Christmas Eve Homily ~

“ And is it true? And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all.

Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,

A Baby in an ox’s stall?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me?”

These words from Douglas Brooks Davies.

Sometimes we’re asked questions that make us think.  Is it true?  Is it true?  But some questions require no thought at all.  The answer comes bubbling up from deep inside and just spills out!  Such was the case last week when someone told me that a friend of hers asked ‘What is it that Unitarian Universalists celebrate on Christmas anyway?’ If they don’t believe in the ‘Christ’ story, what is it they celebrate?

I gushed --- oh, so much!  So much!

I told her that first of all that it was our celebration as Unitarians and as Universalists because we come from Christianity.  And that while most UU congregations moved to embrace humanism and transcendentalism some still identify as Christian. So, we have always celebrated Christmas.  As a cradle Unitarian it has always been part of my worshipping life.  But that’s not the point, I said, because it’s so much more than simply repeating a tradition or even affirming a story. You see, we don’t take a story and change it to make it okay with what we believe as our beliefs change and we do not pretend.  We, of many beliefs, take a story, step into it and find meaning- if meaning is to be found.  We enter stories, ours and those from all the world traditions and when we step out we hope to be changed in some way that improves us, and improves the world.  For if we are not willing to be changed, to seek improvement, the question is far larger than why Christmas, it’s why religion at all. 

Wondering now, in retrospect, if this poor young woman regretted asking what seemed a small question, I gushed on --- and with some enthusiasm! 

I told this young woman that here in our liberal religious home we say there are many truths and we need not claim one as certain or validate any.  Instead we ask ‘is there something in this story that can help us learn to be better than who we are today, in our relationships and as agents of peace and justice in the world?’  

And I smiled from head to toe and told her, this story, oh this story holds it all.  There is a truth this story embodies that deserves our full attention.   A child was born. An ordinary child and the whole world took notice.  The heavens, the animals, people working in the field and wise people who traveled from afar.  A child was born and the world took notice and said this is a special day. 

And now, on a roll, I said ‘And let’s not forget the larger context of the trek to be registered and pay taxes and the simple words ‘No room at the inn’ – even for a weary couple bearing child.  As I said this story has it all. ....

But I returned to the child, not because before me sat a young mother but because it is what grabs my soul each year.   A child was born and the world took notice.  A child was born and the world hoped.  A child was born, cradled in a manger, cradled in his mother’s arms.  With that birth, all the mystery and the power of the universe was made real once more.  There in that tiny baby, all the potential that a human life possesses, the spirit of life, the promise of possibilities, the innocence of love and human connection  --- in his eyes and little hands and little mouth. 

A child was born, and with him love, dreams and hope – for all of us.

Why do we celebrate Christmas?  Because this one time a year, this one time a year, we come here and we take notice too.  . 

We come here to speak and hear the words of Unitarian Sophia Lyon Fahs .... “Each night a child is born is a holy night.”  

We picture the babe, we remember the innocence and potential of new life, we are reconnected to what is truly important ~ seeing the divine in each person.  Rembering the babe within.  Within you and you and you and you and me.  The babe within every human being.

It isn’t always easy, is it?

But when we are at our best, here in this space, we make room in our hearts for change.  In the presence of this blessed story, we have a choice to commit ourselves anew to each child, including those yet to arrive.  We may commit ourselves to making sure each parent may hold their child in safety and that each child may live in safety.  May live out their dream of being exactly who they are meant to be and be loved.

And when we are at our very best, we commit ourselves anew to each adult, including those yet to arrive in our lives ---- but perhaps even more difficult ---- some of those already here.  We commit ourselves to making room in our hearts for each person, no matter how brief the interaction, no matter how polarized the views.  We make room for our least favorite relative and try to imagine what it is like to enter a family so different than your own.  We make room for the curmudgeon down the street who is all Bah Humbug and think how lonely he must be.  We make room for the Grinch in our lives and recall how that green creature’s heart grew and grew, courtesy of Little Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two.  We make room for the aunt who always gifts us something that is soooo not us and we stretch and imagine her pleasure in wrapping the present thinking it will delight us....... and we make room for those who gift from a less holy place in their heart and we make room for those who covet at Yankee Gift Swaps and we make room for those who gift not,  remembering that the best gifts we give and the best gifts we receive are those of presence rather than presents.   We make room for those who speak not from a place of love but from a place of hatred.  Stopping their words and interrupting harm but not shutting our hearts.  It isn’t always easy.  Is it?

And in the weeks to come we keep making room. We make room for the harried service people when we go to return an item and imagine what it is like to bear the brunt of people’s dissatisfaction.  We make room for those who are their least best selves during the holiday season.  Those who choose to withdraw for their own peace of mind or those who choose to punish others by not participating.   It isn’t always easy.  Is it?

And when the holidays are far behind, we keep making room. 

Room for those who oppose our ideas, room for those who bully, room for the mean girls and the unfair bosses.  Room for the dishonest employees and the unfaithful friends.  Room in our hearts, not for their behaviors, but for them.  Not ever for their behaviors, but to imagine the wounds that led them from that place of innocence and hope – that cradle – to a place of harm.  We make room in our hearts even when our hearts are not a place someone seeks to be. 

It will not always be easy.  And we will be tested for sure.  Again and again and again.  As was the babe in our Christmas Story. 

And so friends, let us bring the Christmas story into hearts so fully that we welcome everyone not because they could be the messiah but because at one time, they were the babe ~ and so were we.

Do we have something to celebrate on Christmas here in this house of worship.  We sure do.  We sure do.

Solstice Gratitude ~

Solstice ~

Thank you dearest earthly home, for:

  *soulful rhythms that claim us reminding us
          each & every one of our bodies belong

  *the embrace of your dark, lush night and 
         kisses from the stars

  *the promise fulfilled of returning light of 
         the day

  *the power of what has always been

  *the endless possibilities you hold

For home.

Thank you dearest earthly home ~

Touch the earth today ~ with toes, fingers and face ~ feel it and belong ~

A True Story With Gini, Wendy, Chicken & RIch the Chicken Guy ~

(Shared as a time for all ages on Sunday, Sermon follows below the story ~)

     This is a true story about how I made a new friend last weekend --- and how it changed my life.  I was visiting my friend, Gini at her house which is really a farm.  She doesn’t raise animals but has lots of land.  On two sides of of her house stretch large corn fields.  In the back of her house an orchard, a large stretch of grapes, more cornfields and then the forest.  One day two months ago a chicken came to live there.  She never knew where the chicken came from but she just arrived.  Actually she jumped out of a tree and startled Gini as she was filling a bird feeder. So for the last two months anytime Gini was home she would see the chicken.  Chicken liked to hang out under the bird feeder and eat any of the seed they spilled.  Chicken would go out into the corn fields and find left over corn and drag it over to the porch for a snack.   
      Now I have to tell you that I have never thought of chickens as particularly interesting or friendly animals.  And I have had a lot of animals as pets.  I’ve had a llama, two goats, four dogs, seven cats, a hamster and a tank of fish.  We even named the bat that lived behind the shutter (Bruce!) and the chipmunk that got inside and managed to elude the cats.  But I have never owned a chicken.

      Somehow though, this chicken caught my attention. So, when I visited for Thanksgiving I quickly went out looking for Chicken.  Chicken did not disappoint me.  I marveled at how fast chickens can scoot away when you’re trying to take a picture.  I was frustrated at how Chicken seemed to bob his or her chicken head just as I was trying to take a picture.  I was thrilled when I was sitting on the porch cleaning off some wood and Chicken came right up to check me out!  Thrilled and a little nervous – I thought will chicken peck at me???  But chicken behaved!

      That night, however, it got very cold and we wondered, just where does chicken go and how will chicken survive when nobody is here for long stretches of time?  After talking with some other people we realized Chicken needed to live where there were other chickens, in a place where there was proper food and water and a warm place to roost.  Even though we were truly enjoying Chicken’s presence, it would be in Chicken’s best interest to live somewhere else.  But now the challenge.  How does one catch a chicken??

       What we were told was simply find where Chicken was roosting and then late at night you can just pick up the Chicken and bring it to its new home.  Sounds simple – right? And so, late that night we went out with flashlights searching for Chicken.   I climbed under large evergreens and shined my flashlight up one and then another thinking perhaps they roost near the trunk.  Gini was smarter.  She walked around listening until she heard it making it’s Chicken night time noise.  It was a sort of cooing chicken sound.  She followed it and then found Chicken rather high up on the bough of an evergreen.  She turned to me and said, ‘Well, tall girl, it’s clear who will have to pick up Chicken!  Remember, Rich the Chicken guy said it’s easy!   

       So there’s Chicken, looking even larger than I remembered up about this high in a tree, eyes wide open and chicken feet and chicken ankles that look like they could hurt if things didn’t go well.  And of course, chickens have beaks.  So I said, ‘okay – but I am going to need some protection.  So I had a sweatshirt and winter coat, I wrapped my scarf around my neck several times.  I already had on a cap and gloves --- but just in case I added safety goggles!  I was quite a sight.  But then I thought the glasses would frighten the chicken and they felt pretty silly so I took them off.  So Gini shined the light and I climbed in as close as I could get and reached in, not really sure how to pick up a chicken and Chicken took one look at me and started to move away.  So I grabbed one of it’s chicken feet and it’s wings began to open and I quickly grabbed the other and wondered how sturdy are chicken legs, thinking now, not wishing to hurt it at all.  And I may have even closed my eyes as I swooped my arm around it as I pulled it toward me, shouting ‘get the towel.’  I then wrapped the towel around the Chicken which was truly much larger than I had thought. And hoped all would be well.  Chicken squirmed just a tad as I moved over into the light by the barn and then turned and seemed to look right at me. It’s beak very close!  After we snapped one last photo of our friend, Chicken, we climbed into the truck and drove Chicken to its new home.  When we left , Chicken seemed quite happy! 

        So --- this is a story that has two morals ...... the first is that sometimes the right answer is one that doesn’t make you very happy but is better for the other person, or chicken.  And the other is that sometimes you find friendship and happiness is the most unlikely person, place or chicken!

Sermon

I share that story about the chicken because it was one of the more uncomfortable moments of my life – face to face with chicken beak and and yet, life altering and rewarding.  Ha”  I cannot speak for Chicken, but for me, there is something so powerful in moving beyond our comfort zone.  In this example it was an organic process, it just unfolded.  The situation was such that it had to happen.  We couldn’t let the chicken freeze to death and there wasn’t some special Chicken Rescue person to call.  There didn’t seem a lot of choice and so once begun, that intimate interaction was inevitable.  True, Chicken may have ended up as a meal.  Hard to know, but we know Chicken did or will not freeze, starve or die of thirst. 

There are other times in our lives, however, when we have time and options that allow us to choose.  We choose to engage.  We choose to avoid.  We choose to disengage midstream.  That is our prerogative.  Our right.  In our lives we are faced with so many relationships and associations.  Often with people or organizations that hold views with which we disagree and therefore engaging includes the chance of being pulled out of our comfort zone.  Sometimes it happens right at the holiday dinner table around politics. Or at the YMCA about parenting.  Or in our workplace about religion or healthcare.  Or here about beliefs.  It is inevitable that we will encounter people with whom we do not agree on any number of issues.

Next week we’re hosting a panel discussion about the Israeli/Palestine relationship and I am certain many in town, and perhaps many right here do not agree.  I know we don’t all agree about the Occupy Movement.  We probably house differing views on the protection of animals and what it means to engage in ethical eating.  Anywhere people gather views will differ.  What matters is not who is right or wrong, but how we choose to engage in the conversation.  And at times, it might be how we choose to disengage or avoid.

Back in the 70s I recall visiting an elder relative.  A beloved elder of mine. She was in her 90s.  This was the last time I would see her before her death.  In conversation, I mentioned a cousin who was just a bit older than me.  She called her a  ‘whore.’  I was stunned.  At that time, my cousin was living with her boyfriend.  Something that wasn’t at all uncommon for my generation.  For this elder it was unthinkable.  In that moment, I chose not to engage.  There seemed no win in arguing.

I was 20 then and I’m not sure I would make the same decision today.  But I know I wouldn’t end the relationship over it.  And if I were to end a relationship anytime two of us has polarized views, my goodness, I would lead a boring life!  And how sad I would be if those friends and family members of mine, wrote me off, because they didn’t agree with my views and beliefs.

I’m sharing this topic today because a couple of weeks ago I was approached by someone in our congregation concerned that we had chosen to engage with the Salvation Army in our Un-decorate the Christmas Tree project.  The way the project works is that families are identified with specific needs and wishes and those are noted on cards and placed on the tree.  People are invited to take the cards off and purchase the item.  The person with concerns correctly noted the Salvation Army has an abysmal record in regard to the rights of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.  The question put to me was whether or not we would withdraw from working with them on this project.  The comment was that some people might be very upset.

My response was that ‘No, we had made a commitment,’ and ‘this offers yet another opportunity for conversation.’  I added that maybe that conversation would lead to a communication written to the Salvation Army sharing our disappointment about their stance.  And wouldn’t that communication be more powerful once in relationship with the Salvation Army and not done at the expense of those we were seeking to serve.  I also added that this is but one example of where values we hold dear as Unitarian Universalists collide with where it is we choose to do business.  And that we all don’t agree in that regard either.

How about:

·      Wal-Mart is boycotted for exploitive labor practices in Bangledesh, poor treatment to US labor, and using pricing strategies to force out local businesses. Some say, buy stock and try to change policy.  Others say, boycott.  Add to this what our ‘position’ should be regarding communities where Wal-Mart is the only choice given the economics and accessibility to those with limited mobility and income?

·      The Boy Scouts.  On that same day, one of our youth noted with pride that a friend had achieved Eagle Scout.   And yet, here another organization with a poor record.  The short version – denial of admission to the three Gs – gays, girls and the godless.  And yet, what of our young people who have experienced a welcoming local presence, despite the national ruling and today testify how the organization shaped them in such positive ways.

·      Whole Foods – Some have called for a boycott of Wholefoods for CEO, John Mackey’s opposition to national health care. 

·      Make-up and drug companies because of their animal testing.

The list could go on and perhaps should go on ............... but the list isn’t what we’re called to engage with here today.  This isn’t about the Salvation Army or Walmart or which makeup companies use animals for testing.  There will always be a list, a boycott, a letter writing campaign.  And that is at it should be.  We should be involved.  But here, in this place which calls us to be our very best selves.  This place that calls us to honor diversity, we are called us to pay attention to how we engage with one another when we do not agree and especially in those instances where agendas collide.  Surely I am not the only one who lives in a family in which we all do not vote the same or joke the same or raise our children the same or even prioritize our values the same.  Anywhere people gather, differences will reside.  And for the most part aren’t we glad?  For the most part!

Growling at people with bags from Walmart isn’t okay.  Snarling at people seeking donations for the Salvation Army isn’t either.  I don’t think tossing blood, fake or not onto someone wearing a fur is kind and appropriate behavior.  We probably agree on those counts.

But we can go farther.  Here, in this house where we are called to stretch, let’s do just that and say ‘not only isn’t growling or snarling okay, but how about committing to these things too:’

1.   I will reserve any opinion until I have the full and current facts.  Because people change and so do organizations. 

2.   If I choose to boycott I will communicate my decision respectfully and share it with others.

3.   If I would have donated money through the organization I have chosen to boycott, I will donate it to another organization.

That’s the business list, now for the holiday table list.  That’s more difficult and perhaps more treacherous.  How about this for when we collide with views opposing our own

1.   I will listen to other’s views and find at least one question to ask in order to hear more about how they think.  When I ask that question I will listen to the answer and not try to refute their position.

2.   If it doesn’t matter to me, I’ll just say ‘Interesting’ but if it is important I’ll say ‘we disagree’ and state my position.

3.   If angers flare I’ll say ‘we disagree, but clearly this isn’t the time to discuss this, let’s table it.’

In both instances, the business list and the family list, we may well be traveling in territory beyond out comfort zone.  But it’s likely we are not alone there.  And the possibility to become something better than who we are lies in that zone.  That isn’t to say we will emerge with our minds changed but we will emerge with ourselves changed.  If even just a wee bit.  You see, it’s in the practice itself.  And so, we need this one other thing, in both cases:

4.   I will acknowledge that it’s not always easy, often messy and I won’t always be graceful or even good at it.  We need and deserve to fail and try again; to flounder and try again.  But it is worth it ~

I have shared this story once before some years ago but it’s worth retelling.  It’s the story of Harold, the wedding and the church stoop.  It was August of 2004 and I was meeting my friend Jory, a minister in Cambridge.  She said, meet me at church, I have to do a quick wedding.  Equal Marriage had just passed in May and it wasn’t clear whether it would be overturned or not and this couple wanted to be sure and get it done.  I arrived early and Jory and I sat down on the stoop of the Cambridge UU church.  A man who had been standing in line across the street crossed over and asked ‘May I join you ladies?’  ‘certainly, we replied’ and down he sat.  A big tall man, with a tan, khaki shorts, a teal polo shirt.  Because I am a social being, within about five minutes I knew a lot more about 80+ year-old Harold, his children and grandchildren.

 We had quickly become good buddies.  His wife was across the street waiting in line to get tickets.  He had opted out to sit on the stoop with what had now become his girl pals.  And then he asked the question.  “What are you two doing here.’  Jory answered ‘I’m here to do a wedding.  We’re waiting for the brides.’ “Briiiiiiiides, said Harold?’  ‘Yes, brides.’  You could see the agendas colliding in midair.  Harold soooo wanted a different answer.  We soooo wanted a different response.  After a moment, he found his voice and asked ‘How come it can’t be, you know, those ‘unions.’  Jory replied something like ‘well, when my daughter came home and asked ‘how come you and mommy aren’t married’ I didn’t have a good answer.’  Harold responded with  a startled ‘You have children?  How did that happen?’  The conversation continued a bit and then the brides arrived, pushing their son along in a stroller.  And God/goddess/essence of humanity bless Harold.  He stood up.  All 6’4” of him, stepped down to the sidewalk, said ‘I hear there will be a wedding today,  Congratulations.’  And shook both hands.

I carry that story with me always.  And not for the reason you might think.  Not because we changed Harold that day.  And I believe we did.  I believe that his children and grandchildren and others who knew him were impacted by that conversation.  Perhaps not.  But that’s not the power of the story for me.  I carry it because Harold was brave enough to stay on the stoop.  It would have been easy for him to boycott us, to walk back across the street. And he didn’t.  He engaged, and because of that I think each of us on the stoop were changed too.  And that, friends is the hope and promise of engagement.

     As we enter this time of so many gatherings, may each of us be willing and positive participants in that engagement. Let this holiday season be one in which rather than stretching our credit card limits we stretch our hands and hearts out to one another.  Even when agendas collide.  Perhaps especially when agendas collide.

Month of Resisting Consumerism

The first gift = human engagement. Don't stretch the budget, stretch hand & heart to people known & yet to be known ~

Week of Gratitude (days 6&7)

Week of Gratitude Continues (Day 6) ~ today we celebrate with gratitude one of the most precious gifts.  Ourselves.  Resist the urge to consider this a practice of naval gazing and instead be thankful for your hands, head and heart.  It is with these gifts you are able to alter our world for the good.  Reflect on what it is you bring to each important table.  What gifts to you offer your family?  Your vocation? Your friends? Your community?  Your not-so-friends?  Strangers?  Name each and express gratitude for what you are able to offer.  You need not share them but in this week of gratitude it’s important to name them to ourselves and be grateful.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~  

Week of Gratitude Completes (Day 7) ~ We culminate this week of Gratitude with an intentional practice of using the words ‘Thank you’ aloud, six times an hour, each waking hour of our day.  Every 10 minutes this single act of gratitude.  It may be ‘thank you, creation’ upon waking.  Thank you to a family member for passing you something at the table, ‘thank you’ while brushing your teeth that you live in a country with such fine dental care, ‘thank you’ to the person handing you coffee at a drive thru, ‘thank you’ to a person offering you some feedback in your workplace (positive or negative), thank you to creation that it rained (or didn’t).  Let this simple but intentional practice offers the possibility that for this day, we will be transformed for the better and through our actions and our interactions with others, the world will be better.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude

Look forward to a Week of Service, Dec 25-Dec 31.

Gratitude week continues (Day 5)~

Today the focus is on love. Look around with appreciation at the ever presence of love. Even when and where it is not apparent, love resides. It needs our breath to make it real. Grateful for its presence and the possibilities it offers, on this day let us reflect on how we expressed love in our day and how we received love in our day. Where was it present in our homes, in our communities, in our communications, in every practice. Where was it present when we encountered strangers? Friends? Family? Partners? Where was it present when we were alone? Finally, how might we commit differently to love tomorrow? Surely increasing the amount of love in our day will alter the world. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Day 4 ~ Family. Family. Family.  Whether it is the family of origin, family of choice or a special blend of both, today is a wonderful day to:    Breathe in gratitude, speak out love ~

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Week of Gratitude (Day3)  On this day, we celebrate the gifts birthed from the imaginative and artistic spirits of our human family.  Take time to be awash in the creations that have touched your soul.  From the timeless creations of great artists of old, to the drawing on your refrigerator from a child, bathe in the arts.  For me, the sculpture of Michelangelo, the nature art of Andy Goldsworthy, the poetry of Emily Dickinson, the prose of Edwidge Dandicat, the glass work of Chihuly, every child’s drawing, the music of Peter, Paul & Mary, Aaron Neville and Emma’s Revolution, the friendship bracelets bought in Mexico and the pattern on a favorite sweater ~ to name but a few.  Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Week of Gratitude Continues ~

Week of Gratitude (Day2) On this day, we celebrate teachers.  Take time to think of those who have shaped you in positive ways. Name their gifts and find a way to acknowledge them with gratitude. (family day is Thursday so gratitude today is focused beyond the family).  Extra credit = and on the other side of the equation, we have willing students.  Name and express gratitude for the opportunity to pass along some passions and/or hard won lessons ~  And so I thank, a treasured elder of many years past, Eleanor Claflin ('Ma Winchester') who taught the gift of presence, taking the time to listen and talk to children and youth on Winchester Common in the 60s and 70s, my high school art teacher, Tom Tracy who taught me to trust the artist within, friend and business colleague Dona Omanoff who taught outrageous authenticity always has a place even if it's best partially muted from time to time, Hope Johnson who teaches grace and presence in all word and deed, Pat Marston & Jory Agate who taught/teach radical hospitality, Gert McNally & Gini Wight who taught friendship at its finest, Liz Weber who teaches me about living, Helen Bishop who taught generosity of head and heart even when its about sharing one's own pain, Janice Marie Johnson who teaches words really do make a difference, Jack Mendelsohn and Vic Carpenter who teach commitment to linked generations and that one is never 'done,' Sean Fletcher who taught 'showing up' fully in body and spirit, Diane Fasulo who teaches acceptance and advocacy for all of our children and adults, especially when they have differing needs and abilities, Dean Fasulo who taught me to embrace people who are different because of the different way they moved through the world rather than despite it, Naomi King who teaches alignment with the spirit, the youth of my congregation who teach me about our world and their generation and how to be in authentic relationship across the generations over and over and over again, the entire UUCM congregation who teaches and learns ministry with me each day, each student I've ever had in the pool.  You taught/teach me trust, achievement comes in all sorts of measures and glee.

There are so many, many more who have had the fortitude to teach me on the journey on days when I arrived eager to learn and days when I was, well ................. less than eager!

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude ~

Week of Gratitude ~

Week of Gratitude (Day1) Dear creation, thank you for this day. This gray, moist, delicious day of possibilities. Waking up once more in this world is a gift for which I am grateful.  A gift that each of us will choose to put to some use.  In receiving the gift, I am aware of the many for whom the gift arrives with pain and oppression.  My own arrives mostly unburdened and certainly wrapped in the privilege of place, heritage and access.  My faith calls me to use it well and in service to the belief that one day, the rise of the sun is a blessing to all creation's children.

A Prayer/Mantra

Help me see who I am

Love who I find

Use all I am

And work with all others

Building a better tomorrow

No to Secure Communities, Yes to Human Rights ~

The following is a statement offered in opposition to the so-called Secure Communities program.  It was delivered at a press conference at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street in Boston as part of a panel speaking in support of immigrant rights and in also addressing recent acts of discrimination in Milford, Massachusetts. Links to resulting coverage appear at the bottom.

     I’m Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo, minister at the UU Church of Marblehead and engaged with the Standing on the Side of Love Campaign and UU Mass Action. The Standing on the Side of Love campaign is our Unitarian Universalist activism and outreach program that addresses issues of oppression all over the country and world. UUMass Action mobilizes Unitarian Universalists in justice making activities.
     I also lost niece to a drunk driver in the year 2000, on the day she was engaged. She was 24. My heart is still broken from the violence of that incident. To the family of Matthew Denice my heart travels with you. I know that your pain will not end. But I also know the violence we condone and create through Secure Communities is not the answer. This is not simply about Milford or even Massachusetts. There is a storm brewing in our country, fueled by fear and delivering hate. The storm takes incidents such as these, entwines them with the collective challenges of our economy and seeks to separate us. It scapegoats and criminalizes entire communities and identity groups. It calls it patriotism and promises safety. It is a lie.
     The truth about Secure Communities and hate-based legislation in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and other places is that they create violence. Violence against entire families who are ripped apart, at times one parent delivered across the border in one town, another miles away and a child dropped in yet another town. A child. The violence we create on both sides of the border is seen in horrific abuses of men, women and children, in our name and with our dollars. I’ve been to Arizona, met the people, heard the stories. But the violence does not stop there, it begins here with the profiling.
     Just two months ago, Mario, his wife and child in a stroller, were walking on Water Street. They was verbally assaulted by youth in a passing vehicle. A few blocks later, on School Street, another vehicle drove by and a water bottle was hurled at the family. Hurled at a child in a stroller.
     Miguel was stopped in Milford by police, who took his out of state driver’s license. When he went back to the station to get his license they said it was lost. Late, police admitted this was not legal and encouraged others to report such incidents, to them.
     In another incident, a Guatemalan man was working on a roofing site with Americans and other Hispanics, when a police officer stopped his cruiser, and started to insult them, saying “Go home to your countries!” The Americans went down to talk to the police officer and asked why he was doing that. He left. The Latinos were surprised and confused to be to be insulted by a policeman while working at a job that improves the community.
     Another latino shared “My neighbors were never very nice with us, But ever since the accident, they have been throwing garbage and boxes onto our patio, on top of our cars, and inside our deck. They encouraged their dogs to bark at us when we were passing by, and for a few days they left their angry dog with our first floor neighbor tied to our deck, intimidating us every time we had to go in or out of our house. Even their children yelled at my wife and friends to ‘Get out of here!’ ’Go inside!’
     These are the more polite stories. There are so many more. We are called to see this storm of hate-based legislation and programming for what it is. The so-called Secure Communities program is anything but secure. It harkens back to a time when Sundown Communities practiced racism openly and proudly. That isn’t who we claim to be. Even in the presence of sadness and grief, we are so much better. So much smarter. With courage and compassion, everyone, please say ‘no’ to Secure Communities.

1. Coverage in The Worcester Telegram: http://www.telegram.com/article/20111108/NEWS/111109485/1116

2. Coverage from the UUA Standing on the Side of Love Campaign: http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/blog/uu-ministers-participate-in-boston-press-conference-to-support-immigrants-in-massachusetts/

3. UU Mass Action site: http://uumassaction.org/node/322

4. State House News Service Article

From: State House News Service [mailto:news@statehousenews.com]
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 5:33 PM
To: NEWS@STATEHOUSENEWS.COM
Subject: ACTIVISTS URGE OFFICIALS TO DENOUNCE BACKLASH AGAINST IMMIGRANTS

 

ACTIVISTS URGE OFFICIALS TO DENOUNCE BACKLASH AGAINST IMMIGRANTS

By Kyle Cheney
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, NOV. 7, 2011…..Foreign-born residents of Milford have seen car windows smashed, been accosted while walking down the street and been the subject of xenophobic hostility that erupted following the death of a local man, allegedly at the hands of a drunk-driving illegal immigrant, Boston-area religious leaders said Monday.

“It’s un-American, it’s unpatriotic, it’s undemocratic and it needs to stop now,” said Rev. Hurmon Hamilton, president of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, at a press conference alongside other local pastors and advocates for immigrants at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street. “Brutalizing the defenseless, scandalizing the vulnerable and terrorizing the innocent simply because of the color of their skin or where you think that they have come from will not produce a national immigrant policy.”

At the press conference advocates for immigrants – from Amnesty International, the Massachusetts Immigrants and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and various religious congregations – argued that a frenzy sparked by press coverage and the tone struck by some public officials has created an atmosphere of terror in immigrant communities that worsens public safety. Battered women who are undocumented are afraid to seek help, and those in need of medical attention refuse to go to hospitals for fear of deportation.

“Our press is at fault and our public officials are at fault here for not speaking up and speaking up in defense of simple fairness,” said Joshua Rubenstein, northeast regional director of Amnesty International.

One pastor, Rev. Terry Burke of the Unitarian Universalist First Church in Jamaica Plain, said that the fear had grown pitched in some communities that religious groups have sought to organize group trips for immigrants to the grocery store to ensure protection.

The press conference came just minutes after the state Senate referred a bill to crack down on illegal immigration to the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, was inspired in part by the death of 23-year-old Matthew Denice, who was struck and killed in Milford by a vehicle allegedly driven by an intoxicated illegal immigrant. Backers suggested Denice’s death could prompt action on the proposal in the Legislature.

The bill would require individuals appearing in court for various civil and criminal violations to have their immigration status verified. Companies found to employ illegal immigrants would be debarred from bidding on state contracts and could face sanctions, attendees of public colleges and universities would be required to verify their immigration status before obtaining in-state tuition rates, and applicants for public housing, family assistance or college grants would also be checked for legal residency.

The bill also tightens motor vehicle registration requirements by requiring a Social Security card or tax ID number, and stiffens penalties for driving without a license. Under the new penalties, driving without a license would carry a $500 penalty on a first offense - increased from $100 - and carry the potential for jail time on any subsequent offense. Drivers repeatedly caught without a license could face forfeiture of their vehicle after the third offense. Penalties for creating, disseminating or using false identification would also be increased, and the Patrick administration would also be required to submit a report describing hurdles to expanding license-plate reading technology currently in place in 16 communities.

Tarr and Moore did not respond to requests for comment. Both have previously described the bill as a bid to enhance safety for Massachusetts residents.

“This has got to end,” Sen. Richard Moore said at a State House event in September, flanked by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. “We need to look both at making our streets safer, and we need to make sure those things like illegal jobs, benefits perhaps that draw people to this state are reserved for those who truly need them who are residents of the Commonwealth.”

"Enough is enough,” Tarr said at the time. “We continue to see those who will abuse the laws of the Commonwealth threaten public safety, abuse public resources and divert government from its principal purpose, which is to protect public safety and to ensure that precious taxpayer dollars, particularly in one of the most difficult recessions in recent memory, are spent appropriately on citizens that deserve them."

At Monday’s press conference, Shannon Erwin, state policy director for the MIRA Coalition, said that despite public sentiment that favors a crackdown on illegal immigration, communities that have seen immigration increase in recent years have seen corresponding decreases in crime, which she said is largely a result of community policing and the willingness of immigrants to report crime. Erwin added that although the driver in the Milford incident was drunk, Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a proposal that could reintroduce free or discounted drinks at bars and restaurants across the state.

“[The immigration bill] was filed and explicitly tied to the recent drunk driving incident in Milford. However, it has 24 broad-ranging provisions, most of which have nothing to do with crimes but would instead make immigrants’ lives more difficult,” she said, adding, “It’s time that politicians in this state stop trying to score political points by scapegoating immigrants … It’s time that they state publicly that the cruel behavior you heard about today has no place in the commonwealth.”

Advocates appealed to religious sentiments – and historical ones – to encourage acceptance of undocumented immigrants.

“We should remember that Christopher Columbus was an undocumented immigrant. We should remember that William Bradford, the one who came on the Mayflower and the founder of the Plymouth colony, was an undocumented immigrant. We should remember that the millions of African American slaves who were brought here on ships were not only undocumented immigrants, but they were treated much like those who are now here in Boston and across the country,” Hamilton said.

Special ire was reserved by advocates for Secure Communities, a program operated by the Obama administration aimed at checking the immigration status of arrestees’ using a federal database. Backers say the program is a critical tool for law enforcement to root out illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes, but critics argue that it encourages profiling and breaks up communities.

Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Marblehead, called Secure Communities a “hate-based” program that she said encourages “violence against entire families.”

The program is slated to be activated nationally by 2013 and is already online in about half of the law enforcement jurisdictions in the country, but Gov. Deval Patrick has faced sharp criticism, mainly from Republicans, for his hesitance to embrace the program.