Justice at Glenn

How can we transform the world? By answering the call to: 

You are invited to come join this journey! Contact justice@glennumc.org or Rev. Brent Huckaby to be in contact with our Justice team.

Upcoming Events


Just News

Sundays, 9:45am, Church School Building Room 422

“Just News” is a new adult Sunday school class that will be guided in its discussion by Micah 6:8 to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”  This class will consider how the framing of stories in the media sometimes obscures justice and leads us to disregard or even support injustice.  Attendees are encouraged to bring examples of news coverage of events from the previous week. The class will meet at 9:45am on Sunday mornings in Room 208 of the Church School Building, starting April 7th. Contact Rev. Brent if you have questions.


CHaRM Train

The month of April

Beginning Sunday, April 7, and running through the end of Earth Month, Glenn's Justice Team will be collecting scrap textiles, old electronics, paint (latex, oil-based, and aerosol), and household chemicals at the church office to take to the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM), helping keep hazardous materials out of our air, water, and soil. Collection bins may be found near the church office in the Glenn School Building and in the narthex on Sunday mornings. Questions? Email jay@gipl.org.


Black History Book Study 

Thursdays from April 11 - May 9, 12noon - 1pm, Zoom

Join us for this zoom book study led by Rev. Brent Huckaby on Michael Harriot’s Black AF History - The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. Harriot’s “searingly smart and bitingly hilarious” retelling of American history corrects the record and showcases the perspective and experiences of Black Americans. Contact Rev. Brent for more info and zoom link.


Clean Up the Creek Concert

Saturday, April 20

On the Saturday before Earth Day, April 20, join the Glenn Justice Team at Coca-Cola Clean Up the Creek Concert at Emory Village from 5-9 p.m. The concert will celebrate – and raise additional funds – for the upgrades planned for Peavine Creek, which runs through Emory Village. The clean-up will include removing invasive plants like kudzu on the creek banks, providing steps down to the creek, and a rain garden to help manage erosion. Learn more at www.druidhills.org.


UMC Creation Justice Earth Day Vigil

April 22, 7pm

In partnership with the General Board of Global Ministries, the General Board of Church and Society, the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, and United Women In Faith, the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement is hosting an "Earth Day Vigil for Creation" on April 22 at 7 p.m. The main event will take place at First UMC, Charlotte before General Conference, with featured speaker/preacher Dr. Musa Dube from Candler School of Theology. Decatur First UMC has agreed to serve as a North Georgia host site for the vigil live stream. Join in person as we worship together, create prayer flags for Sacred Earth, and have a time of reflection for our planet. Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) will be present to offer additional resources for individuals and congregations looking to expand their green efforts. 


30th Annual Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Build

May - July 2024 - First build date: May 11 (registration closes 3 days prior to due date, May 8)

Glenn will be participating in our 30th annual Atlanta Habitat for Humanity build! This year, we’re building a new home alongside the homeowner, Jemario, and seven other churches: (St. James UMC, St. Luke’s Presbyterian, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal, St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal, Ben Hill UMC, Sacred Heart, St. Mark UMC).

When we partner with Atlanta Habitat, we join them as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization by building quality, affordable homes alongside the homeowners themselves creating opportunities for families to thrive beyond the build and well into the future. Please join our build!

Sign up here.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: REGISTRATION CLOSES 3 DAYS PRIOR TO EACH BUILD DATE).

Click here for more information and build dates.

Ongoing Weekly Outreach Opportunities

Women’s Community Kitchen (WCK) Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday, 9:30am-12:30pm

Intown Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9:30am-1pm

Snack in a Backpack Thursday, 3-5pm


Service Save-the-Dates

Habitat for Humanity Build  May 11-July 13. Contact: Jennifer Scott Ward.

Wesley Woods Mother’s Day Offering  May 12, Give here.

Trinity House April 16, June 18, August 20, October 15, & December 17. Contact: Diane Bryant.

Lost and Found Youth (LnFY)  Second Thursday of every month 11:30-1:00pm. Contact: Joan Lord. 

August Sunday Service (all ages) August 4, 11, 18, 25, 10am-10:30am. Contact: Susan Pinson.

Branan Towers Summer Picnic  June 28 10:30am-1pm. Contact: Diane Bryant.

Trinity Table  September 22 11:45am-2:45pm. Contact: Diane Bryant.

Connecting through Service 

We seek to create personal connections by being present with people who are struggling and suffering in a way that affirms their humanity and dignity.

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. — Matthew 25:35-36

Glenn has a long history of connecting with the community to work to alleviate suffering.  Opportunities to connect are available for individuals, families and small groups. 

 

Snack in a Backpack 

Thursday shifts ranging from 3:30-5:30pm, Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, Youth & Activities Building | Sign up for a volunteer shift here!

Snack in a Backpack provides food on Fridays to children and families who are at risk of hunger on weekends. The program serves over 400 students from three schools and 66 refugee families which represent over 350 family members. These families have children who attend Global Village Project, a school for refugee girls, and Inspire, an after school program for refugee children. Volunteers gather on Thursday afternoons at Glenn’s Youth and Activities Building (YABB) located at 1669 North Decatur Rd. to setup, pack food bags and load food into vehicles for delivery to the schools on Friday mornings. Volunteers are needed throughout the week to shop, deliver food to schools and upload food band deliveries at Glenn.  Glenn financially support Snack in a Backpack and provides hundreds of Glenn and community volunteers.  All ages and skill levels are welcome to participate. For more information contact Deborah Marlowe or sign up here.

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity

For the last 29 years, Glenn has partnered with other churches to build a Habitat House. Each House requires 10-15 volunteers for seven Saturdays, plus a food crew to provide lunch. Volunteers at all skill levels and ages are welcome. No experience is required! Glenn financially supports the annual build and provides a crew for the build. Watch for this year’s date! For more information contact Jennifer Scott Ward.

 

Branan Towers/Foundation of Wesley Woods

Part of the Wesley Woods Senior Living Retirement Communities, Branan Towers is a HUD-subsidized residential community in East Atlanta serving older adults with extremely low incomes. Glenn has supported Branan Towers for decades providing financial support, volunteers, resident engagement and in-kind donations. Glenn initiated and supports an essentials closet for the residents to provide for needs that their income does not stretch to cover.  These items range from incontinence supplies, nutritional supplements, soap, toilet tissue, toothpaste etc. The most important contribution is the time and emotional connection to the residents. Volunteers of all ages and skill levels are welcome at the holiday parties, summer cookouts and craft and game days. Glenn financially support the Wesley Woods Mother’s Day offering and for the needs of the residents through the essentials closet. For more information contact Diane Bryant.

 

Hope Atlanta-Women’s Community Kitchen (WCK) 

The WCK provides more than 20,000 meals each year to women and children who are hungry.  The meal is provided at Cascade Midtown on Ponce de Leon Ave. The Women’s Community Kitchen is not just a place to get a meal, but it is also a safe environment for the women to access resources and educational opportunities. 30-40 women and children are served each day. They are in need of volunteers Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30a.m. - 12:30 p.m. to help prepare and serve the meals. Glenn financially supports the WCK and volunteers can sign up individually or as a group.  For more information contact Diane Bryant.


Intown Cares 

Intown Cares works to prevent and reverse homelessness and hunger in Intown Atlanta. Intown provides a homeless outreach program that uses a Housing First approach as well as a variety of programs to address food insecurity.  Glenn supports Intown through food and goods drives, delivering groceries, making hygiene or snack kits, and with financial support.  Intown operates a food choice pantry on Saturdays and Tuesday mornings from 9am to 1pm. For more information contact Jennifer Scott Ward. Volunteers can sign up here.

 

L’Arche Atlanta 

At L'Arche Atlanta, people with and without disabilities are welcomed with open arms. L’Arche builds communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities share friendships and care. They do this through community events and small group activities. Their two homes are located in Decatur on Clairemont and Mead Roads. Glenn supports L’Arche financially and there are many ways to get involved as a volunteer. For more information contact Ann Rushing.

Libertad 

Team Libertad is an Atlanta-based agency that values compassion for people seeking asylum in the United States who have been detained and released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These people are on their way to the homes of sponsors, friends and family across the United States. Team Libertad strives to offer a welcoming presence and helpful hand to those dropped-off at the Atlanta airport after a stay at Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center. Team Libertad has welcomed thousands of asylum seekers from 14 nations.  Glenn helps to recruit volunteers to meet the new arrivals. Team Libertad is supported by Glenn’s Alternative Giving catalog and by sponsoring collection drives for much needed items for the refugees when they first arrive in Atlanta. For more information contact Diane Bryant.

 

Lost-n-Found Youth 

Lost-n-Found Youth provides support for Atlanta’s unhoused LGBTQ+ youth, ages 18 to 25. Its ambitious goal is to end homelessness among this group. The organization supports a youth drop-in center, where lunch is served daily, and two transitional houses for 16 youth, where breakfasts and dinners are available. Glenn’s prepares and serves Lost-n-Found’s clients with a monthly hospitable hot meals and makes grocery runs to help stock the transition homes’ pantries. Glenn supports LnFY through Glenn’s Alternative Giving Catalog and by volunteers preparing and serving monthly meals. For more information contact Joan Lord.

 

Trinity House/Big Bethel-Trinity Community Ministries 

TH/BB is a residential 36 bed program that empowers men experiencing homelessness and addiction to reclaim their lives and return to their families and communities as mentors and leaders. Trinity House provides housing, meals, case management and connects the men to benefits, job training and counseling.  Glenn provides financial support to TH/BB and prepares and shares a bi monthly meal with the men. Glenn provides the meal for the men on the 3rd Tuesday of the even months. Various groups from Glenn prepare and enjoy the meal with the residents. We are currently in need of a group to provide the June meal. For more information contact Diane Bryant.

 

Trinity Table-Trinity UMC 

Trinity Table is located at Trinity UMC in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Trinity Table is the only consistent source of free food in the downtown Capitol Hill neighborhood on Sundays. Glenn UMC has partnered for more than 30+ years with Trinity Table to provide a hospitable hot meal and a to-go bagged meal to the homeless. In addition to serving meals every Sunday, a clothes closet is available that offers items of clothing, as well as items such as hygiene kits and cold weather gear. The last Sunday of every month a mobile shower trailer comes to the church parking lot and provides showers for the guests through the nonprofit Hope Thru Soap.  Glenn financially supports Trinity Table and one Sunday a year Glenn prepares and serves the hot meal and Glenn’s youth pack and distribute to-go meal bags. This year Glenn’s Alternative Giving Catalog collected funds to provide waterproof sleeping bags for those living on the streets. For more information contact Diane Bryant.

 

Wellroot-Transitional and Independent Living 

Wellroot, formerly the Methodist Children’s Home, provides foster care services to hundreds of abandoned and neglected children each year.  As many of these young people, ages 18-21, move out of foster care they are left floundering with no family or support to help them move to the next healthy stage of their lives. The transitional and independent housing program provides 24-hour support as well as housing to each youth. Residents in the Transitional Living Program need greater levels of support and assistance, while residents in our Independent Living Program are nearing their full transition out of care. Wellroot offers financial literacy, tutoring, personal development, career development and education about nutrition and health. As part of both programs, they guide residents through the process of earning their high school diploma or GED and offer assistance entering college or trade school. Glenn through their Alternative Giving Catalog provides financial support to purchase cold weather gear and hygiene supplies. Volunteers are being recruited to help provide meals and daily living essentials to their residents.  For more information contact Diane Bryant.

 

Collaboration with Outreach Partners

All of the areas of Glenn: children, youth, young adults, adults and older adults work to support and collaborate with the Justice Teams outreach partners. The following are just a few examples of how Glenn works together to meet the needs in our community. 

SOUPer Bowl of Caring

The children at Glenn annually collect canned goods and financials donation in soup pots on Super Bowl Sunday to be distributed to help tackle hunger. The financial donations support Snack in a Backpack and the canned goods are donated to Intown Cares.   

VBS Offering

Each year Vacation Bible School takes up an offering that aligns with the theme of VBS and the offering is giving to support one of the Justice Teams Outreach partners. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Celebration

Every year the Glenn youth in collaboration with the Scouts and Midtown HS plan and enjoy an afternoon of food, songs, crafts and the reading of MLK’s I Have a Dream speech at Branan Towers.

 

August Sunday Service Projects

Every Sunday in August during the Sunday school hour a service project is designed to engage all of the ages in the church in support of several of Glenn’s outreach partners.  To name a few projects in the past: collected back to school items in support of Snack in a Backpack schools, assembled snack meal bags for the homeless to be distributed through Intown Cares, collected essentials for Libertad to distribute to new asylum seekers and refugees coming to Atlanta, assembled disaster response buckets for Global Ministries. 

 

Glenn participates in several special Sunday offerings each year that benefit our Outreach partners. The following are a few examples: 

Mother’s Day offering to benefit the Wesley Woods senior living communities- This offering funds financial assistance for meals and housing to residents who have the gift of a long life but may have outlived their resources.  

The Housing and Homeless Offering of the North Georgia Conference of the UMC- The offering supports the shared work of providing safe and affordable housing across North Georgia. One hundred percent of the offering goes to fund much needed grants for ministries serving those that are experiencing poverty and homelessness.  The grants provide for housing, food pantries, rental and utility assistance, clothing closets, and other services to our neighbors in need. Glenn participates in this offering on an annual basis.