Faith Without Borders

In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. The first trip began on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continues until Jan. 27. The delegation is led by UUA President, the Rev. Peter Morales, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks. Below, Rev. Morales shares his reflections on meeting with undocumented students along the Arizona border and the challenges they face.

I find it painful to listen to their stories. We all do. We heard the stories of six Tucson area Latino and Latina students who were either seniors in high school or recent graduates. They were all near the top of their class, taking advanced placement and honors courses. They dream of college majors in everything from engineering to psychology. They speak fluent English and Spanish—and are wonderfully articulate in both.

I sit and listen with other UUs who are part of a study group visiting Tucson and the Arizona border. The BorderLinks nonprofit is making the arrangements. These students are receiving support from and working for an organization called ScholarshipsA-Z.

Their stories are painful to hear because none of these young people can go to college. Each one of them is undocumented. They came to the United States some years ago with their families. They entered school, studied hard, and did well. They are the kinds of young people colleges are dying to get, the kind that get scholarships to excellent colleges and universities. Now they are trapped. They can’t even get a job, for they have no social security number.

They watch as classmates who have poorer grades and lower test scores head off to colleges. These students have to fend off questions about where they are going to go to school next fall, because most of their teachers and classmates do not know they are undocumented.  At worst, they face deportation.

On a personal level, I am struck by how close I came to being one of them. I was a Latino high school kid with good grades and good test scores. I dreamed of higher education, but could not afford it. But I was born on this side of the border. So I was given a full tuition scholarship, then another, then another. I received an education at a private university my family could never have paid for. It shaped my entire life. Doors opened—a graduate fellowship, a Fulbright lecturership. I have been blessed with the gift of doing wonderfully fulfilling work. None of this would have happened if I did not have that birth certificate.

What madness! What human waste! I find myself wanting to scream. I find myself feeling as powerless as they are feeling. But I know that I am not powerless, that we are not powerless.

How very beautiful these young people are. How stubborn and yet fragile their hope is. What madness.

Cross-posted from President Morales’s blog, Beyond Belief.

UUSC is partnering with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) on a joint volunteer trip to Haiti, January 21–28. In the post below, trip participant Casey Aspin shares thoughts on the first two days of the journey to help rebuild the community and lives of earthquake survivors in Haiti.

The UUA-UUSC Haiti Volunteer Program is made possible through the contributions of UUA and UUSC donors and a generous grant from the Veatch Program of the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, in Manhasset, N.Y.

Day One

The hotel where we stayed the first night has a grotto of sorts with a cannon in the middle, surrounded by cannon balls, rusted shackles, and chains. Two pairs of shackles on one chain. A few pretty plants. In about 24 square feet in front of the clean blue swimming pool. I’d like to say Haiti is full of such strange juxtapositions of its brutal past with its sparkling present — not so.

We drove through Port-au-Prince today on a disaster tour of sorts. We saw the tent city that spans the Haitian equivalent of the national mall in Washington; the cock-eyed, collapsed National Palace; the shell of the Catholic cathedral; more tent cities; throngs of people everywhere. It’s hard to understand how people survive in such dire and depressing circumstances. Hard to see a small child picking through garbage and piles of rock rubble everywhere. People packed into tap taps (colorful Haitian buses) like cord wood. There’s also a frenetic energy — people are resourceful and appear to carry the Haitian equivalent of a minimart on their heads. It’s as if Port-au-Prince could be a bustling, exciting city if the government could only manage to provide things like housing, water, proper roads, garbage pickup.

Day Two

The day began in the mesmerizing presence of Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, founder of the Papaye Peasant Movement (MPP). An agronomist, a populist, a leader, a visionary, a problem solver on a large scale. After nearly 40 years, MPP touches more than 100,000 lives. With the team he has built, there isn’t anything this group can’t do.

We saw cisterns that hold fish — water from the tanks better fertilizes the fields. A low-tech solar-cell recycling room (facility would be too strong a word) that provides power for schoolchildren to do their homework (an improvement over the smelly predecessor, gas lamps). Solar cell power the pumps that provide well water, and they also charge radios and, of course, the omnipresent phones. Goats that formerly died of a parasite from eating their own feces are now in elevated cages. Their poop is collected along with that of rabbits and chickens — the better to make rich compost to nourish the soil. And then there are the worm-compost gardens, and the wastewater from showers that is filtered and used on gardens, and the fruit-processing facility (it was three rooms, not one), and the pharmacy. The list is endless.

One man’s love of peasants manifested in hundreds of ways that help people live sustainably and with dignity. These people work incredibly hard — Chavannes hasn’t made life easy for anyone. But he has helped them obtain land, tools, knowledge, and a sustainable lifestyle. Another agronomist gave us a tour of the two lakes MPP has had a hand in creating (and stocking with fish for peasants to catch). He made it clear that the MPP leaders see the peasants as the heroes. The leaders are eager for us to meet the people with the calloused hands and weather-beaten faces. One of the things Haiti (at least MPP) has over America is celebrating and revering the people who do the work. In the United States, they are at best hidden, at worst vilified (particularly if they have brown skin).

I am grateful to Priscilla and Nuala for making this trip happen and to the UUSC organizers for exposing us to so much in so little time. Thank you, thank you. And tomorrow, we work!

In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. Rev. Eric Cherry, Director of the UUA’s International Office, is taking part and offers his thoughts on this joint Service Learning trip.

The first trip will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continue until Jan. 27. The delegation is led by the Rev. Peter Morales, UUA President, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks.

During the trip, the group will learn about and work with several organizations, including the following:

• Scholarships A-Z: A network of students and advisors working to make education accessible for all students. They help connect students to available resources and train them to be their own advocates.
• Samaritan Patrol (a.k.a. Samaritans): People of faith and conscience who patrol the desert at the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis during the hot months. At least one member of each patrol is a fluent Spanish speaker, and one is, ideally, a medical professional. Patrols carry water, food, emergency medical supplies, communication equipment, maps, and packs for travelers containing items necessary to survive in the desert.
• The Restoration Project: An intentional ecumenical community that blends faith and action through social justice work. They sponsor the Greyhound Bus Project, giving hospitality to recently released immigration detainees and providing them with information and resources.
• Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (HEPAC): HEPAC is a sister organization to BorderLinks and a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Programs offered at HEPAC include adult education and training classes, and the Child Food Security Program, which provides lunch to children and education for their families on nutrition and gardening. HEPAC also is home to a women’s cooperative that produces jewelry that raises awareness about deaths in the desert.

Please follow stories from the journey over the next week.

Please enjoy this exciting news from the Transylvania Unitarian Church:

On January 13, 2012 the Consistory of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church honors the 444th anniversary of the proclamation of the first law on freedom of belief and conscience, and religious tolerance. In January 1568, King Janos Zsigmond and his court preacher, David Ferenc had the Diet of Transylvania pass, at its session held in Torda, the Patent of Toleration, which stated:

In every place the preachers shall preach and explain the gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like it, well; if not, no one shall compel them but they shall keep the preachers whose doctrine they approve. Therefore none of the Superintendents or others shall annoy or abuse the preachers on account of their religion, according to the previous constitutions, or allow any to be imprisoned or be punished by removal from his post on account of his teaching, for faith is the gift of God, this comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The celebrations start in the morning in the Unitarian church of Torda with a worship service that includes a history lecture on the importance of the Act on Religious Freedom. Then, the congregation will walk over to the National Museum of Torda which was reopened in fall 2011 after many long years of restoration. The purpose of visit is to salute the new exhibition of the famous painting on the 1568 event, which was also restored over the past decade. The painting entitled The Proclamation of the Act on Religious Freedom at the 1568 Session of the Transylvanian Diet was painted by Aladár Körösfői Kriesch in 1896.

The celebrations will continue with an evening worship service in the Unitarian church of Kolozsvár, and a concert featuring the children’s choir of the Unitarian High School. The day will be closed with a reception at the residence of the Unitarian bishops, built in the 15th century, currently expecting the launching of a major restoration work.

The Consistory of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church thankfully acknowledges the contribution of the Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist international community to urging the completion of the restoration works at the museum in Torda. Among other things, it was due to the international campaign lead in 2009 and 2010 by the International Council of the Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU), the Unitarian Universalist Partner Church Council (UUPCC) and the International Relations Office of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) that the renovation works were speed up, and eventually finished. This way, the painting, a symbol of the struggle of our liberal faith for the recognition of the religious freedom, became accessible again for the public.

MORE WARNING SIGNALS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

While governments hesitate over how to deal with the reality of global warming, the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues at an alarming pace. Resulting weather disruptions like more frequent droughts, floods, and violent storms are already severe, and threaten to become far worse. Recent scientific findings indicate that the time window for effective action may be even shorter than we thought.

Rising temperatures are causing methane, a greenhouse gas even more powerful than carbon dioxide, to leak from the Arctic seabed and from thawing permafrost in the tundra.  The New York Times has now reported  on new evidence that the leakage is proceeding faster than scientists earlier believed, and that the amounts of carbon stored in the thawing permafrost are far greater than previous estimates. (“As Permafrost Thaws, Scientists Study the Risks,” New York Times, December 17, 2011, page A1)  The Times quotes one climate scientist as saying the recent findings are “the fingerprint of a major disruption, and we aren’t going to be able to turn it off some day.” For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we need to initiate decisive action now.

Recommended action: Contact the White House, and leave a message that we need President Obama to take strong action on curbing greenhouse gas emissions and resisting polluters who seek to weaken environmental safeguards. Call 202-456-1111 and ask for the comment line, or send an email by going to the web page, www.whitehouse.gov, and click “Submit Questions and Comments.”

For more information, see the UU-UNO Climate Portal, www.climate.uu-uno.org, and enter “methane” in the Google search box.

Hillary Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a historic speech outlining LGBT rights as human rights at the UN.

Presidential Memorandum

The White House issued a Presidential Memo setting on LGBT rights, specifically confirming the US government’s obligation to LGBT asylum seekers and refugees.

The relevant language of the memo is:

Sec. 2.  Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers.  Those LGBT persons who seek refuge from violence and persecution face daunting challenges.  In order to improve protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers at all stages of displacement, the Departments of State and Homeland Security shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protection and assistance, particularly in countries of first asylum.  In addition, the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security shall ensure appropriate training is in place so that relevant Federal Government personnel and key partners can effectively address the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, including by providing to them adequate assistance and ensuring that the Federal Government has the ability to identify and expedite resettlement of highly vulnerable persons with urgent protection needs.

The US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration also issued a press release.

World’s Second Gay Prime Minister

Belgium has become the second country in the world to select an openly gay leader.

Elio Di Rupo will lead a government, ending 540 days of post- election brinksmanship between the parties of the Dutch-speaking north and French south.  He will lead a coalition of six parties.

Over the December 9^th weekend, the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) organized and facilitated our first Youth Conference (referred to affectionately as a Youth Con).  It was hosted by the First Unitarian Universalist Congregational Society in Brooklyn, New York.  On Friday, we kicked the weekend off with a UU-UNO trivia game and presentation to teach youth about the United Nations and the UU-UNO.  We asked “How long has the Envoy Program been in existence?” “In what year was the UN established?” “When was the UU-UNO founded?” “What is the theme for this year’s Spring Seminar?” With Youth Envoy pins as prizes for correct answers, the youth’s hands were shooting up like rockets.  The Friday night worship service was led by the Brooklyn congregation youth group, inviting us to be present in our Social Justice work.

We began Saturday with a growth exercise – a Privilege Walk.  In this exercise, the facilitator, me, asked a series of questions and for each question that applies, participants are asked to either take a step forward or take a step backwards. “If your primary national identity is American – take one step forward.” “If your ancestors were forced to come to the USA – not by choice – take one step back.” “If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school – take one step forward.” The exercise can be very powerful in identifying the structures that are in place before we began making our own choices in life.  These are factors that influence our everyday lives, yet many people are oblivious to these institutional and structural constructs that create the illusion of what is “normal”.  These are social, political, economic and environmental circumstances we are born into that both re-enforce and widen gaps in resources and access to opportunities.

Next on the schedule were the Youth lead workshops. Each workshop connected to the program initiatives of UU-UNO [link].  For example, the Spring Seminar workshop was led by youth envoy, Elise Thompson, and focused on this upcoming years’ topic: Beyond Borders: Braking Barriers of Race and Immigration.  The discussion was around anti-racism/anti-oppression, past and present immigration laws in the U.S. and the intersection of race and immigration.  Assisting with this workshop was a Metro District advisor and a UU-UNO intern, Hao Wang.  The four other workshops included: Weaving Women’s Empowerment, So You Wanna Be An Envoy, Think Globally Act Locally, and Cookies And Conversing.

During the afternoon, the youth had a facilitator training workshop lead by advisor, Beth Dana. Youth worked on education from a global lens - facilitating conflicts, group discussion techniques, outreach, program planning, and more. For the All Con activity (where All at the Con participate in one activity), each youth created their own Social Justice Suuper Hero (Justice League, Social Justice League….get it?) and used the t-shirt to create and design their own cape!

The youth had small groups called Touch Groups (to “touch”-base and check-in) as well as regionally affiliated small groups called Cluster groups.  In each cluster group youth and advisors were asked to create an event to follow-up their experience at the Con.  Each group developed ideas for activities and fundraisers to be accomplished in the near future – a coffeehouse, a bakesale, a Glow Party to raise funds and awareness for LGBT human rights. One group worked together to help a new Youth Envoy plan UN Sunday!  The Saturday night worship was beautiful and moving; it called participants to share and follow their dreams both for themselves and for the world.  To close the evening, we had a Coffee house where youth were able to reflect on the weekend’s events and shared their many talents.

Throughout the weekend youth and advisors shared personal experiences and explored social justice in worship services and discussions. By Sunday morning we were all exhausted from bonding and growing.  We had worked together to create a community that thrived on justice and we were ready to go forth to share the knowledge we had gained and to be the change we want to see.  As the current Youth Envoy Coordinator [link], I am so glad to have had the opportunity to assist in accomplishing one of our Youth Envoy Project goals.  However, we have only just begun!  We hope to have UU-UNO facilitated Youth Con’s in many more districts and regions.