Mission Viejo Church Brings Religious Perspective to Ethical Eating Issues
Through a partnership with the Second Harvest project, the Tapestry congregation (http://tapestryuu.org/) in Mission Viejo, California, has found a way to help the hungry and promote environmentalism.
Volunteers from the congregation participate in gleaning of the Second Harvest fields, sorting and repackaging of food at the Second Harvest Distribution Center, and collection of funds for Second Harvest during Sunday morning worship services. Second Harvest is an Orange County non-profit organization that gathers excess food from local restaurants, grocery stores and farms for distribution to over 400 agencies in Orange County that in turn distribute food to those in need.
“Hunger is right in own backyard, even in ‘affluent’ Orange County. In our current economic situation, none of us is immune to hardship” says Bev Huff, chair of Tapestry’s Green Sanctuary committee. “Our congregation is committed to the ethical production, distribution and use of food. This commitment unifies the congregation’s environmental justice projects, including gleaning fields, sorting and repackaging food, selling free trade coffee and tea and volunteering at the local food bank.”
Tapestry is representative of a national movement among Unitarian Universalist congregations to explore and act on ethical eating issues. At the 2008 Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly, congregations voted to make ethical eating their Congregational Study/Action Issue for 2008-2012 (http://tinyurl.com/eatingCSAI).
25801 Obrero
Mission Viejo, CA 92691-3141
(949) 581-0245
www.tapestryuu.org
Rev. Mitra Rahnema, Minister
Contacts:
Beverly Huff
Chair of the Green Sanctuary Committee
Tapestry, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation (http://tapestryuu.org/)
Mission Viejo, California
Telephone: (949) 837 8156
E-mail: bevhuff@cox.net
