Sanctuary Movement for These Times

Discussion on Ways to Support Immigrants, Refugees, Muslims and Others
Thursday, July 13, 7pm
First Congregational Church
1985 Louis Road., Palo Alto

Is your congregation looking for ways to provide support and solidarity with immigrants, refugees, Muslims and others who are threatened at this time in our nation’s history?  Faith communities on the Peninsula are invited to a presentation by The Rev. Deborah Lee of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity to help congregations and individuals discern and find concrete ways to engage in sanctuary -- a public, corporate commitment to walk alongside immigrants, mixed-status families and refugees to uphold dignity, due process and full acceptance into the life of our society through protection, support and advocacy. Congregations make different choices about how they are willing and able to join this effort. There are four ways congregations can demonstrate their solidarity and commitment to sanctuary.

A New Map for Relationships: Creating True Love at Home and Peace on the Planet

Sunday, July 23, 7pm
First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto
Kohlstedt Hall
625 Hamilton, Palo Alto

Dorothie and Martin Hellman, authors of A New Map for Relationships: Creating True Love at Home and Peace on the Planet, will tell how they tranformed an almost failed marriage into one where they reclaimed the true love that they felt when they first met fifty years ago. They will also explain why the lessons they learned are the same ones the nations of the world need to grasp to build a more peaceful, sustainable planet.

Admission: Free

Click here to download a flyer.

Unity Rally

Saturday, June 10, 11am
Stevens Creek Blvd. between Winchester and Santana Row, San Jose

Join religious and community organizations as we stand up for justice and friendship in a UNITY RALLY.  ACT for America, a grassroots anti-Muslim organization that has been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is coordinating dozens of anti-Muslim protests around the country this Saturday, including one in Santa Clara, CA.  Our UNITY RALLY will lift up a positive message message of inclusivity and diversity, standing in solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers, and speaking out for the core tenets in all faith traditions of truth, respect and love of neighbor near and far.

Please plan to arrive and leave as you are able. There will be no program. 
We will stand as witnesses for inclusivity, justice, and the beauty of human diversity in community.
A large turnout will be a strong witness for love.

Gather on Stevens Creek Blvd. between Winchester and Santana Row, in front of Crate & Barrel and The Container Store, San Jose.
(Look for the orange construction tape. That's where we belong.)

We will gather from a variety of spiritual paths and walks of life, from communities around the bay area, to celebrate the friendship and respect that we hold dear. While hate must never stand unchallenged, the intent of the UNITY RALLY is not confrontational, but to affirm the unity in the midst of diversity which is the strength of our communities.

How you can get involved:

• Spread the word in your communities and congregations.
• Share the event on Facebook.
• Click here to download a flyer and distribute widely!
• Sign the "Statement Against Hate" as an individual and/or organization by using this google form. Click here for a clean and final copy of the "Statement Against Hate." (There are some typos on the google form.)
• Ask your congregation or organization to co-host the rally, and register that by on this google form. Co-hosting means you will be listed as an organization co-host of the vigil, to send a strong message that our region stands against hate. (To see a recent list of co-hosts (there are LOTS but they keep coming in), click "Read More.")
• Come to the rally! See suggestions below to visually demonstrate our unity.

Pictures and Social Media: Please take and share lots of pictures. We will be using the #CounterACTHate hashtag on social media.

SUGGESTIONS TO SHOW UNITY AND INCLUSION:
- Bring flowers to give away
- Wear flowers
- Bring American flags
- Make LARGE white signs with bold black letters
- Signs should be positive and show what we believe IN

Please carpool if possible.

Religious leaders are encouraged to wear their clerical attire.

Please join Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice, the Council of American Islamic-Relations (CAIR-SFBA) and more than 120 other religious and community organizations this Saturday as we celebrate our UNITY! 

For more up to date information, visit the event Facebook page.

Statewide Call to Action!

California Religious Freedom Act, SB 31, prohibits a state or local agency or public employee acting under color of the law from providing to the federal government personal information regarding a person's religious beliefs, practices or affiliation.  This bill will ensure that California does not participate in any way in a registry targeting Muslims or any other religious group. SB 31 has passed the Senate and is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 13th. Click here to download a SB 31 Fact Sheet. The bill is co-sponsored by the ACLU of California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - California, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations California. Please contact your local Assemblymember and urge him/her to support SB 31.

The California Senate recently passed SB 54, the California Values Act, that will ban the use of state and local resources from carrying out the work of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in deportation actions, essentially making California a Sanctuary state. This is a huge step in standing up for immigrants and those who could become targets of the Trump administration.  Click here to download a SB 54 Fact Sheet. SB 54 next must go through the California Assembly committees (which may entail amendments or changes), pass a majority State Assembly vote, and then be signed into law by Governor Brown.

What is most important to do now is to contact your State Assemblymember to express your support of SB 31 and SB 54 and urge them to work for its passage.

 Contact information for local Senators and Assemblymembers can be found below.

Know Your Rights

Everyone here has constitutional rights, and that includes Muslims, immigrants and refugeees.  The ACLU has Know Your Rights posters translated into 14 languages, and provides videos in Spanish, Arabic, Urdu and Farsi on what to do if stopped by immigrant agents or the police.  Click here to access these important resources from the ACLU website, and share widely!

Knowing your rights is crucial, now more than ever.  

What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?

This is a gift to you for today: WATCH THIS VIDEO AND BE TRULY INSPIRED. 

In face of the darkness, Valerie Kaur shares the deep hope of her Sikh tradition as she speaks on December 31, 2016 at the National Moral Revival Campaign. 

What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb? 
What if our America is a country that is waiting to be born?

Valerie Kaur is filmmaker, civil rights lawyer, Sikh activist and interfaith leader.  She is founder of the Groundswell Movement.

MVPJ Statement of Solidarity

During a time when our immigrant neighbors are rightfully afraid to leave their homes, take their children to school, seek shelter from the cold, register for college, or seek medical attention, as people of faith we cannot sit by and simply pray. During a time when Jews and Muslims nationally and locally are targets of bomb threats, hate crimes, and desecration of sacred spaces, as people of faith we cannot sit by and simply pray. During a time when tens of millions of Americans rightfully live in fear that they will lose their access to health coverage, as people of faith we cannot sit by and simply pray. During a time when millions of people have fled their homes due to horrendous violence in places like Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Libya, and thousands of people drown trying to find refuge, as people of faith we cannot sit by and simply pray. During a time when these and many other forms of hate, violence, and injustice fill our inboxes, newspapers, social media feeds, and dinner table conversations, as people of faith we cannot sit by and simply pray.

As people of faith we are called to:
Speak Out
Act Up
Console
Defend
Accompany
Vote
Organize
and yes... pray -- both silently and loudly, in the privacy of our homes, in our houses of worship, and out in the streets. 

And very importantly, as people of faith, we must do all of this and more in the name of our faiths, shining a bright light of hope that together, people of all faiths and no particular faith at all, can and will stand up for peace and social justice, and as we unite in that cause, we will grow stronger in love, a love that will be victorious.

Prayers and Readings for Refugees, Immigrants and American Muslims

All faith traditions teach about welcoming the stranger, supporting the vulnerable, and helping those in need. In response to the cruelty of the recent presidential executive orders, as people from diverse spiritual communities, we lift up our hearts in prayer and join our minds and lives in solidarity.

MVPJ has just begun collecting prayers, statements and other faith-based readings from diverse traditions for refugees, immigrants, Muslim-Americans, and others who are hurt by these orders. If you have resources you would like to share, please let us know.

We encourage congregational leaders to speak out for friendship and peace with our Muslim sisters and brothers and against Islamophia and hate of any sort. Find ways to educate your congregation about Islam and build relationships and understanding across religious differences. Invite a speaker from American Muslim Voice, CAIR or ING. Organize a time of fellowship and community building between communities. Consider using your church sign as a way to make a public statement of solidarity and friendship with the Muslim community.

Make your voice heard!

Call your Senators and Congressperson in Washington to make your voice heard! This does make a difference! Consider spending 3-5 minutes each day making these brief calls. While emails and letters are good, phone calls have the most impact! Identify yourself as a person of faith, and briefly explain how your faith leads you to your stand.

See below for contact information for Senators and Representatives.