WHY GO TO JUSTICE GA?

To Witness:  

The UU Arizona Immigration Ministry is planning some powerful witness events, beginning on our first night at GA, in partnership with Puente, the local barrio committees, National Day Labor Organizing Network, SOMOS, and others. We will support their campaign to fix our broken immigration system, stop tearing families apart in the name of law, stop the mass detention and deportation of immigrants, resist the provisions of SB1070 and their spread to other states, challenge the abuses of county sheriff Joe Arpaio, and end human rights violations at the border.  An interfaith candlelight vigil at Sheriff Arpaio's infamous 'Tent City' will be held on Saturday night.  

To Learn:

Join in deep discussions and practical workshops, and hear distinguished speakers, such as:

• Ware Lecturer Maria Hinojosa, award-winning NPR journalist whose many achievements include the documentary Lost in Detention
• Dr. Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
• Kim Bobo, Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and author of Wage Theft in America
• Pablo Alvarado, Director of National Day Labor Organizing Network
• Carlos Garcia of Puente and Salvador Reza of Committees for Defense of the Barrios
• Donna Redwing, Director of Grassroots Leadership, on shutting down private prisons and detention centers
• Isabel Garcia, Public Defender's Office of Pima County, AZ and Director of Coalición de Derechos Humanos
• Leading UU theologians and activists from around the country

There will also be music, drama, and film. See more at http://www.uua.org/documents/gaoffice/preliminaryprogram.pdf

To Worship

Worship permeates every day at GA, from the informal, intimate Morning Spiritual Practices to youth and young adult-led alternative worships to moving, music-rich services in the plenary hall. Don't miss:

• The Service of the Living Tradition, with the Rev. Karen Tse, an international human rights attorney and former public defender
• The youth-young adult Bridging Ceremony and Synergy Worship
• Sunday morning worship, "Justice Is Love in Action," with the Rev. John Crestwell and the GA Choir

To Serve

Engage in service with our community partners. Projects, including voter registration, advising on citizenship paperwork, and assembling backpacks for immigrant children, will take place in a variety of settings and include multi-generational teams.

To Network and Bring Justice Home

Gather in regional reflection groups to discuss GA learning and experience and brainstorm how to bring it back to our congregations.

HAPPENINGS, NATIONAL AND LOCAL

In Washington, DC: The Supreme Court is hearing arguments starting April 25 on United States vs. Arizona, on Arizona's racial profiling law SB 1070. UU's in the Washington, DC area and in Arizona are holding vigils and marches to underscore the moral as well as legal failings of the law as the court takes it up A ruling is expected around the beginning of GA in June.

Here in the BCD:

• The anti-immigrant bill SB 2061 is still under consideration by the Massachusetts legislature. Voices are needed to speak out against it and against the use of local police to enforce ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) actions.

• The Old Ship Immigration Discussion Group and Hingham No Place for Hate co-sponsor a panel of legal experts and officials on "Immigration-Facts and Fictions" on Tuesday, May 1 at 7:30 PM, at Congregation Sha'aray Shalom, 1112 Main St., Hingham. All are welcome. For information, contact Eva Marx at tomneva@supportlab.com .

·         The BCD Spring Conference on Saturday, May 5 will focus on a mission focused congregation with an immigration justice discussion. Stop by the BCD Justice GA Task Force table for information on GA, immigration issues and action opportunities.. During lunchtime, you'll have a chance to view the video "Detained: The New Bedford Immigration Raid" or discuss the issues with UUA Trustee Rev. Catherine Cullen.