Building Sanctuary in Madison, WI

Description
UU Connection
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Backers

Faithify Project Description

This past November, James Reeb Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Madison, Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly to support the New Sanctuary Movement by becoming a host site for an immigrant facing deportation. To answer this call of witness and action, we will need to convert part of a large multipurpose room at the rear of our church into a guest room, install a shower in an existing bathroom, and make other renovations to conform to local codes. A professional architect from our congregation has drawn up plans and solicited construction bids. We expect the cost for the entire project to reach up to $30,000. Our Sanctuary Leadership Team at James Reeb is seeking small grants and also planning fundraising events to generate the rest of the funds necessary to complete the project.

We are not alone in this endeavor! James Reeb belongs to the Dane Sanctuary Coalition, which organizes congregations and organizations to provide physical sanctuary to our immigrant friends and neighbors at risk of deportation. We do this as part of the national New Sanctuary Movement.

There are currently seven congregations (at four sites) that offer sanctuary in Madison. Two are Unitarian Universalist, two United Church of Christ (UCC), one Lutheran, one Mennonite and one Jewish. (James Reeb is the only potential hosting site on the east side of Madison.) A dozen other congregations and several other community organizations offer other forms of support. Plymouth Congregational UCC, our neighbor on Madison’s east side, is also partnering with us on this project. We all continue to take our lead from two local organizations, Voces de la Frontera and Centro Hispano.

Our coalition opposes mean-spirited, cruel and immoral immigration policies that terrorize communities and violate human rights. Our faith teaches us that all people have inherent worth and dignity and that everyone deserves to live free from violence and deprivation. When our government tears apart families, executes unarmed immigrants, and sends refugees into the hands of their persecutors, we find ourselves compelled to act. This vision impels us to stand together in solidarity with our immigrant and refugee friends and neighbors, to offer our support and help, and to provide Sanctuary to those in need. We invite you to join us in this work! Please donate generously to our Sanctuary building fund.

Stretch Goals

Let's Start Sooner! 15,000.00

We are so grateful that we've reached our first major fundraising milestone in our Building Sanctuary in Madison Crowdfunding Campaign. A huge THANK YOU to all who have contributed to the success in reaching our first goal! Since we still have some time left, we are adding a stretch goal of $5,000 to our Faithify campaign for a total of up to $15,000.

As stated in the description of our project, we intended the Faithify effort to be part of a larger campaign that would raise a total of $30,000 for the necessary renovations to be able to offer sanctuary in our building. Every dollar we can raise through Faithify means the sooner we can begin our construction. Support for immigrants and refugees is needed now more than ever!

Project UU Connection

James Reeb UU Congregation is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the MidAmerica Region of the UUA. Many in our congregation see part of our covenant, and part of our attraction to James Reeb UU, as an opportunity and a calling to promote our values in the world.

Building community, working for justice, and nurturing spirit is what we are about, and the Sanctuary movement is one of the many ways we live out these values and aspirations. In our Covenant of Right Relations, members of James Reeb UU pledge that we will “welcome all with a hospitality that is radical in its selflessness, generosity and kindness” and that we will “practice compassionate inclusion.” These are principles we feel we must practice, not just among members of our congregation, but with the stranger in our community and with the immigrant or refugee seeking a better life in our country.

Several of our members work with organizations that assist immigrants and refugees on the Arizona-Mexico border.

All three Unitarian Universalist congregations in Madison are engaged in the Sanctuary movement. All three are becoming increasingly connected in creating the Beloved Community through reaching out to our sisters and brothers who are oppressed by the government’s immigration policies.