Today’s sermon features the stories and experiences of individuals impacted by current United States immigration practices, including time spent living in or visiting detention centers, and those who help to bring the imprisoned out of captivity and onto the path of citizenship. This sermon highlights the UU covenantal values of pluralism, justice, generosity, and equity, and supports the belief that no human being is illegal.
Guillermo is a builder of sanctuary and has led immigration and outreach efforts with CLUE since 2011. As part of his outreach efforts, he organized clergy in Long Beach to support hotel workers in winning living wages, led racial justice actions, and co-founded the UCARE Coalition in 2014 to support unaccompanied minors and their families. He has helped develop programs for United Methodist Immigration Welcoming Center congregations and trained more than one hundred clergy and lay leaders on immigration, sanctuary, and rapid response to ICE activity. He also trained over one hundred fifty leaders about the Adelanto Immigration Detention Center and helped create the CLUE LA visitation network, while recruiting more than thirty congregations to welcome asylum seekers. Before CLUE, he was a Teamster and immigrant rights activist. Throughout all of these contributions to the public good, he remains led by his faith which continues to guide his commitment to justice and community.
Topics: Community, Togetherness, Current or Recent Events, Immigration, Social and Environmental Justice