Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
-Teresa of Avila

First Church Somerville UCC believes that God calls every one of us to create a more just world for all people. We seek to answer this call by working with our Mission and Justice partners both locally and abroad, with financial support and volunteer work:

• Somerville Homeless Coalition transforms lives by providing services, support, resources and housing to well over 600 men, women, and children yearly. First Church participates in the annual Save Our Homes Walk and SHC 5K Road Race, and cooks a monthly meal for the College Avenue shelter.
• RESPOND is a local shelter and advocacy organization that helps women and their children create options for a safer life, free from domestic violence. First Church supports Respond’s annual Gala fundraiser.
• Centro Presente, based in Somerville, works for immigrant rights and economic and social justice for the Latin American immigrant community locally and statewide. First Church is helping Centro with the Welcoming MA campaign to advocate for fairness for our community’s immigrants, and also helps with Centro’s ongoing immigrant rights campaigns.
• Somerville Mental Health Association’s mission is to meet the mental health needs of people who live or work in Somerville, giving priority to low-income and other under-served, socially-marginalized people. SMHA provides both preventive and clinical services to help people become competent and receive social support, and to promote respectful and supportive community life that nourishes healthy change. First Church helps with SMHA’s new summer program for girls.
• Church World Service, a ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations, provides sustainable self-help and development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance in some 80 countries. First Church will participate in CWS’s 2009 Boston-area Crop Walk.
• Casa San Jose Orphanage in Colima, Mexico provides education, housing and support for over 100 children ages 2-18. First Church leads mission trips to the Casa every other year, to bring down funds raised for the Casa and do service projects. First Church members helped the Casa to design and equip a computer classroom last year and we are planning a mission trip in the winter of 2010. To donate securely to the Casa, go here:  http://fcsmexicomission.bbnow.org/
• International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+) works to overcome the self-stigma among people living with HIV and AIDS; stimulate faith communities’ responses to end faith-specific stigma and discrimination; and engage in effective HIV prevention, care, treatment and support, including social, legal and economic needs. INERELA+ runs regional and international programs to work towards these goals. Jim Matarrazo, a First Church member and ordained minister, staffs INERELA in London.
• Project Have Hope seeks to empower women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda by providing education and helping these women establish business opportunities to promote economic stability and sustainability. PHH works with a group of 100 women who create beautiful handmade paper bead jewelry to support their families, which First Church helps to sell at local events.
• Equal Exchange, a pioneer in the Fair Trade movement, sells fairly-traded coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar. EE trades directly with democratically-organized small farmer cooperatives, gives farmers advance credit, and pays an internationally established minimum price, allowing coops to make investments in their land and production, and improve their communities. Through EE’s United Church of Christ (UCC) Coffee Project, First Church purchases fairly-traded coffee and tea for our after-service Sunday coffee hour and for mission & justice fundraisers.