As you may be aware, the City of Palo Alto has been dealing with complaints from some neighbors of the First Baptist Church in Palo Alto about the impact their renters are having on the neighborhood, zone R-1 (Residential). First Baptist Church, as many congregations in Palo Alto, operates in an R-1 neighborhood under a “Conditional Use Permit.” At this point, First Baptist’s renters have been told to move out by September 30, 2017. Other First Baptist tenants have less time.

Click here to read a San Jose Mercury News article with more information.

Palo Alto City Councilman Greg Tanaka has scheduled a public meeting this Sunday afternoon, to gather input. You are invited to attend.
When: 2:00 PM., Sunday, August 13
Where: 3630 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306. There is parking on the street or in the parking lot at the rear of the building.

Sunday, July 23, 7pm
First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto
Kohlstedt Hall
625 Hamilton, Palo Alto

Dorothie and Martin Hellman, authors of A New Map for Relationships: Creating True Love at Home and Peace on the Planet, will tell how they tranformed an almost failed marriage into one where they reclaimed the true love that they felt when they first met fifty years ago. They will also explain why the lessons they learned are the same ones the nations of the world need to grasp to build a more peaceful, sustainable planet.

Admission: Free

Click here to download a flyer.

Rally, March & Nonviolent Direct Action
Wed., August 9, 8am
Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab
Corner of Vasco & Patterson Pass Road, Livermore

Commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the place where new US nuclear weapons are created today. Change the future!

Program features:
Daniel Ellsberg (pictured above) - renown whistleblower, former Pentagon War Planner, disarmament advocate
Emma's Revolution (pictured below) - acclaimed singer/songwriter duo of Pat Humphries and Sandy O
Christine Hong - North Korea expert, UC Santa Cruz
Marylia Kelley - nuclear weapons watchdog, Executive Director at Tri-Valley CAREs
Barbara Rose Johnston - advisor to the Marshall Islands radiation claims tribunal, senior research fellow, Santa Cruz
Jan Kirsch, M.D., M.P.H. - medical oncologist, global warming specialist at SF Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility
Hibakusha speaker invited

8am Program
9:15am March - Bring large photos of people, animals or nature for which you care deeply; drummers, singers, guitarists, traditional Japanese bon dance & symbolic die-in at the Lab's West Gate followed by an optional opportunity for those who wish to peaceably risk arrest in the gates. Civil disobedience and risking arrest is not expected or required of anyone.

MVPJ is a cosponsor in memory of our dear friend and colleague the Rev. John Beverley Butcher, who faithfully participated in this nonviolent action for many years.

Click here to download a flyer with full information. 

Discussion on Ways to Support Immigrants, Refugees, Muslims and Others
Thursday, July 13, 7pm
First Congregational Church
1985 Louis Road., Palo Alto

Join a discussion of ways faith communities and individuals can support immigrants, refugees, Muslims and others who are threatened. "Sanctuary" can mean many things. Rev. Deb Lee of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity has vast experience in helping communities and individuals discern and find concrete ways to engage.  Options such as advocacy, networking, accompaniment as well as providing physical sanctuary will be discussed. Congregations not ready or able to offer physical sanctuary can still find important ways to actively participate.  

Click here to download a flyer.

Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice is gravely concerned by the recent Supreme Court decision, allowing partial reinstatement of President Trump’s Muslim ban, pending court review of the issue.  We are gratified that the Court greatly restricted the ban, by ruling that those with “bona fide relationships” with persons in the U.S. are to be admitted.  But we are deeply alarmed that, pending Court review, U.S. law now restricts entry for Muslims from the six majority-Muslim countries named in the ban.  We believe that this sets a profoundly dangerous precedent, permitting religiously based discrimination against Muslims in American immigration policy.  We share heartfelt distress with our Muslim friends and neighbors who await future court decisions in fear, and we renew our determination to object with all our might to discrimination against Muslims in our country.  If any one of us is persecuted, we all suffer as Americans, as a nation, and as a human family.  We will not stand idly by as our neighbors and friends are victimized and as our country closes its doors to people in need of refuge.

Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice
June 29, 2017 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing a limited version of the Trump administration’s “Muslim ban” executive orders to take effect ignores the Islamophobic origins of the policy and emboldens Islamophobes in the Trump administration.

Click here to read the full statement.

For a court summary and more on what the ruling means, click here.

Wednesday, July 12, 12noon-12:45pm
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office
200 Vineyard Court, Morgan Hill

In a time of political and economic polarization, acknowledging the underlying humanity of those who differ in opinion and behavior requires more than toleration; we seek a sense of mutual kinship that crosses such barriers. Please join us.

This will be a Quaker silent worship as a public demonstration of our moral values. Parking is available on Vinyard Blvd, 1/2 block away. (This location is signed "No parking," but police indicate it is OK for one hour.) Click here for goggle map.

Plan on standing for worship and being in the hot sum. There will be a limited number of stools available. Hats, sunscreen and water recommended.

Optional lunch afterwards at Betsy's Restuarant, 50 Tennant Station, Morgan Hill, 95037.

Wednesday, June 21, 7-9:30pm
First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto

Help keep families together!

Learn about solidarity, accompaniment for detained families, community-led deportation defense, and how you can be involved.

Click here to register!

Sponsored by Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice, Sacred Heart Community Service, PACT, and Pangea Legal Services.

Download full size flyer.
Download half-page flyer.

Saturday, June 10, 11am
Stevens Creek Blvd. between Winchester and Santana Row, San Jose

Join religious and community organizations as we stand up for justice and friendship in a UNITY RALLY.  ACT for America, a grassroots anti-Muslim organization that has been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is coordinating dozens of anti-Muslim protests around the country this Saturday, including one in Santa Clara, CA.  Our UNITY RALLY will lift up a positive message message of inclusivity and diversity, standing in solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers, and speaking out for the core tenets in all faith traditions of truth, respect and love of neighbor near and far.

Please plan to arrive and leave as you are able. There will be no program. 
We will stand as witnesses for inclusivity, justice, and the beauty of human diversity in community.
A large turnout will be a strong witness for love.

Gather on Stevens Creek Blvd. between Winchester and Santana Row, in front of Crate & Barrel and The Container Store, San Jose.
(Look for the orange construction tape. That's where we belong.)

We will gather from a variety of spiritual paths and walks of life, from communities around the bay area, to celebrate the friendship and respect that we hold dear. While hate must never stand unchallenged, the intent of the UNITY RALLY is not confrontational, but to affirm the unity in the midst of diversity which is the strength of our communities.

How you can get involved:

• Spread the word in your communities and congregations.
• Share the event on Facebook.
• Click here to download a flyer and distribute widely!
• Sign the "Statement Against Hate" as an individual and/or organization by using this google form. Click here for a clean and final copy of the "Statement Against Hate." (There are some typos on the google form.)
• Ask your congregation or organization to co-host the rally, and register that by on this google form. Co-hosting means you will be listed as an organization co-host of the vigil, to send a strong message that our region stands against hate. (To see a recent list of co-hosts (there are LOTS but they keep coming in), click "Read More.")
• Come to the rally! See suggestions below to visually demonstrate our unity.

Pictures and Social Media: Please take and share lots of pictures. We will be using the #CounterACTHate hashtag on social media.

SUGGESTIONS TO SHOW UNITY AND INCLUSION:
- Bring flowers to give away
- Wear flowers
- Bring American flags
- Make LARGE white signs with bold black letters
- Signs should be positive and show what we believe IN

Please carpool if possible.

Religious leaders are encouraged to wear their clerical attire.

Please join Multifaith Voices for Peace & Justice, the Council of American Islamic-Relations (CAIR-SFBA) and more than 120 other religious and community organizations this Saturday as we celebrate our UNITY! 

For more up to date information, visit the event Facebook page.