January 2026 Share the Plate: Sanctuary Campus
Our Share the Plate organization this month is Sanctuary Campus (www.thesanctuaryboston.org/campus), a part of Sanctuary Boston. Sanctuary Boston is a community grounded in Unitarian Universalism and open to seekers of all kinds. They gather in worship twice monthly on Wednesday evenings, online and in-person. Their in-person gatherings alternate between Boston and Cambridge. The Sanctuary Campus is a program run by Sanctuary Boston that provides an opportunity for college students to experience all of the gifts and goodness that The Sanctuary Community gets to share, and do it all with other college students from around the Boston area. With regular gatherings, small group ministry, and opportunities to organize on their own campus, The Sanctuary Campus is the place for UU students to come together. If you are not in the sanctuary on Sunday, (or if you prefer to donate online) the URL is sanctuaryboston.breezechms.com/give/online
Open Pantry Collection
Our Thanksgiving Ingathering organization is Open Pantry of Greater Lowell.
At our Intergenerational Ingathering Service on Sunday November 23rd we will be holding our annual food, toiletries and cash/check donations for Open Pantry in place of Share the Plate. At this service, all the money collected, along with the food and other items, will be donated to Open Pantry. NO ITEM OR AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL
Checks should be made out to Open Pantry of Greater Lowell
You can also donate on line at : https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/theopenpantry?code=webpage%2Dhelp9
In addition to our collection during the service, we will be collecting afterward the service from 11:30 to 12:30 at main church entrance on Westford Street. You can drive-up or drop off.
Open Pantry of Greater Lowell has been serving hungry people since 1981 and First Parish was one of the original initial supporters. Hunger is always present. Nutritious, non-perishable, unexpired, packaged food items are welcome. Examples include – but are not limited to
- canned fruits
- canned vegetables
- canned beef, turkey and chicken
- tuna
- pasta
- soups
- stews
- cereals
- powdered milk
- mac n cheese
- rice
- peanut butter
- beans
In addition, they distribute toiletries including:
- soap
- toilet paper
- tissues
- paper towels
- toothpaste
- shampoo
They may also provide
- diapers
- wipes
- baby formula
- baby food
and even cat/dog food when available.
Open Pantry has a very informative website: www.theopenpantry.org.
If you have questions about the collection this year, please contact Dolores~ the Faith Formation Director dre@uuchelmsford.org 978-256-5133.
Share the Plate October 19th
Our Share the Plate Organization for October 19th is Alternative House of Lowell.
Alternative House has provided comprehensive domestic violence services in the Greater Lowell area for over forty years. Founded in 1978, Alternative House has served thousands of survivors of domestic violence.
The agency provides not only emergency shelter and 24-hour crisis hotline services but access to temporary safe housing, transitional/ permanent housing, legal advocacy, supervised visitation services, community/ housing advocacy, support groups, youth, and teen programming, as well as daily access to case management, safety planning, and support around goal setting, financial empowerment, and job/educational placement.
The agency was founded by a group of women who took part in the “Battered Women’s Movement” of the 70’s – a movement to bring awareness, and an end, to violence against women. This group of women paved the way for the agency to provide services to thousands of survivors of domestic violence.
To Donate:
If you will be in the Sanctuary on October 19th, and you’d like to donate by check, please make it out to Alternative House.
At home or in the sanctuary you can donate online at:
https://www.alternative-house.org/support
Share the Plate September 21
Our Share the Plate for September 21st is Merrimack Valley Project (MVP).
MVP is a nonpartisan multi-faith community organization, working to place human dignity at the center of public life in the Merrimack Valley. MVP unites faith communities, labor unions, and other community organization and individuals to address local, regional and state issues. MVP is a vehicle for people and organizations who desire positive change by acting collectively and powerfully towards social, racial and economic justice in the Merrimack Valley.
On Sunday, Tom Raiche from MVP will be at the service and at social hour afterwards to answer question you have about MVP.
To donate online, go to https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/supportmvp/
Share the Plate 2024-2025
Thank you so much for your generosity!
Acknowledgment letters from the recipients can be viewed on the bulletin board in the vestry.
We are always looking for ideas for Share the Plate organizations. If you have a suggestion for a future share-the-plate recipient please contact the Council of Faith in Action Ministries (CFAM) at cfam@uuchelmsford.org
Share the Plate March 30
Pink Haven Coalition
Pink Haven Coalition is a coalition of trans organizers, mutual-aid groups, progressive faith organizations, queer associations, and individual justice-lovers. Their work centers trans lives and experiences, particularly the lives and experiences of BIPOC trans and gender expansive people. Pink Haven Coalition is working to create networks of safety and direct support for trans beloveds and their families who need to relocate, access healthcare across state lines, or stay as safe as possible where they are.
Pink Haven knows that liberation is a group project and that no one is free until everyone is free.
If you are in the Sanctuary on the 3/30, and wish to write out a check, make it out to the First Parish in Malden – Trans Fund and please put “Pink Haven” in the memo line
If you wish to donate online, go to https://www.pinkhaven.org/ and click the donate button