Congregational Conversation Notes

After the service on Sunday, January 19, we held our monthly Congregational Conversation, focusing on our social justice work. Below are the notes from this discussion:

Community Engagement & Social Justice
The discussion highlighted our congregation’s longstanding commitment to social justice, while also acknowledging challenges in sustaining participation. Many of our members who have been involved for years are aging, and we need to explore new ways to engage others in this important work. There was a call for recommitment to social justice as a core priority and consideration of new, more sustainable approaches to activism.

Several ongoing and new initiatives were discussed:

• Refugee Support: Our congregation is involved in the Welcome Corps effort, preparing to welcome a family from Venezuela in partnership with other local faith communities.
• Sanctuary Congregation: A group is working on reviving discussions about offering sanctuary to immigrants, though questions remain about legal protections and feasibility. Meetings are being held with an immigration lawyer and local activists to determine next steps.
• Trust Act Advocacy: Members are working to clarify how local law enforcement interprets the Trust Act, which limits police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. A meeting with the police chief is planned to ensure proper implementation.
• Accompaniment and Rapid Response Teams: Volunteers are being trained to support immigrants at court hearings and to mobilize quickly when deportation actions occur.
• LGBTQ+ Safe Housing Network: Several households have expressed willingness to provide temporary housing for transgender and non-binary individuals fleeing unsafe conditions in other states.
• Palestinian Solidarity: There was a proposal to engage more actively in advocacy for Palestinian rights, including potential partnerships with statewide networks.
• Abortion Access Support: Members discussed possible involvement in networks assisting people in restricted states to travel for abortion care.
• Healthcare Access:  Concerns about the profit-driven healthcare system and the potential dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which, while imperfect, remains a crucial source of coverage for many.

Organizing Our Efforts
Given the breadth of our social justice commitments, there was strong agreement that we need better organization. A new team will form to help structure and prioritize our activism. This group will:

• Map our current involvement: A visual representation (such as a Venn diagram) will be created to show which causes we are engaged in and where efforts overlap or need more focus.
• Facilitate decision-making: A follow-up conversation will be scheduled to determine the top social justice priorities for our congregation.
• Improve communication: The new website and newsletter system will be key tools for keeping members informed. There is also interest in exploring a text alert system for urgent social justice actions.

Adapting to Rapid Changes & Keeping Everyone Informed
We recognize that social, political, and community conditions are shifting quickly, which means our responses and approaches may need to evolve just as rapidly. We are committed to keeping everyone informed through multiple channels, including the website, newsletter, and potentially a text-based alert system. As decisions need to be made quickly, the leadership team will do its best to communicate openly and clearly while also ensuring major choices are brought to the congregation for discussion whenever possible.

Next Steps & Future Meetings

• A follow-up conversation will be scheduled to determine congregational priorities for social justice efforts.
• A member suggested planning half-day retreat  address pressing topics.
• More discussions will be held on safety, security, and communications infrastructure.

The meeting closed with deep appreciation for everyone’s participation and commitment. The high turnout and engagement demonstrated our community’s dedication to justice and action.

Thank you to all who attended.