Loving as Jesus Loved. Serving as Jesus Served.
MISSION + OUTREACH
Since our inception in 1965, UCC Norwell has been on the frontlines of mission and service on the South Shore, founding South Shore Habitat for Humanity, the New Nursery School, the Linden Ponds Community Church, and serving as a key partner in supporting the beginnings of Friendship Home, Mainspring House, the El Salvadorian rural health organization ASAPROSAR, and the South Shore Interfaith Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
Our Mission + Outreach Ministry Team cultivates meaningful relationships with local and global organizations, provides opportunities for hands-on service and disburses 16% of our annual operating budget to support non-profits that are doing the healing, kingdom-building work of Jesus Christ in the world. During the pandemic, we have deepened our support for our partner organizations through financial and volunteer assistance, helping to ensure that vital services for our most vulnerable neighbors continue.
Where We Serve Locally
Prison Book Program
The Prison Book Program (PBP) provides free books to individual prisoners in the United States who otherwise have limited access to educational materials during incarceration. UCC Norwell serves as a donation site for the PBP, collecting good condition, high-quality paperback books (no dictionaries, please) in our back entryway on an ongoing basis. (See book donation guidelines.) We also volunteer on-site at PBP several times a year to help sort books. Information about our Saturday Serve Days is posted seasonally, in the fall and spring. Read a letter from a book recipent.
Bread Run
This ministry involves picking up bread from Stop & Shop in Norwell and Panera in Hanover and delivering it to Father Bill's in Quincy or MainSpring House in Brockton. Support our neighbors struggling with housing insecurity and minimize food waste in our community. Choose any week or commit to a once-a-month delivery!
UCCN Community Garden
Every other week, we deliver our freshly-grown produce to Father Bill’s in Quincy. You can share in this ministry by bringing your own homegrown vegetables to church on Sundays for donation alongside our community-grown veggies and/or you can help tend and water our garden when in season. One-time and regular volunteers are welcome!
A Simple Gesture
Collects food five to six times a year (door-to-door) from registered donor households using volunteer drivers. The food is distributed to food pantries in the Norwell area to provide a steady supply of food to those in need throughout the year.
End Hunger N.E. Meal Packaging
Part of the Outreach Program, this organization hosts meal packaging events for all ages at their warehouse in Pembroke to help feed New Englanders facing food insecurity. When we partner with them for an event, UCC Norwell purchases and packages the food product for distribution at local food pantries. This is a great opportunity for families to volunteer together.
South Shore Habitat for Humanity Build Days
UCC Norwell founded the South Shore chapter of HFH in 1986, part of the ecumenical Christian-based volunteer-driven organization that builds homes in partnership with families in need. SSH sells homes at cost with interest-free mortgages in 32 towns and cities south and southwest of Boston. Our volunteers (16+ years old) participate on site with construction and relationship-building on our Saturday Serve Days in October and March and as needed throughout the year.
Where We Serve Globally
ASAPROSAR
ASAPROSAR provides integrated health care to impoverished families in El Salvador, reaching nearly one million people with preventative health care each year. UCC Norwell sends two volunteer groups a year to work with ASAPROSAR. The team on the January mission trip assists in the eye clinics, while the team on the August mission trip helps with construction projects and/or a health clinic.
Jou Nouvo
Founded by Hanover resident and Haitian native Kerline Tofuri, Jou Nouvo responds to the needs and aspirations of the poor in Bon Repos, Haiti. This close mission partner of ours provides access to education, small business loans, and child sponsorships for families in Bon Repos.
Mission+Outreach Grant Program
The following are some of the organizations we financially support through our Mission + Outreach grant program.
