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Who We are...
Advocacy & Service is a Social
Justice group of Murray UU Church whose mission is to create
a better world in which to live. This
is accomplished through educational
programming, volunteering for community-based
programs that improve the local community
and to support financially, with our
voices, and our actions, the global
effort to create a just world. Some
of our goals are:
- To provide opportunities for
members and friends of the congregation
to participate in social service
projects, including collecting money,
donating food and clothing, and
supporting area shelters and youth
programs.
- Enable members and friends to
witness about social issues, including
writing letters and visiting elected
officials, writing letters to the
editor of our local newspaper.
- Develop public statements in
the name of the committee or where
appropriate, in the name of the
congregation.
- Use the special talents of congregation
members to implement change.
- Ensure that the congregation
building is used to facilitate social
change: open building for community
groups, allow controversial groups
to meet.
- Suggest the congregation’s financial
resources are used for moral ends:
ethical investing of endowment funds;
fundraising for community projects.
- Strengthen alliances with area
organizations such as Resource Center,
Project Bread and Council of Churches.
For
the latest Advocacy
& Service news,
please click
here to view the
current copy of
the Universalist
newsleter.
Some
of our ongoing projects
are below:
Murray Church’s
Social Justice Program
Members are needed to build upon Murray Church’s Social Justice
program. What social issues need Murray’s action? Fall meeting will be
held on October 6 at 6:45PM in the John Murray room. Join Advocacy &
Service yes you for short-term projects.
Can you commit a few hours to environmental concerns? Should we
consider the UUA study/action issue about global warming or children and
poverty? How does Welcoming Congregation move forward exploring gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues? Can’t commit to a specific Food
‘n Friends Soup Kitchen date; add your name to the phone bank of
volunteers who will be called on when needed.
Subject:
Action Alert- Promise
the Children UU
The Massachusetts UU organization called Promise The Children Inc which was originally founded by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is looking for advocates to help improve the lives of Massachusetts children and those that care for them. Could you send an occasional letter to your state Representative or Senator to help support the future of our all children living in Massachusetts?
Promise The Children’s recent initiative is to support House bill 1641 and Senate bill 102, "An Act to Provide
*Health Education in Schools" Promise the Children is seeking the commitment of members of Unitarian Universalist congregations to influence our state government to vote for our children’s future. This bill would add health education to the core public school curriculum which would give students the information they need about important topics such as nutrition, physical activity, mental health, safety and injury prevention, reproduction and sexuality, substance abuse and violence prevention.
Please stop by Advocacy & Service table on Sunday to preview our letter of support. Consider adding your signature. To learn more about Promise The Children visit www.promisethechildrenuu.org. *Health Education is defined by the Department of Education under the Education Reform Act of 1993.
The
Health Education
legislation is progressing
through the legislative
process. The PTC
Board voted to officially
endorse this bill
and to join CARE,
the coalition of
organizations supporting
it. We are proud
to join this group
that includes:
- American
Association
of University
Women of Massachusetts
- American
Civil Liberties
Union of Massachusetts
- American
Heart Association
- Boston
Public Health
Commission
- Massachusetts
Nurses Association
- NARAL
Pro-Choice
- International
Planned Parenthood
League of Massachusetts
- Religious
Coalition for
Reproductive
Choice
What
does this bill do?
- This
bill makes comprehensive
health education
part of the
core curriculum
for Massachusetts
Public Schools.
- School
districts would
be required
to teach age-appropriate
health education
in grades K-12.
- The
bill's definition
of "Health
Education"
is based on
the Massachusetts
Comprehensive
Health Education
Curriculum Frameworks
that were developed
by the Department
of Education
under the Education
Reform Act of
1993.
The
fourteen standards
covered by the bill
are nutrition, physical
activity, mental
health, safety and
injury prevention,
reproduction and
sexuality, substance
abuse prevention,
violence prevention,
consumer health,
growth and development,
family life, interpersonal
relationships, disease
prevention, ecological
health, and community
health.·
Why
is this bill necessary?
According
to the 2003 Massachusetts
Youth Risk Behavior
Survey, young people
in the Commonwealth
are very much in
need of health education.
Among Massachusetts
youth:
- 30%
of students
were current
illegal drug
users in 2003
- 25%
of students
had their first
drink of alcohol
before the age
of 13 ·
- 23%
of students
reported being
bullied at school
in 2003 ·
- The
percentage of
students who
have been diagnosed
with HIV or
another STD
significantly
increased from
3% in 2001 to
6% in 2003.
·
- 28%
of students
rode with a
driver who had
been drinking
in the 30 days
prior to the
survey ·
- 17%
of students
used an unhealthy
method of weight
loss such as
fasting, vomiting,
laxative use
or diet pills.
The
Joint Committee
on Education is
accepting written
testimony in support
of the bill for
a few more weeks.
Please consider
writing a letter
and submitting it,
either by yourself
or with your church
or civic organization
by the end of February.
Send testimony to:
- The
Honorable Patricia
A. Haddad The
Joint Committee
on Education
Room 473G, State
House Boston,
MA 02133
- The
Honorable Robert
A. Antonioni
The Joint Committee
on Education
Room 109-E,
State House
Boston, MA 02133
Following
is text based on
the testimony submitted
by Planned Parenthood.
It might help you
in drafting your
own testimony.
Dear
Chairman Antonioni,
Chairwoman Haddad,
and Members of the
Joint Committee
on Education:I am
writing to express
my support for House
Bill 1641, Senate
Bill 102 "An
Act to Provide Health
Education in Schools."I strongly
support the insertion
of health education
into the core curriculum
of all public schools
in Massachusetts.
Health Education
is being eliminated
in many schools
just as we are being
warned about increased
rates of obesity,
binge drinking,
and sexual activity
among our school-age
children. Due
to these concerns,
Promise the Children
UU, a faith-based
organization advocating
for our children,
has joined CARE
for Youth, a coalition
comprised of 40
organizations that
have come together
to support comprehensive
health education
in the public schools.
Adding health education
to the core curriculum
through this legislation
would give students
the information
they need about
critically important
topics such as nutrition,
physical activity,
mental health, safety
and injury prevention,
reproduction and
sexuality, substance
abuse and violence
prevention. Students
crave information
on these topics
to reassure themselves
that their developing
bodies and feelings
are normal. With
the mixed messages
they receive from
their peers and
the media, we need
to ensure that our
students receive
consistent and accurate
information.Results
of the 2003 Massachusetts
Youth Risk Behavior
Survey demonstrate
the need for health
education in our
schools. According
to the survey, more
than half of Massachusetts
high school students
have tried smoking
at least once in
their lifetime.
One-quarter of the
students had engaged
in at least one
episode of binge
drinking in the
month prior to the
survey and forty-one
percent of the students
surveyed have had
sexual intercourse
in their lifetimes.Health
education saves
lives. Young people
need access to comprehensive
health education
in order to make
responsible decisions,
prevent disease,
reduce risky behaviors
and lead healthy
lives. Research
has demonstrated
that offering medically
accurate, age-appropriate
health education
is a crucial component
in the prevention
of health problems
affecting today's
youth. An Act to
Provide Health Education
in Schools"
would ensure that
the young people
of the Commonwealth
receive the health
education they deserve.
While academic performance
is critically important,
it is also important
that we teach our
young people to
make safe and responsible
choices about their
own health.
I
urge you to give
House Bill 1641,
Senate Bill 102
a favorable report.
Thank
you for your hard
work on this issue,
Becky
Promise
the Children, Inc.
58
Winter Street, Nahant,
MA 01908
781-581-0432
www.promisethechildrenuu.org
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