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The Marietta, Georgia, City Council has denied a local pastor’s request to open a shelter for immigrant children separated from their parents. Speaking against the proposed shelter, the Rev. Deborah Bennett of Emerson Unitarian Universalist Congregation, said that Pastor Mitchell Bryant lacks the expertise to operate such a shelter. “I would like to see Marietta say no to this, and make sure anything we do for our children is done from a place of knowledge and experience because they are our most precious resource,” she added. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 12)
Lift Up Your Voice to End Homelessness, an advocacy program founded by the UU Church of Ventura, California, sponsored an interfaith memorial service to honor homeless Ventura residents who died this past year. The Rev. Dana Worsnop, the congregation’s minister, said that “Our purpose here this afternoon is to bear witness to lives lost among our neighbors who are without homes. . . . We gather as a people of many faiths, many traditions, many beliefs, acknowledging that every life is sacred.” (Ventura County Star, December 15)
The city of Lenexa, Kansas, and the Shawnee Mission UU Church have come to an agreement that will enable the church to serve as a cold-weather shelter for homeless residents this winter. The church issued a statement through its attorneys, saying, “We are grateful to the Court for encouraging this settlement and look forward to partnering with the City of Lenexa to craft a mutually agreeable ordinance to address overnight homeless ministries in the future.” (KSHB, December 13)