Mission and social action are a vital part of the expression of our Christian faith as we are called by God to make a difference in the world for good. Our congregation is known in the community for being active and involved in reaching out to meet human need and in being agents of social change to address the challenges of our times.
Current Opportunities to Get Involved
EcoMinistry
Our Mission
The EcoMinistry pledges, with God's guidance, to make our church a model community which incorporates respect for all of God's creation through education and activities. We work to uphold our church's Whole Earth Covenant to promote care for God's ongoing creation and humility in our relationships to Earth and all its systems.
Activities
The EcoMinistry organizes and promotes a number of activities during the year including the FCC highway cleanup, Earth Day activities and the Sunday Adult Forum sessions. The EcoMinistry group meets on the 2nd Sunday of each month from 12-12:59 in the Faith Center to plan our actvities. Everyone is welcome.
Adopt-A-Highway
As a way of affirming our Whole Earth Covenant, First Cong participates in CDOT's Adopt-a-Highway program and is responsible for picking up litter along US 36 from Nebo to Nelson Roads north of Boulder 4 times/year. Children over 6 are welcome to participate if supervised by a parent.
Environmentally-themed forums
Educating our congregation and the local community about problems we face and choices we can make to make sure God's creation is well cared for is part of the mission of the EcoMinistry. To that end, we sponsor speakers for the Sunday Adult forum and other talks. Members lead small group book discussions to explore our relationship to the environment in more depth. All are welcome to attend any and all of these session. Some examples include:
- FCC member Al Bartlett's talk on Arithmetic, Population and Energy.
- Small group discussion of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac.
Additional Resources
Mission Trips to Venezuela with Global Partners
Global Partners is a long standing partnership between the Rocky Mountain Conference UCC, the Rocky Mountain Disciples of Christ and the Evangelical United Pentecostal Church of Venezuela (UEPV).
The purpose of these trips is to provide cultural exchanges and to support one another in our spiritual journeys as we seek peace and justice in our world. Each trip is centered on a project; however the process of relationship building is more important than what we do.
Members are a mix of ages and genders, lay and clergy, as well as those who have traveled to Venezuela and those that haven't yet. We welcome anyone who is interested in helping to plan the trips, recruiting travelers, training participants, speaking and teaching in local churches and fund raising.
New Orleans Work Trips
Our church has organized ten adult work trips to New Orleans since Hurrican Katrina. Past trips have included helping rebuild New Orleans with the St. Bernard Project, as well as working with an Educational and Book Project, a Health and Parish Nurse Ministry, a Foundation for Kids, and Animal Rescue.
This year we will be doing many activities:
- Rebuilding homes in the St. Bernard Parish
- working in a day center for persons who are homeless
- reading books with children
- joining the UCC Community Recovery Outreach.
These trips continue to be a powerful, multifaceted experience.
4th Sunday Soup Kitchen
Volunteers (ongoing or one-time) and Food Donations
On the 4th Sunday of each month volunteers from FCC prepare and serve a midday meal in FCC’s Plymouth Hall for needy families and individuals in the community. New volunteers are always needed and welcome.
If you would like to donate, please drop a check in the collection plate or mail to the church office. Be sure to note on the memo line, "Soup Kitchen".
Habitat for Humanity
Grocery Cards, construction
Our church is sponsoring another Habitat for Humanity house.
One way we raise money for the houses is through the sale of grocery gift cards. Thank you to all who have purchased local grocery cards that benefit our Habitat for Humanity house building. Please keep up the good work! We earn a 5% dividend on the total amount purchased. Buy your grocery cards for Safeway, King Soopers, Vitamin Cottage and Sunflower Market on Sunday at the Habitat table during coffee hour.
Keep in mind: EFAA is in need of donated grocery store gift cards, so buying and donating a card will help both help feed and house the hungry.
Mental Health Ministry
This group’s mission is to help reduce the stigma around mental illness by providing educational opportunities, resources and spiritual support for those who have mental illness, and their friends and families. We meet monthly to develop programs, provide resources , and host conferences and forums on mental illness.
Community Table Volunteers
Volunteers (ongoing or one-time)
First Congregational volunteers help prepare and serve the evening meal to those in need on the first Tuesday of every month. We have been serving 90-100 people each week. This is a great opportunity to help others, and helpers of all ages are welcome. There are lots of choices in how to help, from setting tables, to serving, to cleanup. Come on out and join us in serving our neighbors and getting to know each other better.
The meal is served at the First Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street, located at the intersection of 14th and Spruce Streets in downtown Boulder.
Salad Angels
In an effort to increase the nutritional value of the food we serve the needy of our community, we would like to encourage our volunteers and especially those of you who may not be available to volunteer to become a "SALAD ANGEL". This means that you would either prepare and donate a salad the first Tuesday evening of the month for Community Table and/or any midday meal, Monday-Friday, for Bridge House (formerly Carriage House), or putting a donation for the cost of a large salad in the Sunday offering plate (indicating Salad Angel on the memo line). Your generosity will be greatly appreciated!
Food Drive for EFAA and BCAP
Current needs: protein-rich or high-fiber items
The main food drive collection days are the first Sundays of the month, but donations at other times are gratefully accepted. Please place non-perishable donations in the box in the FAITH Center hallway or the basket in the church narthex.
Another great way to help is to buy grocery store gift cards from our Habitat drive and donate them to EFAA and/or BCAP. Fight hunger and homelessness at the same time!
Emergency Family Assistance (EFAA), has served our community for 90 years and sees about 350 families each month, to provide 20,000 pounds of food and other basic items to them. Since the beginning of 2008 there has been a radical reduction in food supplies - please help!
Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) provides support, advocacy and education to those affected by the HIV, and works to prevent further transmission of HIV and AIDS. A food bank is part of the care services provided by BCAP.
Prison Ministry
Visits, Bibles, Greeting Cards, Donations
First Congregational supports a ministry led by Rev. Joanne Buchanan Brown at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility. If you would like to visit New Beginnings Church inside the prison walls on a Friday evening, donate Bibles or greeting cards, make a monetary donation to the Prison Ministry Fund at First Cong, or just have a chat about the ministry please contact Joanne Buchanan Brown, or 303 604- 6547. Both women and men are invited to volunteer. Please remember that prison chaplaincy is not paid for by the Colorado Department of Corrections, but depends on faith communities to survive and flourish. Let's not forget these "fringed" incarcerated women on the margins as we remember Jesus' words to us, "I was in prison and you visited me..."
Bridge House / Community Table
(formerly Carriage House)
The mission of Bridge House Homeless Community Center is to provide a stable supportive community for homeless men and women. They are committed to addressing immediate survival needs and to providing services which lead to employment, housing, personal stability and healing. The building for the Carriage House is provided by First Congregational and is located off of the alley near the church parking lot.
Sisters of Sudan Fund
Become informed, political activism, cash and grocery card donations
First Congregational supports the Sisters of Sudan, an organization that helps the lost girls of Sudan.
Ways you can help:
- Read a book – What is the What, Lost Boys of Sudan, God Grew Tired of Us, Voices of Sudan, Darfur: A 21 st Century Genocide, The Devil Came on Horseback.
- Don’t invest with companies that substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.
- Contact your elected representatives to let them know where you stand on the genocide that has killed more people than in the recent conflicts in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia combined. More than 2 million people have been killed, and more than 4 million driven from their homes.
- Donate to Sisters of Sudan; Grocery cards (available at coffee hour)are also very much appreciated.
- Volunteer with Sisters of Sudan; contact Susan Pfretzschner, 303-440-6346.
Knitting Ministry
If you are interested in learning to knit, or knitting with others, you are invited to join this group. The knitting is simple, and the camaraderie is great. We knit prayer shawls for those in our church community in need or comfort and support in difficult times; baby blankets for new additions to our congregation, and blankets for graduating seniors. Shawls have been made for centuries; they are universal and embracing, and are worn in every part of the world. They enfold, comfort, cover, wrap, nurture, hug, shelter and beautify, and are symbolic of God’s inclusive and unconditional love. Over the last 6 years, we have provided 140 shawls and blankets to members of our congregation. Date & time 1st Tuesday, 1:30-2:30 pm Place Heritage Room, FAITH Center
Here are other outreach partners that provide opportunities to get involved and offer support to those in need here and around the world:
- Alternative Gift Market
- Backpack Drive
- Blanket Drive and Tool Drive
- The Interfaith Alliance
- CROP Walk
- CU Campus Ministry
- Neighbors in Need
