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I love the lower Columbia River near Kalama, Washington. There is no better place to paddle my kayak, watch the birds, and fall in love again with the beauty of the earth. Kalama, halfway between Portland and Longview is near Sand Island, where I have overnighted with my kayak, waking up to morning bird song. It's a little bit of paradise.
The Action of the Week is to protect the lower Columbia River and speak out against a proposed methanol refinery in Kalama. If built, this single refinery would consume more fracked gas every day than all households and power plants in the state of Washington. By 2025, the Kalama methanol refinery would be Washington’s number one cause of greenhouse gas pollution. And for what? Fracked natural gas would be sent to Kalama via trains, barges or pipeline. With much of it coming through the Columbia Gorge. It would be unloaded and refined into methanol at the refinery. This polluting gas would then be shipped overseas to China to make plastic, only to be shipped back to us as finished products. All part of the more economy! Oregon and Washington have formed a thin green line against new fossil fuel infrastructure. We have been saying no to pipelines, refineries and transfer ports to pressure this industry to stop oil and gas extraction. We need a NEW economy that doesn't rely on fossil fuels. Join Columbia Riverkeeper's petition to Governor Jay Inslee to stop this refinery. Click Here! In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell
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The sanctuary movement is a new movement with a proud history. Traditionally sanctuary means opening the church building as a protected place for those who need protection. The new sanctuary movement is more than that. It includes political work and protest in coalition with other churches and communities.
Here are two recommended actions for this week related to sanctuary. I featured these same actions two weeks ago. Action of the Week no. 1 is to attend new sanctuary Training on Friday April 27, from 1-5pm at Lloyd Center DoubleTree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah St. Portland, OR 97232. Readying Ourselves for Solidarity with Sanctuary has three master trainers working together to present new sanctuary training. Using an accompaniment model, Katia Hansen, President and CEO of UURISE, Cynthia Good, Diversity Trainer, and Paul Langston-Daley, senior program leader for justice building with UUSC, have put together a special training. Learn how your congregation can be effective in support of immigrant rights. What you learn will have broad applications to all your social justice work! The training ends at 4pm. The group will then breakout by issue. We will meet for one hour around topics of human rights, climate justice and poverty. This training/caucusing is supported by the UUA, UUSC, the Oregon, Washington and California State ActionNetworks, and UURISE, a UU sanctuary/immigration rights group. It is free and open to the public. To register and for more information, Click here. Action of the Week no. 2 The Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIRJ) is having a vigil/action at NORCOR in the Dalles on Saturday April 28th from 10:30am to 3pm. Join this coalition group as they bring people of faith from all over the region to stand in solidarity with the immigrants held at NORCOR. Rev. Rick Davis, UU minister from the Salem Congregation, will be a special speaker. For more on this organization, and this particular action click here. In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsel Every few weeks I have been running something on the Poor People's Campaign. It is morally focused campaign against systemic racism, poverty, the war economy and ecological devastion. It is calling out the fact that our country's morality has been distorted by powerful interests.
The Poor People's Campaign is a big campaign with plans for 40 days of action starting on May 14th. It won't go away after that. Every year it intends to get larger and stronger. I urge you to sign up for their informational emails HERE. That way you can know what is going on. The Action of the Week is to register for The Poor People's Campaign local Teach-In and Trainings. The campaign takes a disciplined approach. To participate in one of their direct actions, you must attend a training. (There will be options for those who've not been able to engage in training to fulfill support and witness roles as well.) The Teach-In and Training dates continue throughout April and May all over Oregon. Training dates and RSVP Links: Sunday, April 22 in Portland - Noon-7pm RSVP for the Portland Training. Publicity Flyer Sunday, April 29 in Josephine/Jackson County - Cancelled. Emailoregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org if you are in southern Oregon and are hoping to be trained before May 14th. Saturday, May 5 in Corvallis - 1pm-7pm RSVP for the Corvallis Training Publicity Flyer Sunday, May 6 in Hood River - Noon-7pm RSVP for the Hood River Training Publicity Flyer In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell Action of the Week! In the 1980's refugees from El Salvador were not allowed to seek legal asylum in the United States. Faith groups all over the country started giving them sanctuary in their church buildings. Immigrant communities are under pressure again. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is being pushed by our fearful president to be more aggressive in finding and deporting undocumented people. A new Sanctuary Movement is rising up and taking on the challenge of supporting immigrants. This week, there are three action you can take to support the Sanctuary Movement.
Action of the Week No.1, sign this petition to ask for family visitation for immigrant detainees at NORCOR. To find out more about NORCOR Click here. Action of the Week No. 2 is Love Resists Training on April 27, from 1-5pm. The training, Readying Ourselves for Solidarity with Sanctuary is the Friday before the UUA Western Regional Assembly begins at the Double Tree Hotel in Portland. Find out about the modern sanctuary movement and connect with UU activists from all over the Western Region. There will be time at the end of the training for issue groups other than sanctuary to caucus. This training is supported by the UUA, UUSC, the Oregon, Washington and California State Action Networks and UURise a UU sanctuary/immigration rights group. It is free and open to the public. Click the link above to sign up. Action of the Week No.3 The Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (IMIRJ) is having a vigil/action at NORCOR in the Dalles on Saturday April 28th from 10:30am to 3pm. Join this coalition group as they bring people of faith from all over the region to stand in solidarity with the immigrants held at NORCOR. For more on this organization and this particular action click here. In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell A very important bill awaits Governor Kate Brown’s signature, but it is sitting on her desk. She has just a couple of weeks left to make her decision. Business interests are pushing her hard to veto this bill. For the good of Oregon’s teachers, students, and working families, she needs to sign it immediately. Senate Bill 1528 preserves over $1 billion in revenue over the next five years for Oregon to invest in our schools and essential services — rather than handing that money over to well-off business owners in the form of yet another tax break. Senate Bill 1528 says “no” to a costly and unjust part of the Trump tax plan, a new tax deduction for what’s called “pass-through” income. This kind of income mainly flows to those at the top. ( I asked you to support this bill in February. It passed, and now we need your help again. It needs to 'pass' off of the governor's desk) Business owners already enjoy a special Oregon tax break and will still get the deduction on their federal taxes. Senate Bill 1528 stops them from getting yet another state tax benefit. Businesses are better off when local schools are strong and their customers are more economically secure with affordable housing and health care. If Gov. Brown vetoes this bill, our schools will suffer as will the social services programs that we all depend on. Those that would benefit would by-and-large be many of the same people who will also benefit from the Trump Tax Cut. Action of the Week: Tell the Governor that it is time for her to take a stand for kids (the biggest chunk of Oregon's budget goes to education and human services). Its time for her to sign Senate Bill 1528. Click here to send a message to the Governor. In Love and Faith, Rev. Katie Larsell PS. Today is the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death. I didn't think I would take it so hard. Love and care to all of you who have been listening to this news and finding yourself heavy-hearted. |
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