Back to Part 1: 1850-1965

The Public Affairs Committee issued an informative study, "Scattered Site Public Housing for Syracuse" in 1965. "The findings were also used by other civic groups seeking to increase the number of homes and apartments for poor families...and a number of other organizations cooperated with the committee, including the Catholic Interracial Council, the Syracuse Committee on Racial Equality, the Syracuse Area Council of Churches, and the League of Women Voters."

"During these years the Sunday morning forum was a regular and popular part of the church program that was readymade for presenting public issues to the congregation. Church school started at 10 AM. After dropping off the children, parents and other adults socialized over coffee in the dining room and/or gathered in the church parlor to listen to a speaker and discuss his or her ideas before the Sunday service started at 11 AM." One of the issues presented at these forums was the high cost of funerals and the growing movement for simple memorial ceremonies. "With the blessing of the trustees a group of members in 1964 formed the Syracuse Memorial Society, a nonprofit group that assists its members to make reasonably priced arrangements before they die."

Of course, during the Vietnam War era many members were active in protests, peace marches and teachins. The women's movement of the time was another issue on which members spoke out for justice. "A group of volunteers kept on with the traditional UU support of Planned Parenthood...Several members of the society, including Reverend Nick Cardell served as Chairpersons of the Planned Parenthood board during the 1970's." And the current chair is Reverend Elizabeth Strong.

In 1980 the congregation as a whole showed its interest in social action by setting up a Social Responsibilities Committee "as a channel for (its) concerns". Its members formed the Homeless and Hungry subcommittee which cooperates with the Food Consortium set up by the Syracuse Area Interreligious Council. The Committee takes turns with other congregations recruiting volunteers to cook and serve lunch at the Samaritan Center in St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Montgomery Street. If you have never volunteered, please consider doing so. It only happens four times a year and fills up fast, so get your name in quickly.

The congregation began to find an interest in El Salvadoran refugees in 1981 with "a joint meeting of the Syracuse UU churches sponsored by the UU Service Committee...A Sunday morning forum in March 1981 on the causes of the refugee problem started the long involvement of a group of members that eventually resulted in May Memorial's commitment to the Sancturay movement... Ann Tiffany and Agnes Lane, with help from the Cardells and others, and approval from the board, organized an educational program." This led to a December 1983 congregational vote to offer temporary sanctuary to an El Salvadoran refugee. "However, a strong minority opposed having the congregation, as a whole, take a stand on a political issue an act that, so far as anyone knows, would be only the second such instance in its history." And this time it was a matter of breaking the law. The Immigration and Naturalization Service was threatening prosecution of people in the Sancturay movement. In October 1984 a young refugee couple from El Salvador lived for two weeks at May Memorial, sharing their experiences of war and political persecution...and also spoke before audiences at many other churches and religious organizations."

The El Salvadoran experience led to involvement in many issues of justice in Central America in the1990's. Trips to Central American countries by many members of the congregation and others from the larger community, including a mission to the village of Estancia has culminated in action protesting the School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Benning, Georgia. The SOA trains Central American military in warfare that has led to gorilla tactics against their own people, and assinations of civilians. Growing support for the protest in the congregation prompted the Social Responsibility Committee to draft a resolution in support of abolishing the SOA to be presented at the 1998 General Assembly in Rochester, NY. The congregation was asked to approve it. It was the third time the congregation as a whole voted in favor of social action. The General Assembly affirmed the resolution in June, while Reverend Cardell, Doris and Dan Sage, and Ann Tiffany were serving a six month sentence in jail for protesting the activities of the SOA.

Social action at May Memorial is alive and well. To quote Joyce Ball, member of the Social Action Coordinating Council, and active in social concerns here for at least 50 years, "There are more people involved in social issues today than ever in the past." We will always be working to improve the human condition as long as our principles of belief include "the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations."

Back to Part 1: 1850-1965