Contribute to Immigrant Justice Work

On April 9, 2017, members of our congregation voted overwhelmingly to join the growing movement of faith communities working to protect immigrants facing unfair deportation by offering sanctuary to people who are at risk of being deported.

Members of our Sanctuary and Immigrant Justice Team (SIJT) work with other community members and other faith groups in Columbia as well as with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s immigration justice efforts, and in that work, we are finding many ways to offer care and support to immigrant friends and neighbors across Missouri.

In September 2018, we held a Ritual of Dedication for our newly-installed shower to better equip our building in the event we are called upon to provide shelter for someone as they pursue legal solutions to their immigration status.

Two years after UUCC’s declaration as a Sanctuary congregation, we joined in helping to sponsor an asylum-seeking family from Honduras. In 2021, our Team led the effort to sponsor a family from Guatemala. Both families are awaiting their court dates in the years to come.

The plight of our immigrant and refugee friends is an ever-more urgent concern, and we are exploring what accompaniment of immigrants entails in the current moment.

If you would like to join our efforts on their behalf, please let us know. Our team currently meets the second Sunday of every month at 1 p.m. via Zoom.

For further information, please email Allie Gassmann or Dave Gibbons, co-chairs of the SIJT.