FAITH IN ACTION
©Leslie DeGrassi
from The Liberating Lineages Collective
From Rev ellie, Beloveds, we are in a unique time in history and what a time to be alive and TOGETHER! Below is a webinar training series that i was able to act as digital host for earlier this fall and would love to invite you to participate in an All Church Watch of this training series in January 2025. This would be four- or five-part series where we watch, discuss, and dream in this process of building community and congregational safety. Then in spring 2025, some editors and authors from the book titled, Building Up a New World: Congregational Organizing for Transformative Impact will be coming to Arizona for an in-person 2-3 day retreat (plans still be worked on) to help us build on our January series, AND this book is a UCC All Church Read for 2025. i can provide copies of the book or guide you to where to purchase one in order to read over the holidays and then discuss collectively at the retreat in the spring. Please let Rev. ellie know if you'd like to participate in the training series and/or are interested in a spring retreat by emailing them at: revelliegsucc@gmail.com by no later than December 15th. Dates and times of training will be shared mid-December. From The Liberating Lineages Collective: This season has revealed to us again just how much power xenophobia has in our culture, and how it can be manipulated to serve the power and privilege of the few. The fear of the “other” has deep roots in this land and has shaped us in untold ways. Yet so many of our religious and spiritual traditions teach us that we have a unique responsibility to care for and build community with those who are deemed “other” in our contexts. So how might we lean into this sacred calling of care and community as we prepare for what lies ahead? One way we can think about growing our capacity for spiritually-rooted care and community “for such a time as this” is through tending our practices of community safety. These times invite us to ask: How do we keep one another safe? How can congregations respond to conflicts and emergencies without relying on state agents? What do we do if our congregations are targeted for violence? What community safety practices can we engage in now that also help us build the world we long for? The Liberating Lineages Collective believes that congregations can build an ecology of community safety that is rooted in care, investing in each other, believing in each other, and trusting each other and the rhythms and cycles around/within us. And we’re ready to help you do it! Access our free Building Congregational Community Safety online training series to begin or continue your journey and expand your toolkit of care and community with and for the “others” in our midst and for those of us who are ourselves considered “others.” The training series from August-September 2024 is led by the Liberating Lineages Collective and hosted by the United Church of Christ (UCC). Click here to register for access to all four videos and the accompanying resources on Frontline Faith. Registration is completely free, simple, and does not sign you up to receive emails or other information from the UCC. Want to go deeper? Email us at congregationalsafety@liberatinglineages.org to see how we can work with you and your community to help you grow your community safety practices. Join us in creating communities that invest in care and collective liberation by working together to keep each “other” safe. Love and Liberation, The Liberating Lineages Collective
With immigration being such an important issue in our current election season, Pastor Randy has taken a few media folks out to the border to get a first-hand look at the situation.
A report from the Reverend Randy J. Mayer, lead pastor at The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Sahuarita, Arizona. Rev. Mayer is also the co-founder of the Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans Humanitarian Group, and a member of the board of the American Waldensian Society.
What Asylum-seekers Face at the U.S. Border after a Grueling Journey through Mexico
On March 12, PBS NewsHour reported from Mexico on the global migration making its way through that country to the U.S. border. With producers Christine Romo and Sam Weber, Amna Nawaz continues that journey and speaks with migrants, ranchers, Border Patrol officials and advocates.
Pastor Randy Mayer:
Six months ago, we had never seen somebody from Bangladesh or Africa in this part of the desert. It was all Mexicans and Central Americans, and sometimes it would be a few people from South America, but now this is pretty regular.
Amna Nawaz:
I notice one of the first things you say is welcome.
Pastor Randy Mayer:
Yes, we want to make sure that at least their first encounter is one of great welcome and saying we are glad you are here.
As migrants from ‘all over the world’ enter U.S., churches must go to meet them, says Arizona pastor
United Church of Christ News
by Maic D'Agostino | published on Mar 19, 2024
Pastor Randy Mayer Talks About the Border on PBS NewsHour
On March 12, 2024, Pastor Randy Mayer took Amna Nawaz and a PBS NewsHour crew to the US/Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona to describe the migrant situation there.
He drives this stretch of the border weekly, interacts with the migrants who've arrived and lets them know that Border Patrol is here, they will be able to help them, and then tries to communicate with Border Patrol to come pick people up.
But he also shared that he's seeing larger and larger groups, yesterday alone groups of 150 or 200 people, from many countries. It stretches Border Patrol's resources. It stretches his. It's also stretching the local officials in Pima County
There's concern ahead about how to meet what is clearly a growing need without the resources to help them.
