[chant] UCC is loud and clear immigrants are
welcome here
[chant] UCCis loud and clear... [Sandy] To have 22 conference ministers here in Washington DC
And I've spoken with several of them who made
visits to
House and Senate offices and have great
conversations. And that's what advocacy
is all about. It's about building
relationships with people in
decision-making power
and having real conversations from the
heart. Christ Church in Maplewood, which is
right outside of St., or, inside of St. Louis,
has served as a sanctuary church
for Alex Garcia for two years
Alex has lived in Poplar Bluff for about
fourteen years with his wife and
children and was detained. And so he
lives in the church and the Garcia
family, until recently, were traveling
every weekend and now they live in the
parsonage. And so I am grateful that they
are here and actually, Senator Blunt came
in as we were meeting and they were able
to hear, he was able to hear, about Alex
Garcia. I think trying to tell these
stories, the real-life stories of people
like Alex and the family, and within a
faith context, I hope again that that
helps us to bridge that partisan gap... to
just talk about human story and our
connections through our faith we believe.
it has been decades or more since
conference ministers have come with one
collective presence to be in the seat of
power and raise our collective voice on
an issue of social concern. But we do so
now because our faith, our scriptures and
what we observe happening in our nation
today compel us to publicly step forward
and to boldly speak out as we never have
before. We are people of faith and we
represent people in our churches across
the United Church of Christ. And we beg
you to remember one simple verse. One
simple verse: Do unto others. Do unto
others as you would have them do unto
you. I remember senior year of high school.
I was hopeless thinking I would never be
able to afford college. Four years later,
I'm finishing up two bachelor's degrees
in political science and education at
Trinity Washington University. As a national recipient of the Dream.US
Scholarship, something I would have never
seen coming years ago, but it's because
of people like you.
Everyone in this crowd has sparked
change. Whether it's through attending an
action or standing with families like
mine. The symbolism of this is not about
the clergy washing feet. It is about us
recognizing the human dignity, the value, the sacredness of our immigrant
sisters and brothers. To recognize that
their feet, their hands, their journey are
holy and sacred, and that we honor you.
Bless us with just enough foolishness to
believe that we can make a difference in
this world.
Bless us with just enough foolishness to
believe that we can do what others say
can't be done. With a righteous anger of
Jesus overturning tables in the temple, I
am here to say pass a moral budget.
Defund the hate.
Thank you for your financial generosity
that made it possible for Conference
Ministers to meet with the UCC Justice
and Witness Office in Washington DC and
to advocate for our members and our
churches and all of our communities.
Thank you.
