Christian Service, Outreach and Social Justice

At Hancock Church, Christian service, outreach, and a commitment to social justice are essential elements of our walk with God.

Because we believe that works are essential to our faith, we have set a goal of providing every visitor, regular attendee and member of our congregation, young or old, with opportunities to participate in our Christian service, outreach and social justice programs. Hancock also has a long history of working with other local faith communities on service and social justice issues.

The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it - Psalms 24:1
We believe that it is our moral responsibility to be good stewards of the gifts we have been given, to live sustainably and in harmony with all of God’s creation, mindful of how we share the planet’s resources with our neighbors and our responsibility to our children and future generations. As a result of Hancock’s strong commitment to environmental stewardship, we’ve formed the Hancock Environmental Action Team (HEAT) and encourage you to join our team.

We recently hosted an Environmental Education Sunday where we were lucky enough to have Bill McKibben speak to us on the urgency of addressing the growing environmental and social justice issues resulting from our planet’s rapid climate change.

Raising the Roof ­ Affordable Housing
Hancock has a history of establishing multi-year themes to help focus our service, outreach and social justice efforts. Our most recent theme, Raising the Roof, was focused on providing affordable housing at a time when housing costs were spiraling out of control. With the support of several other Lexington faith communities and in co-operation with Habitat for Humanity, we were able to build the “Lexington House”, an affordable home for a working class family who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford their own home.

Bread for a Small Planet - Our next multi-year Christian service, outreach and social justice initiative will focus on reaching out to those here in our own communities and around the world who are struggling to put bread on the table. We are very excited about this initiative. We are just starting to set our plans in place for the next 3 or 4 years and would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact any one of the members of the Christian Service Committee with your thoughts and suggestions. The names of all thirteen members are listed on the Christian Service bulletin board.

How can you get involved today? One way is to help with our Rosie’s Place ministry.

For the past three decades, Hancock Church has been preparing a nutritious dinner once a month for approximately 150 women and children at Rosie’s Place. On the second Sunday of each month Hancock volunteers prepare and deliver 10 casseroles in time for Sunday dinner. Multiple opportunities exist to support this ministry including signing up to make casseroles, shopping, delivery, and even serving dinner at Rosie's Place.

This can be a wonderful activity for a family, a committee, a club, or even a group of friends. It is a simple thing to do that makes a big difference.

Please sign up on the Christian Service bulletin board, or find us at coffee hour or call us. Contact Rhonda Black 781-862-4099; Linda Nason 861-7112 or Beth Schutt 862-8109.

Another way to help is by volunteering with the Lexington Food Pantry.

Hancock Church collects food from congregation members for the Lexington Food Pantry. Hancock volunteers distribute the food on the second Saturday of every month from 9 until 11:30. Volunteering at the Food Pantry is fun, very important, easy and very gratifying. Come have a personal experience and see how helping within our own community can give so much back to you. Please sign up on the Christian Service bulletin board across the hall from the church library. Or you may contact Amy Swanson (amy.swanson@rcn.com.)