• Putting our faith into action has always been very important to Unitarian Universalists.

Our church has many faith-in-action activities and events, some which happen year around and others that are seasonal. For some FIA projects, we partner with or support the efforts of other organizations. For others, our church members and friends plan and implement the entire project.

Check out the many faith-in-action opportunities below.

Mittens & More for Our UUCH Trees

December 1 – December 29

        Bring children’s hats, scarves, gloves and mittens to hang on the sanctuary trees or place in the baskets underneath. Whether handmade or purchased, your generous gifts will warm area children through the winter. This year, the mitten tree contributions will be going to Children in Need, located in downtown Hagerstown, which distributes children’s clothing free of charge to local residents in need.

YEAR AROUND FAITH-IN-ACTION ACTIVITIES

Faith-in-Action meetings  

First Sunday of the month

12:15 p.m. in the Martin House  (the brick building next to our sanctuary)

Faith-in-Action activities are open to everyone; you don’t need to be on the FIA committee to participate. However, attending FIA meetings allows you to be part of the decision-making and planning.  To share ideas for future FIA activities or for more information, contact FIA chair Dodie Ruskie.

Offering in Action

All undesignated cash (and checks with offering in action in the memo line) in the offering basket on the third Sunday of each month will be donated to social justice or other organizations reflecting our UU values and principles.  

UUs not in the sanctuary on those Sundays are encouraged to mail checks (with offering in action in the memo line) to UUCH, att: treasurer, 13245 Cearfoss Pike, Hagerstown, MD 21740.

Selection of the recipient of the Offering in Action donations currently rotates among six church groups to encourage input from a wide range of UUs: the Book Group, the RE students, the Women’s Spirituality Group, the congregation-at-large, the UUCH board; and the Men’s Discussion Group.  If you want to suggest an organization, talk to a board member.

This outreach project was proposed by board members who also participate in the Men’s Discussion Group, after reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Many UU churches of all sizes are now giving away all or part of their Sunday offerings and report increased donations for both the outreach and support of the church.

Since July 2016, our Offering in Action program has raised over $13,919.67 for social justice and other organizations reflecting our UU principles.

Previous recipients have included Equity in Eduction Scholarships, PEN America (which fights book censorship), Refugee Welcome  Network,  ACLU, UNICEF, Southern Poverty Law Center, Washington County Library, Humane Society, League of Women Voters, Equal Justice Initiative, UUA Disaster Relief Fund, local Literacy Council, Heifer International, UU College of Social Justice, Americans for the Separation of Church and State, CASA (local shelter for people in domestic violence), Planned Parenthood, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Holly Place, the sanctuary program at Cedar Lane UU Church, REACH, Children in Need, Lasting Change,  Hagerstown Women & Children’s Shelter (Salvation Army), San Mar young adult housing,  and local Learning Parties.

CASA shelter for abused women

Abused women and their children often arrive at the CASA shelter with little but the clothes they’re  wearing.

They need personal care items; bath towels, wash cloths, blankets; disposable diapers; children’s clothing and toys; paper products;  laundry supplies; grocery store gift cards; and school supplies.   Most needed now are cleaning supplies (especially laundry detergent and dish soap), toilet paper, towels and wash cloths, large and kitchen trash bags, and gift cards for groceries and gas.

Leave your donations in the CASA basket in the sanctuary foyer.

For more information, talk to Dodie Ruskie.

SEASONAL FAITH-IN-ACTION ACTIVITIES

Micah’s Backpack

Feeding Hungry Children:

Our church has been providing weekend food during the school year for at risk children since 2012. We are currently feeding 20 children at Emma K. Doub Elementary School in the south end of Hagerstown.

Every Friday, participating children receive a bag with two days worth of food (three meals and a snack daily) —fruits, vegetables, cereal, juice, shelf-stable milk, and microwavable main dishes, all in individual serving-size packages. Occasionally, we pack extra food to cover in-service or vacation days.

Beginnings: Several years ago, a Hagerstown student attending Virginia Tech became aware of a program called Micah’s Backpack which provided weekend meals for low-income public-school children. The student told her parents about the program, they shared the information with others at their local Lutheran church, and a seed was planted. After a lot of fundraising, community contacts, and many, many volunteer hours, Micah’s Backpack (MB) began serving school children in the Washington County Public School System in 2012. UUCH has been a participating church since the beginning.

By the Numbers: currently (2024), 1244 students in 37 schools are served by the program; the program has 49 sponsors, mainly churches. The program is funded in several ways. A variety of grants raise $55,000. A donor provides the funding for the plastic drawstring bags used for the weekend meals. A major fundraiser is the Hagerstown Area Religious Council (HARC) annual Hike for Hunger and Hope, which earmarks some of the proceeds for Micah’s Backpack. HARC gives each sponsoring church or organization a subsidy per student served. The sponsor group provides the balance of funds needed. Our church budgets money each year for MB :$5,200 for 2024-25.

The MB funds go farther because most of the food is supplied by the Maryland Food Bank, which offers bulk quantities at reasonable prices. (The food bank also maintains strict standards for quality, freshness, and storage/handling by sponsor organizations. Our UUCH MB pantry passed inspection.)

The Process: Three orders per year are placed with the Food Bank. For UUCH, Jerry Harness and Bill Pfoutz pick up the food (generally 50 – 75 cartons!), and unload it all into our Micah’s Pantry located in the Martin House basement.

On the second and fourth Sundays each month during the school year, 6 – 8 UUCH volunteers gather in the basement pantry after the service to pack enough bags for two weekends and carry them upstairs to the shelving area where they are stored until delivery.

Each week, our distribution team – Courtenay Elder, Marcia Kirby, Deb Russell, Elise Weber – collects 20 bags and delivers them to Doub Elementary, where school staff distributes them on Fridays.

How You Can Help:

       Help pack MB bags after the service on second and fourth Sundays.

Donate when you can:  Our congregation provides funds in the annual budget to cover the bulk of our food purchases but this may not be enough because the cost of food fluctuates. We also provide $25 supermarket gift cards to our Micah’s families for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Give monetary donations, with “Micah’s Backpack” in the memo line of any check, to our church treasurer, Bill Pfoutz or mail to the church, att: treasurer, 13245 Cearfoss Pike, Hagerstown, MD 21740

Our MB Program Makes a Difference.

Each spring, the Washington County Public Schools conduct a survey with all the Micah’s Backpack recipients, their parents and the teachers involved with the program. The Micah’s Backpack survey always shows that most of the children share the food with their families. a majority of the teachers believe that the children are more engaged in learning. and even more parents feel their children are doing better in school.

Our UUCH MB coordinator, Elise Weber, says, “Our school, Emma Doub Elementary, is located in an area very close to a large complex of subsidized housing, so it is a school with a great need. I’m grateful to all our members and friends who enable us to provide this important support to our kids.”

If you are interested in helping or for more information about the program, contact Elise Weber.

REACH Cold Weather Shelter

Our UU volunteers provide a meal and other help at the Hagerstown homeless shelter at least one evening each winter, usually in December.

UUCH volunteers will prepare and serve a snack at 2 p.m. when the shelter opens and an evening meal at 7 p.m. After the meal, they will clean the kitchen.  To volunteer or for more information, talk to Bill Pike.

Anyone who wants to help must complete an online volunteer application on the REACH website  (reachofwc.org/volunteer-application)  Volunteers must be at least 16. People under 18 may work only in the kitchen. There are no restrictions on where people 18 and older may volunteer. Those who can not volunteer at the shelter are encouraged to make a donation for the purchase of needed food.

In the past, UU volunteers have sometimes helped the REACH staff in other areas, including check in at the front desk, security search, laundry coordination, and hospitality (chatting with residents).

For more information about REACH, visit  http://reachofwc.org/

HARC Hike for Hunger & Hope 

     The 2024 Annual Hike was Saturday,  June 8  on the C&O Canal towpath.  

Our church is a gold sponsor for the HARC Hike for Hunger and Hope, a non-competitive fundraising event open to all ages. Designed for all abilities with 4K, 10K and half marathon, the hikers are supported with snacks and drinks along the way and provided lunch after the event. The hike also includes a nature scavenger hunt for younger children.

The HARC 20-mile Challenge Hike was Saturday, May  18  on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland.

To register or for  more information, visit http://harccoalition.org/hike/. 

Area Pride Events

         Our church is a UUA-recognized Welcoming Congregation so of course we participate in area LGBTQ events.

UUCH members and friends staff our UUCH tables at Pride events in Hagerstown and in Chambersburg. Our displays  have information about the Side with Love movement and Unitarian Universalism’s long history of inclusion. For more information, contact faith-in-action chair Dodie Ruskie.

Hagerstown Hopes Annual Pride Festival

Saturday, July 13, 2024,  11 a.m. – 6 p.m. in Doub’s Woods Park, Hagerstown

Hagerstown Hopes was established in 2012 to bridge the gap between the straight and LGBTQ community. The  annual Pride Festival activities include female impersonators, music, speakers, food, and displays by area vendors, organizations and agencies.

          For more information, visit www.hagerstownhopesmd.org or the Hagerstown Hopes Facebook page.

Pride Franklin County

Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024,  noon to 5 p.m.  at Wilson College), Chambersburg, PA

            Pride Franklin County incorporates traditional Pride elements and activities while maintaining a family-friendly and welcoming atmosphere. All entertainment is PG-rated.

          The first annual Pride Franklin County celebration in 2018 was organized by  Franklin County Coalition for Progress and Franklin County Equality Center to increase the visibility of the LGBTQ community and their contributions to Franklin County, to bring the LGBTQ community and straight allies together, and to celebrate diversity, acceptance and respect in Franklin County.

          For more information, visit www.fccforprogress.org.

Eastern Panhandle Pride Festival

October 2024 but date not available yet in downtown Martinsburg, WV

Children’s Book Drive

Not held  in 2024. Instead UUCH held a  School Supply Drive for our Micah’s Backpack school. 

August  through September 

Donate new and gently used books for children, infancy – age 11 in the collection box in the UUCH sanctuary foyer.

If you’ve given all your books in previous years, check out Wonder Books (607 Dual Highway), Booksavers (13625 PA Ave.), and other area sources for used and new books.

Donated books go to the Community Book Warehouse, which distributes them to community organizations, schools and individuals to get books into the hands of vulnerable children.

 The book drive is co-sponsored by the Hagerstown Area Religious Council (HARC), United Way, Rotary Club, FedEx and the Early Childhood Advisory Council. For more information,  visit www.harccoaltion.org

Potter’s Bowl to support free clinic

Sunday , November 3,  at the Elks Club

 $55.   Limited seating.

Tickets required

Enjoy a meal, take home a hand-made bowl, and help the Community Free Clinic, which has been providing free medical care and prescriptions to medically uninsured Washington County residents since 1990.

If you’d like to attend, give your check payable to UUCH (memo line Potter’s Bowl), to our church treasurer. For more information, contact Dodie Ruskie.