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Updates

Interfaith Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage

Join us on Saturday, March 23rd for an interfaith pilgrimage dedicated to calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. We will use our bodies to map Gaza onto the East Bay, turning grief and rage into action as we pilgrimage together in unity, urging for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza.

This pilgrimage is part of a broader global movement of solidarity pilgrimages, taking place in 125 cities in 17 countries. Over 300 individuals have already committed to joining the walk, including 275 adults and 40 children from over 40 faith communities.

Event Details:

  • Date & Time: Saturday, March 23rd, 7 am – 7 pm
  • Location: East Bay, CA (Starting in Berkeley, ending in Alameda)
  • Distance: 22-mile walk, symbolizing the distance from Gaza City to the Rafah crossing refugee camp.

Purpose:

This daylong journey will include scheduled stops for collective prayer and action, with opportunities for participants to join for shorter legs. A route can be previewed here.

Objectives:

Through this pilgrimage, we advocate for:

  • Enduring and Sustained Ceasefire
  • Immediate Flow of Life-Saving Aid
  • Release of All Hostages
  • End of Occupation for a Just Peace

Proposed Schedule:

Our 22-mile collective pilgrimage will be broken up into the following legs, with meeting times and locations noted:
(Note: Schedule might be subject to minor changes. A final, confirmed route will be released the week of.)

  • Leg 1 (5.3 miles) : Meet @ 7am at Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley 
  • Leg 2 (5.3 miles):  Meet @ 9:30 am at St Columba Catholic Church, Oakland. Will include mini Shabbat service.
  • Leg 3 (1.5 miles): Meet @ 1145am at Buddhist Church of Oakland – MASS PARTICIPATION FOCUS 
  • Leg 4 (3.8 miles): Meet @ 1pm at First Congregational Church of Oakland
  • Leg 5 (4.0 miles): Meet @ 345pm at Lake Merritt United Methodist, Oakland.
  • Leg 6 (2.0 miles): Meet @ 545pm at Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Oakland.

Mass Participation Focus:
We have created a 1.5 mile communal walk at 11:45am, from Buddhist Church in Oakland to First Congregational Church in Oakland – culminating in a community ritual and press conference. If your time is limited or you’d like to join for only one portion, we encourage you to consider participation with Leg 3.

Open to people of all faith backgrounds or none, the event embraces the tradition of sacred pilgrimage traditions, inviting participation in prayer, liturgy, and ritual. 

*For those interested in participating in the Ceasefire Pilgrimage on March 23rd, we would like to provide full disclosure that you, your participating party, and loved ones may be captured in photos and film. We kindly ask that you be mindful if you prefer not to be filmed. Rest assured, images of participating children will be respectfully covered.

As part of our commitment to transparency and inclusivity, we encourage participants to use the following hashtags to help circulate the message around the global movement: #GCPilgrimages and #GCPEastBay.

Your involvement in this event signifies your support for peace and justice, and we look forward to coming together as a community to make a meaningful impact!

Participating Organizations and Congregations:

  • Albany/El Cerrito 4 Ceasefire
  • Alameda Family and Friends for Ceasefire
  • All Souls Episcopal
  • Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists
  • Berkeley Methodist United Church
  • Bethel Community Presbyterian
  • Beyt Tikkun Synagogue
  • Buddhist Church of Oakland
  • Buena Vista UMC
  • Church Without Walls Berkeley
  • Clergy for Black Lives
  • College Ave. Presbyterian
  • First Congregational Church of Alameda
  • First Congregational Oakland
  • First Presbyterian Church of Hayward
  • First Unitarian Church Oakland
  • Freely in Hope
  • Haven Berkeley
  • If Not Now- Bay Area
  • Imani Community Church
  • Islamic Cultural Center of Northern CA
  • Jewish Voice for Peace
  • Kehilla Community Synagogue
  • Lake Merritt United Methodist Church
  • Lakeshore Ave. Baptist Church
  • MECA
  • Montclair Presbyterian Church
  • New Hope Covenant Church
  • Oak Life Church
  • Plymouth UCC
  • Sacred Heart Oakland
  • Sama Sama Cooperative
  • Save West Berkeley Shellmound
  • Shomeret Shalom Community
  • Sojourner Truth Presbyterian
  • St. Columba Catholic Church
  • Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting
  • Twin Towers UMC
  • Zen Peacemakers

Contributions:

Consider making a donation as a spiritual offering. Participants are encouraged to raise funds for direct relief and mutual aid to support Palestinians most impacted.

Sign-Up:

To participate in the walk, volunteer, or attend, please sign up here

*We are making prayer scarves and signing up ensures we have one for you.

Stay Connected:

Join our Facebook event for updates and ongoing conversation.

Additional Information:

For more details and FAQs, please refer to our FAQ document.

Categories
Accompaniment

Welcoming our Neighbors – Housing Migrant Families Together!

Are you interested in offering temporary respite housing to migrant families?

Do you want to be part of the housing solution for migrants in San Francisco? Calling all individuals, landlords, and congregations in San Francisco to join is our alternative to the shelter system for by offering and respite housing solutions to newcomers in the Bay Area.  With IM4HI’s support, YOU can make a direct difference in a migrant family’s life by offering temporary respite housing for 1-3 months in your home, in-law unit, apartment building, or congregation.

Why be a Housing Host?

Housing is the number one challenge for immigrants in San Francisco, especially for those who have recently arrived.  Shelter systems are full and hotel vouchers are unavailable.  When looking for a rental, asylum seekers are asked for credit history, security deposits, IDs, and other market requirements that they simply do not have until a few months after getting settled in the U.S.  

I’m in!! How do I become a Housing Host?

With your support, we can get families we know off the street. Please join us at our upcoming SF Migrant Housing Forum on March 21 at 6:00pm to learn new and creative ways YOU can be part of the solution!

In this forum we will: 

  • Learn about specific barriers to housing that migrants face in San Francisco 
  • Gain insights into the City of San Francisco’s plans to prepare for potential mass migrant bus arrivals  
  • Hear how to support housing of asylum seeking families who are arriving to San Francisco every day
  •  Develop a network of individuals, landlords, and congregations who are willing to provide respite and temporary housing to migrants in San Francisco

IM4HI has seven years experience offering temporary respite housing in San Francisco.  Together with volunteers, we have hosted newcomer families in individuals’ homes, in-law units, RV’s, apartment buildings, and congregational spaces.  We know what works.  

Read our success stories to learn more!  Over the past two years, one generous landlord in San Francisco offered respite temporary housing to 14 asylum seekers in San Francisco.  Here are some of the success stories from his efforts: 


Meet Rodnoel

Rodnoel, upon graduating from Nueva Esperanza, painted a rock with his Colombian flag and the golden gate bridge as a keepsake memory of his time at Waller St.

We are proud to share the success story of Rodnoel, an asylum seeker from Venezuela. Read more about Rodnoel’s story HERE.


Meet Carlos

Carlos is a 30 year old asylum seeker from Comayagua, Honduras. He worked as a farmer and was persecuted for his land rights activist before coming to the US. IM4HI came into contact with him through a stellar substitute teacher in Oakland who sponsors people out of detention in his free time. Carlos began his stay in the Bay Area at Kehilla Synagogue’s congregational housing space.  

Carlos before moving to the Bay Area

He stayed at Kehilla for one month while Kehilla members surrounded him with welcome: regular walks around Lake Merritt and homemade meal delivery. During his stay there, Carlos made strong connections with Oakland Catholic Worker nearby and volunteers regularly there to welcome other migrants. Carlos stayed next in a six month hosted housing by a friendly San Francisco landlord. He now has moved to his own place in the East Bay and is hoping to multiply the hospitality he received from Kehilla by hosting newcomers in the future. 

If Kehilla can do it, you and your congregation can do it!   All it takes is some space and simple furnishings.  IM4HI can guide you every step of the way as we have successfully partnered with over 6 congregations throughout the Bay Area in their process of hosting asylum seekers.    See a virtual tour of Kehilia’s space where they hosted Carlos here: 


Categories
NEAT Stories

Meet Rodnoel

Rodnoel, upon graduating from Nueva Esperanza, painted a rock with his Colombian flag and the golden gate bridge as a keepsake memory of his time at Waller St.

We are proud to share the success story of Rodnoel, an asylum seeker from Venezuela.


Rodnoel: Dec 2021 – Venezuela

Accompanied by Congregation Sherith Israel and St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church

Noel came to the US by foot through the Darien Gap from Venezuela to escape political persecution.  In Venezuela, he had been a practicing attorney.  IM4HI and his accompaniment team flew him to SF to join our program from a shelter in San Antonio, Texas.  Noel first stayed for 3 months with two gay housing hosts in SF who generously offered him the spare room in their apartment.  They enjoyed practicing English together, leaving vocabulary sticky notes throughout the house of common household objects like “toaster” and “bread.”  Soon after, a San Francisco landlord attending Calvary Presbyterian church in SF offered him a 6-month stay in a reduced rate studio apartment.  This was an essential next housing option for Rodnoel as he needed to find a place during the holidays, which is nearly impossible.  

His team mobilized to find furniture and move him in so that he’d have a place to call home by Christmas.  He has since moved to San Rafael where he is enjoying full time work and close to a Venezuelan friend who he met on his journey here. To top it all off, he met the love of his life and is now engaged!  We look forward to his wedding and many years of happiness for them both.  Noel is now fluent in English and enjoys practicing his language skills when he gets together with his IM4HI volunteers.  

Read more on the St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church justice ministry website.