A Faithful Action Community Partnership is a relationship between First Universalist Church and an organization in the community that shares our vision of love and justice. We work through Faithful Action Community Partnerships in order to leverage our energy, commitment and expertise. We share our resources in service of the organization’s vision.
All current and proposed Partnerships are evaluated through the lens of our racial justice and faithful action principles. The Faithful Action Council strives to maintain a balance of partnerships that reflect our commitment to both systemic social change and serving immediate needs.
Community Partners
Augsburg Fairview Academy
Augsburg Fairview Academy (AFA) is a public charter high school located in the West Phillips neighborhood not far from our sanctuary. AFA’s mission is to provide a passionate learning community dedicated to serving the academic, social, and emotional needs of high school students in a safe and welcoming community; to prepare students for life and careers; and to promote social justice and equity through education.
AFA was established in 2005 to support underserved students. Many of its 100+ African American, Somali, and American Indian students experience housing and food insecurity throughout the school year. For the past seven years, First Universalist Church has sponsored and stocked Food and Clothing Closets at the school. Our Sunday offerings designated for AFA support the Food Closet and other needs. Congregants have donated backpacks, school supplies, food and snacks, and teen appropriate clothing. First U hosted the AFA Spring Prom in our social hall in 2018 and 2019. (Prom was cancelled in spring of 2020.) In past years, First U volunteers provided needed classroom assistance.
This year (2020–21) we collaborated with AFA staff to determine how best to provide support during the pandemic, given distance learning. AFA asked First Universalist to be their Community Partner and financial sponsor with Every Meal (formerly The Sheridan Story); each school participating in Every Meal requires a Community Partner to serve as the final sponsor for the donated food. Food bags are distributed at AFA on Fridays and through delivery by staff to student homes.
Current opportunities to support AFA include donating to support Every Meal and other needs. This fall congregants donated winter jackets for students; watch for information about additional clothing drives. We are exploring an opportunity this spring to pack food bags at an Every Meal warehouse; this opportunity is open to families (children must be over 8). Rigorous safety protocols are in effect. Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which provides nutritious, high quality food bags to students in need; in the last 10 years 6 million meals were provided to Minnesota students in over 400 locations.
First Universalist Contact for AFA: Cindy Marsh (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative
Because we all benefit when we all have a home. First Universalist is a member of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, made up of over 100 metro area congregations working together to ensure all people have a home.
Beacon’s work (through congregations like ours) is in three areas: First, a shelter program called Families Moving Forward, for families currently experiencing homelessness. Second, building affordable and supportive housing in the metro area with congregational public support and advocacy. Beacon has built dozens of beautiful affordable apartment complexes around the metro for those with no or very low incomes. And third, organizing congregants (like us) to powerfully advocate for change, including change to laws and funding, help ensure all people in Minnesota have a home.
Together, we’re changing the conversation—and policies—at the local, regional, and state level to make home a reality for everyone. We all experience a stronger, more prosperous community by investing in home. This work also supports our church’s commitment to racial justice, as homelessness impacts communities of color at a disproportionately high rate.
There are many opportunities (ranging from very easy to more involved) to put faith into action in this area, including opportunities for organizing, powerful advocacy, fundraising, education, and training. First Universalist’s Beacon Leadership Team invites and welcomes you to explore these opportunities with us.
Please note: First Universalist has participated in Families Moving Forward for many years to host families experiencing homelessness in our congregation. Hennepin County is no longer referring families to Families Moving Forward (due to the high number of shelters in Hennepin county). Several nearby counties continue to participate. And so, our congregation’s FMF organizers are regrouping to understand what opportunities exist for our congregation to participate in FMF moving forward.
First Universalist Contacts for Beacon: Autumn Huiras and Sara McMullen (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
The Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement
The vision of the Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement (CLNE) is to mobilize congregations and leaders as powerful neighborhood-based agents for positive social change and mission is to offer transformative learning experiences that strengthen and inspire leaders and congregations. First Universalist began a relationship with CLNE through a partnership with the Alafia Foundation, now part of CLNE, whose mission is to champion purpose-filled leaders transforming life in north Minneapolis. First Universalist initially connected with Alafia because the Faithful Action Council sought an opportunity to build a long term, mutually respectful relationship with an early stage organization that is led by people of color doing racial justice work in the marginalized communities of Minneapolis. Now, CLNE/Alafia invests in the ideas, enterprise and inspiration of visionary nonprofit, small business and social entrepreneurial leaders who live and work in North Minneapolis. CLNE has also introduced the Triumphant Changemakers Fellowship Program to support early stage leaders. See www.clne-mn.org for more information. Watch this CLNE Leadership Video Profile of Fellow Joe Davis—spoken word artist, prophetic voice, North Minneapolis resident, and more!
First Universalist recognizes many opportunities for partnership with CLNE in the years to come. To date, First Universalist has focused on contributing financial support to the Fellows, and as of January 2021 had raised $5,000 for the organization. As the CLNE programs develop, there will be skill-based volunteer opportunities to support Fellows and the BIPOC emerging leaders with congregant professional, technical, and business skills. First Universalist is also exploring opportunities for congregants to participate in CLNE’s intercultural competence assessment and development program.
First Universalist Contacts for CLNE: Brad Brown and Cindy Marsh (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
Environmental Justice Team and Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light
The Environmental Justice Team at First Universalist engages our church and congregants in learning and taking actions to achieve environmental justice, in keeping with our UU principles and in collaboration with other environmental justice organizations. Learn more about our environmental justice work here.
The Environmental Justice Team works with organizations like Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light (MNIPL). MNIPL is a statewide organization bringing faith communities, churches, synagogues, and mosques together to be leaders in the climate justice movement. MNIPL works to build the interfaith climate movement in Minnesota by empowering faith communities across the state to take action that is authentic, effective, and energizing in their local context. Working with MNIPL, First Universalist’s Environmental Justice team is able to expand the congregation’s efforts against climate change and other environmental injustices. First Universalist is designated an MNIPL Climate Justice Congregation.
MNIPL believes that climate justice and racial justice are deeply intertwined and is actively involved in projects in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities around the state. For example, MNIPL partnered with Shiloh Temple in North Minneapolis to install a solar array on their church roof; it supported solar on the Red Lake community: and is working with congregations around the state on similar projects. It also provides solar options for individuals. MNIPL mobilizes faith communities and individuals to advocate for legislative changes that address climate change. It provides leadership and training for hundreds of faith communities’ members across the state to be activists on climate issues, including a focus on household initiatives and electric transportation.
First Universalist Contacts for the Environmental Justice Team: Todd Pierson (Environmental Justice Team) and Roberta Haskin (MNIPL) (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
Sanctuary & Resistance Team
The Sanctuary & Resistance Team is an internal group of First Universalist members who partner with more than 25 local grassroots and faith-based organizations working in immigration justice. Learn more here.
First Universalist Contacts for Sanctuary and Resistance: Jeanne Guignon, Joan Naymark, and Heidi Romanish (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
Simpson Housing Services
Simpson Housing Services works to house, support and advocate for people experiencing homelessness. They provide shelter services for 44 men and 42 women and help individuals and families experiencing homelessness move into stable housing through rental subsidies and supportive services. Families in their housing programs can participate in Children and Youth Services Programs designed to help break the generational cycle of poverty and homelessness. These services include: Early Childhood Development, Educational Advocacy and Mentoring and Youth Development Programs. Volunteers are major contributors to Simpson Housing Services. Over 37,000 hours were volunteered in 2014, the equivalent of 18 full-time staff. During the pandemic volunteer activity has been suspended but the need for supply donations and financial donations is most important. You can donate here.
The Big news at Simpson is expansion. They have just purchased new office space at 160 Glenwood Ave and are currently raising money to raze and rebuild on the Simpson Methodist Church site at 28th St and 1st Ave. Their new shelter will house more beds and the building will also have 42 units of subsidized housing as well as office space for supportive services.
First Universalist Contact for Simpson: Geoff Lenox (Reach out to the church office for contact information.)
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) is an ecumenical ministry whose mission is to eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience. Each year, in partnership with donors and volunteers, TCHFH builds or repairs approximately 50 homes. Additionally, TCHFH repairs 140 homes each year through the ‘A Brush with Kindness’ program and has served more than 5,000 local homeowners through the Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program. TCHFH vision: a Twin Cities region where hard-working families can own homes in healthy neighborhoods with access to jobs, transportation, and quality schools. You can volunteer for a monthly Habitat Build Day with volunteers from our church or by helping with their housing advocacy work or with donations.
First Universalist Contacts for TC Habitat: Ingrid Young (Reach out to the church office for contact information.) Other members of the TC Habitat Faithful Action Community Partner team are Chuck Coskran, Geoff Lenox, Bill Lewis, Cathy Manning, Joan Naymark.
Affiliate Partner
MUUSJA (Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance)
MUUSJA , Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, connects UUs and allied communities to shape a just and loving world. They are a small team of three organizers firmly grounded in UU faith which calls them to show up for justice with love, courage, humility, and accountability. Their work involves CONVENING: bringing UUs & allied communities together, within, across, and beyond congregations; DISCERNING: considering individual and group assets, needs, risks, gifts, challenges, differences and commonalities, intersecting identities; and DEVELOPING: building spiritually grounded, leader-full networks for effective justice-making. Specific projects are as diverse as their 30 congregations: Current statewide projects include nonpartisan voter engagement, representing UUs at Pride fests across the state, coordinating efforts for reproductive justice, the “Treaty People Gathering” for pipeline resistance and related climate action, co-hosting vigils and legislative action for immigrant and refugee justice work, combating hate and racism, ending police violence and working towards abolition, building right relations and honoring treaties with Indigenous nations.
Team Lead: Karen Wills, Executive Director, director@muusja.org or (612) 927-2072