Social Justice Team
The First Church in Salem Social Justice Committee upholds the Unitarian Universalist values of pluralism, transformation, justice, generosity, interdependence, and equity with Love at the Center. In addition to hosting poster making sessions and other informational meetings, we encourage members to attend Love and Justice Vigils along with our friends from Tabernacle Church.
In striving to serve our community, Social Justice members serve dinner at Lifebridge once a month, attend ECCO trainings and calls to action, and support organizations like HAWC, NAGLY, and Family Promise. Previously we were a host congregation for Family Promise, once every quarter, until they changed their model due to the COVID pandemic.
Take Quick Action!
We know folks are busy, but we also know most of you would like to take action to protect our rights, address income disparity, fight for a cleaner Earth, and foster equal justice for all resident who live in our country.
To that end, we will be posting quick, important steps you can take to help essential on-going efforts to increase social justice locally, state-wide and nationally. Check the Social Justice board in the coat room hallway to see other opportunities and other ways to take action to help, care and protect our community.
Week of May 17:
Majority leadership are now working on a plan to fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation, which would not require any minority support. They plan to introduce a narrowly focused reconciliation bill that would fully fund ICE and CBP for three years, and the President has endorsed this approach. (The UU Solidarity Initiative is considering another phone call blitz too so stay tuned!)
Send a letter to your senators and congressperson encouraging them to continue refusing to fund ICE
Week of May 10:
Our president just signed an executive order attempting to take control of the 2026 midterm elections. The order amounts to a massive attacks on our voting rights–and it’s plainly unconstitutional.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to compile a federal list of "verified" citizens, forcing the United States Postal Service to refuse delivery of ballots to anyone not on that list. If allowed to stand, the order would give the president the power over elections that states are meant to have, and could suppress millions of legitimate votes.
Tell Congress: Protect our voting rights! Reject Trump’s Takeover of our Elections
Week of May 3:
Write your senators and congress person to stop warehousing immigrants!
Reports show that DHS and ICE are actively scouting, purchasing, and retrofitting approximately 23 warehouses nationwide for immigration detention. Starting as early as April these sites are expected to detain between 1,500- 10,000 people each. Warehousing immigrants in large-scale industrial buildings will exacerbate the harms inherent to the ICE detention system.
Members of Congress can do something to stop this! Urge your members of Congress to use their power to say NO to warehouse detention!
Click here to put in your address and it will automatically start letters to each of your two senators and you congressional rep.
Week of April 26: (in collaboration with our friends at ECCO):
On March 25th, the Massachusetts House passed the Protect Act, placing new limits on cooperation with ICE, including restricting new contracts, banning courtroom arrests without a warrant, and requiring employers to notify workers of ICE inspections. The Protect bill’s not perfect: it leaves out many immigrants labeled “criminal” and doesn’t close the Plymouth detention center. But it’s a real step forward, and you can help make it happen.
Now it heads to the state Senate. We need to flood senators with messages that this bill matters to their constituents.
Please take 3 minutes to reach out to your state senator, by adding your name here!
Or if you prefer contacting your senator directly:
Send us a message, or sign up to receive updates!