Community Outreach Ministry
At BUCC, we believe that the heart of Christianity is about loving others and doing good in the world. As ways of sharing our gifts with each other, our neighbors and the world, we participate in the following community service and outreach projects.
Year-Round Giving
BUCC has a large bin in the church narthex to collect nonperishable food for the Bethesda Help Food
Pantry. BUCC also provides financial help to Bethesda Help, an all-volunteer organization that works to prevent homelessness by helping households with necessities so they can make it through difficult times.
BUCC has a clothing donation bin in the church parking lot for A Wider Circle, a local nonprofit which provides clothing to those in need at no cost.
Emergent Needs: Every year, new temporary needs emerge and are evident among our neighbors or in the larger world.
BUCC tries to respond to these needs by allocating available resources, or by conducting special collections. BUCC also participates in annual environmental activities, such as stream and river cleanup projects.
Helping Unhoused Neighbors
For one week each year, BUCC provides all the meals and kitchen supplies for the residents at the Interfaith Works New Leaf Shelter in Rockville. In addition to “Shelter Week”, BUCC provides Sunday dinners for shelter residents several other times during the year. BUCC provides financial support to Bethesda Cares, a nonprofit organization which assists unhoused persons in the Bethesda area.
Rebuilding Together
On multiple Saturdays each spring, BUCC partners with other congregations to do gardening, painting, and general home repairs to make homes safer and healthier, more energy efficient, and more accessible for low-income, elderly, disabled, and otherwise disadvantaged homeowners.
School Supply Drive
BUCC collects and donates new school supplies and new backpacks for elementary age students in the Montgomery County Public Schools each summer to help children from low-income families start school with the tools they need for learning. Everything is distributed to children by Linkages to Learning, which has social workers in targeted elementary schools in the county.
Thanksgiving
BUCC, through a collection of donations from our members, annually provides Thanksgiving Dinner for families in need who are served by Linkages to Learning Social Workers at a local elementary school
Mitten Tree
Every December, BUCC covers a Christmas tree with gloves, hats, scarves, and other warm apparel for elementary school aged children. These are delivered to a local Elementary School served by Linkages to Learning Social Workers.
Christmas Toys and Gifts
Toys and presents are collected annually each December for children and youths served by the National Center for Children and Families, a nonprofit located near BUCC which serves foster children as well as families experiencing homelessness.
Advocacy Resources
Members are invited to respond to timely social justice concerns through various forms such as signing petitions and contacting our local representatives. Prior examples are healthcare issues, marriage equality in Maryland, the Dream Act, Black Lives Matter, gun violence, and support for a name change for the Washington football team. We keep people informed about advocacy resources available through the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries.
