Social Justice
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Park Ridge Community Church Social Justice Team is to serve the congregation and the larger community as a resource and catalyst for the work of social justice and equality, creating God’s realm on Earth, where “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” This work is rooted in the tradition of the prophets, which taught the importance of “doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God”, and follows the example of Jesus, whose mission is to “bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free.”
Accessible 2 All
A2A is the terminology used within the United Church to refer to congregations that have completed the Accessible to All process and thereby made the commitment to be physically and attitudinally welcoming of people with disabilities. The A2A process has for many years been defined by the A2A resource “Any Body, Everybody, Christ’s Body”; the “process” is completed by completing the check list in the back of the A2A resource and sending this checklist to UCC Disabilities Ministries.
W.I.S.E.
WISE is an acronym that stands for Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged.
A WISE for Mental Health® congregation, synagogue, or organization is one that has covenanted to being WISE for mental health in their community and the wider world through their welcome, inclusion, and support of those with mental health experiences, as well as through their engagement with mental health advocacy and justice work. The mental health universe is vast, diverse, and intersectional; thus, the commitment to being WISE for Mental Health® often also spans into areas such as neurodiversity, race, substance use, and more.
Following the adoption of the Prudential Resolution titled: “Developing Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive and Engaged Congregations for Mental Health” at the 2015 United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod, the UCC Mental Health Network (MHN) developed the WISE Certification process to assist congregations in becoming WISE.
Creation Care
We encourage a love and reverence for God’s creation by:
Education
- Creating awareness
- Inspiring action
- Involving youth
Reducing Our Environmental Footprint
- Energy efficiency
- Waste reduction
- Water conservation
- Recycling
- Composting
Advocacy
- Sustainable shopping and investing
- Sustainable land use
- Social interaction
- Purchasing power
- Policy change
Healthful Living
- Social interaction
- Healthy diet and exercise
- Social justice
Open and Affirming
Open and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other bodies in the UCC which make a public covenant of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
PRCC voted to officially become ONA on May 1, 2022. View our Statement here.
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