Posted on 05/24/2003 5:51:07 AM PDT by NewHampshireDuo
The Social Action Committee of the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church of Portland has won a national award for its work in the field of social justice.
"It's quite an honor, and it shows we're on the right track," said Debbie Atwood of Falmouth, who chairs the committee.
The award, called the James Bennett Award for Congregational Action on Human Justice and Social Action, was awarded by the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is given annually to the Unitarian Universalist congregation that has done the most to support human rights and social-justice activism.
The association represents more than 1,000 Unitarian Universalist congregations nationwide. Maine has 29 Unitarian Universalist congregations that are members of the Boston-based association.
The association grew out of the consolidation in 1961 of two religious denominations - the Universalists, organized in 1793, and the Unitarians, organized in 1825.
Susan Leslie, director of the association's Office for Congregational Advocacy and Witness in Boston, said the Portland church's work was an example of a "small church with a lot of heart that does so much with limited funds and membership."
Leslie said that the church's Social Action Committee is a model of inspiration for other church groups to follow.
The award was instituted in 1999 by James Bennett of Fayetteville, Ark., to honor a congregation that has done exemplary work in social justice. The award also carries a $500 prize.
Bennett, professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas, is a former director of the Gustavus Meyer Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America, based in Fayetteville.
Atwood said the committee has yet to decide how to use its $500 award. "We will discuss it at our fall meeting," she said.
The committee was cited for its work in a number of areas of social justice, including fund-raising work with immigrants from Sudan, as well as the participation by many church members at the Many & One Rally that was held Jan. 11 in Lewiston.
In that event, more than 4,500 people gathered at Bates College for a "pro-diversity" rally that was designed to counter a neo-Nazi meeting held at the same time at another location in Lewiston.
Atwood, discussing why church members attended the pro-diversity rally, explained, "We fully support folks from other countries, particularly those who come here as refugees. Imagine if that was us, going through what they go through."
The committee was also honored for the interfaith work it has done with the Maine Council of Churches and for its dedication to social-action work with children.
To qualify for the national award, the committee first won the northeast district award, known as the Anne Kempers Award for Social Justice. The award is named for the late Anne Kempers, who was an active member of a Unitarian congregation in Waterville.
The 12-member committee at the Allen Avenue church meets each May to discuss what projects to focus on in the upcoming year. Abbott said the committee plans to continue on its same course of social action.
Previous recipients include the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laramie, Wyo.; the University Unitarian Universalist Church and the Rainier Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Seattle, Wash.; the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta; and the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in North Dakota.
What's next, a "morals-neutral church?"
Sounds similar to the "First Annual C. Montgomery Burns Award for Achievement in the Field of Excellence", won by Homer J. a couple of years back.
I think a number of them are already.
LOL
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