeds went to support the Wounded Warrior Project and the War Resistors League, and in 2014 our donation went to benefit "Seeds of Peace". In 2015 our donation went to the "Rebuild the Churches Fund", helping to rebuild black churches that had been destroyed by fire. In 2016 our donation went to the Sandy Hook Promise. In 2017 our donation went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In 2018 our donation went to Connecticut Against Gun Violence.  Donations have also been made in 2019, 2020, and most recently in 2021 to Start Fresh for refugee resettlement efforts in the New London area.

Green Sanctuary - All Souls received Green Sanctuary certification in May 2013

The Green Sanctuary program aims to bring positive change in three areas of Unitarian Universalist life: personal lifestyle choices, congregational programs and practices, and outreach and activism within the broader community.

The program is broad in scope, with four focus areas:

• Worship and Celebration, in which we create or expand ways to integrate earth-oriented spirituality into congregational worship and communal gatherings.
• Religious Education, where we focus on the environmental components of our lifespan religious education programs.
• Environmental Justice, where we work for a just society in which benefits for some do not come at the expense of others. Environmental justice extends beyond human societies to include all of the beings that inhabit the Earth.
• Sustainable Living, where we focus on the activities in our day-to-day lives that have an impact on the environment. Here we examine congregational practices such as energy use, landscaping, building management, office supplies, cleaning products, waste management, transportation, food preparation and consumption, and water use.

All Souls participated in the Cool Congregations Challenge, sponsored by the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network.  We are one of ten Connecticut faith communities who participated in the pilot program! The goal of the Cool Congregations Challenge is to reduce our carbon footprint, which is the amount of greenhouse gasses we produce in our daily activities, measured in pounds of carbon dioxide (CO₂).  For more information on the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network, check out their website at irejn.org.