Prophetic Hospitality
November 4th, 2007 The Reverend Anne Felton Hines
“…Our lives of privilege are supported by people whose labor is invisible and whose suffering is hidden,” Rev. Sinkford reminds us. One of those people stared at me from the video sent to me last week by Rev. June Goudy, minister of the United Church of Christ congregation in Simi Valley.
The young woman in the video was Liliana, who, along with her five-month-old son, Pablito, is being sheltered in a small parsonage adjacent to the UCC church. But Liliana’s suffering is no longer “hidden,” as she asks through tears what kind of laws would separate a mother from her children. “If people could see the suffering of a mother without her children,” she says in Spanish, “they would change their minds.” Perhaps.
Liliana’s family immigrated legally from Mexico to the United States back in 1998. But because Liliana was in high school at that time, it was decided that she would remain behind until she could graduate. Once graduated, she applied for the same kind of visa that her family had obtained, only to be told that it would now take her several years. And so she obtained a false birth certificate and entered this country illegally.
Now, after marrying a U.S. citizen, giving birth to three children, owning a home with her husband, working, and paying taxes, that one transgression prevents her from ever gaining legal status. A few months ago the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency caught up with Liliana, and she fled with her infant son – first to St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Sierra Madre, then to a Lutheran church in Long Beach, and finally on August 28th, to the UCC church in Simi Valley, where she remains today.
Liliana, her family, and that tiny church have become part of what is being called the “New Sanctuary Movement.” Grounded on the model of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s, in which congregations such as Emerson opened their doors to Central American immigrants fleeing government death squads. This new movement offers shelter to undocumented immigrants who face separation from their families through deportation. It invites congregations of all faiths to provide “prophetic hospitality” to those living in America illegally – who clean our homes and businesses, tend our gardens, pick our crops, care for our children and our elderly. When I first heard of this new “sanctuary movement” several months ago, I was a bit skeptical. I could fully support giving “safe harbor” to immigrants fleeing persecution in their homelands; but harboring someone who has come to America simply for economic reasons, and has broken our laws to do so? That seemed so very different from the Sanctuary Movement of the ‘80s.
But I couldn’t ignore my colleagues in other UU churches, such as 1st Church L.A. and 1st Church San Diego, who were taking bold stands in support of this new incarnation of Sanctuary. Nor could I ignore the eloquent e-mails of Chuck Moore as he implored the leadership of this church – including the minister! – to consider what our response should be to this situation of some of the 12 million undocumented immigrants struggling for a better life – no different, perhaps, than any of us might do had we been born in such a poor country.
And finally, I couldn’t ignore the admonitions of our Unitarian Universalist core values which call us to always “stand on the side of love” and compassion.
I believe that those of us who were delegates at our General Assembly in 1995 were “standing on the side of love” when we passed a “Resolution of Immediate Witness,” urging Unitarian Universalists “to serve those directly harmed” by federal legislation that infringes on immigrants’ rights and/or limits their access to health, education or welfare services.
And delegates to our 2006 General Assembly were “standing on the side of love” when we passed an “Action of Immediate Witness,” calling on Unitarian Universalists to “continue providing services and fellowship to undocumented individuals,” even if legislation were to be passed that “criminalizes these humanitarian acts.”
And finally, the Unitarian Universalist Association was “standing on the side of love” last May when it became the first national religious denomination to endorse the New Sanctuary Movement. President Bill Sinkford’s statement that I read a few moments ago was heard at various interfaith gatherings around the country that day, where the launching of this new movement was announced.
Still, I had not felt any particular pressure to bring this issue before you. I knew I would address it at some point, but I didn’t see any need to rush.
And then I learned about the young undocumented mother and her American child who had been living in a church in Chicago. You probably recall that woman decided to come to L.A. where she could bring more public attention to the issue. A Catholic church took her and her son in, and it was from there that she and others spoke of the need for a just and rational immigration policy – one that would take into account the many families who are torn apart when one or more parents are deported, leaving their American born children behind.
This woman was finally deported, and the pictures of her son crying as he was taken from her were heartbreaking.
But what really inspired me was the 80-member UCC church in Simi Valley, who had voted back in July, after a thorough discernment process, to become a Sanctuary church. “The congregation shared their stories,” said their minister, “and we came to understand, ‘I am the other. I am the person you’re talking about.’”
When word got out beyond Simi Valley that this Church was allowing an undocumented person to live on their site, the anti-immigrant forces turned out in large numbers on a Sunday morning to loudly protest and that has not stopped. According to Rev. Goudy, “Six days a week, the people of Simi Valley honor (the church’s) peaceful and prayerful witness. But on the seventh day, representatives of ‘Save Our State’ and ‘No More Invasion’ practice acts of intimidation outside church during worship.” Sometimes resorting to hate speech, they “choose intimidation over conversation,” she said, “and belligerence over peace.”
And then, in one of the most bizarre actions I’ve ever witnessed from a government body, the city of Simi Valley sent an invoice to the church for almost $40,000 – costs, it said, of having the police out there to watch over the protesters! Rather than billing the groups causing the ruckus (which would still have been wrong, since police protection is what our taxes pay for), the city contended that by letting the public know that they were giving shelter to an undocumented immigrant, the church was provoking anti-immigrant forces, and therefore were responsible for the results!
Because of course, the church must go public about its actions or they could be accused of illegally harboring a criminal. Providing Sanctuary is protected as long as its not hidden, and they do nothing to prevent an arrest of Liliana.
In the days that followed, an agreement was reached by the city and the church that the real problem was “the lack of a firm, consistent federal immigration policy and the need for reform at a national level.” The city put the invoice “on hold,” but they didn’t rescind it. When I spoke to Rev. Goudy the other day about it, she said she’s confident that the city won’t bill the church again. However, the fact that they also won’t officially rescind the bill hangs over the church as an intimidating warning.
The New Sanctuary Movement isn’t offering safe harbor to people who face certain violence if deported as did the earlier Sanctuary Movement. But neither is it offering shelter to all undocumented immigrants, regardless of their circumstances.
This is a movement about keeping families together. It is a movement about standing with those who face unjust deportation. It is a movement, to quote Rev. Goudy again, about “affirming the basic rights of all people, and seeking to support those whose rights are threatened.” In their resolution last May to support the New Sanctuary Movement, the UU Church of Long Beach defined those “basic human rights” to include “livelihood, family unity, and physical and emotional safety.”
And finally, this movement is about offering an alternative to the fear and hatred that has been growing towards immigrants, especially those with dark skin.
Congress can still not agree on legislation that could both “protect our borders” and create a humane climate for those immigrants already here, who are raising families and contributing to our communities and our lives. Shouldn’t people of faith and conscience step forward and offer compassion and safety in the meantime? Shouldn’t the religious community, as Rev. Goudy has insisted, “stand firm in our witness that love is stronger than hate, and compassion more powerful than judgment?”
The undocumented immigrants that we hear about are usually from Mexico or Central America. But they could just as easily be from Asia, or Europe, or – especially these days – the Middle East, say…Iran. They could easily be someone who has joined a Unitarian Universalist congregation.
What would we do if a member of Emerson faced deportation? What would we do to keep them safe until they could appeal the decision? What would we be willing to risk? And what would we ask of our sisters and brothers in other faith communities?
I do not know if this congregation will decide at some point to join this New Sanctuary Movement; that will be up to all of you. But I do think it’s important that we begin the conversation – the process of faithful discernment. And I think it’s important that those of us who do want to be involved as individuals, be given that opportunity.
Being a Sanctuary church doesn’t necessarily mean that the building is used for shelter. It can mean that members of a congregation contribute time and/or resources to another congregation that is providing shelter. That’s the way in which our UU congregation in Thousand Oaks is participating in the movement.
So I asked Rev. Goudy what’s needed at her church. She said that her 80 members have been providing food, blankets, and other resources to Liliana and her son. And they have also made sure that there is someone with her 24 hours a day – not because they fear for her safety, but simply to be a faithful presence. And of course, they need financial support, primarily for legal costs, that are mounting.
If you would like to help in any way, either through volunteering to spend a few hours with Liliana and her son, or by taking meals, or perhaps shopping for supplies, or contributing financially, please let me know, and I will get you in touch with Rev. Goudy.
In the meantime, let us begin the conversation as to how we, as a “beloved community,” will respond to this movement. It may not be an easy conversation, but we are up to the challenge. We have a history at this church of meeting the challenges and becoming stronger and wiser for them.
Because ultimately, this church stands on the side of freedom; we stand on the side of justice; we “stand on the side of love.”
May this always be so.
© 2007 Anne Felton Hines. All rights reserved.
