Faith In Action News Archive
(l to r) Peggy Rhoads, Rick Rhoads, and Cathie Gentile participated in the march and rally for $15 minimum wage April 15 at 28th St. and Figueroa in Downtown LA. Photo by Gabriella Rosco.
Faith In Action Supports Raising L.A.’s Minimum Wage and Combatting Wage Theft
On January 30, Faith in Action joined with our social justice partners from CLUE-LA (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) and others at a rally kicking off the #LaRaisetheWage (www.laraisethewage.org) Campaign at Los Angeles City Hall. We listened as the words of numerous workers, organizers, and a poet and two rappers conveyed the daily struggle of men and women to survive, working full time, on poverty wages. Afterward, we entered City Hall, split up into smaller delegations, and visited the offices of several City Council members to speak with staff about the importance of raising the minimum wage as soon as possible.
The campaign notes that Los Angeles is one of the wealthiest cities in the nation and the second most expensive place to live in America, but the people who live here are poorer on average than in any other region in the country. More than 800,000 people in L.A. County today work at minimum wage jobs and live in poverty. And low wages don’t just hurt workers, they’re bad for taxpayers too, who are effectively subsidizing giant profit machines like Walmart and McDonald’s. It is estimated that half of all fast food workers in America receive public assistance to meet their basic needs. Economists, small businesses, and workers agree that we should raise the minimum wage and bring hundreds of thousands of our neighbors into the middle class. Local businesses can benefit from this, too, because low-wage workers spend nearly every dollar they earn in the local economy. The current proposal, which the UU Santa Monica Faith in Action Commission has endorsed, is asking for $15.25/hr. plus paid sick leave and effective enforcement. Enforcement is key because even the minimum wage laws that currently exist are routinely broken, part of a widespread phenomenon known as wage theft.
Wage theft, in turn, was the theme of CLUE-LA’s annual County-wide Ingathering at Wilshire Boulevard Temple February 25. Members of this congregation including Rick and Peggy Rhoads, Cathie Gentile, and James Witker, joined LA-area UUs and others from many faith and secular groups to hear a series of presentations highlighting the fact that, according to CLUE, “Los Angeles is the wage theft capital of the United States, where $26.2 million is stolen from workers every week.”
Wage theft is the denial of full pay earned by employees and can take many forms, including the denial of overtime pay, misclassification of workers as independent contractors, and intentionally shorting paychecks. Studies show that in L.A. low wage workers experience at least one wage-theft violation per work week, and that the average worker loses about $40 out of average weekly earnings of $318. Therefore, any measure to raise the minimum wage must be accompanied by enforcement mechanisms that make wage laws a reality and not simply theoretical.
As part of this congregation’s commitment to the worth and dignity of all people, we are working to raise awareness about the plight of the working poor and to support policies that will deliver more economic justice. To find out how you can help, visit the Faith in Action table or email fia2@uusm.org
— James Witker
April Second Sunday Cinema: UU Climate Activist Tim DeChristopher is “Bidder 70”
In 2008, an economics student and UU named Tim DeChristopher went with members of his congregation in Salt Lake City to protest an auction of public lands to oil companies. Technically illegal, this auction was part of the outgoing Bush Administration’s last-ditch efforts to thwart environmental regulations and aid fossil fuel producers. But what happened next landed Tim in a federal trial, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for a spontaneous, extraordinary act that, as the filmmakers who chronicled his story write, “would redefine patriotism in our time, igniting a spirit of civil disobedience in the name of climate justice.”
In the years since, Tim has served time in federal prison, been interviewed by Bill Moyers, appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” and helped to create a new grassroots movement demanding action on climate change. Most recently, he has matriculated with a full scholarship to Harvard Divinity School, where he is studying to become a Unitarian Universalist minister. This acclaimed documentary tells the story of his journey as a budding activist.
The Standing on the Side of Love Campaign and Commit2Respond (the new UUA task force on climate change) have designated April as Climate Justice Month. UU Santa Monica’s Peace & Social Justice Committee and Green Committee are proud to present this film, made possible in part by UU Ministry for Earth. Please join us after Second Sunday Supper on April 12 for a special screening of “Bidder 70” along with members of our community and special guests. Stay for the discussion and learn about Tim’s latest exploits as well as what grassroots groups in our community and beyond are doing to advance responsible climate policies.
After being sentenced to prison for standing up for environmental justice, Tim DeChristopher spoke these words: “At this point of unimaginable threats on the horizon, this is what hope looks like. In these times of a morally bankrupt government that has sold out its principles, this is what patriotism looks like. With countless lives on the line, this is what love looks like, and it will only grow… .”
Learn more at www.bidder70film.com
— James Witker
CASA Informational Session April 28
In Los Angeles County, 28,000 children who have been abused or neglected are currently under the jurisdiction of the Dependency Court. With the help of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteers, 6,000 of these children will receive much-needed additional advocacy and support. If you are interested in reducing and reversing the effects of child abuse and neglect by serving as a CASA for children in Los Angeles, please attend an informational session April 28 from 7:30-8:30 in Forbes Hall, or contact Rev. Bijur at minister@uusm.org.
Occupation 101
The Peace and Social Justice Committee featured “Occupation 101” on March 8, for the second time, at Second Sunday Cinema. It is an award-winning documentary detailing the lives of Palestinians living under occupation by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza. We were joined by 30 church and community members who wanted to know more about the history of the occupation and the conditions facing those living under it.
Although there have been several documentaries about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years, “Occupation 101” reviews the history of the development of Israel, the recurring disputes and resulting wars over Palestinian land, and the current attitudes of the Palestinian working people. The film highlights interviews with U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian scholars and peace groups in their efforts to protect the rights of those targeted by the Israeli state and the Israeli Defense Force. Among the more than 30 interviewed were Noam Chomsky, Professor Ilan Pappe of the University of Haifa, Rabbi Michael Lerner of “Tikkun” magazine, Amira Hass of “Ha’aretz” newspaper, Dr. Iyad Sarraj, prominent Palestinian psychiatrist, and former U.S. Congressman Paul Findley.
If you would like to borrow the film, please contact either Cathie Gentile or Peggy Rhoads.
— Cathie Gentile
UU Santa Monica Congregants Join Protest Against Killing of “Africa”
Three people from our congregation participated in a protest March 3 against the killing of “Africa,” a homeless man, by LAPD officers. Dan Kegel, Patrick Tapé, and Rick Rhoads joined about 150 others in an 8 a.m. rally at San Pedro and Sixth Streets, in L.A.’s Skid Row, followed by a march to L.A. Police Headquarters at 100 West First Street.
The starting point, near where “Africa” was shot, is a sea of tents, most makeshift, others that looked right off the pages of an REI catalog. I suspect many of these were donated by organizations that help homeless people. In any case, it’s clear just from looking around that there is a large population in the area that’s relatively permanently living in the streets…not far from the downtown luxury hotels and high-rise office buildings. According to “Wikipedia,”“ “[L.A.’s] Skid Row contains one of the largest stable populations (between 3,000 and 6,000) of homeless people in the United States.”
In the media coverage of the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO, and of Eric Garner on Staten Island, NY, among other victims, the shooter is virtually always referred to as “a white police officer” or some variation on those words. It’s clear from the video that went viral on Facebook, and from a still photo taken from it, that at least one of the five cops who were engaged with “Africa” was African-American. Yet I have not been able to find even one media reference to this in the “L.A. Times” or any other source, despite searching for 30 minutes on Google. Is it because this fact tends to contradict the narrative that a major cause of such killings is individual racist cops? I don’t know; I’m open to other suggestions.
— Rick Rhoads
Second Annual Empty Bowls Santa Monica a Great Success
Many thanks to everyone who supported our second annual Empty Bowls event. We raised over $2,000 to benefit the Westside Food Bank and the Bread and Roses Café at St. Joseph Center.
Soup, bread, and other donations were made by Whole Foods, Santa Monica Seafood, Back on the Beach Café, 3 Vines Chef Service, Trader Joe’s, Panera, Fromin’s, Earth Wind and Flour, and Albertson’s. Chef D Brandon Walker from St. Joseph Center was back again this year. We also had soups made by Karl Lisovsky, Bryan Oakes, and Eric Stultz.
Community members who attended last year were back with friends this year. Several people who heard about the event sent donations to support it even if they were unable to attend.
In addition to volunteers from our congregation we had members from the community who came to help. These volunteers helped to make the day a success with help setting up, serving the soup, and managing the bowl table.
Special thanks to Linda van Ligten for being there the whole time and taking care of the kitchen, including keeping us supplied with a constant supply of clean bowls. Thanks to Carol Ring, who was there with her camera to record the event. There were too many volunteers to name them all, but you know who you are — and a great big thank you for your participation.
And a big thanks to committee members for your participation: Ellen Levy, Bob Dietz, Rima Snyder, Rhonda Peacock, and Gena Garrett.
— Bettye Barclay
We Continue to Visit Detained Immigrants
Visits to immigrants being held in the James Musick Detention Center continue to be a good way of expressing our UU belief in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual. In early January, four of us, Patrick Meighan, Resa Foreman, Cathie Gentile, and Peggy Rhoads, visited with Beatriz, Rosa, Sal, Luis, and Samuel (real names not used). Their stories were unique but also typical of the stories we have heard personally and in media sources about the experience of arrest, incarceration, and detention.
Beatriz has been in this country since she was a young child. She has no family members in her country of birth. Her family, including children and grandchildren, are staying with relatives, but have not been to visit her yet. She has made friends while in detention and makes use of recreation facilities available to her. Although she has been in only a short while, she misses her family and hopes to be released after an immigration hearing coming soon.
Rosa has been here most of her adult life. She, too, has been in detention for only a short while and has children and grandchildren in the U.S.
Sal is from Southeast Asia and speaks very little English. He was a soccer player and somehow he became involved in an illegal activity and had to flee for his life leaving behind a family. No other detainees speak the same language as Sal and he feels isolated. Because of the language barrier, it was difficult to gain more information about Sal’s situation.
Samuel is from Africa. He also had to flee his country for political reasons. He was a quality control engineer in an oil refinery. He had been pressuring the management of the company to translate all the safety documentation from French to English. Four of his coworkers were injured and one died because they couldn’t read the safety information. Samuel is from an Englishspeaking region of his country and he has been involved in trying to keep his region from joining in with the French region. This has caused him to be targeted by the government, and he had to flee his home and his family without any documents. Samuel is applying for asylum.
Luis and Samuel are more recent arrivals to the U.S. and followed a tortuous path to arrive in the U.S. Their families remain behind in their native countries. All of these detainees appreciate the visits that we have made through Friends of Orange County Detainees, and we have committed to visiting them again.
— Cathie Gentile and Peggy Rhoads
On Sunday, March 1, in both services, members of the Friends of Orange County Detainees’ leadership team, Beverly Huff and Tricia Ayers, will speak from our pulpit. They will also conduct an orientation after the second service for anyone interested in signing up for visiting detainees. The room for the orientation will be included in the announcements in the order of service.
Empty Bowls
Our second annual Empty Bowls event on Saturday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will raise money to help alleviate hunger in our local communities. Last year we raised over $2,000, which was donated to the Westside Food Bank. Empty Bowls is an international grass roots effort to alleviate hunger. Local chefs and merchants donate soup and bread; potters donate handmade bowls for the event. For a $20 donation people enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread and take home a handmade bowl to remind them of all the empty bowls in the world. There are several ways you can support this worthwhile effort:
• Pre-sale after both services on Sunday, February 8 and March 1: Make your $20 donation and reserve your spot for March 7.
• Volunteer- sign-up sheets available February 8 and March 1, or contact Gena Garrett.
• Come on March 7 and bring your friends. Donations accepted at the door. Questions? Contact Bettye Barclay or Ellen Levy
Undy Sunday
Undy Sundays Gerrie Lambson staffing the Undy Sunday table in Forbes Hall in January. Photo by Charles Haskell.
Peace and Social Justice Events: 2014
During 2014, the Peace and Social Justice Committee (PSJ) continued
its work in the areas of peace; economic justice; immigration and immigrant detention; and racism and mass incarceration. Ongoing activities included participation in monthly anti-war vigils; actions on behalf of car wash and hotel workers in collaboration with CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), including distribution of flyers; participation in picketing at Doubletree Hotel, and participation in the boycott of Millennium and Santa Monica carwashes; visits to immigrant detainees in Orange County; and support for initiatives to oppose construction of additional prisons and jails, to reduce sentencing for certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, and to promote alternatives to prison such as drug treatment and facilities for the mentally ill. Following are some specific activities.
January 11. Los Angeles/Valley/Santa Monica Cluster Meeting of UU Justice Ministry (now UU Social Ministry) in
Forbes Hall, attended by several members of congregation.
January 15. Abby Arnold organized a celebration in Forbes Hall of hotel workers’ victory in securing living wage and union card check agreement in future Oto hotels to be built in Santa Monica. Faith in Action (FIA), working with CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice), was active in supporting this movement.
January 19. Congregation member Lyman Johnson spoke at the UU Santa Monica service commemorating Martin Luther King Day.
January 20. PSJ participated in MLK Jr. Westside Coalition celebration and staffed a table, providing information about the activities of the committee, at the subsequent fair at Soka Gakhai.
February 2. Speaker, Tanya Golash-Boza, Sociology professor at UC Merced who has interviewed 150 deported immigrants and published several studies on immigration and deportation issues, gave a presentation, including slide show, on Mass Deportation, Racism, and Global Capitalism. Prof. Golashi-Boze described the massive growth in immigration and deportations, linking the increase to changes in global capitalism, including
the displacement of rural and urban jobs in immigrant-sending countries due to foreign trade and investment and the decline in middle-class manufacturing jobs and the growth in low-wage jobs in the U.S. that attract immigrants.
February 11. Over fifty Valentine notes were sent by members of the congregation to immigrants in detention. Many of the recipients have responded expressing appreciation for support.
March 2. At FIA Commission meeting, James Witker became co-chair, with Rick Rhoads, of FIA.
April. FIA responsible for the Art Wall, which included posters and photographs of carwash campaign, visits to immigrant detainees, textbook campaign, and various speeches. April 20. Presentation, “Making Sense of the Syrian Tragedy” by Ziad Abu-Rush, Ph.D., candidate in History at UCLA specializing in the political economy and culture of state formation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Abu-Rush described how the initial non-violent uprising in Syria was transformed into a militarized conflict resulting in over 130,000 killed and the displacement of 9 million, and the respective interests of external powers — the United States, Russia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia —
in Syria.
May 22. Annual Giants for Justice breakfast of CLUE, attended by the Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur, who gave the benediction; Rev. Emeritus Ernie Pipes; and several members of UU Santa Monica congregation. FIA has worked extensively with CLUE in union organizing campaigns for carwash and hotel workers.
July 13. PSJ presented Robert Greenwald’s “Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars” at Second Sunday Cinema.
July 27. Arts and Edibles Fair raised funds for co-sponsors, FIA and Adult Religious Education, through sale of art, crafts, and food.
August 5. CIVIC (Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement) presentation of videos and audio recordings of immigrants in detention, co-sponsored by FIA.
August 10. Film “Which Way Home?” about the difficult journey of young Central American and Mexican migrants to the United States presented by PSJ and Second Sunday Cinema.
September 14. Presentation by Angela Sanbrano, President of the Board of the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), at 11 a.m. service on needs of Central American children who migrated unaccompanied to the United States and efforts of CARECEN on their behalf. The non-pledge offering of the Sunday collections for the month of September went to CARECEN to support legal representation and other services for unaccompanied children immigrants.
September 14. Second Sunday Supper, sponsored by FIA, attended by former immigrant detainee Maynor and his two children. Members of PSJ Peggy Rhoads, Roberta Frye, and Carrie Lauer supported Maynor and his family through immigration hearings that finally resulted in his release in August. Members of the congregation have been visiting immigrants in detention on an ongoing basis in collaboration with Friends of Orange County
Detainees and CIVIC.
September 27. A narrative reading of “If the Shu Fits,” a play on solitary confinement written by Andy Griggs, co-sponsored by FIA and the Committee on Racial Justice of the Church in Ocean Park. Organized by Diana Spears and Peggy Rhoads, and directed by Morna Martell, the performance was followed by a discussion with playwright Griggs and a panel with representatives from CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget), Justice Not Jails, and PSJ as well as a former detainee in solitary confinement and family members of prisoners.
November 9. PSJ sponsored the film “Oh Freedom, After While,” which portrays the struggles of sharecroppers in Missouri during the 1930s, at Second Sunday Cinema. November 16. One man play, “To Begin the World Again: The Life of Thomas Paine,” presented by Ian Ruskin, drawing on the works of Paine, including “Common Sense” and “The Age of Reason.”
November 22. PSJ presented the introduction for the annual Thanksgiving feast.
December 10. Program on conflict in Israel and Palestine, with discussion by Rick Chertoff of Jewish Voices for Peace and Mohammad Lahan, formerly a resident of Gaza, and excerpts from the film “Occupation 101.”
December 14. PSJ sponsored Second Sunday Cinema film, “Occupation 101,” about the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
— Nora Hamilton and Cathie Gentile
Congregants turn out to protestnon-indictment of Ferguson cop
The Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur and her family and Intern Minister Nica Eaton-Guinn were among the 15+ UU Santa Monica congregants who participated in a candle-light vigil Tuesday evening November 25 to protest the grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, MO, police officer who killed Michael Brown in August. The vigil, in front of Santa Monica City Hall, totaled about 60 people — black, Latino, Asian, and white. It was sponsored by the Committee for Racial Justice (CRJ), a multi-racial group originally formed in the Church of Ocean Park in response to a racist incident at Santa Monica High School.
CRJ had decided to hold a rally at Santa Monica City Hall at 5:00 p.m. the day the grand jury decision was announced, if that happened before 5 p.m. Pacific Time. When it became known that the decision would be announced at 6 p.m. Pacific Time Monday November 24, CRJ decided to hold a rally that day anyway. Despite the short notice, 30 people showed up for the Monday rally, including three from UU Santa Monica: James Witker and Rick Rhoads, co-chairs of our Faith in Action Commission, and Peggy Rhoads, co-chair of our Peace & Social Justice Committee.
At the Monday rally, the grand jury’s decision not to indict was received on a cell phone and played through the rally’s portable sound system. Before and after that, we heard singers and speakers.
Rick, one of the scheduled speakers, noted that those “most victimized by systemic racism, the most impoverished, the most oppressed and exploited members of our society” are typically the targets of exhortations to non-violence. He suggested that preachers of non-violence “turn around 180° and tell the cops to put away their tanks and helicopters and other weapons of mass destruction and keep their guns in their holsters…and tell [U.S.] politicians and generals to close down their roughly 1,000 military bases in 135 countries around the world.”
“Some say white people have no stake in fighting back against police murders of black people,” Rick added. “Nothing could be further from the truth. For centuries white working people have been told to accept miserable conditions because, “At least you’re not black.”
“Anybody who falls for this is a sucker. Cops get away with murder — sometimes literally — toward white working people precisely because they can murder blacks and Latinos with impunity. And wages, working conditions, and benefits for white workers get worse precisely because the floor is lowered by the super-exploitation of, and huge unemployment among, black and Latino workers. Racism hurts all working people. We need multi-racial unity against racism. Not charity. Solidarity!”
Several speakers at the Monday rally, including Oscar de la Torre, executive director of the Pico Youth and Family Center and member of the Santa Monica School Board, spoke about racial profiling by the Santa Monica Police Department. Although the police department denies that it practices racial profiling, de la Torre noted that many black and Latino youth and adults in Santa Monica have experienced it. The CRJ accordingly launched a petition campaign urging “the Santa Monica City Council to develop an independent method of collecting, summarizing and publicizing feedback from community members concerning their interactions with local law enforcement officers.” The petition is available after services at the Faith in Action table in Forbes Hall.
At both gatherings, drivers on Main Street saw the handmade posters that participants made on the spot and honked in support.
— Peggy and Rick Rhoads
Undy Sunday
There are several places in town that provide showers and washing facilities for the homeless in our community. New underwear feels great after bathing; sometimes just getting clean, new underwear is a luxury. In the past, on Sundays in January, we have collected new underwear for men, women, and children.
The organizations that serve the homeless are always very appreciative of our donations. There has been a request that we collect and donate underwear again, so here we are. There are always sales after the holidays, so it is possible to be economical while doing good.
We will have a collection site in Forbes Hall the month of January starting on January 4.
— Geralyn Lambson
Boycott of Santa Monica and Millennium Car Washes Continues
On Saturday, November 1, members of the Peace & Social Justice Committee put hundreds of flyers on windshields of cars parked on streets within about half a mile of the church. Undeterred by windshields left wet by rain the previous night, we worked the sunny side of the streets first. The flyers called for a boycott of Santa Monica Car Wash and Millennium Car Wash, both owned by the Damavandi family. Workers at these washes are in the midst of a class-action lawsuit for recovery of stolen wages (which we recently heard has been joined by workers at the Damavandi-owned Bubble Bee Car Wash in Lakewood).
Management at Santa Monica and Millennium has refused for years to bargain with workers who want to form a union and has fired or otherwise forced out pro-union workers. Management has also refused to switch to safer chemicals or provide proper safety equipment, such as gloves. The workers are virtually all Latino immigrants, and the way they are treated is an example of the institutionalized racism characteristic of the carwash business
and other low-paid industries in L.A. County.
After putting up flyers from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, we had a picnic lunch on the patio together with those cleaning up and painting the church on Volunteer Day. (One of us put on his painting clothes and worked on the vestibule after lunch.)
Bonus Car Wash, at 2800 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, remains the only unionized car wash on the Westside. So far, about 35 car washes in LA County have become unionized as a result of the Clean Car Wash Campaign. Our Peace & Social Justice Committee has participated in the campaign for the past four years through Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA).
— Rick Rhoads
Westside Shelter Breakfast
Our church has been a member of the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition since 2002. We have attended the annual breakfast honoring homeless people who have become fully functioning members of our society every year since that time. Shown here are UU Santa Monica members at our table for the 19th Annual Success
Breakfast at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel on October 30: Sherry Handa, Rhonda Peacock, Rick Rhoads, Catherine Farmer Loya, and Patricia Wright. Photo by Charles Haskell.
Monthly Service to Step Up on 2nd Threatened
It’s hard to know exactly when our church started serving a meal once a month at Step Up on 2nd. Janet Goodwin remembers Lyn Armondo leading the efforts; organizing multiple casserole dishes from generous cooks from our congregation. I started volunteering mid-summer 2005. By then Janet was coordinating the volunteers each month. I had heard about Step Up from a dear friend of mine, prior to coming to UU Santa
Monica. When I heard our church had a standing monthly commitment, I was keen to get involved. I showed
up every month to help. So did many others. By then, food donations were scarce and most of the items for the meal were purchased. But Janet was still cooking one of the main dishes from her home, and then bringing it to Step Up. One month, I volunteered to make the dish, which was baked chicken with barbecue sauce. I had never made chicken for 70 people in my life. It was a big task. I remember being convinced I was going to give everyone salmonellae. Thankfully, I didn’t.
Having a more than full schedule, Ed Hession took over for a while and gave Janet a well deserved break. Ed was deeply devoted, doing all the shopping for the meal. At that time the menu at Step Up was very generous, and Ed was instrumental in donating his time and treasure to facilitate the meal each month. After a year or so, I took over from Ed. Janet and I would juggle the duties. Gone were the days of casserole donations. At this point, everything was purchased from funds coming from our church’s Hunger Fund. This fund is outside of the annual church budget, and is used to pay for the food items purchased for Step Up on 2nd and also Lunches for Bunches (which go to OPCC). The kitchen staff at Step Up take care of either heating up or cooking all of the hot food dishes we serve. Our volunteers prepare a giant salad and prep miscellaneous items, such as dessert, for serving. The prep time takes about 30 to 45 minutes. The serving time is about 40 minutes. Each month we serve between 55 to 85 people, averaging around 70.
Today’s schedules are packed to the rafters. Time is precious, and too often we’re short of it. This seems to be the case with our volunteer needs regarding Step Up. Our church has been generous to give to the Hunger Fund regularly, allowing the meals for Step up and the Lunches for Bunches program to continue each month. Lunches for Bunches is a fun event that takes place at church each month. It’s very visible, happening during
Sunday morning, and there are no advanced sign ups. All ages can participate — just join in to help. With Step Up, it’s a little different. The meal is served at Step Up on 2nd (1328 2nd Street) on a Saturday afternoon. Advanced planning needs to take place to ensure four to six volunteers are available and committed to prep and serve the meal. Food needs to be purchased and dropped off prior to the meal. Because 70 people are depending on us, we must be reliable — it takes some organizing.
We’ve had this amazing history with Step Up on 2nd. We’re the only church that has a standing commitment to serve a meal each and every month at Step Up. What a badge of honor! But without a group of individuals to organize the efforts, the meal at Step Up cannot continue. Can you help? We’re looking for folks to continue our UU Santa Monica tradition. Please contact Rev. Rebecca at minister@uusm.org, Rick Rhoads or James Witker
at FIA@uusm.org with your ideas, suggestions, or best ever, to join in!
— Rhonda Peacock
Vote Yes on H/HH for Affordable Housing in Santa Monica
Los Angeles County is the least affordable housing market in the U.S., and housing in Santa Monica is among the least affordable in the county. While rent control has kept apartments affordable for long-time residents, it now takes an income of $126,840 per year to afford the rent on a 3-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica.
Over the years, the City of Santa Monica has used redevelopment funds to create partnerships that allow nonprofit organizations to purchase, renovate, and manage apartments, and to build new affordable rental housing. This process has taken hundreds of rental units out of the for-profit sector, enabling tenants to live in apartments owned and operated by nonprofit groups with long-term commitments to maintaining the affordability of their housing.
Due to changes in state law made to replace lost funding for public schools, redevelopment money has permanently disappeared. In Santa Monica, we have the opportunity to replace some of that capital by approving Measure H and its companion Measure HH when we vote on November 4.
Measure H establishes a property transfer fee of $9 per $1,000 of the sales price on property that is sold for $1 million or more. The fee will apply to all high-dollar property sales, including commercial property such as the Apple Store on the Promenade, which sold for a reported $100 million. Measure HH advises the City Council that voters want the new fees to fund affordable housing. The Santa Monica Committee of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA) voted unanimously to support these two measures at its meeting October 7.
Proponents of Measures H and HH, including me (UU Santa Monica member Abby Arnold), note that public investment in the nonprofit sector is the best way to protect Santa Monica’s current affordable apartments. Putting the ownership of affordable housing under the control of nonprofit organizations is the only way to ensure that these apartments are permanently available to low and moderate income people in our community.
We can’t guarantee that private developers will keep apartments affordable, but it is the mission of nonprofit housing groups to rent apartments to low- and moderate-income people.
Without affordable housing, our community will become less diverse, and many of the people who work here will be unable to live in Santa Monica. Lack of affordable housing affects our schools, our neighborhoods, our church, and the traffic we experience, and without affordable housing we will miss out on the rich cultural diversity offered by the Los Angeles region.
Join the CLUE Santa Monica Committee and many members of our congregation in voting YES on H and HH on November 4.
— Abby Arnold
If the SHU Fits: Play Exposes Torture of Solitary Confinement
The U.S. system of mass incarceration came under solemn scrutiny Saturday, September 27, when UU Santa Monica presented a dramatic reading of “If the SHU Fits”, by Andy Griggs and Melvin Ishmael Johnson. The play is based on original letters and poetry from inmates living in Security Housing Units (SHUs), mainly in California’s Pelican Bay Prison, in which they spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. The play was commissioned by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and Interfaith Communities Untied for Justice and Peace (ICUJP), and partially funded by a grant from the Fund for a Just Society of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The evening was sponsored by UU Santa Monica’s Peace and Social Justice Committee and by the Committee for Racial Justice in Santa Monica. The eight readers came from a variety of backgrounds but a unity of purpose: to see an end to the growing mass incarceration of working class people, particularly people of color. The readers were Paula Brooks, Bob Gordh, Kevin Michael Key, the Rev. Sidonie Smith, Anthony Taylor, Sherri Walker, Craig Walter, and Dayvon Williams. They were directed by Morna Murphy Martell, a member of UU Santa Monica, with assistance from Diana Spears and Peggy Rhoads.
Following the reading, a panel of speakers from organizations involved in fighting against the continuance of this legal torture discussed their current efforts in prison reform, including incarceration in immigration detention centers — and how our communities can help. The speakers included Andy Griggs, ICUJP; Melvin Ishmael Johnson, Director, Dramastage Qumran; Geri Silva and Ernest Shepard, California Families Against Solitary Confinement; Mary Sutton, Critical Resistance and CURB; Diana Zuniga, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB); Kay Brown, Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective, from our Art Wall exhibit “Behind Bars;” and Nora Hamilton, UUCC Faith in Action Peace & Social Justice Committee.
Thanks to Sidonie Smith for her painting “Miscarriage of Justice;” to James Witker for filming, Bob Dietz and Karl Lisovsky for tech support, and Tom Ahern for logistical support; and to the members of the Peace and Social Justice Committee who facilitated the evening. To contact PSJ and become involved in our work, please email co-chairs Cathie Gentile or Roberta Frye. You can also obtain information at the Faith in Action table at church.
Further information on solitary confinement can be found at http://audio.theguardian.tv/audio/kip/standalone/
world/1334585861759/5478/gdn.ps.120416.hermanwallace.mp3 and http://www.hrw.org/features/growing-up-locked-down.
— Peggy Rhoads
Maynor and his children visit UUSM!
Faith in Action sponsored our September 14 Second Sunday Supper. We were very happy to welcome Maynor S. and his children, Kimberly and Gerardo to have dinner with us and share the story of his release from immigration detention.
Maynor was held at one of the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centers in Orange County, CA for two years. The love of his family — his children, his sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephews — carried him through this very difficult experience. We (Roberta Frye, Peggy Rhoads, Carrie Lauer) got to know him through the Friends of Orange County Detainees, associated with CIVIC (Community Initiative for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement), part of a network of such programs throughout the U.S. We met his family at immigration hearings and continued to visit and attend hearings until he was released in August.
The joy of Maynor and his family at his release has changed our lives and made us realize the importance of support and advocacy for our brothers and sisters in detention. Our church’s work in fighting the gross racism
and nationalism of U.S. government policy toward immigrants will continue.
— Peggy Rhoads
The Hunger Task Force Needs YOU!
The Hunger Task Force is looking for volunteers to help with the monthly meal at Step Up on 2nd. Join us as we prepare a giant salad to accompany the hot meal we serve to the clients of Step Up. October 25th, 2-4pm. Contact hunger@uusm.org to volunteer. Must be 16 or over to volunteer.
...and so does Lunches for Bunches
Sunday, October 19th - after the 1st Service Meet under the shade structure in the courtyard. We’re assembling 100 bagged lunches for OPCC/Turning Point. Put your Faith into Action - join the sandwich brigade!
Film Reveals Risks Confronted by Central American Children Migrants
The documentary “Which Way Home,” presented Sunday, August 10, by the Peace and Social Justice Committee of Faith in Action, graphically demonstrates the dangers experienced by children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala attempting to migrate to the United States. For many migrants, this involves riding on top of la bestia — the beast — freight trains through Mexico to the U.S. border, where they risk falling and losing a limb or even their lives, as well as robbery, extortion, and/or rape by drug gangs.
The discussion following the film focused on the recent growth in the number of unaccompanied children from Central America arriving in the United States, from 3,304 in Fiscal Year 2009 (the year the film was made) to 42,933 in Fiscal Year 2014 as of June 30; the reasons for the increase; the U.S. role in creating conditions in their home countries conducive to migration; and the response in this country to the children migrants.
Why are the children coming? Children migrate for a number of reasons, including poverty in their home countries, perceived opportunities in the United States, and family reunification. However, the recent upsurge in the migration of children corresponds to the growing presence of drug cartels and the growth of gang- and drug-related violence in the Central American countries. Today, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world; El Salvador and Guatemala are fourth and fifth. Children who have turned up at the border reveal the extent and nature of the violence they are trying to escape: drug gangs have taken over schools and entire neighborhoods; students are submitted to relentless pressure to join the gangs or work for cartels with threats of killing them or members of their families if they refuse. Several report that members of their families and/or friends have been killed, in some cases in their presence.
What is the U.S. role in these conditions? Latin American specialists as well as experts on drug policy have pointed out the responsibility of the United States in creating conditions in Central America giving rise to violence, including support for repressive governments; economic policies favoring corporations at the expense of national interests; and drug policies, including resistance to the legalization of drug possession, the trafficking of guns and other weapons from the United States into Mexico and other countries, and anti-drug policies in Latin America that have tended to simply displace drug trafficking from one region to another. The United States is the major market for drugs; guns and other arms from the United States have aggravated the violence that has accompanied the growth of the cartels in these countries. In fact, many of the gangs heavily involved in the drug trade, such as the Mara Salvatrucha, have their origins on the streets of Los Angeles and other U.S. cities.
U.S. officials have recognized that many of the children as well as other immigrants are fleeing conditions from the home countries. Efforts to improve these conditions should include revisiting U.S. policies and their impact in the region, including trade policy and the drug war.
What has been the U.S. response to the growing number of children migrants from Central America? The response in the United States has been varied. Officially, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, originally passed in 2000 and amended by the Bush administration in 2008, entitles all unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries (i.e., other than Mexico and Canada) to a hearing before an immigration judge to determine whether they are eligible for asylum or other types of protection. However, in its efforts to discourage further migration, the Obama administration has sought to facilitate deportation of the children, in part by eliminating this protection, a move that has been resisted to date. At the local level, reactions have ranged from strong opposition and rejection of their presence, epitomized by the ugly demonstrations in Murietta, to the more welcoming policy of some cities. In the case of Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti has met with advocacy groups such as CARECEN (Central American Resource Center), CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles), and Esperanza, an organization of Catholic Charities, to provide various types of assistance to the young immigrants, including housing and food, transportation to enable them to reunite with distant families, and legal aid, including access to lawyers who can represent them in court proceedings.
Efforts are also being made to remove children from warehouses and military barracks, uniting them with their families where possible, or placing them in smaller shelters where conditions are better.
What Can We Do? One important course of action is advocacy on behalf of children immigrants. We should urge the president and Congress to recognize that the majority of the young people and families fleeing these countries are fleeing from violence and should be treated as refugees. This recognition includes a right to due process, including a hearing before an immigration judge, and access to lawyers who can represent them in court proceedings.
Second, we can support groups and organizations that are working on behalf of refugee children. Groups providing assistance include CARECEN, CHIRLA, Esperanza Immigrant Rights project, and Justice for Immigrants-Inland Empire.
— Nora Hamilton
“Detention Stories: Life Inside California’s New Angel Island”
This is a new documentary from Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC), directed by UU Santa Monica regular visitor Will Coley Although Will Coley has moved to New York and visits us less frequently, this new film expresses the passion that he and thousands of Unitarian Universalists have for the just treatment of undocumented immigrants and an end to their mass incarceration.
“Detention Stories” was pre-screened on August 8 at Orange Coast UU Church in Costa Mesa. The film briefly documents the history of immigration detention in the United States, with special reference to Angel Island in San Francisco, where over 1 million immigrants, mainly Chinese laborers, were detained from 1910 to 1940, when the detention center was closed. Through visual and auditory testimony of men and women both currently in U.S. detention centers and recently released, the film reveals the sub-standard living conditions and medical treatment, and the harassment and social isolation that exist in both public and private detention jails. The stories of these detainees are a testament to their resilience in the face of continuing personal legal battles and the Congressional stalemate on immigration reform.
Despite President Barack Obama’s statement of January 10, 2010, in reference to Angel Island: — “They journeyed across the Pacific, seeking better lives for themselves and for their children. Many arrived at Angel Island, weary but hopeful only to be unjustly confined for months and in some cases years. As we remember their struggle, we honor all who have been drawn to America by dreams of limitless opportunity”— the Obama administration houses 400,000 immigrants yearly in detention centers in the United States, with California having the largest population in detention.
The film can be viewed at CIVIC’s website: www.endisolation.org/detention-stories/ and for more coverage, enter Detention Stories: Life Inside California’s New Angel Island into your search engine. For more information on Will’s activities, see www.aquifermedia.com.
— Peggy Rhoads
Take Back Adelanto
Our friends at Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) participated in an action on Saturday, August 16, to protest the City of Adelanto’s plans to expand their prison run by GEO Group, a publicly traded prison corporation with record profits amounting to billions of dollars each year. Currently GEO Group is expanding its immigration detention facility in Adelanto by 640 additional beds. The expansion is slated to be completed by July 2015, and will make Adelanto home to the largest immigrant detention center in the country.
Adelanto is located in San Bernardino County in a remote and isolated high desert location. Families and visitors who wish to visit immigrants in detention there currently face an onerous journey that is not easily accessible by public transportation.
According to a press release by CIVIC, Adelanto has invested too much in prisons and far too little on education. There is no middle school or high school district in Adelanto. Victor Valley Union High School District finished completion of Adelanto High School back in 2012, but the school sat vacant for two years because it was $3.4 million over budget. Meanwhile, the county jail expansion that opened in February was $25 million over budget.
The Take Back Adelanto action focused on highlighting the current prison industrial complex within the high desert, stopping the expansion of the Adelanto facility, and delivering a message to the city that the community needs to focus on education and opportunities for our young people.
Sign the petition to STOP THE EXPANSION at Bit.ly/No_Expansion and learn more at www.defunddetention.org
— Cathie Gentile
IF THE SHU FITS: Voices from Solitary Confinement
TAKE BACK ADELANTO
Our friends at Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) participated in an action on Saturday, August, 16, to protest the City of Adelanto’s plans to expand their prison run by GEO Group, a publicly traded prison corporation with record profits amounting to billions of dollars each year.
Currently GEO Group is expanding its immigration detention facility in Adelanto by 640 additional beds. The expansion is slated to be completed by July 2015, and will make Adelanto home to the largest immigrant detention center in the Adelanto is located in San Bernardino County in a remote and isolated high desert location. Families and visitors who wish to visit immigrants in detention there currently face an onerous journey that is not easily accessible by public transportation.
Adelanto has invested too much in prisons and far too little on education according to a press release by CIVIC. There is no middle school or high school district in Adelanto. Victor Valley Union High School District finished completion of Adelanto High School back in 2012, but the school sat vacant for two years because it was $3.4M over budget. Meanwhile, the county jail expansion that opened in February was $25 million over budget. Concerned residents are worried that this sends a direct message to Adelanto youth that jails are more important than their schools.
The Take Back Adelanto action focused on highlighting the current prison industrial complex within the high desert, stopping the expansion of the Adelanto facility, and delivering a message to the city that the community needs to focus on education and opportunities for our young people.
Sign the petition to STOP THE EXPANSION at Bit.ly/No_Expansion and learn more at www.defunddetention.org
-- Cathie Gentile
PSJ Talent Search
The Peace & Social Justice Committee is looking to present a production of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) drama about solitary confinement, "If the SHU Fits." This will be a staged reading in our Sanctuary of the ICUJP script. We are looking for a few people with good voices who would act as readers. Also we would like to find a Director for the production. We are hoping to present the staging at the end of September in conjunction with the September Prison Art Wall. If interested contact Roberta Frye or Cathie Gentile.
Keep Sending Letters: Valentine's Day is a Yearlong Event!
We are still receiving letters from immigrants at ICE detention centers in Orange County and they all have a core sentiment: “Thank you for all your help and thank you so much for all your support and the time you spend with all detainees.”
Here is another quote: “Frankly speaking when I received [it] you made my day. It came at a time when I was feeling depressed thinking about my family in Los Angeles.”
And another: “I long to be back to my daughter, who I have not been able to hold for 10 months. My family brings her to visit me once a month only, because they live far away and my step-dad needs to work two full-time jobs in order to be able to provide for our family.”
And finally, in a letter dated June 14, we received a request for financial help from a mother in detention since April 26, 2013, who has been granted a $2500 bail bond while she awaits her U-Visa appeal.
“The U nonimmigrant status (U-visa) is set aside for victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity,” according to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.
This U-visa appeal could take a year during which her three-year-old son is scheduled to be put into foster care. ICE will not allow her to attend his June 26 court date. Her family has raised $1000 for her bond and she is trying to raise the rest through friends and other organizations. Your Peace and Social Justice Committee has worked to connect her with organizations that can help her.
If you are able to assist persons in ICE lock-up, contact Peggy Rhoads.
Please note that we have received letters for Vicky, Laura, and Jean Allgeyer. Please see the FIA box in the church office. Your letter from an ICE detainee will be there.
— Peggy Rhoads
Minister, Minister Emeritus, and UU Santa Monica congregants at CLUE Giants of Justice Event
The Rev. Rebecca Benefiel Bijur gave the benediction at the Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA) annual Giants of Justice breakfast May 22 at St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church on the edge of LA’s Chinatown. She has been active with CLUE in support of the union organizing campaigns at Westside carwashes and at the Santa Monica DoubleTree hotel, and our church has frequently hosted CLUE’s monthly Santa Monica committee meetings, as well as gatherings of carwash and hotel workers and their supporters.
Jeremy Arnold of our congregation, a summer intern at CLUE after his second year at Tulane University, gave a compelling — and record-setting — fundraising pitch (photo below). Five other UU Santa Monica members were present: Rev. Emeritus Ernie Pipes, Abby Arnold (Jeremy’s mom), Vicky Foxworth, Patrick Meighan, and me (Rick Rhoads), along with about 20 UUs from other congregations. Rabbi Jonathan Klein, CLUE-LA’s executive director, mentioned the UU flaming chalice during his address to the 500 in attendance, and I learned later that he plans to attend the UUA General Assembly in Providence, RI, June 25 to 29.
The Giants of Justice designees at this year’s breakfast were Laphonza Butler, president of SEIU-United Long Term Care Workers, and Soledad Garcia, UNITE-HERE Local 11 worker-organizer. Anthony Ng, policy advocate for Asian Americans Advancing Justice, was named “Emerging Giant,” and Sr. Deacon Guy Wauthy (Ret.), of St. Jerome’s Catholic Church (who meets with our Santa Monica CLUE committee), received the Lifetime Achievement award.
— Rick Rhoads
Join Picket Lines at the Double Tree Hotel
Workers at the Santa Monica DoubleTree hotel and their community supporters have been picketing every morning since February. The informational picket lines call attention to the fact that the hotel is not (yet) unionized and that management has violated labor laws regarding breaks and wages and does not pay workers a living wage. Our congregation is especially responsible for coming out to support the workers on Fridays. For those who can’t make it on a weekday, Saturday is an excellent alternative. The picketing takes place from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on weekends. The hotel is on 4th St., one block north of Pico Blvd. You can park in the city structure just west of the hotel for $1.
Progreess in the Double Tree Campaign
The DoubleTree leases the land it’s on from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Workers and their community supporters attended and spoke at the Board of Education meeting May 15 and June 25. Among the many speakers in May were Rev. Rebecca and church members Tom Peters and Abby Arnold. The board responded by sending a strongly worded letter to the Procaccianti Group, the owners and managers of the hotel. The letter questioned whether the group was living up to the complex financial terms of the lease and whether they were treating their workers properly, and gave the recipients until June 15 to comply. The letter cited research conducted by UNITE-HERE Local 11.
Several Santa Monica High School students gave speeches at the May meeting in support of the workers, including Maxwell DeVita, a member of our congregation’s YRUU group. A DoubleTree worker had previously spoken about working conditions at the hotel at one of our Sunday morning YRUU sessions.
— Rick Rhoads
Faith in Action and Adult Religious Education Joint Fundraiser
“Arts and Edibles,” Sunday, July 27, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Funds will go to updating our audio-visual equipment and programs. If you make jewelry, pottery or other craft items, including edibles, and want to participate, please contact Diana Spears..
Second Sunday Cinema: July 13
The Peace and Social Justice Committee will screen Robert Greenwald’s “Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars” (2013) on July 13 at 7:30 p.m. The documentary is about the immoral consequences of drone warfare, which has killed hundreds of innocent civilians and also consists of so-called “signature” strikes in which people are targeted for assassination for appearing to fit the profile of terrorists. Please join us after Second Sunday Supper to watch this provocative film.
-- Roberta Frye
WANTED: Social ustice Activist for the UU Justice Ministry
The UU Justice Ministry advances justice in our state by cultivating and connecting leaders and communities, and by empowering the public voice of those who share UU values and principles. Evan Junker is the new Executive Director and Patrice Curtis is Director of Public Policy and Mobilization.
The UUJM is involved in more than just legislative issues (hence the name change from UU Legislative Ministry to Justice Ministry) up and down the state. UUJM has organized clusters of churches in roughly the same geographical area. Santa Monica is a member of the Valley/LA Cluster which includes ambassadors, i.e., church members, from First Church Los Angeles, Emerson, Throop, Neighborhood, Sepulveda, and Studio City. The cluster coordinator is the Rev. Betty Stapleford, minister, UU Church of the Verdugo Hills. The cluster is currently seeking a new ambassador for UU Santa Monica as I have stepped down.
UUJM's work involves immigrant justice, environmental justice and the right to water, economic justice, health care action team, and an LGBT Equality Action team. Workshops at the cluster churches train ambassadors in relationship-based organizing. Each year there is a Walking the Walk retreat that alternates between Northern and Southern California. This year, the retreat will take place in Sausalito, November 14 to 16. Another upcoming event is an immigration forum on November 2 at Neighborhood Church organized by the immigrant justice action team.
If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be an ambassador for our church please contact Cathie Gentile. Thank you.
-- Cathie Gentile
LA Pride Parade
FIA Casting Call
The Peace & Social Justice Committee is looking to present a production of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) drama about solitary confinement, "If the SHU Fits." This will be a staged reading in our Sanctuary of the ICUJP script. We are looking for a few people with good voices who would act as readers. Also we would like to find a Director for the production. We are hoping to present the staging at the end of September in conjunction with the September Prison Art Wall. If interested contact Roberta Frye or Cathie Gentile.
— Cathie Gentile