Latest News

Threatened mass deportations. What can we do?

6/18/2019

Dear Friends:

The Washington Post reports that our government is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) throughout the nation to round up and deport millions of immigrants whom they believe to be undocumented. You can read the story here For the faith community concerned with justice and due process for our immigrant brothers and sisters, this is alarming news.

What can we do?

In Northern California immigrant rights activists have rapid response teams on standby. These teams cover northern and central CA counties from Humboldt down to Kern. They can give you information on participation and offer phone numbers where you can report ICE activities requiring a response. To access this list, please click here

We are waiting for updates from Southern California groups. We will try to repost those later.

Other resources, organizations from which you may get information on how to help, are available here This list includes the American Civil Liberties Union that has been on the forefront of many court cases judged in favor of due process and in opposition to mass roundups of immigrants and family separation policies.

If you can act, please do. If you are unable, please witness. If you can't do that, please donate to groups that are and can. If you cannot do that, please advocate.

There are laws on our books at state and federal levels that are being ignored both for the crisis of asylum seekers and their children and for those suspected of being undocumented. No one present inside our borders can be denied due process. That's what looms for them if this mass deportation round up occurs.

Please raise your voice, do what you can. This is a massive human rights violation, and we can be silent no more.

Thank you!

Scott Warren's prosecution for an act of compassion ends in a mistrial

6/18/2019

Many of you have responded with compassion to the plight of justice advocate, Scott Warren.

He was arrested and has been on trial for offering food and water to undocumented immigrants. We have published the story on our blog.

The trial ended with the judge declaring a mistrial since the jury could not arrive at a verdict. The really good news is that it was 8-4 in favor of NOT GUILTY. This is important because with the weight of the impasse leaning toward a NOT GUILTY verdict, it means the US Attorney - the one who said Scott's faith standards were NOT actually a part of his faith - will be far less likely to refile. It's not impossible for Scott to be retried. It is less likely.

Please keep in touch with his organization, No Mas Muertes of No More Deaths. There will be others who will be arrested for acts of compassion toward immigrants. They and other groups fighting the harsh treatment of immigrants will need all of us in the coming months.

Bu for now a bit of good news for Scott, for his friends, for justice.

Thank you.

Crisis at the Border - Religious Freedom under Assault

6/5/2019

Dear friends,

In January this year, four humanitarian workers with No Mas Muertes – No More Deaths – were convicted in the US Federal Court in Tucson AZ for the crime of leaving water and food for immigrants crossing into the USA.

New standards of law had been put into place to increase the penalties specifically for aid workers. Convicted of trespass, of being in a federal land area without a permit, and of ‘abandoning personal property’ anyone else would have received a fine.  Now the law specifically aimed at these people of faith, may sentence the volunteers to six months in prison plus a hefty fine.

Another volunteer, Scott Warren, is currently on trial in the same jurisdiction for “harboring” undocumented immigrants for also providing two men with water and food as they took refuge in an abandoned building.  He faces much stiffer charges for both harboring immigrants and conspiring to harbor them.

All of the volunteers are people of faith, Warren’s defense rests on the recent Religious Freedom Restoration Act established by former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  However, the American Civil Liberties Union has raised serious questions about the unequal application of the law.

Warren asserts that his faith (he is Unitarian Universalist) requires that we aid the alien in our midst.  He states that he is motivated by many faith directives to assure that all people in need, including undocumented people, are protected against death and harm from hunger and thirst.  That is the underlying motivation for the entire organization, and Warren was acting upon it.

In a chilling declaration, the US Department of Justice has declared that this is not a religious belief to be upheld.

The government opposed the motion, saying the prosecution does not substantially burden Warren's beliefs. DOJ lawyers said Warren “is not required by his beliefs to aid in the evasion of law enforcement. Nor were the people associated with these charges ‘in distress.’ ”  (www.npr.org October 18, 2018.)

With this administration creating laws and standards within those laws that target only specific beliefs – ban on contraceptive coverage for Hobby Lobby and the rights not to bake cakes for same sex weddings – the First Amendment protections themselves are now under assault as much as the humanitarian workers.

The assault on religious freedom should alarm each and every one of us. In past cases such as the anti-abortion movement, the standards of law were universal. When barriers were erected around women’s clinic doors, the guidelines were consistent with all types of protests such as labor strikes, as were standards for federal injunctions that established permissible and non-permissible actions. There was one standard applied to all.

These recent cases in Arizona federal court are setting legal standards today that are directed against certain people by employing different sets of norms and consequences from those for anyone else.

We are also being told our faith values do not exist. They are the wrong values for this administration.

The immediate concern is the well being of the workers facing prison and further charges.  If you would like to help, please go to nomoredeaths.org

You can also find links there to details about their work in general and to Scott Warren’s trial in specific and may make donations to the organization’s legal fund.

These are uneasy days for both humanitarian action and for equality before the law.  We encourage you to take your voices to our elected officials on behalf of absolute equality in all matters pertaining to law and to conscience.  We have a First Amendment for a reason.  The law cannot undermine it for some groups while upholding it for others.  That is the pathway to tyranny.

Thank you.

“Devote your life to standing for justice. And, if needed, to lay down your life for that purpose.”

4/9/2019

Dear Friends:

Our nation faces one of its most grave crises. We are watching the chief executive amass unprecedented power, defying the rule of law. Nothing in our history has prepared us for this challenge to our Constitution, to our statutes, to our interactions among the branches of government.  We are fighting for the soul of democracy.  No one can stay idle in the face of this challenge.

I was born in the early wave of the post war “baby boom”. I grew up with “Holocaust Consciousness” followed quickly by awareness of post-war threats to our own democracy in the wave of anti-communist fervor from many in Congress and society. Then came a growing awareness of the evils of Jim Crow segregation.  To say I was a scared little kid would be an understatement.  I remember my parents watching the Army-McCarthy hearings, not understanding much other than the danger to innocent people, Hearing my parents and their friends talk about those threats to democracy and equality, to justice and fairness was pretty overwhelming.

I have dreaded the day I’d have to find my courage to stand up against something as evil and scary as fascism had been in Europe. Would I have what it takes to resist? To be as brave as Miep Gies who hid the Frank family? To defy authority in the name of democracy and of my faith in Jesus’ teachings on justice for all people?

In 2003, just before the start of US bombing of Iraq, I participated in an 8-state convening against hate crimes that even then were on the rise. The last night we saw a film about German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his anti-fascist resistance during the Third Reich.  In the discussion that followed, the group leader said, “Be prepared from here on, to lay down your life for what you believe.” When asked what that meant, he said, “Devote your life to standing for justice. And, if needed, to lay down your life for that purpose.”

It was incredibly sobering and frightening to hear this. Would we need to do this? In America?

We at the Council of Churches have tried to live by that principle: lay down your life for what you believe.  Some of you know that we have been under siege from vandalism and threats for doing exactly that. Some of our denominational affiliates have been contacted by extremists demanding they drop out of the Council, always by those who detest our stands for equality and for justice. No one has dropped out, and the retaliation, while minor, has resulted in vandalism, stalking, threats.

And yet we have stayed the course. Did we have any real alternative?

Now we call on all of you to do whatever you can for love of our fellow human beings, for the preservation of democracy, for the protection of the rule of law.

Remember the “Faithful Five Minutes” of calls to your elected officials every day. Bolster the strong, chastise the weak. Speak up and out for justice and our Constitution.

Rally when you are able. Join diverse coalitions of immigrant rights groups, labor, racial justice groups, civil rights groups, and diverse faiths then go to your representatives’ and senators’ offices, both federal and state level.  Fight for the rule of law. Stand against oppression.  Keep abreast of current events. Speak out where needed. Your voice is powerful.

We are struggling to keep the soul of our nation intact. This is the greatest threat we have faced since the Civil War.  Today as I write, it is the 154thanniversary of the Confederate surrender, the Army of Virginia, to the forces of the Union Army at Appomattox. It saved the nation.  Can we do this again, this time we hope without the bloodshed?

Only our actions through law can prevent another civil war, another rise of dictatorial power, another threat to democracy and our constitution.

I may be retired, but I will never stop working against injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.

Please do whatever you can, however you can, for as long as you can.  Our nation’s survival is on the line.

Thank you. Blessings on all you do.

Elizabeth Sholes
Director Emerita Public Policy

Speak Out! Silence is tacit assent

3/15/2019

“Hello Brother”.

Words of greeting.

“Hello Brother”.

Words of peace.

“Hello Brother” were words from a young Muslim man who stepped up trying desperately to deflect the gunman entering a Christchurch, NZ mosque Friday March 15th. The words, meant to stop the shooter, were the last words the Muslim man spoke. He was killed. Forty-eight more lost their lives before the rampage through two mosques ended.

In this latest of horrors, the rampant self-justification from the shooter’s own words shows he thought Muslims deserved to die. As the shooter in Pittsburgh, PA earlier shot down Jews for the same demented reason and Dylan Root shot nine Black AME Christians in Charleston, SC. They deserved to die for simply being who they are. Sikhs slaughtered in WI, Unitarians in TN. These are the victims of both religious hate and racial hate, but many more acts of violence have taken down people just trying to live their lives. We are losing count.

This isn’t a “Muslim problem”. This isn’t a “Jewish problem”. This isn’t a “Black problem”.

It’s a white Christian problem.

Before anyone says, “not all white Christians”, let us consider, in our hearts, if we have done all we can to make sure we didn’t turn a blind eye, stay silent instead of speak. Have we earnestly done all we can do to stop the new global wave of white, Christian terrorism, for that is what this all is, from spreading unchallenged? We have to search our hearts and our lives to see if we can do more.

I, for one, am tired of showing up after the fact. I hate candle light vigils and don’t attend them. I’m sick of press conferences decrying bloodshed and loss of valuable lives. I’m anguished by the sense of impotence at failing to prevent another senseless massacre. I’m frightened that there will be more.

Forty nine dead in New Zealand. Eleven in Pittsburgh. Nine in Charleston.

When will it end?

We are in the grip of an administration that demonizes “the other” be it immigrants, Muslims, people of color. We have unleashed waves of hate and resentment from white people who think equality means a loss to them. Males who see female equality as a threat. If you have to enforce your superiority with violence, are you really superior at all?

We can’t dismiss this thinking that we would never do this kind of thing to anyone. It flourishes if we tolerate it, if we don’t actively stop it. Silence is tacit assent.

We have to stand up, speak out, act affirmatively not passively in the name of our country’s promise and our faith’s direction. This isn’t on Muslim, Jews, Sikhs, Unitarians. It isn’t on Black people, Brown people, immigrants, indigenous people.

It’s on us: white, middle class, mainstream Christians. We are the only people who can speak out and uphold these truths of nation and faith. We can stay silent no more.

Hello brother. Hello sister. Hello everyone. End the silence. End the violence. It’s on us.

Being a helpful, not a harmful ally to LGBTQ United Methodists

2/27/2019

From our friends at the Religious Institute.

Don’t try to fix it.
When we see people hurting and in pain, often our initial instinct is to offer a solution: to find some way to fix it. This may be rooted in compassion and concern, but it is usually not a helpful response. For one, it privileges the practical over the emotional and the systemic over the personal. This kind of response also assumes that smart people haven’t already (or sufficiently) attempted to find practical solutions — be they legislative, denominational, or congregational. In this way, responding in this manner is another way of centering yourself. Responding this ways says: “I have the answer.” Instead, try acknowledging the pain without trying to fix it. For many LGBTQ United Methodists, this pain is not new, and there is no quick solution to getting rid of it. You cannot fix it, but you can do your best to open and hold space for that pain to be felt, expressed, and acknowledged in community.

Don’t invite LGBTQ United Methodists to join your denomination.
This is probably the most common harmful response LGBTQ United Methodists receive from non-UMC allies. You’re part of a welcoming and affirming religious community. Your congregation strives to celebrate the gifts of LGBTQ people. Maybe your community even sees itself as “on the frontlines” of advocating for LGBTQ liberation. You want your LGBTQ United Methodist friends to be welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated. You want them to be able to use their gifts in ministry. Well-intentioned or not, comments like “my church welcomes you,” “you could always join this denomination,” or “that faith community is welcoming and affirming” are not helpful or compassionate. LGBTQ United Methodists are aware that other denominations have more progressive teachings and policies on matters of LGBTQ justice and liberation. Inviting LGBTQ United Methodists to join your denomination is another attempt to offer a quick fix. It ignores the fact that the person is United Methodist for a reason, and that they are deeply committed to their own tradition. Their reasons for being United Methodist and their belief in the beauty and good of the United Methodist Church have everything to do with why this moment is difficult.

Don’t expect LGBTQ United Methodists to explain General Conference to you.
General Conference is complicated: plans, petitions, legislation, amendments, floor speeches, protests, prayerful presences, and no shortage of twists and turns. It is not always easy to understand — even for United Methodists. Additionally, it is painful for LGBTQ United Methodists to have their dignity and worth up for debate. Imagine experiencing that whirlwind, attempting to digest what is happening, and beginning to figure out what it will mean for you AND ALSO being asked to explain the whole complicated process to a non-UMC person. This is a stress-inducing request. A lot will be happening over the next few days. Some of it may be confusing, highly technical, or tied to the specifics of United Methodist polity. If you’re interested, pay attention to news coverage, watch statements coming from LGBTQ United Methodists groups (e.g. UM-Forward, United Methodist Queer Clergy Caucus, Affirmation, Reconciling Ministries Network, etc.), peruse social media to see what your United Methodist friends are saying, or even watch the live stream of General Conference. Some LGBTQ United Methodists may offer an explanation, which is fine. Offer your appreciation, since teaching is both intellectual and emotional labor. But if you want to follow this General Conference and its implications, please find ways do your own work. The Religious Institute will also try to share helpful resources and information, and you’re welcome to reach out to us if you need clarification.

Speak up but not over LGBTQ people.
This General Conference is deeply personal for LGBTQ United Methodists. For far too long, their voices have been silenced or ignored in these conversations, which means it’s all the more important to lift up their voices at this time. Centering the voices of LGBTQ United Methodists also means thinking deeply about when to listen and when to use your own voice. As an ally, your voice is most helpful among other allies, potential allies, and actively hostile individuals. Those are the best spaces to share your experience, impart your wisdom, or shut down unhelpful dynamics. In these contexts, you will have greater impact without overshadowing those experiencing the greatest harm. When LGBTQ United Methodists are present and want to speak, the best thing you can do is “pass the mic” to them as they are more directly affected. Remember that LGBTQ United Methodists are not voiceless. They can and are speaking for themselves.

Actions speak louder than words.
It’s important to remember that being an ally is not only about what you say. In fact, it is much more about what you do, how you show up, and answering calls to action. Words without action ring hollow. The best place to learn what kinds of actions LGBTQ United Methodists are asking for is to hear from them directly—whether as individuals or through the range of LGBTQ United Methodist organizations (see list above). Right now, they’re asking for a few things: prayer, financial support, public statements of support, and help raising consciousness about the impact and stakes of General Conference. As General Conference plays out, these asks will surely develop as well, so continue to check in with those groups and LGBTQ United Methodists individuals in your life.

There is a time and a place to care of yourself.
LGBTQ folks in the United Methodist Church need time to experience and express their own emotions. If you are not an LGBTQ United Methodist, process your own emotions away from LGBTQ United Methodists—with other allies, or with family or friends. You don’t want to put others — including the person with whom you’re hoping to empathize — in the position of comforting and caring for you. And, it’s possible and even legitimate that the experiences of LGBTQ United Methodists will have an emotional impact on you. Maybe you’re coming to realize how you’ve participated in the oppression of LGBTQ people. Or, maybe you’re LGBTQ and not United Methodist, and you resonate with much of what LGBTQ United Methodists are experiencing. Your emotions are valid, and it’s important to work through them. Please find ways to care for yourself as you ally yourself with LGBTQ United Methodists over the next few days.

Fail better.
Relationships are complicated, and inevitably we will fall short. Being an ally is no exception. There is no such thing as a perfect ally, so it’s important to be prepared for when you mess up, say the wrong thing, or really step in it. Lead with love and root yourself in relationships built on deep listening and open lines of communication. Learn how to be held accountable and receive critical feedback. Apologize when you make mistakes. Prioritize impact over intent, and be willing to change course if needed.

An Unconventional Guide to Making a Meaningful Gift This Holiday Season

12/21/2018

If you are looking for a meaningful last-minute gift, please consider making a gift in your loved one's honor to a worthy nonprofit! This guide from our friends at the California Association of Nonprofits, makes some great suggestions for gifts that reflect your values and also some important cautions about online giving.

Of course, we would be thrilled if you would choose to honor someone with a contribution to the California Council of Churches here, or California Church IMPACT here; but we urge you to support the nonprofit that most reflects your values.

Thank you!

God in the Belly

12/11/2018

Black Lives Matter Madonna (Copyright: Bromickeymcgrath)

Art by Mickey McGrath, O.S.F.S,: We need images of the Black Madonna now more than ever

A powerful reimagining of The Magnificat by our dear friend, the Rev. Jim Burklo, Senior Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. You can read more in his blog, musings, here.

God in the Belly

Full of God, full to birthing,
Mary howls: head back, hair tossed,
Hands skyward with joy
That wrongs are about to be righted,
Salvation's about to be sighted.
No more groveling for crumbs of charity:
She pronounces justice with crystal clarity.
She's done waiting for the concentrated wealth of the 1%
To trickle down magically to the other 99.
The Santa System is stuck in the chimney;
And she won't be burned by it again!
A new kind of Christmas is coming -
To undo the dogma of domination,
Snap out of blame-the-victim hypnosis,
Chase money-changers out of the temple,
Redistribute the common wealth,
Restore power to the people,
And send the Religious Right empty away.
With one magnificent rhetorical swing,
Mary bats the political center into left field.
Pundits fumble, talk-show hosts mutter,
Super-PAC donors quiver, campaign strategists stutter:
Mary out-Magnificats them all.
So let's get in her line and carry her sign
And holler and act as if we, too,
Have God in our bellies!

Dealing with violence in our congregations - a training

11/28/2018

Dear Friends,

In the wake of the horrific shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pennsylvania, regional districts of the Department of Justice are offering "Active Shooter" trainings to help give congregations some tools to improve members' safety.

The half day seminar will be December 11 from 9:30 am to noon at the Kennedy Learning Center inside the Robert Matsui Federal Courthouse, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

The deadline for registration is this coming Monday, December 3.

You may bring up to 3 people from your congregation. You may register here.

Registration is NOT complete until you have received a confirmation email.

Please arrive at 9:00 am. Bring photo ID since this is a secure facility, and you will need to pass through a metal detector and show your ID. This will give you time to process through security and be directed to the Kennedy Learning Center room.

While none of us every wishes to be in a violent situation, we are living in perilous times with horrible events unfolding far too often. If we cannot be at ease in our places of worship, we need to take steps to assure our improved safety.

This event is being cosponsored by numerous law enforcement agencies, local, state, and federal and with the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region plus the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento.

Please consider attending this important training. And then let us all practice peace so it is never needed.

Thank you.

Steps We Can Take Toward a More Hopeful Society

11/9/2018

Dear Friends,

In the recent weeks we have seen an increase in stunning violence against our fellow humans. From the horrors of the Pittsburgh shootings to the threats against asylum seekers to yet another mass murder at a neighborhood nightclub, violence has touched millions of lives.

What can we do?

We offer a few steps you can take, from the fairly easy to more complex, to stop the angry actions and open peace and kindness bringing more sun in a dark and stormy world.

First, from a former Board member, Joan Leslie, something you can do quickly and easily. Following the horrors at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, her church set up a table during coffee hour where each person could write a note of sympathy and support. The address is Tree of Life Congregation, 5898 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. If you wish to address the note to the Rabbi, he is Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers. Otherwise general notes to the entire congregation are fine. Be prepared for the unfortunate “next time” this sort of thing happens to a group; it will occur. Stand ready to offer comfort and compassion.

Second, consider reviving our post-911 study guide, Building Bridges of Understanding and beginning a new discussion on religious tolerance. You may find the guide here . Within your own congregation you may have safe discussions about other faiths to learn what’s true – and what is not – about our fellow human beings’ faith perspectives.

Third, consider opening discussions in your community with “the other”, anyone who is not part of your congregation or neighborhood. Perhaps, as Pioneer Congregational UCC did in Sacramento, your minister and a local imam can trade pulpits to share insights into what we have in common, how we differ and why. Community dinners (being mindful of dietary laws for others, Jews and Muslims in particular) bring people together.

Fourth, reach out to groups serving those embattled – immigrants, felons, the poor, Black communities beset by police brutality and gun violence, etc. – to see how you can help. How you can become a voice for their justice by using your resources.

Fifth, hold community forums on issues within your area. Good guidelines can come from the National Issues Forum that helps develop discussions, not debates, by shaping presentations based on multiple options for growth and change, not just two sides on each concern. They have guidebooks on key concerns such as immigration and many other issues. You may find them here.

Whatever you do and however you choose to do it, bring your light and humanity to the endeavor. The only way to cast out darkness is to be the sun. Let the healing rays bring greater peace.

Thank you.