Donate online or mail your check by Sunday, December 13During the first two Sundays of December our special offering will be for Pathways Family Shelter in Framingham. We have had a long relationship with Pathways, and most years we invite you to buy items for the children or parents to enjoy as Christmas presents. This […]
The Edwards Church Board of Wider Mission
The Justice and Love in Action Team focuses on social justice issues, in hopes of expanding circles of healing and justice to neighbors near and far. In recent years, we have provided numerous opportunities to respond in love to the crises of changing climate and increased public hatred. Our committee worked to provide the Edwards community concrete ways to engage in acts of compassion and social change on our campus, in the broader local community, and globally.
Preparing ourselves to care for our wider community
In order to positively impact our community, Justice and Love in Action offers educational opportunities to help us learn about issues of justice and the environment. We aim to learn more about systems of oppression in hopes of creating change, and to discover and implement ways of being more environmentally sustainable.
Supporting and promoting justice in our local community
Justice and Love in Action helps our congregation positively impact the lives of people in our local community. We support local folks who are homeless and/or in need of day to day necessities, recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers, and we also look for opportunities to help make our nearby towns more welcoming and just for everyone. These include a Martin Luther King Conference in Framingham; Framingham Comes Together; Palm Sunday Parade with our campus' partnering worship committees; and contributions to A Place to Turn, One Less Gift, and Worcester Fellowship, among many others.
Supporting and promoting justice in the wider world
We also seek to extend care to people nationally and internationally, both in moments of crisis and for building ongoing, sustainable support.
Our 2023 annual report is available, and you will find our latest activities below.
Gifts That Give
This year, we can’t gather in Edwards Hall to enjoy good treats and company while we do our holiday shopping. But we can still purchase and give gifts with a conscience and have fun doing so. The Board of Wider Mission has three ways you can give gifts that give this season. Online Auction: December […]
Special Offering November
A Place to Turn During the month of November (beginning on All Saints Day, November 1) our special offering will be for A Place to Turn Food Pantry, located on Hartford Street in Natick. We have had a long relationship with APTT, and the vegetable garden behind our office building brings fresh produce to them […]
Gifts that Give Goes Virtual
Our Gifts that Give event is a cherished tradition that helps us live our values of community, connection and justice. Like everything else this year, it needs to adapt. The Board of Wider Mission is creating three ways to do that. We’ll release a list of nonprofits and businesses where you can buy fair trade items or […]
Statement from the Council
On September 15, 2020, the Edwards Church Council voted unanimously to endorse the following statement of conviction. It was written by members of the Board of Wider Mission and was originally published as a letter to the editor in the Metrowest Daily News on June 28. The deaths of David McAtee, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, […]
Special Offering
Disaster Relief: Wider Mission Special Offering for September On top of the distress COVID-19 is causing, people all over our nation have experienced the danger and disruption of weather-related disasters: a derecho in Central Iowa, terrible fires in California, and Hurricane Laura in Texas and Louisiana. In all those places, the United Church of Christ is […]
Caring for our Neighbors and Our World
MISSION PROJECT UPDATE: A Cup of Cold Water What is “A Cup of Cold Water”?: “A Cup of Cold Water” is an all-church mission project to serve Boston’s homeless during the hot summer months in the midst of the pandemic. We are filling reusable water bottles with important safety items. We will give the filled […]
Framingham Community Farm
Dear Friends, I just returned from our third weekly drop off at A Place To Turn—what a joyful way to start the week. Early crops of lettuce, kale, radishes, chard and peas are ready now. They help fill the gap while we wait for summer to really take hold in the garden. All beds are […]
Caring for our Neighbors and Our World
All-Church Mission Project: “A Cup of Cold Water” “…whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” ~ Matthew 10.42 This summer you’re invited to join in a congregation-wide, intergenerational service project. We’ll be […]
Easing Hunger; Offering Hope
Supporting the Wider Community in a Hard Time Every year, Edwards Church contributes 16% of our congregational giving to support Wider Missions–supporting wider church and community efforts to create a more just and loving world. Typically, the Board of Wider Missions usually does most of our giving in November-December, as we consider major gifts to […]