Social Justice
The Social Justice Ministry at First Unitarian Portland is a vibrant and active community that keeps Love at the center of our antiracism, anti-oppression, and climate justice work. Our work is guided by our Social Justice Covenant (shared below).
We have 8 Social Justice Action Groups working for immigrant support and defense, climate action, hunger and homelessness, reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, racial justice, peace in the Middle East, economic justice, and issues of peace and disarmament. You can join us in moving our spiritual beliefs into action by joining one of our action groups. They offer education, opportunities for direct action, advocacy and service, and engagement with community partners. You’ll find contact information about each group below, in the links on the right, or on this page.
The Shower Project is a wonderful way that congregant volunteers have united to provide a free and secure space for unhoused neighbors to shower, rest, enjoy a drink and snack, get clean clothing, and experience refuge. Our generous congregation sustains this effort through donations of clothing, food, and other essential items, which can be left in the COHHO bins located in Fuller Hall. Please check out our Shower Project page if you are interested in volunteering, donating, or would like to hear from our volunteers about their meaningful experiences. You can direct questions to ShowerProject@firstunitarianportland.org.
To find out what Social Justice events are coming up, subscribe to First Unitarian’s weekly Front Steps e-news and check out our events calendar. For general questions about the program, send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.
Dana Buhl
Director of Social Justice
Social Justice Action Groups
Advancing Racial Justice Action Group (ARJAG)
Our mission is to play a leadership role in the work of resisting and dismantling racism…within and beyond our congregation…MORE
Committee on Hunger and Homelessness (COHHO)
COHHO strives to end homelessness, hunger and its effects through individual and collective acts of compassion…MORE
Economic Justice Action Group (EJAG)
The Economic Justice Action Group promotes fair and just economic policies and practices for all citizens…MORE
Peace Action Group
The Peace Action Group is devoted to doing all we can to foster peace within our region, nationally and internationally…MORE
Care and Action for Reproductive Dignity (CARD)
We center the needs of women, girls, trans and nonbinary people whose bodily autonomy and integrity are under attack by political movements…MORE
Community for Earth
(CFE)
Community for Earth (CFE) nurtures climate activists, supporting each other and the congregation as we strive for climate justice…MORE
Immigrant Justice Action Group (IJAG)
Our mission is to support and enhance the rights of refugees, migrants, and immigrants in our community…MORE
UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME)
UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) works within the UU community to promote a just peace in Israel-Palestine that affirms the equality, dignity, freedom, and security of all peoples involved…MORE
First Unitarian’s Social Justice Covenant
As the Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church of Portland, we are moved by the deep and transformative presence of Love.
Love calls us to the sacred work of seeking justice.
With courage and humility, we commit to seek together a justice through which we fulfill our longing to reshape fear, greed, oppression and violence into lives of caring, collective thriving, peace and mutual liberation – to create together a community that we can call beloved. To support and challenge each other in this work, we promise to:
- Draw on the common spirit of this place on Earth, the First Peoples, and all beings who lived here before us and those who come after, recognizing that we are intertwined, shaping and being shaped by other beings and the land we inhabit.
- Seek and follow the wisdom and direction of those who most directly experience oppression and injustice, understanding that our liberation is bound together.
- Be unsettled and alert in the world, consistently seeking justice while knowing our actions will be imperfect and the work ongoing.
- Be present to both the emotional challenge of justice work and to the unexpected moments of grace within it.
- Embrace our multiple perspectives, spoken truthfully and heard respectfully, while remaining committed to working within and through friction, discomfort and difference.
- Commit to learning about ourselves and one another with humility while seeking to dissolve harmful divisions among us.
- Treat ourselves and each other with love and kindness as we work for a common good.
When we fail in these promises to each other, we will offer ourselves and others forgiveness and begin again, rooted always in the spirit of compassion, faith and love.