Tag Archives: Standing on the Side of Love

Transcending Language Barriers and Borders

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Since February of 2011, Corpus Christi Unitarian Universalist Church has offered a two-hour Sunday afternoon program for English as a Second Language (ESL), Citizenship Test Preparation…and hopefully will include basic computer training this year.

Marilyn Bremser, congregation member, had been teaching these classes at the local library since 2006 but felt that the program could be expanded as an outreach program at our church. Friends with a local Hispanic community activist, Marilyn was invited to attend a “Fuerza Comunitaria” where a collection of local groups, (OSHA, Catholic Charities, insurance companies, etc.) offer free information and guidance to the immigrant community.  At that February Sunday afternoon gathering 23 people signed up to come to our church classes, most speaking no English at all.  With this large number to enroll, the pastor, the Rev. Phil Douglas, enlisted the assistance of the Literary Council whose director is also a church member.

Finding teachers and organizing classrooms in our small church was a challenge but as the year progressed we have settled into five classes: beginning, intermediate and fluency language; citizenship prep and the fifth class is taught by a bi-lingual teacher who kindly assists the more insecure.

We registered about 60 students in 2011.  In December we were able to give certificates to 20 students who studied more than 16 hours with us. Students have been predominantlyfrom Mexico, but others are from Venezuela, Turkey, India, Columbia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Korea, and Taiwan.

The Corpus Christi UU Church pays a young member to help set up the classrooms and to handle the child care.  Three of the volunteer teachers are church members and the other two were recruited through the Literacy Council. Their goal is to encourage students to qualify for enrollment in their local community college (DelMar) and/or to pass the citizenship test. (One student became a citizen in December!)

Clearly, this program offers an excellent opportunity for the Corpus Christi UU Church to be of service and extend their ministry in their wider community, which is made up of sixty-two percent Hispanic people.  This is a congregation committed to ministering to the needs in their local community and transforming lives, one person at a time.

The Corpus Christi UU Church has been one of our Annual Program Fund Honor Congregations for nearly all of the past 25 years.  For more information about the congregation and its ministries:  http://uucorpus.org/

For more information about the UUA’s Annual Program Fund:  www.uua.org/giving/apf

Is this the Age of Austerity, Prosperity, or Economic Justice?

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The Merriam-Webster Dictionary has named “austerity” the Word of the Year for 2010.  Apparently
this distinction was made because of the number of searches done for the word during the course of the year.   One politician asserted we are living in an
“age of austerity,” a time in which severe cuts in government programs, taxes, budget deficits and debt are proposed or imposed.

In the countries where austerity measures are being debated or implemented, the people’s emotions are running high and tension is building, precipitating resistance and protests.

Prosperity is the condition of economic well-being, the state of being successful and with abundance of money and resources.  Notions of prosperity extend beyond wealth to happiness and health, as there are correlations found between wealth and prosperity, happiness and health.

It would seem that prosperity is the better alternative, but can be a challenging concept in light of the research about the growing imbalance of wealth distribution in the United States.  There may be abundance, but for whom and to what extent?

Research and analysis of IRS income data publicized last spring reveals that households with income in the top one percent (1%) gained the most during the economic expansion (2002-2007).  When adjusted for inflation, the top 1% household incomes came through the recession with an average of thirty percent 30% increase.  During the same period,
the bottom ninety percent (90%) of households came through the recession with an
average drop in income of four percent (-4%), adjusted for inflation.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report describes a troubling scenario:  ( http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3309)

Such disproportionate growth helps explain why after the first year of the worst recession since the 1930s, households at the top of the income distribution still had incomes higher than in 2002, while households in the bottom 90 percent of the distribution lost all gains from the recent expansion and had the lowest incomes they have seen in over a decade.

The Occupy Wall Street (or name a city) movement is the grassroots response from among the 99% of our fellow citizens whom are feeling the effects of this imbalance.   Concerns
about high unemployment, national budgetary policy, cuts in essential supports for women, children and needy families, are bringing people together, to join their voices and to stand on the side of love and justice.   (http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/)

Faith communities and religious leaders around the country are taking an active role in
witnessing and advocacy for economic justice and fair budgetary and taxation
policies.  More and more religious leaders are participating in the Occupy protests.   These are religious as much as political issues when it comes to justice and protections for the most vulnerable in our society.

Here are some recent updates and resources for the journey:

http://www.uua.org/news/pressroom/pressreleases/189621.shtml

http://www.ucc.org/justice/federal-budget/

http://www.domestichumanneeds.org/faithfulbudget/

 

What Matters Is How Well We Have Loved

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We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives.  Perhaps we question whether we’re doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.  We recognize our own mortality.  And we are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.  

This is an excerpt from the message President Obama shared in January 2011 at the University of Arizona during the Memorial Service for the victims of the Tucson Shootings.   His words are an important reminder to all of us to make the most of the time we have on this earth in our relationships and service.   Our living and our giving choices reflect our priorities, who and what we love, and our values.

During these times of political and religious unrest and polarization–due in large part around matters of money, status, and power –let us pause to reflect on how well we are loving others and making choices that benefit our fellow citizens.

Through a process of reflection, we can discern the ways we can demonstrate kindness, generosity, and compassion in our relationships, our faith communities, our society, and our world.  There couldn’t be a better time to stand boldly on the side of love.

For the full transcript of the President’s speech: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/13/AR2011011301532.html

For more information about the Standing on the Side of Love campaign and social justice activities:  http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/