Staff Coordinators, Clergy Help Justice Work Thrive

Social justice work in our congregations has always depended on volunteers. And always will. But more and more, congregations are finding ways to support their volunteers with social justice professionals. Some larger congregations are hiring social justice coordinators. Others call ministers with a passion for social issues.

Kate Lore is director of social justice at First Unitarian Church, Portland, OR. She works more than three-fourths time and the 800-plus-member congregation pays her about $38,000. "This job is a joy and a tremendous challenge," Lore says. "The joy is leading people to feel their power and to connect what they do in the world with their spiritual beliefs."

Lore helps pick issues the congregation will work on. Her direct involvement in an issue depends on the skill levels of volunteers. "If people have the necessary leadership skills then I have a very little role. If those who volunteer have little experience, then I take a larger role."

Allegheny UU Church, Pittsburgh, PA, was down to 14 or so members and thinking about closing its doors when it decided to use the money it had left to call the Rev. Art McDonald as its minister. Both the congregation and McDonald had a deep interest in social justice and it was decided that McDonald would devote most of his ministerial efforts to social justice outreach.

That was 1991. Since then the congregation has grown to about 100. "Social justice is one of the key reasons why we've grown," says McDonald. "People come because they want a congregation that is socially active. And being active in the community is the best advertising we could have."

Interest in social justice outreach at Neighborhood UU Church, Pasadena, CA (606), began to grow eight years ago when the Rev. Lee Barker was called as senior minister. His strong interest in outreach, combined with that of Minister of Religious Education Gregory Stewart (children devote one Sunday a month to social justice work at Neighborhood), led to the hiring of church member Fran Neumann for 10 hours a week as outreach coordinator. When Neumann stepped down a year ago, after four years in the job, the congregation was ready for a full-time person. It hired Jo'Ann De Quattro, a Roman Catholic nun who has had a career in social activism.

Because of the importance of the position the congregation organized a search committee. And began raising money. "It was a big bite," says Barker. "We had to make sure we could support the position every year, once we created it." Neumann was paid about $15,000 annually. The congregation needed $60,000 for the full-time position. That first year, Barker made home visits, soliciting large contributions. The annual canvass that year came up $30,000 short. A second appeal succeeded. This year the full amount, including that needed for De Quattro's position, was raised in the canvass on the first try.

"We stretched and grew," Barker said. "People wanted this. We didn't really have to educate the congregation. It was in the culture that social justice was important."

De Quattro helps the congregation focus on immediate needs in the community and the region — helping at soup kitchens and by teaching people to read, etc., but she wants to go beyond that to help the congregation create meaningful social change. "We're hoping to change the system that creates the conditions that many people find themselves in." She's finding that for many people outreach is a key reason for coming to church. "I've had people say 'I didn't come to church that much before you were here.' If my being here attracts people it's because my presence speaks to that part of belonging to a congregation that believes in social transformation."

First Parish, Brewster, MA (725), has two part-time people who focus on justice issues. The Rev. Panchetta Peterson helps with the congregation's anti-racism transformation team and heads up a support project for Jamaican workers on Cape Cod. She also provides a link to communities of color outside the church. Denis Meacham, a ministerial intern, has an addictions ministry.

Funds for the two positions are part of the annual budget. "The board and the congregation just decided it was important," says the Rev. James Robinson, senior minister at First Parish, which has a long social justice history. Outside grants also help pay for Meacham's work and that of a third person who heads up a project to teach English to immigrants.

Grants are an important revenue source at Portland as well. Lore estimates that she spends an eighth of her time filling out applications for grants to support her work. And, she adds, don't underestimate the value of the new members that visible social justice work can bring in.

"The program just about pays for itself," says Lore, between the grants and the new members that an active social justice program attracts. "People get excited when they see a church actually living out its beliefs. And when they see our victories, that helps too. We have remarkably talented people in our congregations. When we apply them we can get great things done. It can bring a lot of energy into church."

Social justice leadership can also come from a congregation's primary or associate minister.

The Rev. Lynn Thomas Strauss is associate minister at River Road Unitarian Church, Bethesda, MD (705). Social justice is a major component of her ministry and one of the reasons she was called to River Road. Although senior minister Scott Alexander is also deeply involved in social justice, Strauss is the minister most closely identified with it by the congregation. "Having that recognition," she says, " helps me to take greater risks in social justice work than perhaps ministers would at other congregations where it's not as clear what the congregation wants."

At Mt. Diablo UU Church, Walnut Creek, CA (375), the Mt. Diablo Peace Center provides yet another way for congregations to do social justice work with the help of a paid staff person. The nondenominational center draws support both from the church and from the larger community. It gives church members a way to participate in peace work and helps coordinate monthly church school social justice activities, says Jeanelyse Doran, director. The church has a separate social justice committee. The Peace Center includes programs on race awareness, a Peace Through Art and Writing contest, and it helps the church put on a summer peace camp. The center gets about $1,500 a year from the church in a line item plus office space. Two-thirds of its support comes from outside the church.