Faith-based Peace and Justice Groups

Agape Community  http://www.agapecommunity.org
2062 Greenwich Road , Ware, MA 01082
Contact: Suzanne Belote Shanley and Brayton Shanley, peace@agapecommunity.org
413-967-9369
Mission: The Agape Community is a lay Catholic residential community, ecumenical and interfaith in outreach and practice, with a focus on daily prayer, evangelical simplicity (eco-spirituality, sustainability, organic garden, vegetable oil fueled car, straw bale house, compost toilet, solar energy, wood stoves for cooking and heat) and nonviolent witness in the world, including actions against war, peace vigils, tax resistance and civil disobedience when called, in an attempt to build a nonviolent world.

American Friends Service Committee New England Region http://www.afscnero.org
PO Box 3692, Attleboro, MA 02703
Contact: Martha Yager sene@afsc.org 508-399-6699
Mission: AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Our work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.
Our peace work engages the people in our region to support peaceful resolution of international conflicts. The program works for an end to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for an end to U.S. military and economic support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. At the local level we work to nurture a culture of peace through the Center for Nonviolent Solutions in Worcester and workshops on nonviolent action.
Our Community Justice work resists the militarization of our communities by supporting alternatives to military service, advocacy to end racial profiling, and campaigns to defund military spending and increased funding for programs that meet human needs.  We work with immigrants and immigrant-allied groups in pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.

Brookfield Institute  http://www.brookfieldinstitute.org
8 W.Main Street, Brookfield, MA 01506
Mission: The Brookfield Institute is a non-profit organization working at the intersection of healing for the person, the community and the earth. It offers a variety of unique programs and projects integrating the science and art of healing.  It helps people find peace in themselves, in their homes and families, in their workplaces and communities as a way of building and sustaining a healthy world.

Catholic Diocese of Worcester http://www.worcesterdiocese.org
Social Justice Subcommittee of the Pastoral Council
49 Elm Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609
Contact:  Ray Griffin, ray.j.griffin@gmail.com ,  508-304-1745
508-791-7171
Mission: The Diocesan Pastoral Council’s Social Justice subcommittee is a resource in and for the Diocese of Worcester which endeavors to raise and influence the social conscious within our diocese in accord with Gospel values and the rich heritage of Catholic social teaching that is part of our faith.  With the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, the Social Justice subcommittee, through advocacy, prayerful support, and charitable works for those in need, will implement and/or support programs/events that reflect Catholic teaching on social justice. By modeling lessons taught by Jesus Christ, the Social Justice subcommittee, with compassion and concern for those who struggle with injustice and violence, will promote peace and non-violence.

First Unitarian Church of Worcester http://www.firstunitarian.com
90 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
Contact: Rev. Thomas Schade tschade@firstunitarian.com
508-757-2708
Mission: We come together as a community of people to deepen our spiritual lives and to live in right relationship with our fellow human beings and with all creation.  We are committed to moving closer to truth, to reality, to God.  We covenant to unite in the love of truth, and in the Spirit of Jesus, for the worship of God and the service of all.

Pax Christi Central Massachusetts
Contacts:  Sue Malone,  508-366-2050, mathafter@yahoo.com
Charlotte Stanley, 978-838-2274, cstanley041258@verizon.net
Mission:   Pax Christi Central Massachusetts is a local chapter of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic movement for peace.  Pax Christi strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. This work begins in personal life and extends to communities of reflection and action to transform structures of society. Pax Christi rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination.  It advocates primacy of conscience, peace education, economic and social justice, and respect for creation.

SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker
52 Mason Street, Worcester, MA  01610
Contact: Claire and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy (508) 753-3588, (508) 753-3089
Theresecw2@gmail.com
Purpose/Mission: The Catholic Worker is a lay movement serving the poor while denouncing injustice and promoting peace.  Catholic Workers live a simple lifestyle in community and ground themselves in the Gospel and prayer. 

St. George Church
Faith in Action Committee
40 Brattle Street, Worcester MA 01606
Phone: 508-853-0183
Contact:  Matt Ryan, 508-853-5528.
Mission: Affirms the teachings of Jesus Christ regarding non-violence and expanding faith-based action on peace, social justice and dignity of life issues in our parish. Ultimately, we desire to 1) increase the number of parishioners involved in serving both fellow parishioners and those in need in the wider community, 2) integrate action for peace, social justice, and dignity of life into the fabric of parish life, 3) develop a stronger community by providing support and opportunity for growth for leaders in the parish, 4) develop an approach and methods to assure that all members of the St. George community are kept informed of and invited to participate in Faith Into Action activities.

St. Mary’s Church
Social Justice Ministry
640 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545-5643
(508) 845-0161
Contact:  Joan Fouhy, 508-842-6724, jfouhy@aol.com
Evan Page, 508-835-3470, evanpage@hotmailcom
Mission: The mission of the social justice ministry is to engage the entire community of St. Mary Parish in the work of charity and justice in the spirit of the gospels and in the light of Catholic Social Teaching.

St. Rose of Lima Church
Social Concerns Ministry for Justice and Peace
244 West Main Street, Box 685, Northborough, Massachusetts 01532
508-393-2413
Contact: Charlotte Stanley, 978-838-2274  cstanley041258@verizon.net
Mission: Following in the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and living the gospel message of Jesus, the Social Concerns Ministry for Justice and Peace works on issues of Justice and Peace and Care of the Poor & Marginalized through education, legislative actions and ad hoc activities.

Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester http://www.uuworcester.org
90 Holden Street, Worcester, MA 01606
(508) 853-1942
Contact: Rev. Arron Payson

Worcester Area Mission Society   http://www.wamsucc.org        
128 Central Street , Auburn, MA 01501          
(508)-832-3937
Contact:   The Rev. Robert Bachelder, Minister & President, minister@wamsucc.org
Mission:    The Worcester Area Mission Society is the mission arm of the United Church of Christ in central MA with a membership base of 100 congregations. It helps congregations to act on such key concerns as housing and youth development. Current efforts include leadership of the Interfaith Coalition to End Family Homelessness which incorporates four activities: early waarning system, prevention, creation of permanent housing, andpublic advocacy. The Goddard Project seeks through public education and advocacy to preserve the outer space environment, which includes preventing the weaponization of space.

Worcester Friends Meeting http://worcesterfriendsmeeting.org
901 Pleasaant Street, Worcester, MA 01602
(508) 754-3887
Mission: We minister to one another in love by sharing our silence, our deepest leadings, our sorrows, and our hopes. Friends have no creed, no sacraments, and no presiding ministers. In its origin The Religious Society of Friends (the formal name) is based on Christianity. On this Judeo-Christian base we happily add and honor spiritual insights from other traditions that are seeking to know, love, and serve God and their neighbors.

Worcester Interfaith http://www.worcesterinterfaith.org
111 Park Ave, Worcester, MA 01609
(508) 754-5001
Contact: Frank Kartheiser
Worcester Interfaith develops leaders and organizes power to work for social justice and change.