The months of June and July have brought so many great events for our children, youth and adults at OCUUC. We had a wonderful 4th of July party in Irvine, our youth created a wonderful District overnight. Now we look forward to return visit from our scaly friends from Reptile Rescue on August 4th, bringing their human handlers along, too!
One other event that was extremely powerful was a visit in June by a group of border justice workers, UndocuVan, part of a larger border justice group, UndocuBus. One morning I received a frantic communication from another district DRE, asking if OCUUC could house the group that same night. It turned out we had a 24 hour lead, and OCUUC president Katherine Martin and I put together towels and breakfast for about twelve adults on site.
We were able to spend some time with them as we dispensed towels and settled them into classrooms in the evening and shared breakfast the next morning. Over breakfast we told stories; what a wonderful experience! Each of these young people belonged to or represented another social justice organization. Some had experienced their own families being split up by government agencies during deportation episodes. They were so proud to talk about their experiences and their groups. They were also very grateful for us and our church! Our three showers were a luxury for people who had not showered in over three days. They kept calling OCUUC the Five Star Hotel on their stop.
They also recognized the "Standing on the Side of Love" tee shirt I was wearing. They knew that some UUs had been arrested alongside members of their organizations during border justice demonstrations. What a powerful testament to Unitarian Universalism that was!
Katherine and I were invited to tell our stories; we also told them that they had bestowed the blessings on us. The possibility for this type of social justice work is what our new church building and our move had promised this congregation. I was thrilled to experience a promise kept!
http://undocubus.org/