Holy Grill

Sign-up will begin May 13, 2012 for our service at the Holy Grill Monday, June 4 through Thursday, June 7. Five servers are needed for each day, with a time commitment from 11:45 to 1:00 p.m.  Volunteers who have served in the past enjoy the opportunity to serve with other UUs, and interacting with Holy Grill diners.  This lunchtime meal for residents in the Zion City area of North Baton Rouge is a program of the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, of which our church is a long-time member and supporter.

Baton Rouge Food Bank

With summer vacations soon to begin, many children will not have supplemental meals served at school, so many families will depend on the Baton Rouge Food Bank to supplement their families’ food needs. Donations of staple items to our Food Cart will be especially needed by the Food Bank through the summer months.  Look for the Food Cart in the patio area..  Please note that canned goods and other items that are past the "use by" date cannot be passed on to the Food Bank. Many thanks for your generosity.

Parents and Family of Lesbians and Gays ~ PFLAG

Your Social Justice Council is currently sponsoring and hosting the Baton Rouge chapter of Parents and Family of Lesbians and Gays.  It meets at our church at 7 PM on the 3rd Thursday of each month.  For more information contact Bobby Thompson at numbernine@cox.net. 

Save a Life - Be a Blood Donor

Twice a year the Our Lady of the Lake Hospital bloodmobile comes to our parking lot to receive donations of blood and blood products.  We begin making appointments a couple weeks in advance for the time slots availble on The Big Day.   The next date is in December 2012 and will be announced on this site and in our publications and bulletin boards.  If you are physically able, please consider donating your blood to help make someone else healthy again.   Another very personal way to serve our community.

Shared Offering

One Sunday each month, half our cash offering is donated to an organization designated by the Board of Trustees.  Here are examples:

Supported Living Network      LEAN      BR Food Bank        Hospice of Baton Rouge       Tennessee-Kentucky Flood Relief Fund

Sierra Club Delta Club           The Holy Grill             YWCA Roberta Madden Project     Atchafalaya Basin Keepers        O'Brien House

Family Road of GBR          Red Cross          Alzheimer's Services of LA          Healthcare for Public Schools    

Green Sanctuary

MORE revenue for our church. More satisfaction from recycling ~ We can now recycle white copy paper and magazines along with newspapers in the large green/black Newspaper recycling container at the west end of our property. This will increase the volume and weight for which we are paid. Just a reminder, do not include string, plastic, cardboard or phone books. See the complete list of activities of the Green Sanctuary Team under SERVE

Red Stick Farmers Market

In our church parking lot on Tuesdays 8:00 AM to noon is usually the home of this market.  They are closed currently but will open sometime in October with the new crop of fall produce.   Support our local farmers and food producers.  Buy Local!

UUSC Coffee Project

Over 200 UU congregations are participating in the buying of fairly traded coffee in partnership with Equal Exchange. UUSC (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee) receives a small percentage of the sales proceeds to provide grants to human rights initiatives in coffee-growing regions like Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. This coffee, chocolate bars, hot chocolate beverage mix and tea are now available in the Fellowship Hall each Sunday between services and after services.

Providing Training Space for Community Non-Profit Organizations

We assist several community non-profit organizations with whom we share common goals and values by allowing them to use our facilities for workshops and training sessions. Two frequents users of our space are The Rape Crisis Center and the Capital Area Domestic Violence Battered Women Hotline.

Annual Candlelight Vigil and Memorial for those Fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan

Started in 2004, each year in the Peace Meadow around the Peace Stones, we create a spiral of candles for each Amercian soldier killed in the war. The human loss and suffering in Iraq and Afghanistan has escalated beyond all imagination. We pray that this year will bring an end to this tragedy and that we will forge a way to promote peace and reconciliation throughout the world. This year Our Annual Wall of Lights Vigil in memory of the fallen from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was held March 18, 2012.