Join the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Families United to End LWOP, The Fair Chance Project, and Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church in a Sacred Circle gathering to uplift those crushed by the criminal legal system.
The event will highlight the stories of formerly incarcerated and incarcerated persons and family members impacted by LWOP (Life Without the Possibility of Parole), especially individuals and family members impacted by California’s insane and unfair “Felony Murder Law.” Also, during the event, we will pray for regional and global peace and unite in song to uplift one another for envisioning beloved community.
Sacred Circle aspires to bring the moral voice and the collective powers of the faith community and directly impacted persons together in prayer to help heal, mend, and transform our present carceral system.
IM4HI is co-sponsoring a 6-Week Faith-Rooted Organizing Training on the methodology that we use in our work. IM4HI director Rev. Deborah Lee will be co-teaching it with longtime activist and organizer, Rev. Sandhya Jha.
The Faith-Rooted Organizing course starts on Monday, February 21 at 5pm pacific, and each session is 90 minutes, for six weeks. HOWEVER, you can also do it at your own pace and watch the recordings. for people who prefer to engage the material on their own schedule, which also works.
You ARE the Person Your Community Needs
Harness the Power of your Faith, Culture, and Experience
YOU are the most powerful resource your community has. We know that people in faith communities can make a gigantic difference and usher in justice in small and big ways.
Join Faith-Rooted Organizing with Sandhya and Deb, who have been building campaigns with communities of faith for decades. In this course, you’ll select the issue that is most important to YOUR heart. You’ll discover how to effectively mobilize your faith community and create justice that lasts.
Join us on Feb 12, 2022for an interfaith vigil to remember the 80th Anniversary of Executive Order 9066 signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the mass incarceration of 120,000 mostly Japanese Americans. This shameful part of American History must be remembered to ensure the survivors stories are not forgotten, and this injustice is repaired.
During Black History Month, while we remember this legacy in the Japanese American community, we will also be calling for solidarity with: Reparations for African Americans and Stop AAPI Hate. Let us acknowledge that U.S. imperialism globally, xenophobia, and systemic racism have all been common threads that weave our struggles together, historically and today.
We invite people of all faiths, cultures, and traditions to join us!
Speakers include:
Jeff Matsuoka, San Francisco Bay Area Day of Remembrance Committee
Chizu Omori, Tsuru for Solidarity, incarcerated for 3 1/2 years during World War II
Tara U., Berkeley Buddhist Temple, grandparents were incarcerated during World War II
Rev. Marjorie Wilkes Matthews, Plymouth United Church of Christ
Prof. Russell Jeung, Stop AAPI Hate and Professor at SFSU
Chanton Bun, Asian Law Caucus – Advancing Justice, served 23 years in incarceration
Joyce Xi, daughter of Chinese scientist unjustly targeted by the FBI
Songs, cultural offerings, and prayers by:
Ito Yosakoi
Rev. Harry Bridge, Buddhist Church or Oakland
Rev. Theon Johnson, Downs Memorial United Methodist Church
Elijah Chhum, Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants
Minister Cherri Murphy, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy
Buena Vista United Methodist Church, Tsuru for Solidarity, San Francisco Bay Area Day of Remembrance Committee, Berkeley Buddhist Temple, Pine United Methodist Church, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy, Sycamore Congregational Church UCC, CERI – Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants, and Plymouth UCC
