Noticeable UU support for Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas

An essential effort during March 2024 centered on the response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton taking action to shut down Annunciation House. This Catholic humanitarian organization has provided hospitality and other life-saving services to migrants for decades.

In reply, 268 faith leaders and 165 faith-based organizations signed an interfaith statement to express solidarity with Annunciation House and decry the attempted criminalization of their faith-based work with migrants.

• You can also review an earlier Press Release statement by Welcome with Dignity, which includes a UUSJ quote.

UUSJ proudly helped review and approve the interfaith statement and gathered 16 UU organizations, congregations, churches, or fellowships, along with 14 UU ministers, lay leaders, and staff, to join the letter.

We thank:

1. Oregon Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice;
2. Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry;
3. Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois;
4. Unitarian Universalist Faith Action, New Jersey;
5. Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of North Carolina;
6. Unitarian Universalist Refugee & Immigrant Services & Education (UU RISE);
7. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC); and,
8. Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community (UUJEC).

We celebrate:

1. First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio, TX
2. Immigrant Justice Initiative of The Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist, NC
3. Justice Coordinating Council, First Unitarian Universalist Church, Houston, TX
4. Red River Unitarian Universalist Church, TX
5. San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, TX
6. Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett, GA
7. Unitarian Universalist of New Braunfels, TX; and,
8. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hidalgo County, TX.

We lift-up:

1. Michelle Augustine, Social Justice Team Leader, San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, TX
2. Sarah Berel-Harrop, Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry & All Peoples Church, TX
3. Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen, Ph.D., First Unitarian Universalist Church, Houston, TX
4. Rev. Dr. Becky Edmiston-Lange, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, CA
5. Rev. Dr. Audette Fulbright Fulson, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, NC
6. Rev. Katherine Jesch, First Unitarian Church of Portland, OR
7. Rev. Claudia Jiménez, Unitarian Universalist Minister, NC
8. Minister Chris Jimmerson, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, TX
9. Rev. Marcus Liefert, Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, CA
10. Kathleen McKinney, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of McMinnville, OR
11. Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett, GA
12. Rev. Kayla Parker, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, NC
13. Rev. Dennis Reynolds, Umpqua Unitarian Universalist Church; and,
14. Karen Shawcross, Lay Minister, First Unitarian Church of Portland, OR