Faith leaders from Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Quaker, Unitarian Universalist and Christian traditions had a robust and productive meeting with U.S. Congressman Sam Liccardo on June 16, 2025.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce Rep. Liccardo to the history and work of MVPJ and to local faith leaders. We seek to build a relationship and discover ways to work with him in a mutually supportive way in our care for our communities, our nation and our world.

Specific issues we explored together included concerns about the increase in hate and violence targeted against Muslims, Jews, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community; immigrant rights and protection and ways to stand in solidarity with immigrant families and communities; Middle East conflicts, particularly Israel and Palestine, along with efforts to support work for a just peace; and the broader threats to our democracy.

We want him to know that we are a group of faith leaders who have a strong history of working together, a capacity to be impactful, a common commitment for the well-being of our communities and world.

We concluded with prayers for the Congressman offered by Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Buddhist participants.