United Interfaith Action (UIA) is a joining of fourteen Protestant and Catholic parishes in Fall River and New Bedford to improve the living situation in the cities of New Bedford and Fall River.

Seven years ago a group of concerned citizens met at St. John the Baptist Church Hall to speak about our cities. It was at that time that many negative aspects of our cities were being discussed in the news media. Everyone at the meeting felt overwhelmed and powerless. Everyone concluded that we as a city had a terrible self-image. What could we do to help our cities become better places? How we put our faith into action?

It was at that time that we formed our United Interfaith Action. We began to speak to residents of the two cities to see what their concerns were. Safer streets, better schools, more employment, and other concerns came forward.

Grants were given by various Churches including Campaign for Human Development.

This money was used to hire two full time community organizers who would help UIA to respond to some of these concerns.

Contacts were made to the mayors of Fall River and New Bedford, to the Chiefs of Police, to public school officials and to others about these concerns.

Ray Gagne and Fernanda Souza, our community organizers, help us to have a yearly "Action Meeting". This is scheduled after UIA members have studied a particular issue that is a concern of the residents of the two cities. The above mentioned officials are consulted and included in the dialogue about the concern. When a plan has been set to respond to the concern, people come out in great numbers with the officials to launch a plan. At this Action Meeting we ask for the support of the public officials. (They have been notified before the meeting what will be asked.)

The present UIA concern is unemployment and better employment. Although UIA cannot take on the whole problem, nevertheless it can respond. Training our present workers with more skills will help some of them to get better employment.

One of the skills is teaching the workers to speak, write, and read English with more facility. "English as a Second Language" (ESL) helps to do that.

Some of the people who are in these classes work all day; go home to take care of their families; then they go to class for two and half hours more than once a week.

They came to our UIA meeting to tell us how important these classes are. They understand so many of their jobs in the shops will be ending soon. Although they speak a limited English, they want to communicate better with their children. They want to be able to fill an application form. They want to express themselves when an emergency in their families brings them to the hospital. They know that they need more English to get more education (GED diplomas or even going to college). They hope that this will get them better jobs.

The ACTION MEETING is about keeping these classes from being terminated. We hope to provide more classes so that the 700 people that are on a waiting list in our two cities will be served.

State Senators and Representatives; the mayors of the two cities of New Bedford and Fall River; and other officials need to see hundreds of us speak through our presence. You just have to be there. You don’t speak. Your presence will speak of our solidarity with these people who want to improve their skills in English so that they can get better jobs.

This weekend will provide us with the opportunity to sign to go to the Action Meeting in Fall River. The signing of the list will give you a place on a bus that Mt. Carmel and St. James will be sponsoring free of charge.