Mission Statement – Emerson Church Outreach Committee

Through the use of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church Outreach Funds, we put Unitarian Universalist principles into action in our community and the world by supporting organizations and causes that promote the equal worth and dignity of every person and the interdependent web of all existence.

Outreach Committee Guidelines

 Consistency with one or more of the seven Unitarian Universalist principles (http://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/bylaws/articles/6906.shtml);

  Emerson congregational priorities;

 UUA Congregational Study/Action Issues for the year (http://www.uua.org/statement/current);

 Ways to maximize Emerson’s contributions through leveraging dollars from other sources to the extent practical;

 Use Outreach Fund money to provide significant amounts for a single project or purpose, thereby engaging the congregation in a singular worthy cause;

 Ways to promote the visibility of Emerson UU Church and the Unitarian Universalist Association;

 Share the Plate contributions will be used for smaller donations to organizations according to the principles and priorities established for such contributions.

Outreach Grants from the Emerson Endowment Fund

In 2018, the Outreach Committee selected the Tahirih Justice Center Houston for their Children’s Border Project and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. Tahirih is a national nonprofit organization that protects courageous immigrant women and girls who refuse to be victims of violence. In the Houston area, approximately 1,655 individuals impacted by violence were served in 2018 alone through Tahirih’s trauma-informed holistic service model.

In 2016, the first grants were made to two worthy organizations, each of which encourages and enables the availability of health care to all Texans.

1. Texas Impact
A two-year Emerson Outreach pledge jump-started a statewide campaign to enlist faith communities throughout Texas to enhance the future of health care in our state. Through Texas Impact, an Austin-based consortium of religious congregations to communicate with legislators, and to provide materials to the leadership of those congregations to explain how their commitment to health care for all Texans matters. The campaign is called ABOVE POLITICS: Health Care for All Texans. For details, see AbovePolitics

2. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast
An Outreach grant, with additional support from Emerson congregants, enabled Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast to launch Reaching Beyond Our Walls, a Faith Leaders Outreach Program, to continue a comprehensive communications strategy promoting programs focused on women’s health.