Expanding Sanctuary Today

‘Sanctuary’ is a word that many faith communities are engaging heavily with since Election Day. This word means many things to many different people. For some, it is about making sanctuary in our places of worship. For some it refers to policies that create sanctuary for undocumented people in cities and towns. For others, it signifies the kind of organizing communities are taking on to protect and defend Muslim communities, undocumented communities, LGBTQ communities, and Black Lives Matter activists who are being targeted by Trump’s administration. However, we are defining the word - we all have questions. The questions are basically stemming from a place of love, as we try to concern how we can show up for ourselves, our families, our neighborhoods and communities as specific communities are targeted for attack, violence, and removal. 

In recent weeks and months an abundance of new and updated resources have been created to respond to these questions, to the call for local community defense networks, and the call to scale up the skills of folks across the country. It is important that we draw from tools people who have first hand experience with this kind of community work and organizing - after all people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake, and we must take great care to not share tools that are not grounded in experience. We would not let a surgeon who had never performed surgery before operate on a loved one. We must value experience in this case as well. Thus, we take special care to share tools here that come from leaders who have organized in communities--across red states and blue, across race, and across age. 

We are working with the UUSC and UUA on long term opportunities for Unitarian Universalism to support, flank and resource expanded sanctuary campaigns being launched across the country.

In the meantime, we have compiled just a few helpful resources on expanded sanctuary, action planning and know your rights as well as a number of organizing tools for your local work. Do you know about something we should consider adding here? Please email us at love@uua.org.

With love and solidarity,