The Sanctuary Justice Ministry Team (SJMT) has recently been officially recognized as a Community Outreach Ministry Team at Unity Church. What began under the guidance of our former co-ministers, Janne and Rob Eller-Isaacs, has blossomed into a powerful effort where a dedicated team of congregants continues to provide support to not only the immigrants in our community but to asylum seekers, and queer and trans individuals. Rooted in our Unitarian Universalist values of human dignity, compassion, and justice, this work continues the church's long-standing commitment to sanctuary justice. 

Two members of the SJMT share why they have chosen to become involved in this work.

Teresa Connor: The call to sanctuary justice came to me as a facilities staff member during the pandemic, a time when Unity Church provided hospitality to the sanctuary guests hosted by the congregation. Their stories opened my heart and provided an opportunity to get to know each other and continue conversations that touched on our shared values, concerns, and hopes. To welcome the stranger, to travel with them on their journey, to hold these beloveds in all their inherent dignity, and informed by our shared humanity, led me into deeper engagement. The work of the SJMT is an invitation to hold the complexities of the challenges our guests and other migrants face, and to journey with them. To do this work in community (both within Unity and beyond), I have felt called to engage in broadening circles of love and to advocate for our migrant neighbors who are vulnerable to unjust policies and actions. I am reminded of the line from the Marge Piercy poem that we will all find familiar, “The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real.”

Will Hommeyer: “Being in right relationship with the world" is a concept central to many Indigenous worldviews. It acknowledges the interconnectedness and sacredness of all beings — human and non-human —and emphasizes harmony, respect, and mutual responsibility with the Earth and each other.

For nearly ten years, I sought to learn from Indigenous spiritual leaders by participating in prayer and sweat lodge ceremonies, and spending time on northern Minnesota reservations, listening to stories. I also traveled to the Navajo Reservation with a small group, where we stayed on the land, split firewood, hauled water, and herded sheep to support elders who remained in their hogans*, while resisting forced relocation by the U.S. government to mine for uranium. It was as if they were refugees on their own land.

For me, being in right relationship means I cannot turn my back on a neighbor in need. I cannot look away when migrants, including many Indigenous people displaced by forces beyond their control, seek asylum. The SJMT at Unity Church provides a supportive community and spiritual foundation for this vital work. Witnessing the dysfunction and cruelty of the immigration system has been both eye-opening and heartbreaking, but welcoming the stranger into my life has transformed me in ways I never anticipated.

In response to changing immigration policies and threats to LGBTQ+ rights, the SJMT is focusing on three key areas: 

1. Educating Unity Church members on policy impacts, 
2. Advocating for just legislation, and 
3. Standing in solidarity with displaced persons. 

Our efforts are supported through partnerships with local UUA congregations, multi-faith groups, and community organizations. We invite the congregation into the transformative sanctuary work of welcoming and journeying alongside our neighbors.

The SJMT invites you to Sanctuary Justice 101 on Wednesday, April 16, at 7:10 p.m., in Robbins Parlor. If you are interested in the justice work of welcoming the stranger, please join the meeting, or sign up to get team updates.

*The hogan is the traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. 

Mike Huber, Guest Writer

This question came up when I was reading Sacred Gender: Create Trans and Nonbinary Spiritual Connections by Ariana Serpentine for a Queer Theology discussion group. When I first heard this question, thinking how my thoughts and ideas can extend from my own mind to those in my family or community and maybe even society as a whole, I inadvertently shifted the question to “Where do I end?” 

In our Queer Theology discussion group, the conversation stayed focused on how our bodies are a part of and apart from the world, something I seldom thought about. We talked about the diverse ways we express or present ourselves. We may dress so others perceive us as a potential romantic partner, a potential hire for a job, or even dress to let others know we want to be left alone. Sacred Gender points out that all of us wear clothing and accessories as gender cues to alert others as to how we want to be perceived. This led us to parse out how our internal sense of identity is tied to how others perceive us. It feels good when others see us the way we see ourselves. 

The conversation took a different turn when someone brought up the fact that the cells in our bodies are literally made from the nutrients in our food which comes from the plants and animals we eat. The oxygen and water that sustain our bodies have traveled the planet passing through creatures throughout time. The line between my body and the rest of the world suddenly didn’t seem so obvious. 

This discussion deepened my understanding of Queer Theology. My original understanding had to do with how interpretations of the Bible and other religious texts could be broadened when considering LGBTQ+ people. As I read more, what struck me was the use of the word “queer” as a verb. “Queering” is the act of questioning boundaries that are often accepted as if they are universal truths, rather than simply social norms left unquestioned. The discussion that opened this article is an example of queering the dichotomy of self and the world. 

Queering can be applied to Biblical text. In his book, Trans-Gender: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith, Justin Sabia-Tanis points out that though the Bible says God separated light from darkness and “called” them day and night, sunrise and sunset are times when those terms are blurred. And for many, those times are the most transcendent. The labels we give things imply clear and distinct entities, but the real world (or God’s creation from a theist point of view) is full of ambiguity. 

Back to my original question: “Where does your body begin and end?” Queer Theology has giving me a fresh perspective on the false dichotomy of mind and body. The idea that I somehow exist in my thoughts, and I simply inhabit a body can cause me to think my experience is universal; everyone would have the same thoughts as me if they were simply as enlightened. This is as offensive as it is destructive. The notion that my body and mind are separate entities actually separates me from others. When I acknowledge that I don’t have a body but that I am a body — that all I think, believe and know is based on my experiences, whether sensory, social or intellectual — I approach others with curiosity and compassion. Mind/body dualism creates division not only individually but also interpersonally. 

My journey into Queer Theology is just beginning, but it resonates with being Unitarian (oneness) and Universalist (wholeness). Questioning where my body ends and the world begins, leads me to wonder if that is where love is. Not power, not norms... but love. 

Notes: 

• At Unity Church, the LGBTQ+ group coordinates some of the LGBTQ+ programming with the congregation. Past events have included our Queer Retreat, conversation groups, and advocacy. For more information, contact Philippa Anastos at [email protected].
• For more information about inclusion and equity in the Unitarian Universalist Association, visit “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Justice." 

Lia Rivamonte, Beloved Community Communications Team

Long ago, I was part of a small acting troupe from a local theater that toured rural areas in the upper Midwest. Typically, we performed in a school gym or an auditorium and it was the school principal who served as emcee, introducing us by name to the students and faculty. The challenge to pronounce our names was exasperating for them; funny and ironic, to us. Waiting to go on stage, we never knew what might emanate from the mouth of the person who introduced us. The show was about growing up Asian American, an attempt at humanizing us by interweaving music with humorous and moving stories about Asian American history, culture, family life, and the immigrant experience. 

The botched intros seemed to illustrate, at that time, how necessary it was to dispel the notion of Asian exoticism and inscrutability, that has long permeated Asian-ness in the country; notions that exploited difference in order to justify unequal treatment. While our names sounded strange and we may not have looked like the majority of the students or their families in their community, the narratives we shared were probably similar to their own predominantly European immigrant histories. That touring show took place 30 years ago. 

The pandemic revitalized that sense of foreignness of Asian Americans; some blaming us directly for Covid. And while there have been no recent reports of violence toward Asian Americans, renewed skepticism and opposition towards all immigrants is a hallmark of the incoming administration. We have yet to see how “successful” this anti-immigrant campaign will be not only in terms of government policy and economic feasibility, but also in regard to an unabashed retreat from that to which we had once aspired: a democracy where all are treated with equal respect, where all feel that we belong. 

The cultivation of a sense of belonging and genuine human connection has taken on a new urgency. For many of us, present-day hyper-connectivity through social media has served to heighten our awareness of disconnectedness. Our social media posts often portray our accomplishments, our close happy times with family and friends, career successes, vacations, smooth life transitions, etc. In the Unity All Our Fullness (AOF) initiative, we want to go deeper with you to cultivate authentic inclusion and connection. 

As Rev. KP Hong, Unity’s Minister of Faith Formation says, “At the heart of a faith community is creating belonging where there has been exclusion, border, social fragmentation, and segregation.” The current Unity Church fourth Ends Statement may be aspirational, “to know each other in all our fullness and create an ever-widening circle of belonging for all people,” but as KP says, “A religious vision of belonging is always revolutionary, prophetic, imagining a way beyond othering.” This is the belonging that we call Beloved Community.

Did our theater presentation make a difference? Did we persuade the mainly white, Euro-American students to see Asian Americans as having the same desires and needs, despite seemingly unpronounceable names or other perceived differences? Maybe, for a minute. What I do know is the kid in the audience who was a Korean adoptee or whose family owned the local Chinese restaurant was always the first to greet us backstage; often in tears, grateful to hear their own story elevated and told as something about which to be proud. It felt to them as if they belonged — if not in that gym, in the larger world they hoped would be waiting for them one day.

We, too, are waiting. It is easy to isolate and never stretch ourselves, but I think we are all a bit tired of living among strangers. As curious Unitarian Universalists, who believe in the interconnectedness of our universe, how about starting with ourselves? 

With this in mind, we warmly invite you to All Our Fullness, to share your personal story in response to one of the following prompts: 

• When did you become aware of your own cultural identity?
• Share a story about a time you encountered difference; and what difference did it make.
• What stirs your yearning for multicultural community?

We welcome videos (two minutes or less), art, photographs, and/or your written response (300 words or so). Submit via the All Our Fullness online form.

Thank you! We are grateful in advance for your participation. Responses will be shared with the congregation on Unity’s website and/or in commUNITY in the coming months. Please note that your contribution may be edited for length and clarity.

Feel free to direct any questions about AOF to [email protected].