Home > Justice
Social Justice and Outreach Team (SOJO) Mission Statement:
Dedicated to Social Justice and Community Involvement.
The mission of the team is to identify social justice issues in the world and to empower members to respond as Christians with concern and active caring. The team advances social justice causes by challenging the church and community to a deeper understanding that our response to these issues is part of our faithful response to God. As such, the team communicates local, regional, and global social justice issues and needs to the congregation and community, thereby deepening our commitment to God and fellowship with each other. For example, the team:
- Cooperates with and supports local outreach programs, such as AMOS (A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy*), Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance, The Bridge Home, Habitat for Humanity, Meals-on-Wheels, etc., through information campaigns, advocacy efforts, and financial support.
- Cooperates with and supports social justice programs of the Iowa Conference and the national UCC.
- Identifies, brings to the attention of the congregation, and plans opportunities to experience hands-on involvement and mission work in local or UCC social justice and outreach related projects.
- Identifies, discusses, educates, and acts on important local, state, and national policy issues related to the church’s social justice and outreach mission.
- Through face-to-face meetings, in-person or virtual, AMOS members build relationships among members of our communities. In the process, we cut through divisions such as race, religion, and socioeconomic status, and discover the passions and concerns that unit us all.
- AMOS pursues a multiple issue agenda, responding to the concerns and pressures felt by communities. These concerns and pressures are identified through multiple small group conversations, and then explored in depth by investigative issue teams who research the facts and develop solutions to concrete problems.
- AMOS then acts publicly, bringing the power of organized people to decision makers to implement the AMOS agenda, as inspired by community concerns and pressures. Through this process, hundreds of people enter pubic life and claim responsibility for their future here in central Iowa.
- In 2016, our participation in AMOS led to the creation of the Story County Housing Trust Fund Task Force. This effort culminated in the establishment of the Story County Housing Trust Fund, a permanent source of funding for affordable housing projects, rental assistance, and home rehabilitation for families in Story County.