Social Justice

Esta Navidad, una amiga mía me regaló un libro titulado “Tres Tazas de Te”. Se trata de un señor de los Estados Unidos, Greg Mortenson, que ha estado construyendo escuelas durante los últimos quince años en Pakistán y Afganistán. Yo no había escuchado mucho sobre el libro, pero mi amiga que me lo dio me dijo que seguramente yo lo disfrutaría porque, al igual que Greg Mortenson, yo también estoy cambiando el mundo.  Bueno, ese fué ¡todo un cumplido! Entonces, leí la cubierta y en la contraportada dice que es “la historia motivadora, de un Indiana Jones de la vida real!”. Y en la portada dice que el libro es “emocionante” y es “prueba de que una persona ordinaria, con la combinación correcta de carácter y determinación, realmente puede cambiar el mundo”.

Cuando leí esas descripciones no quise leer este libro. Porque, aunque quisiera ser, ciertamente no soy Indiana Jones y si existe una “combinación correcta de carácter y determinación,” dudo que yo la tenga. Sentí como que este  libro “Tres Tazas de Te” no tenía nada que ver conmigo.

Pero mi amiga seguía preguntándome si ya había empezado a leer el libro, el cual era un regalo muy tierno, entonces lo comencé a leer. Y…  resultó que “Tres Tazas de Te” me gustó. No porque fuera la historia de un Indiana Jones de la vida real, sino porque reflejaba la realidad de la labor de justicia social que yo conozco.

Antes que nada, le tomó años a Mortenson colocar incluso el primer tabique en la primera escuela después de muchos errores y algunos fracasos. Cuando se propuso construir esa primera escuela, e incluso por varios años después, Mortenson no sabía realmente hacia donde lo llevaría esa labor. Finalmente, y quizá lo mas importante es que, él no hizo este trabajo solo.  Mortenson mismo está bien consciente que muchas personas trabajaron tan duro como él para hacer realidad esas escuelas.

Esa historia, la historia real, fue mucho mejor de lo que sugería la portada del libro. La portada nos daba la versión común y romántica de la labor de justicia social, pero a mí me gusta esa labor para el cambio precisamente a causa de estas realidades más difíciles; toma tiempo, siempre está lleno de sorpresas y dado que es un esfuerzo de toda una comunidad de personas.

Me siento afortunada que he podido trabajar en asuntos sociales como estudiante, como abogada y como voluntaria, e incluso como madre. Tengo dos hijas de 9 y 11 años de edad y estoy aprendiendo todo el tiempo que estas realidades sobre la labor de justicia social son ciertas para mí en cuanto a la maternidad también.

La decisión misma de tener un bebé, de añadir una persona a este mundo ya tan lleno de gente, tiene implicaciones de justicia. Antes de tener a mis hijas, yo había planeado ser la madre más responsable socialmente hablando, que jamás hubiera existido. Las decisiones eran obvias, yo nunca jamás tiraría ni siquiera un solo pañal desechable a la basura, para no contaminar la tierra. Pero me encontré muy pronto que los bebés usan un montón de pañales. Y luego tuvimos una nana… y luego fuimos de campamento… y a veces simplemente había tenido un día pesado. Entonces, hice ciertos arreglos, y los pañales fueron solamente el comienzo de tantas decisiones. A veces parece como que cada detalle de sus vidas, desde qué tipo de juguetes usan para jugar, hasta cómo le hablan a sus abuelos y todo lo que quieren consumir. Y además de la responsabilidad que tengo de hacer mis decisiones sobre ellas, existe otra responsabilidad de asegurarme que entiendan porqué tomé esas decisiones.

Tal como le tomó al Sr. Mortenson años de esfuerzo, así es con toda la labor de justicia social y también para ser padre o madre. Ninguna de estas labores es como hacer un pastel, en el que uno puede mezclar los ingredientes y ponerlo en un horno y esperar a que esté listo. Es más como la sopa de fideo, en que uno tiene que estar continuamente moviendo la sopa en la estufa. Toma un cariño cotidiano y una cantidad adecuada de trabajo pesado. 

Yo sé que puede sonar interesante cuando el título de mi trabajo es “Coordinadora de Justicia  Social”, pero en realidad hay mucho más trabajo de coordinación que de justicia social. Paso mucho tiempo hacienda copias, enviando mensajes electrónicos, haciendo llamadas, y escribiendo. La mayor parte del trabajo de ser madre, es también repetitivo y aburrido; comprar alimentos, preparar la comida, limpieza y lavandería, y llevar a las niñas a sus actividades.

Y para ambos trabajos que hago, cada pequeña tarea es parte de la labor misma, no importa cuan aburrida pueda ser. Cuando trabajo en algún asunto, como la paz, por lo menos trató de comportarme en una manera consistente, es decir, pacífica. Por ejemplo, si estoy haciendo copias de un volante para una vigilia de la paz y se descompone la máquina, probablemente no debería  patearla. Y como madre, quiero siempre dar un ejemplo para mis hijas de cómo ser en el mundo, porque no importa lo que yo haga, ellas están aprendiendo lo que es ser adulta, miembro de la familia y ciudadana.

En el libro “Tres Tazas de Te”, se me hizo interesante que el Sr. Mortenson no tenía un plan, solamente quería ayudar a una aldea a obtener una escuela. Cuando yo era abogada de inmigración para Catholic Charities en los 90’s, escuché por primera vez de la Primera Iglesia Unitaria, como iglesia santuario. Sin embargo, no me hubiera podido imaginar entonces, que yo habría de estar trabajando aquí mas de diez años después en el Nuevo Movimiento Santuario. En aquel entonces yo pensaba que la labor de justicia social era intercesión legal y no me percataba de cuánto habría de aprender a buscar los cambios desde una perspectiva religiosa. Tanto en la justicia social como en ser madre, estoy trabajando en algo que tiene su vida propia. Invierto mi esfuerzo para algún beneficio futuro que no puedo imaginar muy bien y que está constantemente lleno de sorpresas. Para ambos, hacemos lo mejor y luego dejamos que la obra hable por si misma.

Finalmente, tanto en la justicia social, como en el ser madre, no puede uno hacerlo sola. La semana pasada, la marcha del Primero de Mayo no podría haber sido lo mismo si solo una persona hubiera caminado, porque toma un montón de personas para llamar la atención. Pero más allá de necesitar simplemente un número de gente para hacer el cambio, también necesitamos trabajar en los asuntos desde muchos ángulos diferentes. Mientras algunas personas están cambiando las leyes, otros están cambiando las mentes. Algunos escriben artículos sobre la justicia ambiental y otros están haciendo investigación sobre los efectos perjudiciales de la contaminación en las comunidades pobres. Mientras que trabajamos hacia una meta común, cada uno de nosotros tiene un papel diferente que jugar. Y educar a los niños se parece mucho a ese proceso.

Recuerdo el día en que mi niña mayor fue al jardín de niños (Kinder) y aprendió a amarrarse los zapatos. Me sentí tan aliviada y agradecida que no tuve que enseñarle eso; no puedo hacerlo todo. Creo que se me había olvidado que desde que nacieron mis hijas, han habido incontables cosas  que ellas han aprendido de los maestros, abuelos, vecinos, nanas. Cada uno dándoles nuevas ideas, habilidades y perspectivas.

La labor de justicia social y la maternidad están conectadas en tantas maneras complejas. Yo creo que el ser madre me ha dado una perspectiva más amplia en cuanto a los asuntos en los que he estado involucrada. Mientras estaba en la escuela de derecho y antes que tuviera hijas hice un interinato en una agencia para víctimas de violencia doméstica. Allí aprendí sobre lo difícil que era abandonar a un compañero abusivo, a la hora de considerar la economía, la familia y especialmente a los niños. Una de mis funciones era llamar a las mujeres cuyos compañeros estaban siendo perseguidos por la ley. Yo les contaba sobre el sistema legal y ellas usualmente querían retirar los cargos (o las acusaciones). A menudo decían que su compañero era “un buen padre” o un “padre amoroso” y aunque yo quizá sonaba como que les entendía, en realidad, no entendía. Creo que ahora me hace más sentido, ahora que soy madre, que una mujer que se enfrenta a la violencia todavía quiera que sus hijos conozcan y amen a su padre. Que ellas pueden ver lo que el esposo les puede ofrecer a sus hijos, aunque esté lastimándola a ella. Hace mucho más sentido ahora. Lo que estamos dispuestas a aguantar y sufrir con tal de hacer lo que les conviene más a nuestros hijos.

Creo que el hecho de ser testiga presencial de la fortaleza en las familias es, por lo menos en parte, la razón por la que me he sentido atraída a luchar por los derechos de los inmigrantes. Yo trabajé como abogada de inmigración y después trabajé para el condado en su programa de inmigración y ciudadanía. He escuchado muchas historias de personas de todo el mundo y cómo llegaron al Condado de Santa Clara, pero me han conmovido más profundamente los padres que han tomado decisiones que parten el alma, a causa del amor por sus hijos. Sabiendo cuán difícil sería para mí dejar a mis hijas para ir a trabajar a otro país, sin saber cuando habría de volver, apenas puedo imaginar todo lo que los padres deben sufrir. Cuando me enteré de las redadas en los lugares de trabajo de los inmigrantes que arrestan y encarcelan a los padres sin importarles lo que les pase a sus hijos, me quedo horrorizada. Cuando pienso en las familias que están siendo desintegradas por las leyes injustas de inmigración, yo sé que debemos trabajar para lograr un cambio.

Este fin de semana marca el Primer Aniversario del Nuevo Movimiento Santuario en favor de los derechos de los inmigrantes. Es un movimiento que enmarca los asuntos de inmigración como asuntos familiares y les hace saber a la gente que nuestras leyes económicas y de inmigración están creando estas situaciones terribles.  Como madre, la justicia para los inmigrantes permanece muy cerca a mi corazón.

Greg Mortenson es una persona extraordinaria y sus sueños de proveer escuelas en las  aldeas lejanas se han hecho realidad. Quizá mi amiga tenga razón, quizá yo tenga un poquito de él en mí. Puedo comprender porqué para él es tan  importante construir. Al igual que ser madre, es una labor nacida del amor, un trabajo arduo que se siente obligado a hacer desde algo muy dentro de él, casi por instinto. Desde que yo he tenido a mis hijas, mi trabajo ha cobrado mayor significado y espero estar ayudando a proveerles un mundo que ellas se merecen. 

On Mother’s day this year, I offered the sermon for the Spanish service that we hold at First Unitarian every Sunday at 9:30.  Here is my sermon, in English. 

This Christmas, a good friend of mine gave me a book called “Three Cups of Tea.” It’s about a man, Greg Mortenson, from the United States who has been building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past 15 years.  I hadn’t heard much about the book, but my friend that gave it to me said that I would surely like it because, just like Greg Mortenson, I am also changing the world.  Well, that was flattering! So, I read the cover and on the back it says that it’s “the astonishing, uplifting story of a real life Indiana Jones.” And on the front says that the book is “thrilling” and “proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world. “

When I read those descriptions I did not want to read this book.  Because, as much as I wish I were, I am certainly no Indiana Jones and if there is a “right combination of character and determination” I doubt I have it.  It felt like “Three Cups of Tea” had nothing to do with me.

But my friend kept asking if I had started the book, which was such a sweet gift, so I did.  And, as it turned out, I did like “Three Cups of Tea.”  Not because it was the story of a real-life Indiana Jones, but because reflected the reality of social justice work that I know.

First of all, it took years for Mortenson to lay even the first brick at the first school after lots of mistakes and some failures. When he set out to build that first school, and even for several years following, Mortenson really didn’t know where the work would lead him.  Finally, maybe most importantly, he did not do this work alone.  Mortenson himself is well aware that many people worked just as hard as he did to bring those schools into being. 

That story, the real story, was so much better than the book cover suggested.  The cover gave us the common and romanticized version of social justice work, but I love working for change precisely because of these more difficult realities; it takes time, it is always surprising and because it is an effort of a whole community of people.  I feel fortunate that I have been able to work on social issues as a student, as a lawyer, as a volunteer and even as a mother.  I have two daughters that are 9 and 11 years old and I am learning all the time that these realities about justice work are also true for me about mothering as well.

The very decision to have a child, to add new person to this already very crowded world, has justice implications.  Before I had children, I planned to be the most socially responsible parent ever known.   The choices were obvious, I would never add even one disposable diaper to any landfill.  But I found out quickly that babies use a lot of diapers.  And then we had a babysitter  . . . and then we went camping,  . . . and sometimes I just had a long hard day.  So, I made some compromises, and the diapers were just the beginning of so many decisions. Sometimes it seems like every detail of their lives, from what kinds of toys they play with to how they talk to their grandparents and everything they what consume. And on top of the responsibility I have to make my decisions about them, there is another responsibility to be sure that they understand why I make those decisions. 

Just as it took Mr. Mortenson years of effort, so it is with all social justice work and for being a parent. Neither is not like a cake that you can just mix the ingredients and put it in the oven and just wait until it’s done.  It’s more like sopa de fideo that you have to keep stirring on the stovetop. It takes daily care and a fair amount of drudgery. 

I know it might sound interesting when your job title is “Social Justice Coordinator,” but there’s actually a lot more coordinating than social justice.  I spend a lot of time copying, emailing, calling, and writing. The bulk of parenting is, too, repetitive and boring; with grocery shopping, food preparation, cleaning and laundry and driving kids to their activities.

And for both, how I do each small task is part of the work itself, however dull it may be. When I work on an issue, like peace, I at least try to conduct myself in a way that is consistent, that is, in a peaceful manner.  So, for example, if I am copying a flyer for a peace vigil and the machine breaks, I probably shouldn’t kick it. And as a mother, I want to always be modeling a way of being in the world to my children, because whatever I may be doing they are learning what it means to be an adult, a family member, a citizen.

In “Three Cups of Tea,” I found it interesting that Mr. Mortenson didn’t have a plan, he just wanted to help one village get a school. When I was practicing immigration law at Catholic Charities in the 1990’s I learned then of First Unitarian as a sanctuary church.  I would not have imagined then, however, that I would be working here ten years later on the New Sanctuary Movement.  I thought back then that social justice work meant legal advocacy and I didn’t realize how much I would learn about making change from a faith perspective. Both in social justice and as a mother, I am working on something that has a life of its own.  My effort toward some future benefit that I can’t quite imagine  and is constantly surprising. For both, we do our best and then let the work speak for itself.

Finally, both social justice work and being a mother cannot be done alone.  Last week’s May Day march wouldn’t have been the same if only one person walked because it takes a lot of people to get noticed.  But beyond simply needing numbers to make change, we also need to be working on issues from many different angles.  While some people are changing laws, others are changing minds.  Some are writing articles about environmental justice and others are researching the detrimental effects of pollution in poor communities.  While we work towards a common goal, we each have a different role to play.  And raising children is much the same.

I remember the day when my oldest went to kindergarten and she learned to tie her shoe.  I was so relieved and grateful that I didn’t have to teach her, I couldn’t do it all.  I guess I had forgotten that since they were born, there have been countless things that that my children have learned from teachers, grandparents, neighbors, babysitters.  Everyone giving them new ideas, skills and perspectives. 

Social justice work and motherhood are connected in so many intricate ways.  I think that being a mother has given me greater insight into the issues I have been involved in. While I was in law school and before I had children I interned at an agency for victims of domestic violence. I learned there about how difficult it can be to leave an abusive partner considering economics, family and especially children.  One of my roles was to call women whose partners were being prosecuted.  I would tell them about the legal system and they usually wanted charges dropped.  They would often say that their partner was “a good father” or “a loving parent” and though I hopefully sounded like I understood, I didn’t really.  I think it makes more sense to me now that I am a mother that a woman facing violence would still want her children to know and love their other parent.  That she could see what he could offer them, even if he was hurting her. It makes so much more sense now.  What we might be willing to endure to do what we think is the best for our children.

I think that witnessing the strength in families is, at least, part of why I have been so drawn to immigrant rights.  I practiced immigration law and later worked for the county in their immigration and citizenship program. I have heard many stories from people around the world and how they came to be in Santa Clara County, but I am most profoundly moved by the parents who have made heart-wrenching decisions because of their love for their children.  Knowing how difficult it would be for me to leave my children to work in another country, not knowing when I would return, I can only imagine what parents go through.  When I learn of raids on immigrant work places that round up parents and incarcerate them without regard for what will happen to their children, I am appalled.  When I think of families being torn apart by unjust immigration laws, I know that we must work for change.

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the New Sanctuary Movement for immigrant rights.  It’s a movement that frames immgration issues as family issues and is letting people know that our economics and immigration laws are creating these terrible situations.  As a mother, justice for immigrants remains close to my heart.

Greg Mortenson is an extraordinary person and his dreams of providing schools to children in remote villages have been made real. Maybe my friend was right, maybe I do have a little of him in me. I can understand why building matters so much to him.  Like being a mother, it is work born of love, hard work that he is compelled to do from something deep inside him, almost instinctual.  Since I have had children, my work itself has more meaning and I am hopefully helping to provide them a world that they deserve.

So, I ride my bike to the drug store, and feeling pretty smug about it, when I nearly get hit by a car that didn’t notice me in the bike lane.  Scary, but no harm done, and at least there was a bike lane, unlike so many parts of town, so I console myself by thinking how I could have at least sued that driver for whatever injuries I almost sustained.  But now I’m a bit terrorized, so I abandon the street altogether and ride on the sidewalk, so I can terrorize the poor walkers instead.

I get to the drugstore and am not surprised to find no bike rack.  That’s cool, I can lock my bike to . . . uh . . .hmm. . . well, my bike will be fine leaning agains this wall for just a minute.  I do some shopping and then I pull out the bag I brought from home, a plastic one, pretty strong with a draw string.  When I get to the cashier I say that I don’t need a bag for my purchase and she smiles and puts one single item in the bag I’ve brought.  Then she starts placing the rest of the stuff in the plastic bags that are all set up on that metal frame that makes it oh-so-easy to dump items in, but once you’ve pulled the bag off, you’ve ruined the entire system and that plastic bag is of no use.  She’s a friendly enough person and I am pretty sure she’s not trying to end the world.  “Actually, I can just use this bag,” I say in my most nonthreatening, I-am-not-an-ecofreak voice.  She can’t be convinced, a few more items end up in my bag, but I simply must take the olive oil in her drugstore-approved plastic (at least it wasn’t a double-bagged gallon of milk that already has handles).

When I leave I find that my bike has fallen over.  I am no longer smug, I am grumpy.  Why is this so hard?

Now, I’m not saying I am the queen of green living.  I do what I can, but I can’t do it in isolation.  In order for any of us to ride our bikes to work or school, we need bike lanes, bike racks and cars to watch out for us.  That means the city, businesses and everyone on the road is a part of making alternative transportation successful.  We pretty much know what we should be doing, but we need to cooperate on many levels.  We all want to participate, but we need leadership from government.

That’s the message that our PACT Local Organizing Committee gave to Mayor Chuck Reed on February 25.  It was so cool, because we had a packed Sanctuary, we got Mercury News coverage as well as El Observador.  If you missed it, there’s a clip of the highlights on youtube.  Now, the Mayor has got this wonderful and ambitious Green Vision, but it won’t work unless everyone is a part.  We talked about how low income residents are often left out of the mainstream environmental movement. We’ve learned a lot from Green For All, a cutting edge group in Oakland that is a leader environmentalism that includes low income workers and neighborhoods.

This month at First Unitarian, we will celebrate Earth Day with environment themed services on April 20 at 9:30am and 11:00am. Please join us, and find out at Coffee Hour what PACT is planning to follow up on that super successful event in February.

The Friday before, April 18, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, The students at Third Street Community Center will be holding their first-ever “Green Knowledge Bowl,” where they will show off all their that they have learned about sustainability during ASAP, their after school program. All are invited to come cheer for the kids as judges, including downtown councilperson San Liccardo, ask the tough questions!

 We are coming on the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq on March 20, and people all over the country are organizing different ways to observe the date.  There will be rallies and marches and protests, all very important for publicly opposing our occupation.  At the same time, how do we show what we are for? It is one thing to say that we believe in peace but what does that look like?

How about this:  bring together people from all over this world, with traditions as diverse as you can find.  Find an issue of commonality that each can share, like say, for example, peace, and invite each to teach us just a bit about how they view the topic.  Let’s meet in a beautiful place as the sun sets, and let’s include song and movement, and children’s voices as well.

This unbelievably beautiful event takes place in the First Unitarian Church of San Jose Sanctuary on Sunday, March 16 at 5:00pm.  It is the fourth annual Interfaith Service for Peace that we have hosted on the third Sunday in March.  We celebrate this coming together in the middle of the Season for Nonviolence, which began January 30 and continues through April 4.

This year, we are connecting with a coalition of agencies that are planning a “Fast for Peace.” The fast will begin with a symbolic gesture at the Interfaith Service for Peace and end at a community breaking of the fast on Wednesday the 19th at sundown, 72 hours later. 

Unitarian Universalists believe in the interconnectedness of all things.  This Interfaith Service is a way we to experience that belief by seeing all of these diverse traditions worshiping together. This is a free event, family-friendly and all are welcome.

When we put out the rainbow flag every Sunday at First Unitarian Church of San Jose, we hope that the symbol extends a warm welcome to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We take pride in being a faith community of gay, transgender, straight, lesbian, bisexual and questioning people.

I am afraid, though, that the work we have done, such as becoming a Welcoming Congregation, has led us to lose some of our outrage for the discrimination that persists. I mean, the California legislature keeps sending those marriage equality bills to the Governor to sign, right?  And it’s going through the California courts, too.  We’re this close to having marriage equality because it so obviously the right thing and everyone knows it!

But consider this; a September 2006 poll by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that while 47%of likely voters in California support marriage for same-sex couples, an almost equal 46% oppose. Since 1973, 42 states have passed “Defense of Marriage” statutes, which define marriage as heterosexual unions only. Some states have approved measures that ban other forms of partner recognition, including domestic partnerships and civil unions. This means that we simply can’t pretend that equality for all couples will all fall into place through the course of time.  We must be involved in perhaps the most basic civil rights issue of our day. Choosing who we love, with whom to build a life, with whom to raise children; these choices are fundamental to each one of our lives. Each one of us must weigh in.

We can find out just how on Sunday, February 10 after Coffee Hour in the Sanctuary when staffers from Equality California will be here. So grab a lunch brought by Spanish Speaking Ministries (for just a few dollars) then be ready to be agitated and energized into action.  As the song goes, we “are standing on the side of love,” but maybe we should jump.

After 20 years as a member of the Green Party, last week I changed my party affiliation.  For the first time in all those years, I feel excited about the political process because these presidential primaries and election is wide open.  I’ve got this creeping sense that my vote will matter.  I have hope for 2008.

The work we do in the Social Justice Ministry at First Unitarian Church of San Jose requires some amount of faith that our actions are making an impact.  Whether we write a letter about marriage equality or we take the bus to service on Sunday, we trust that the individual act matters.  That makes sense in our church setting, of course, that our faith and our actions are not only linked, but profoundly intertwined.  But it often feels like it is all faith, that the impact is far-off, intangible, only relevant somehow or someday.  It’s hard to take the bus with that kind of feeling.

That’s why this election is so thrilling and why I want to be a part of the major party primaries.  No longer will I cast a protest vote, but perhaps a vote that matters!  And from there, who knows!  More people are getting engaged and that can only mean that even more people will get engaged.  Imagine!  We are already talking about how the candidates are similar or different, what we care about in our leaders and the range of choices that we have.

That’s what gives me hope for 2008.  Because this is just the beginning.  Whatever the result, we will have gone through a process that will change how we see politics and politicians.  We will have a new lens to see what is possible.

So here’s to 2008!  Resolutions, bah!  I’ve got something better, and that’s Hope.

We try to make our healthy earth citizen choices all year long but when the holidays hit those choices can feel underwhelming.  Americans, on average, increase their their garbage by 25% from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, according the the EPA. So it’s easy to feel drowned in those 25 million tons of extra trash, but I have some encouraging news because a green and socially responsible holiday is possible - without killing the holidays with rightousness.  Here’s my sustainable holiday guide.

First, don’t miss the Holiday Peace Fair that takes place Saturday, December 1 from 11:00-4:00 at Immanuel Lutheran Church at 1710 Moorpark (at Leigh) where South Bay peace and justice groups will be selling fair trade, non-violent games and toys, and artisan handicrafts.  But if you do miss it, catch the Peace and Justice Fair on December 13th and 14th from 4:30 to 7:00pm at the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center. More local artisan shopping is possible at the FUCSJ Fireside Gift Faire on December 9 from 9:00-3:00 and at Art House Kids at 1043 Lincoln Ave in San Jose on December 8 from 4:00-7:00pm and December 9 from 11:00 to 2:00.

There’s tons of online options for fair trade, organic and also information about the social responsibility of companies.  Below I list some of those, but if the holidays aren’t the same for you without the bricks and morter shopping experience you don’t have to give that up.  Be sure to shop at independent businesses rather than the chains to support small business ownership and local products. 

Bookstores. Sisterspirit, a bookstore serving women’s and LGBT communities and is part of Billy DeFrank Center at 938 the Alameda. Open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 6:30-9; Wednesday 6-8:30 and Saturday 10-2. Willow Glen Books at 1330 Lincoln Avenue and just a few doors down, Hicklebee’s at 1378 Lincoln for children and young adult books and other children’s treasures.  If you are farther up the peninsula, check out Book’s, Inc. at 301 Castro St. in Mountain View or Kepler’s at 1010 El Camino in Menlo Park.

Fair trade.  Start with the coffee, tea and chocolate that will be sold at Coffee Hour on December 2 after 11:00 service.  Then check out other places that stock fair trade (many of the bookstores named above carry World of Good products as does Santa Clara University Bookstore) and the fair trade option at your favorite coffee shop.  Whole Foods Markets and Elephant Pharm, at 4470 El Camino Real in Los Altos, both have a range of choices of fair trade and other sustainable gifts.  At Whole Foods I also found recycled wrapping paper but kidbean.com also has a great selection of recycled and hemp paper plus biodegradeable ribbon.

Gifts from Recycled Materials.  First, ask any business about what they carry that is recycled.  It will help you narrow your choices and you can find cool stuff that you didn’t realize had a previous life.  Such finds are available at REI stores (Saratoga and Prospect Aves) and Patagonia (525 Alma in Palo Alto) where they’ve got amazing stuff like New Balance Cocona™, athletic wear made from coconut shells salvaged from industry waste.  Other unexpected options include Patagonia’s online offering of silk-like men’s boxer made from recycled polyester. 

If you are planning to give body care gifts like lotions or soaps, be aware that The Body Shop, Aveda and Origins are some brands that do not test on animals and have organic and eco-friendly choices.

Give the gift that doesn’t need wrapping: Creative gifts of memberships, tickets and gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants.  In San Jose we’ve got the Tech, Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, Children’s Discovery Museum and the San Jose Museum of Art, which is no longer free.  Cirque de Soleil is coming to town, too. Art House Kids offers art classes for kids (like you couldn’t have guessed).  There’s also University Art, a local family owned business, at 456 Meridian with an art studio with classes for adults.

Better yet, give the gifts that don’t need wrapping and promote green living: At 41pounds.org, you pay $41 for a service that takes your name, or perhaps the name your loved one deserving of a clutter-reducing present, off of junk mail lists.  You can find your local organic goods, so that you give a monthly subscription to an organic veggie delivery, at localharvest.org.

ONLINE OPTIONS

For the preschooler:  Nunoorganics.com has a range of toys for the littles, I especially like their art supplies like paint colored with plants ($22)  and play dough that uses salt instead of chemicals ($20 for 1lb in 4 colors).  Huggaplanet.com has organic stuffed animals and naturalpod.com has a fun selection of house and kitchen play items.

For the game lover:  If you are tired of the same old Sorry, there are inventive games available.  Don’t tell my kids, but I’ve already ordered Bioviva, a trivia game made entirely out of recycled materials that sends players on a trip around the world discovering and learning through funny and strange science questions ($32.99) at ecoexpress.com.  At kidbean.com, they’ve got a whole range of cooperative games for about $15 where there is no single winner, but a goal that all the players reach together.

For those who have slipped into the abyss that is American Girl Doll: No judgement, my household is included. At Terraexperience.com you will find handmade Guatemalan doll clothes and accessories that fit American Girl.

For the sporty:  At fairtradesports.com they’ve got different sports balls that are, of course, fairly traded.  Frisbees and mini soccer balls run about $15, bigger sports balls are from $30-$60.

For the fashion conscious:  I am thrilled to report that you can find great options for the hipsters in your life.  Levi’s now makes Levi’s Eco Organic Jeans and you can get hemp Converse high and low tops shoes for $50.

This one made me laugh out loud:  For journals, stationary and other paper product, you must at least check on poopoopaper.com that uses elephant dung to make beautiful (and odorless) paper products.

Okay, so I know it’s not all about the shopping.  Cut your own chemical-free tree at Black Road Farms where trees are grown sustainably and matched to the environment in which they will grow best.  And for a holiday outing, why not see “What Would Jesus Buy?” a docu-comedy about consumerism that comes out November 30 in the South Bay.

Often, we think of human rights issues as those that are debated by governments and discussed in international institutions.  But each of can support of human rights in our neighborhoods in simple but profound ways.   Human rights are those things that honor each person’s autonomy and dignity and The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights spells out a number of rights that are often overlooked. November activities highlight groups and actions that recognize that advancing human rights is everyone’s responsibility.

Dia de los Muertos Cultural and Social Awareness Exhibition; October 31-November 4

Third Street Community Center and First Unitarian team up to present a Day of the Dead exhibition that confronts life and death issues.  During the week from October 31-November 4, an exhibition of altars will be presented in Hattie Porter Hall that reflect the justice issues faced in our community.  View altars dedicated to homelessness, to the lives lost in Iraq, and to the disappeared Women of Juarez among others, each bringing a critical issue to our attention and information about how to get involved. 

Viewing times are from 10:00am to 4:00pm Wednesday through Friday and Sunday 12:00-2:00pm.  The community is invited to experience Dia de los Muertos on Friday, November 2 from 6:30-8:30pm by bringing a memento of a loved one to add to our traditional altar in the Sanctuary and enjoy Mexican bread and hot chocolate. 

Food Not Bombs

Every Sunday from 5-6pm, Food Not Bombs distributes vegetarian food at Cesar Chavez Park in San Jose at Market and San Carlos Streets.  Most of the food has been gleaned at farmers markets and would be otherwise thrown away.  Instead, the food is given freely to anyone who eats.  Food Not Bombs organizes for peace and is dedicated to non-violent social change. Volunteers are needed to help with distribution and to support this worldwide movement.

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

Every holiday season, FUCSJ participates in Guest at Your Table, a project of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.  The UUSC is dedicated to advancing human rights around the world through promoting worker justice, advancing the right to water, defending civil liberties and assisting in humanitarian crises. Guest at Your Table involves adding a small box at the family dinner table where the day’s change can be placed. The money raised goes to support the UUSC while the whole family is reminded of the importance of this work. First Unitarian will distribute boxes on November 18, 2007 and collect them again on Sunday, January 6, 2008. UUSC membership is open to all and donations human rights worldwide.

New Sanctuary Movement

New Sanctuary is an immigrant rights movement that bring the voices of people of faith to the debate.  New Sanctuary Movement acknowedges that we have a broken immigration system and witnesses the suffering of immigrants because of that system.  Faith groups participating in NSM stand together in the belief that everyone, regardless of national origin, has basic common rights, including but not limited to: 1) livelihood; 2) family unity; and 3) physical and emotional safety.  The New Sanctuary Movement brings a faith perspective otherwise missing from the immigration debate.

That wasn’t the whole story, the one about the Irish immigrants. In the last newsletter, I recounted the family version of the early Irish pioneers to Mexican California. But I didn’t just come from those people, although I feel that way sometimes since that’s the story retold at family gatherings, the one in the more detailed California history books. 

The California family narrative that wasn’t written and retold goes back even farther. I had heard a few scattered stories that my family was part of the Californio culture, but I was most curious about my mother’s description of her grandmother, who was primarily Spanish speaking. My Mom would say that her Grandma insisted that she was Spanish, fully European. To my mother, this was an anecdote about her grandmother, not about our ancestry, that described how the elder lady held onto a belief that couldn’t be true. What my great grandmother didn’t say was that the family came to California in 1777 when my multi-great grandfamily traveled with De Anza to be soldiers stationed in the San Francisco presidio. After years of service, they were given land grants in the pueblo of San Jose, as sort of the 18th Century version of the 401(k), and settled there (or, rather, here). These De Anza recruits were low caste and willing to leave behind their Sinaloa, Mexico community for the uninviting and unknown lands of Alta California. At about the same time, a different line of my people escorted the governor of Alta California to this northern territory. Members of these two families married and have lived in this valley under Spanish then Mexican then U.S. rule.  Census records of the time used a multilayered system of racial classification closely tied to caste and very specific about one’s native, African and Spanish heritage. That first Spanish census counted my family as morizco (mixed black) and coyote (mixed native). In these new lands with few people the caste system relaxed and in each successive census, individuals, including my family, redesignated themselves into a lighter caste. The community became population of multiethnic people that, because they devalued African and Indian heritage, considered themselves European. Up until my great grandmother, who married into an Irish family believing she was Spanish.That the Irish story is well documented and that European ancestry was preferred is really no surprise. But here I sit in the very same town, 200 years and three countries later, as much Mexican as Irish, but really neither. I am the product of what I love about immigration and what I see as the very soul of this valley. We are a community of great diversity that continually mixes and redefines itself. Immigration brings culture, tradition and ideas to a different setting. Once moved, the same ideas and customs are reworked to the new situation and incorporate people from outside the tradition.

We did that here this week at the Interfaith Reunion, bringing dozens of faiths together to break the Ramadan fast. We will do it again on Friday, November 2, when we showcase altars in Hattie Porter Hall in honor of Day of the Dead. The Third Street Community Center, Spanish Speaking Ministries and Social Justice Ministry worked together to put a twist on this Mexican tradition: the altars will be built by community agencies and each will have a social justice theme. Our Dia de los Muertos Exhibition will be open to the community that evening from 6:30-8:30pm, a celebration of the day itself and of the ways we create new traditions in this valley every day.

I admit it, I have an unreasonable grudge against the Donner Party.  It is certainly something learned, because why would anyone begrudge a decent family lost in the woods in the wintertime?  It’s not so much what happened to them, but that they are so very famous for it.  You see, the Donners were not the first to undertake that path through the Sierras as a wagon train, that was actually my great-great-great grandfamily.  And as they crossed from Missiouri to California, my ancestors gathered for meetings to address the difficult decisions that came their way. So, they generally made good choices and, because my great great grandmother was born en route, they finished their migration with more people in their party than when they started.  But, apparently when naming that particular mountain pass, tragedy figured more favorably than chronology and so the Donners will forever be remembered as the early pioneers of I-80.  Because I will bet my long-lost cousin that you have never heard of the Murphy-Stephens-Townsend Party, the first overland wagon train to cross the Sierra Nevada.  Did I mention there’s a lake named after the Donners, too? This immigrant journey is the one most often repeated in my family.  The Murphys came from Ireland, searching first in Canada, then Missouri until finally settling in the Santa Clara Valley for Catholic country and Catholic education for both their boys and girls.  They became Mexican citizens and were part of the Rancho culture in the valley just before California was acquired by the United States.  What is now left for the descendants are good stories and some local geography:  Murphy Street, Mathilda and Maude Avenues in Sunnyvale, Bellomy Street in Santa Clara, Bernal (that Bernal was a brother), Castro (okay, by marriage) and one tiny Martin Murphy, Jr. Park.  Sometimes I think it has nothing to do with me because I can’t claim the courage and tenacity of the generations that came before. It was nothing I did, I don’t even know if I would.  But still, the story provides something that I can turn to when I wonder who I am.  I know what they cared about and what they were willing to endure.  I can feel responsible to carry on what they held dear.

As immigrants, immigrant families and immigrant descendants, we carry immigrant stories in our blood.  We can feel proud whether we were the immigrant ourself or one of the ones who came after.  There is no dull immigrant tale to tell.  We want to hear those accounts, to share and learn from each other.  Opportunities will continue to arise, so be thinking of the heart of your immigrant story.