“..and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and
to walk humbly with your God?” - Micah 6:8
The United Church of Seneca Valley (UCCSV) has a long history of social action and social justice. We began meeting in 1980 and since then our church has seen Germantown grow exponentially and transform from a rural community to a diverse and thriving suburb of Washington DC. With that growth has come increased needs in the community to which we have responded. The Micah 6:8 Scripture guides our work while UCCSV’s commitment to the phrase, “No matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here” guides our life together as a faith community.
Do Justice!
The Social Action Board feels called to invest our time and energy to support justice issues in our community and worldwide. We keep our congregation informed about current issues and ways to be involved that further equity, equality, and peace. We organize justice actions such as letter and postcard writing, vigils, marching in protests, and lobbying local, state and federal officials on various issues important to our faith. Here are just a few of the justice areas/activities we have been involved in recently:
Racial Justice
We have been working on understanding how racism and white supremacy are deeply intertwined with the structures of our society. We formed an intergenerational study group and read This Book is Antiracist which built on earlier studies of books like The new Jim Crow and additional work we did on advocating for equity in the criminal justice system in Maryland. In May of 2021 we held a Black Lives Matter Community Art Share to bring awareness to the issues facing BIPOC communities. We are currently exploring and preparing for the possibility of doing a yearlong racial justice audit with the hope of becoming an official Anti-Racist Church.
Open and Affirming (ONA)
We are proud of having been an Open and Affirming church, welcoming LGBTQ+ people, since 2007. Our congregation has been working on LGBTQ+ justice issues such as marriage equality and advocating for the transgender community for many years now. We regularly celebrate Pride month in worship and in the community in addition to bringing in LGBTQ+ voices to our worship services. Each November we observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor those who have died through violence or other tragedy in the transgender community. We also sponsor a monthly PFLAG meeting. For more information on what it means to be Open and Affirming check out https://openandaffirming.org/.
Voting Rights and Other National, State, and Local Issues
We participate in our denomination’s local justice work as part of the Potomac Association’s Justice & Witness Action Network. As part of this work we have held post card campaigns to help get out the vote, held a Juneteenth vigil, participated in protests around issues of gun violence, immigration reform, and women's rights, and continue to advocate on other issues around voting rights, criminal justice reform in Maryland, and local poverty and food scarcity.
Environment and Climate Change
We believe that God’s creation is sacred so we work to help protect the environment. We are proud of the large number of solar panels behind the church that supply us with all our electrical needs. We use LED bulbs within the church and take other measures to limit our electricity use. We have established a rainwater garden behind the church to help avoid erosion and limit runoff. We promote recycling and strive to reduce the amount of waste we create. In worship and in community workshops we discuss issues of climate justice and creation care and how what we do as individuals and as a community can impact the world around us.
Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Coffee and Chocolate
We regularly sell Equal Exchange products to “build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound and foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers”. Feel free to visit https://equalexchange.coop/fair-trade to learn more about Equal Exchange and their products.
The Social Action Board attempts to “walk humbly with God” as we pursue the calling to a just world.
