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In light of the recent verbal attack by a white supremacist on two teenagers in Portland, Oregon, during which two men who defended the girls were killed and another critically injured, All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C., held a training on bystander intervention. Kit Bonson, who led the training said, “Those of us doing this work in the D.C. area feel such an enormous kinship with those three men.” ( Slate.com– 6.2.17)
Jack and Linda Smith, members of West Hills Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon, attended a vigil at the Muslim Educational Trust to honor the victims and take a public stand against hate. The vigil drew hundreds of people, and Linda Smith observed the diversity in the gathering, “You saw women in the hijab and men in their long gowns, and people like us who wore jeans. It was just everyone together. That's the message." ( Pamplin Media– 6.1.17)
Church sanctuary is a potent strategy for supporting immigrants
Citing First Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado, as an example of the power of a church-based sanctuary strategy, reporter Mary Turck notes that even though this cannot guarantee protection of immigrants, declaring sanctuary serves as a powerful public statement about a community’s commitment to immigrant residents. ( truthout.org– 5.27.17)
More coverage:
“Churches, immigrants, and sanctuary,” ( Boston Globe– 6.2.17)