We want to change the world. Join us!
The Ministry for Change is committed to Transformative Community Engagement and Social Justice. We help the congregation live out Jesus’ call to “do justice,” (Micah 6:8) and serve “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). We seek to do this by:
- Helping members of the congregation understand and address the root causes of social problems such as poverty, hunger, homelessness, and others, by learning about the systems that cause or contribute to human suffering.
- Using the church’s and its members’ personal and financial power with others to help change the systems that cause or contribute to human suffering.
- Providing opportunities for members of the congregation to help alleviate human suffering caused by these systems through direct service with and/or financial contributions to individuals and organizations that serve those who are suffering or who otherwise face barriers to wellbeing.
The Ministry for Change oversees and administers several funds the Union Church Endowment Fund, as well as other church funds related to mission and social justice.
Local Volunteer Opportunities
Contact James Roeschlein for more information on current opportunities to contribute to our partners. You can click through directly to sign-ups for PADS or our other volunteer opportunities, or read more about individual partners below.
The Boulevard
Founded in 1994, provides residential care for homeless men and women in medical recovery. This 64-bed center on Chicago’s West Side offers interim housing and support to ill and injured homeless adults who would otherwise lack a stable and safe place to heal. It is the only agency of its kind in Chicago. Union Church does supply and clothing drives for The Boulevard each year.
DuPage Pads
Founded in 1985, PADS seeks to end homelessness in DuPage County. It provides interim and permanent housing, coupled with support services in order to help individuals work toward becoming self-sufficient. They have just purchased a 130-unit Interim Housing Center (IHC) using a repurposed hotel in Downers Grove, Ill., where Emergency Housing has been provided since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The significant client successes, improved health and safety features for client families, and enhanced access to supportive services have been undeniable, leading us to take this next important step
Volunteer opportunities
Union church provides a healthy meal delivered to each client on the 4th Tuesday of each month. We are looking for volunteers to shop for healthy sides for the meals and to pack and deliver meals to the clients in the Interim Housing Center in Downers Grove.
HCS Family Services
Founded in 1937, provides emergency and interim assistance, a food pantry, counseling, and education to help vulnerable families and individuals in the area. Union church does a food drive for HCS, usually in September.
Volunteer Opportunities
Many of the volunteer opportunities with HCS take place at 22 N Elm St. and are described here. Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older.
San Lucas Church
San Lucas Church, UCC, is a small mission church located in Humboldt Park in Chicago. It provides much needed services to the community including a weekly meal, emergency food and clothing and counseling.
Green Halo Scholars
Green Halo Scholars was founded in 2017 by Sally Guglielmo. Our mission is to support, mentor, and expand opportunities for motivated and committed first-generation and low-income students in the Western Suburbs of Chicago.
Through college counseling, financial guidance, and career resources, we stand with our Scholars as they apply to college, navigate campus, and pursue their postgraduate dreams.
Our scholars are nominated to participate by their school counselor based on their academic achievement. They are required to attend regular meetings with their mentor, in addition to workshops and college visits hosted by Green Halo Scholars.
Union Church Soup Ministry
This is an independent group that meets in the church kitchen each Monday morning to prepare soup for the San Lucas Church soup kitchen. The meal is delivered on Tuesday morning.
The Night Ministry
The Night Ministry is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connections, housing support, and health care to members of our community who are unhoused or experiencing poverty.
Volunteer Opportunities – 3rd Weekend of each month
- Purchase food and deliver to Union Church kitchen a day or two prior to assembling the lunches
- Assemble the sack lunches
- Deliver the sack lunches to The Night Ministry at 1735 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago
If possible, please sign up on the Sign Up Genius, however, walk ins are always welcome!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0844ACA72B0-57632455-night#/
Learn More: The Night Ministry
1. Purchase food to make sack lunches is a great opportunity to volunteer on your own time, at your convenience. Food needs to be purchased once per month, just prior to making the lunches, which is the 3rd Sunday of each month. A detailed shopping list is provided.
Assembling sack lunches is a great opportunity to meet others and make friends. We meet in the church kitchen on the 3rd Sunday of each month, immediately following the 10am church service. We are usually done within an hour, depending on how many people volunteer.
2. Deliver the sack lunches to The Night Ministry, 1735 Ashland Ave, Chicago. This opportunity is flexible, but should be delivered the Monday or Tuesday following the assembly of the lunches. The driver pulls into The Night Ministry parking lot and an employee will come out and unload your car.
Please utilize the Sign Up Genius or just show up! Any and all help is very appreciated.
People’s Resource Center
Since 1975, People’s Resource Center (PRC) has been bringing neighbors together to respond to hunger and poverty in DuPage County.
Nearly 26,000 DuPage residents rely on PRC for help each year. We offer nutritious food and other basic necessities like clothes and rent assistance for neighbors in need. PRC also connects people with empowerment resources — education and tutoring, jobs, technology, art, a caring community–to create a future of hope and opportunity for all.
PRC provides these services because of the generosity and support from our neighbors. More than 2,500 volunteers work with our talented staff offering time, skills, and resources to help our clients and their families. Supporters contribute food, clothing, computers, and financial support to help us do our important work.
Learn more about PRC, including how to volunteer, at their web site: https://www.peoplesrc.org
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
1 Peter 4:10
How We Serve Abroad
Angola
The Illinois Conference of the UCC has a long-time relationship with the Congregational Church in Angola (IECA). We at Union Church have a congregation-to-congregation partnership with the Peregrinos (Pilgrim) Church in Huambo. We include each other in prayer, have made visits to Angola to further our relationships there, and have hosted visitors from Angola here. We also give ongoing support to the IECA English Language Institute in Huambo and to the hospital at Dondi mission.
We took our first group trip to Huambo, Angola in January 2020. Union Church members, along with Perigrinos Church members, planted trees in a deforested area, arranged for a shipment of corn to be delivered to the drought-stricken south of Angola, and built relationships with each other and within the community. This is an evolving and growing partnership!
Guatemala
We also partner with Dreams & Hopes, which aids four towns along the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, focusing on supporting Mayan youth and children by providing scholarship, tutoring, educational support, career development opportunities, and positive role models for academic and professional success.