Archive for the ‘Immigration Issues’ Category

It’s More Than a Slogan

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere

Where to start?

Thursday and Friday in Phoenix have been frightening. And filled with hope. Exhausting. And Exhilarating. Tearful. And filled with the overwhelming power of love.

One image I will never forget is the picture of the people, most in yellow “Love” shirts, blocking the downtown Phoenix intersection. While they were being arrested, they linked arms and sang the ‘breathing meditation’ from the hymnal:  ”When I breathe in, I breathe in peace.  When I breathe out,  I breathe out love.”

Tonight, we were in the middle of a Taize-style service of song and mediation when it was suddenly announced that Salvador Reza, human rights activist and leader of Puente, was arrested for a second time by Sherrif Arpaio. But there were no charges! The retaliatory nature of the arrest was obvious.

We cut the worship meeting short and organized to go out to Phoenix’s tent city where S. Reza was being held.

When Jerry (spouse) and I got there, things were getting started. Some people were beginning to smudge the demonstration site. Others were seting up the drum. Still others were handing out signs and setting aside sections of the sidewalk for those who wanted to pray. Small children were runnign around, fanning people with Standing on The Side of Love signs to cool them off in the early evening heat.

I sat down with in the prayer section and settled in. It was an amazing experience to try and mediated while drums are beating and people are chanting and car horns (so many,many car horns) are honking in support. It was a powerful experience and I will neve forget.

After about an hour and 3/4 or so, one of the folk who had been arrested yesterday asked me to drive her back to her hotel. She was simply worn out. I was amazed she was still standing. So Jerry and I took her back to her hotel.

While in the lobby, we received several kind comments and two young adults/people of color came over to shake our hands and thank us enthusiastically for coming to Phoenix. I was a bit speechless.

The vigil is still ongoing and has moved to the downtown jail location where S. Reza was moved (we think.) It’s nearly midnight and Jerry and I are also feeling exhausted. So we will sleep awhile and plan to rejoin the vigil in the morning before heading out for our plane back to Columbus.

I feel that something major has happened this week. This is the beginning of a change in the American soul. Standing on the side of love has become more than a niftly little song in the hymnal. It has become more than a slogan and t-shirt. It is now a way of life.

May we all learn to live in love.

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Arizona, the Night Before

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

I just got back to my homestay from an excellent non-violent civil disobedience training put on by the Ruckus Society and the Catalyst Project. It was held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix and there were more than 100 Unitarian Universalists there. It was wonderful to be in the room with so many dedicated people and positive energy. I think that’s there hope that we as a religious community can make a positive difference in the situation here in Arizona.

I have been told that no other religious community has turned out in the same number as the Unitarian Universalists. The Unitarian Universalist efforts in Phoenix are being coordinated, in part, by the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Standing on the Side of Love campaign. The campaign has offered us some clear and helpful messaging for when we talk with the press. The message we’re supposed to be offering up reads: “I am here to stand on the side of love with immigrant families and people of color in Arizona who are threatened by SB1070. This legislation was born out of fear. It scapegoats and criminalizes entire communities and does nothing to fix our broken immigration system. Congress and the Administration must work together towards a humane solution that allows families to stay together, provides a path to legalization, and gives people hope.”

I think that is a good summation of my overall position and it is certainly what I intend to say in the unlikely event that I get the opportunity to talk to the press.

On a slightly different subject I understand that portions of SB1070 were stayed in an injunction today. What we are hearing on the ground from Puente and others in the communities effected is that the injunction cannot be thought of as even a partial victory. It does not stay many of the more odious parts of the law. Someone put it this way today: the injunction does not stop immigrant communities and their supporters from being terrorized in Arizona, it just limits the reasons for which they can be terrorized. In light of this the protests for tomorrow are going ahead as planned. I will tweet as much as I can tomorrow. Since many of the protests tomorrow are unpermitted it is possible that at some point I’ll be silent for awhile. If I am I will post an update as soon as I can.

Colin B

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“Why We Are in Phoenix” by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

My alarm rang at 3:30 am today. As I set up I saw my three cats, lined up at the foot of the bed, staring at me –as only felines can stare. They were definitely disgruntled and seemed to ask: “Why are you getting up at this outrageous time of night/morning?”

I nudged/pushed my spouse, Jerry, out of bed. He joined the cats in asking “Why?”, even though he knew perfectly well why we needed to get to the airport for a 6 am flight.

So, we shlepped to the airport in Columbus and spent the next 7 hours in and out of various crowded planes and bustling airports.

Why?

And then we finally arrived at Phoenix and stepped into 110+ heat. Wow!!

Why?

And spent the afternoon and evening in non-violence and clergy peace presence training.

Why indeed?

Because we called to stand on the side of love with immigrant families and people of color here in Arizona and throughout the United States who are the victims of hate and fear.

Because Arizona’s SB 1070, despite some ameliorating measures today, is legislation born out of fear and the worst kind of panic. It tries to criminalize whole communities of people and does nothing to mend our broken immigration system.

Because our national leaders must step up and work together to create a humane solution to immigration reform that allows families to stay together, provides a path to legal status (not amnesty), protetcts all people, and gives people hope for the future.

Because we are called to work together to help bend the arc of the Universe toward justice and thus build the Beloved Community.

We are in Phoenix today and especially tomorrow because we care about the heart and soul and future of America. It is a moral imperative that we be here.

And we now know that the world is watching to see what happens here in Phoenix on July 29, 2010.

Tomorrow should be a very interesting day indeed.

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Standing on the Side of (tough?) Love

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

This is Jolinda Stephens, DRE at First UU Columbus, blogging from Arizona, as more than 100 of us gather to stop the anti-immigrant SB 1070 by tomorrow or engage in civil disobedience to end the enforcement of this law that seeks to criminalize certain immigration statuses. This is a law that affects us all.

Last night the UU Congregation of Phoenix, one of our organizing congregations sponsored the screening of 9500 Liberty, which documents what happened in Prince Williams County VA when they passed a similar law. It destroyed both community peace and the local economy. Learn more about the documentary at http://www.9500liberty.com/ or explore their channel on youtube. They posted segments as they filmed them. Last night’s forum was streamed through the Coffee Party’s website. The directors are also the founders of the Coffee Party.

Following the screening, the two directors and two local politicians talked about how we address immigration issues and other assaults to our communities and the public good by forces of intolerance and violence. Annabel Park and Eric Byler, the directors, had seen and even become a force in restoring a community to a more civil society through reason, facts and courage of people of conscience. They argued for combating the forces of hate with reason, an aggressive campaign to get the facts out and involvement of faith communities. Hating and demonizing the enemy does not help, they said.

Eric told about one scene that they left on the cutting room floor. Outside one meeting there were Latina/o community members yelling “We are human beings.” And a group gathered just a few yards away who were armed and shouting back, “No you aren’t.” He said at that point he decided it was time to go inside. He felt very unsafe. And yet with all the hate, in the end the law was rescinded. One of the main factors that brought Republicans around was the fact that taxes had to be increased by 25% to implement the law.

The local people on the panel were much more pessimistic. It could be summed up with the comment from one that though the grownups won in Virginia, there were no grownups in Arizona politics. The whole idea of going for the center and of appealing to conscience doesn’t work was the message I took from them. The other message that came across loud and clear was that people of conscience in Arizona are very tired and low on hope. I also agree that appeasement and allowing the frame of the debate to be moved constantly to the right is not the answer. How about some radical love?

This afternoon we all gather and do several hours of civil disobedience training and action planning. The law goes into effect tomorrow and we start at 4:30 am to struggle for human rights with love.

Your fact for today: If those who are out of immigration status are “illegal” then every adult who has ever violated a traffic law is “illegal.”

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Down in Arizona (Colin’s First Reflections)

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

For the next several days I will be in Phoenix, Arizona taking part in the protests against the implementation of Arizona State Bill 1070. While I am in Phoenix I will, to the extent that I can, post something to my blog daily about my experiences. My observations will be cross-posted to Ohio Meadville District’s blog where they will appear alongside reflections by the Rev. Joan Van Becelaere (the District Executive), the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer (Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent) and Jolinda Stephens (Director of Religious Education at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus).

I arrived tonight and was greeted at the airport by the lovely home hospitality host that the Unitarian Universalists in Phoenix had arranged for me. As I write this I am quite comfortably situated and feeling like I will have a good base of operations for the next few days. Tomorrow, starting in the early afternoon, is a day devoted to non-violent direct action training. The law goes into effect on Thursday and Thursday and Friday are the days of the big rallies and protests.

On the flight out here I spent a little bit of time reflecting on both why I am coming and the tradition of civil disobedience and protest. My reasons for coming are fairly simple. On the most basic fundamental level I am here because I think that SB1070 has drawn a line in the sand. If we don’t stop racist legislation like SB1070 in Arizona it will spread to other states. Already in Ohio there is talk of passing similar legislation. I am here because I want to help ensure that the social costs of enacting something like SB1070 are so high they outweigh any perceived benefits. 

I am also here because I care deeply about immigrant communities. Some of my first serious activism as an adult was as a Zapatista solidarity activist. The rural communities I visited in Mexico (and CASA, the human rights organization that I co-founded, continues to work with) have been economically devastated by NAFTA. So many of the people who come to the United States as undocumented immigrants come because of their home communities have been practically destroyed by free trade. I worked with, stood in solidarity with them Mexico, it seems only natural that I would do so here.

My reflections on civil disobedience today largely revolved around Henry David Thoreau’s "Resistance to Civil Government" (usually called "Civil Disobedience") and Martin Luther King’s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Thoreau lays out the classic argument for disobedience to unjust laws. I will not rehash that argument here but I will say that it is a powerful and if ever taken seriously to heart by even a substantive minority of people would fundamentally transform society. Indeed one could argue that when it has been taken seriously by social movements, including the civil rights movement, it has transformed society.

Reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" I was struck by pertinent to the present situation it is. King wrote the letter while struggling for racial equality. I am here, alongside thousands of others, taking part in the same struggle. We are here to fight racial profiling and demand real, workable, and just immigration reform. King closed his letter by writing: "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty." Tonight I will let his words serve as my conclusion and my coda. 

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Benediction for those Traveling to Phoenix, July 29, 2010

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Benediction for Those Traveling to Phoenix 2010
by Rev. Joan Van Becelaere

The bright yellow/gold banners that proclaim we are “Standing on the Side of Love”, represent our past, present and future as Unitarian Universalists.

We stand on the side of love today……because in our past, a great cloud of witnesses, our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors, stood for love in the face of hate and fear. They passed this passion for justice down to us.

We stand on the side of love today….because our sisters and brothers here and near and far beyond – in Arizona and many other locals – cannot stand up for themselves and they need to lean on us in this perilous time.

We stand on the side of love today…. so that love may grow in the future and the arc of the Universe may be bent that much closer toward justice.

As we leave today, we not only stand on the side of love, we now walk and run and drive and fly to far places. We work and march and LIVE on the side of love.

We go in love. We go in peace. We go in love.

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Standing on the Side of Love for Immigration Reform

Friday, July 16th, 2010

The Isaiah National Solidarity Vigil and Fast for Arizona began on June 6 and continues with constant prayer and public witness through July 28. That’s the date when implementation of AZ SB 1070 will begin. During these eight weeks, vigil participation has been rolling from one region to another, with many faith communities in groups of states leading activities for one week at a time. OHIO’S WEEK IS JULY 18-24. These vigils will be followed by a three-day fast July 30-Aug. 1, which is coordinated with a major rally and interfaith public action even in Arizona. A large number of Unitarian Universalists and Standing On the Side of Love will be there.

During Ohio’s week in July, there is a constant prayer/meditation vigil via a web sign up at www.changetakesfaith.org. This website also includes signing a petition to Gov. Strickland calling for the Governor to oppose any legislation resembling Arizona’s SB 1070 in Ohio. In addition to this private, individual constant prayer/meditation vigil, faith communities around the state are taking the lead in coordinating prayer vigils and other public events.

In Columbus, we are planning an all-Ohio interfaith worship service and rally for WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 AT 6:30PM AT THE STATEHOUSE. Members from Ohio-Meadville congregations will be there with the large Standing on the Side of Love banner and other materials.

For more information about this event please visit http://interfaithimmigrationcal.org/index.php?state=OH

Faith leaders in Arizona are reporting that worship attendance is now down 30% since SB 1070 was signed, because immigrants are afraid to come to church because they don’t have “papers.” We were told of schools where administrators were desperately trying to figure out how to get kids back into class when frightened immigrant parents are keeping them home. Mention was also made of the second grader in Maryland who recently said to First Lady Michelle Obama, “but Mrs. Obama, my mom doesn’t have ‘papers.’”

An Arizona UCC pastor recently called the Arizona law “nothing less than a modern day Jim Crow law.” The president of the NAACP has said that the call for immigration reform is “the contemporary civil rights movement of our generation.”

Ohio is often called the “bellwether” state for our stance on issues of national importance. On July 21st we have the chance to shine a light to the nation as we Stand on the Side of Love in solidarity with the refugees and immigrants in our midst.

Each faith group has been challenged to bring at least 100 people to the event.

Bring your Unitarian Universalist Congregational Banners! Clergy, wear your stoles!

(but no signs on sticks or PVC pipe. Bring your banners on rope or cardboard tubing, please.)

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of history!

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Updates on GA News

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

Last week we posted links to various groups and UU World articles about the debate on whether or not to move the 2012 General Assembly out of Phoenix, AZ. Since that blog was written, DRUUMM has changed it’s position. To read about this change, please view the UU World coverage at http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/167177.shtml

To review what we posted last week, please read the blog below.

Beth C

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Important GA Information about GA 2012

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

This week we want to talk about an important issue that will be brought before the delegates at General Assembly this year.

After Arizona passed SB 1070, the UUA Board of Trustees voted to ask the delegates at General Assembly to approve moving the 2012 GA out of Phoenix, AZ (referred to as the Phoenix boycott). One consequence of this move will be a loss of around $612,000. The original article on the UU World website can be read at http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/162796.shtml

Since then, ARE (Allies for Racial Equality), DRUUMM (Diverse and Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries), A/PIC (Asian/Pacific Islander Caucus of DRUUMM) and LUUNA (Latino/a UU Network Association have come out in support of the boycott. The Arizona/New Mexico Cluster of Religious Professionals have requested that delegates vote against the boycott and asked instead that the UUA use this opportunity to Stand on the Side of Love. You can read the details of this debate through the UU World coverage at http://www.uuworld.org/news/articles/165916.shtml

Yesterday, Rev. Peter Morales, President of the UUA, issued a statement voicing his preference that we not approve the boycott and endorsing the idea of using this as an opportunity to Stand on the Side of Love and work with those who are working for change in the state. You can read his statement at http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/166693.shtml.  The UUA has been invited by several groups that work with immigrants to partner with them in Phoenix and learn more about their work if we choose to meet in Arizona.

The UUMA executive committee met this past week and heard arguments on both sides of the debate. They have decided they will not take a vote one way or another on the boycott proposal. At their meeting, they passed a referendum which stated: “that the UUMA condemns passage of SB1070 in Arizona and urges its members to work for repeal of the law, to resist passage of similar laws in other states, and to advocate for a new federal immigration bill that will respect the dignity and rights of all and will provide a fair, safe avenue to documented status for law abiding immigrants.”

Both sides of the debate have legitimate arguments in their favor. This will be a long and hard debate for the delegates at GA. We hope that our congregations will take this opportunity to discuss this issue so that your delegates will arrive in Minneapolis knowing the feelings and preferences of their home congregation and so all will be educated about the issue. If you have questions or need assistance finding the resources, please let us know.

Beth C

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Monday, May 10th, 2010

I attended an Immigration Reform vigil and rally on Sunday May 9 in Delaware, OH. Why Delaware? Because John McCain was speaking at the commencement exercises at Ohio Wesleyan University and folk at the vigil were asking the Senator to move back to his earlier position of supporting comprehensive immigration reform rather than Arizona-style drastic measures. The crowd – about 100 strong – was also very vocal about its opposition to bringing any kind of Arizona-style law to Ohio.

We had a number of Unitarian Universalists at the vigil and we carried our “Standing on the Side of Love” banner and the folk from the Delaware UU Fellowship brought their congregational banner. A Methodist bishop started us off in prayer. There were several speakers, telling personal stories, and a very nice address by an ethicist from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. They even asked me to offer the benediction at the end.

There were actually quite a few students from the Theological School there, as well as Methodists and UCC and Catholics and Presbyterians and bunch of UUs. And Church World Services had helped organize the whole thing. It was a really nice mixture of people from a variety of faith traditions, all working together – effectively – in common cause.

We need one another. If we are serious about changing our society and healing our world, we UUs need the UCC folk and the Methodists and the Church World Services and others. And they know they need us. The progressive elements in our various faith traditions need to work cooperatively to be truly effective in building the Beloved Community. We are all in this together.

When I mention this cooperative work to some of my fellow UUs, they express surprise that the other faith traditions will work with us. They seem shocked to hear that the Ohio-Meadville District attends the Ohio Council of Church meetings as an affiliate and that I’m part of a Council-based Comprehensive Immigration Reform task force headed by Church World Services.

In Denver, CO, where I spent most of my adult life, UUs have long been part of the Colorado Council of Churches and the Denver ministerial consortiums. A few years ago, two UU ministers from First Unitarian Denver were asked to offer the big city-wide ecumenical Easter sunrise service at Red Rocks Park.

Why should UUs be surprised at the idea of working closely with other faith traditions? The other faith traditions seem to have few problems in working with us. Most of the time, in these ecumenical/interfaith settings, I’m met with curiosity more than any other reaction. And the curiosity is simply because too few people know who we are and what we believe. We can and should change that little problem.

If we are serious in our commitment to help heal the world, then we need to get over our reluctance to fully engage with other faith traditions, including the many progressive varieties of Christianity. We need to stop the insidious habit of “Christian bashing” still found in so many of our congregations. That accomplishes nothing other than perpetuating out-date and erroneous myths and stereotypes and stops us from exploring the alliances we need.

We can do so much more working together with like minded progressive folk than we can when we go it alone. When we say that we are all in this together, we should realize that the “we” is a dynamic force and so very much greater than we currently imagine.

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