The Weekly Pushback

Bad news comes fast and furious these days--for trans folks, for immigrants, for the disabled. But all across the country, people of goodwill are pushing back. Every week, Old South's Christian Service and Outreach Committee (CSOC) will be giving $1,000 to an organization or individual who is serving the gospel in a world of bad news.

Do you know of a local organization whose funding has been affected over the last few months of budget cuts? Tell us about them - and they may receive one of the $1000 grants over the next 6 months!

Organizations we've supported so far in 2025 and 2026 include:

Faith Leaders for Housing Justice

June 8, 2025 - Old South donated $4,000 to support the work of Rev. June and Faith Leaders for Housing Justice. They are working to provide ministry and dignity to individuals struggling with homelessness and addiction. On Friday, June 13th at 11am, they are hosting a memorial service for those lost in the past year. Email Rev. June if you want to attend or get involved in other ways: junercooper@comcast.net

YW Boston

June 15, 2025 - Juneteenth offers an opportunity for reflection and engagement, particularly for a country built on and continuing to perpetuate racial inequity. For our action this week, Old South donated $1,000 to YW Boston, a nonprofit 4 blocks away with the mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Have other weekly action ideas? Email outreach@oldsouth.org

Allston-Brighton Food Pantry

June 22, 2025 - With federal cuts to SNAP and food pantry supplies, demand is outstripping supply across the country. Old South donated $1,000 this week to support our partners at Allston-Brighton UCC and their food pantry ministry, the Allston-Brighton Food Pantry. To join their volunteer list, email foodpantry@brightonallstonucc.org. 

World Gospel Mission

June 29, 2025 - Old South Church is honored to donate $2,000 to support the ministry of Dr. Nathanael Wiles, a dedicated family medicine physician serving at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet County, Kenya (and the nephew of OSC member Esther Seguin)! Despite battling brain cancer during medical school, Dr. Wiles pursued his dream of becoming a missionary doctor, now providing medical care and outreach to remote communities across Kenya. Check out World Gospel Mission's website.

Revolutionary Spaces

July 6, 2025 - America's history is intertwined with Old South. This week, Old South donated $1,000 to Revolutionary Spaces, a nonprofit preserves the spaces and stories of the American struggle to create and sustain a free society, singularly evoked by Boston’s Old South Meeting House and Old State House. 

Fenway Health

July 13, 2025 - Fenway Health was a pioneer in providing testing and care for individuals facing HIV in the 1980s. To this day, they have been on the cutting edge of research and care for the LGBTQ community across the world. Unfortunately, they have been targeted as a result. They have lost over $3M in federal funding since the beginning of the year and major research initiatives have had to close. As they grapple with challenges and next steps, Old South donated $1,000 in solidarity with their continued good work. To learn more about their mission, history, and services, go to fenwayhealth.org.

Casa Venezuela

July 20, 2025 - The reality of immigration detention has encroached into the daily lives of our neighbors and communities are being torn apart. With an unprecedented increase in ICE funding and loosened civil rights protections, it has never been more important for Old South to stand in solidarity with our neighbors. Old South donated $5,000 this week to Casa Venezuela New England, a local nonprofit that Old South members have been supporting over the past several years, as they are providing discounted services and support for immigrants applying for Asylum or other federal protection programs. To learn more or get involved, you can email member Margaret Sablove!

Rosie's Place

July 27, 2025 - Rosie's Place was founded in 1974 with the support of Old South Members as the first shelter specifically for women. Today they continue to do their essential work of providing day shelter, food, and other services to our most vulnerable community members. Old South donated $1,000 to support their work. To learn more or get involved, go to rosiesplace.org.

Marcus Anthony Institute

August 10, 2025 - With cutbacks to youth job training programs and federal grant funding for low-income schools, it has never been more important to support our community nonprofits in the Boston area. The Marcus Anthony Institute provides job training, mentorship, and community connection. Old South donated $1,000 to support the stipend for two students in their summer cohort. Go to https://www.maheii.org/ to learn more about their work.

Castle of Our Skins

August 17, 2025 - With threats to free speech and expression becoming more common, it has never been more important to support local gathering spaces for expression of our full selves. Castle of Our Skins is a Black arts institution dedicated to fostering cultural curiosity and celebrating Black artistry through music. In classrooms, concert halls, and beyond, Castle of Our Skins invites Black heritage and culture exploration, spotlighting both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present. Castle of our Skins has performed at Old South recently and you can go to their website to learn more about upcoming performances or engagement opportunities: https://www.castleskins.org/

Capuchin Mobile Ministries

August 24, 2025 - With reductions in support for programs that help those who are poor and homeless, Capuchin Mobile Ministries continues its work on the streets of greater Boston providing comfort, prayer and companionship. Capuchin Mobile Ministries brings the welcome of Christ to people living on the streets in Boston and Cambridge, Mass. They provide spiritual care to everyone experiencing homelessness, poverty, and loneliness. They share food and drink and other emergency supplies. They offer spiritual resources and pray together. They direct people to social services. Old South donated $1,000 to support their work. We encourage you to learn more about them at www.capuchin.org/ministries/mobile-ministries

Partnership for Public Service and American Federation of Government Employees

August 31, 2025 - The American Federation of Government Employees and the Partnership for Public Service have been on the front lines, pushing back against the dismantling of our federal civil service and providing resources to support laid off federal employees. Old South is proud to donate $1,000 to their federal employee defense fund to support those who have been wrongfully terminated

FriendshipWorks

September 7, 2025 - FriendshipWorks’ mission is to reduce social isolation, enhance the quality of life, and preserve the dignity of older adults in Greater Boston. What started as an inter-faith movement in the meeting space at Old South, FriendshipWorks now serves as a national model. Old South is proud to donate $1,000 to continue their great work. To volunteer or receive services, you can go to their website at https://fw4elders.org

Grace Church

September 14, 2025 - Grace Church UCC in East Boston has been supporting their community, particularly those affected by ICE deportations or TPS revocation. Old South donated $1,000 to their work to assist people, especially families, that have experienced income or job loss due to immigration detainment or deportation. Funds will be used to help our neighbors avoid eviction, put food on the table, and cover other basic costs of living. To contribute, you can go to: https://givebutter.com/familysupportfund

Alternatives for Community and the Environment

September 21, 2025 - Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE), based in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, has worked since 1994 to advance environmental justice and empower residents to fight for clean air, safe housing, and equitable transit. Their community organizing has secured victories against polluting industries, expanded affordable transit access, and built leadership among youth and residents most impacted by inequities. At a time when climate change, displacement, and public health disparities are intensifying, ACE’s work is critical to ensuring that low-income and communities of color have the power and resources to shape a healthier, more just future. Old South has supported them with over $40,000 in grants over the past few years and is contributing an additional $1,000 this week in honor of the Sun Way action. To learn more or get involved, go to https://ace-ej.org/

REACH Domestic Violence

October 5, 2025 -  REACH is a local nonprofit that supports survivors on every step of their journey to wellbeing while working with community members to both better support survivors in their lives and change social conditions under which domestic violence thrives. The goal is to end domestic violence, so organizations like REACH no longer need to exist. In the meantime, REACH serves 6,000 people each year through community based advocacy with survivors living in their own homes, an emergency shelter for those who need it, hotline as a resource for anyone experiencing abuse, and a prevention program that helps create systemic change and eliminate abuse through public education, skill building, and engagement. Each year the Christian Service and Outreach Committee awards a special grant in honor of former minister Duane Day to an organization that helps people help themselves. This year, we are delighted to give that $3,000 award to REACH. To learn more or get involved email Lauren Knackel or go to https://reachma.org/

Dollar a Day Fund

October 12, 2025 - For Indigenous people's day, Old South donated $1,000 to the Dollar A Day fund. This fund provides grants to indigenous-led organizations that are supporting their communities and local environments. They've made grants to over 340 Indigenous organizations across the US and encourage donors to give $1 per day or $365 per year to support their work. To see their grantees or support their work, go to https://www.dollaraday.fund/

Victory Programs

October 19, 2025 - In July of 2025, a new executive order defunded HUD housing first programs that are essential to supporting individuals struggling with addictions to get the resources that they need. Victory Programs was founded in 1975 as one of the first organizations in the state to provide housing and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, homelessness, and substance use disorders. Over time, it has expanded to operate more than a dozen programs across Boston, offering emergency and transitional housing, recovery and treatment services, health care navigation, and harm reduction supports. Today, Victory Programs plays a critical role in the community by helping thousands of individuals each year stabilize their lives, achieve recovery, and build long-term health and housing security. Old South is honored to give them a grant of $1,000 to continue their great work. To learn more, go to https://www.vpi.org/.

Christian Friends Mission International

October 26, 2025 - Pastor Frank has spoken at Old South several times over the last decade as his ministry to provide food, education, and jobs to LGBTQ youth and other marginalized youth comes under threat from the Ugandan government. Old South is proud to support their great work, particularly as the US has taken a step back from its international support. To learn more or donate, email outreach@oldsouth.org or go to wecarewelove.org.

Greater Boston Food Bank + Eastie Farms

November 2, 2025 - Since the beginning of the year, the Federal administration has cut grants to food banks and have cut SNAP benefits nationwide for the next decade. But now they have announced that until the Government shutdown ends, all SNAP funding is suspended. Over 1 million MA residents are suddenly cut off of a critical tool for their basic needs and Old South is jumping into action. 

A few weeks ago, Old South approved a $20,000 grant to the Allston-Brighton Food Pantry, and one of our Small Groups has started volunteering there several times per month. This week, we are doing even more, with these additional grants:

$5,000 for the Greater Boston Food Bank to distribute across the region, and  $5,000 to Eastie Farms to support food access in East Boston. On November 2nd, Old South's Youth Group hosted a pancake breakfast fundraiser in support of the Allston-Brighton Food Pantry and Community Fridges. 

If you want to get involved in any of these efforts, please email Rev. Rachel Barton at rachel@oldsouth.org

Prison Book Program

November 9, 2025 - Calvin Arey, a longtime Boston resident and retired real estate professional, is the only surviving lead plaintiff from Landman v. Royster, the landmark case that desegregated Virginia’s prisons and established basic due process rights for incarcerated people. Drawing on his own experience of incarceration in the 1960s and 1970s, Calvin began sending books to prisoners in Virginia in 2022, eventually founding the Albert Woodfox Memorial Mini-Freedom Libraries. Through his nonprofit, he has mailed more than 3,000 books to prisoners in 16 Virginia prisons and recently expanded to three Massachusetts prisons. Living on Social Security, Calvin funds this work almost entirely through personal donations. Old South is proud to offer a $1,000 grant to purchase additional books for Massachusetts prisoners for the Prison Book Program.

Trans Emergency Fund

November 16, 2025 - In honor of Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20, Old South is proud to support the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts. Since 2008, this fund has provided vital financial assistance to low-income transgender and nonbinary individuals, offering support with rent, shelter, food, prescription co-pays, transportation, and winter clothing. In a time when trans rights and safety are increasingly under attack, supporting this work is one way we can stand in solidarity with and care for our trans neighbors. To learn more go to: https://transemergencyfund.org

Roslindale Food Pantry

November 23, 2025 - The Roslindale Food Pantry, a ministry of Roslindale Congregational Church (UCC), serves neighbors in Roslindale and Hyde Park. Their mission is to address food insecurity in their neighborhoods through compassionate action, offering nutritious and culturally-appropriate foods and serving over 120 families and individuals each pantry day. For more information on how to donate or receive food from the pantry, visit: https://roscon.org/food-pantry/

LUCE

November 30, 2025 - This week, we affirm the hopeful work of LUCE, a coalition of immigrant-led, grassroots organizations across Massachusetts working to strengthen immigrant communities through coordinated support and collective action. LUCE operates a daily hotline in multiple languages to report suspected ICE or DHS activity and dispatch community observers. Their vision is for “a People’s immigration justice” rooted in liberation, union, community, and esperanza/esperança/espwa (hope).

In addition to serving as this week’s Weekly Pushback grantee, LUCE has also been selected as this year’s recipient of Old South’s Robert H. Christenson Award. This award honors organizations whose work embodies hope, dignity, and deep concern for all those seeking care, qualities central to the legacy of Old South minister Rev. Robert H. Christenson. We give thanks for LUCE’s work and for the enduring legacy of compassionate service that the Christenson Award commemorates. To learn more about LUCE, please visit: https://www.lucemass.org

BIJAN

December 7, 2025 - This week, we lift up the work of BIJAN. BIJAN is a community network of individuals, faith communities, and activist groups working to reduce the escalating harm of our immigration system. They provide court accompaniment, legal referrals, and fundraising support to immigrants and asylum seekers. They also offer rides to visit detained loved ones, and help with housing, transportation, and other immediate needs for those released on bond without resources. Old South donated BIJAN $10,000 to help support them as they continue building peace by ensuring no one faces the immigration system alone.

Eastie Farms

December 14, 2025 - In honor of the Advent candle of Joy, we celebrate Eastie Farms, whose work brings joy to East Boston in the most tangible ways: through fresh produce, community gardens, youth programs, and climate-resilient food systems that nourish both people and neighborhood. This week, Old South gave an additional $5,000 to support their joyful vision of a greener, healthier, and more equitable East Boston.

Capuchin Mobile Ministries

December 21, 2025 - Our final Advent candle invites us to embody Love, a type of love that is present, mobile, and unafraid to meet people exactly where they are. Capuchin Mobile Ministries brings spiritual care, food, everyday living supplies, and human connection directly to unhoused neighbors throughout Boston. Old South gave $10,000 this week to help sustain their ministry of love on the move.

Neighbors in Need Offering

December 28, 2025 - Neighbors in Need (NIN) is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. One-third of the gifts received support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM), uplifting the voices and vitality of Native communities. Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects through grants.

Neighbors in Need grants are awarded to UCC churches and organizations doing justice work in their communities. These grants fund projects whose work ranges from direct service to community organizing and advocacy to address systemic injustice. Learn more at ucc.org/nin.

St. Andrew's Church in Cairo

January 4, 2026 - While a lot of attention is focused on the how many refugees the US admits each year, the vast majority of refugees don't live in Europe or America. Instead, they live in neighboring countries that provide no resources or support for individuals facing poverty and trauma. St. Andrew's Church in Cairo has been providing support to refugees in Egypt for decades, including more than a million refugees fleeing violence in Sudan. OId South is proud to suport their work, along with some of our members who have been supporting them for years. To learn more, go to https://stars-egypt.org/