The idea of a community of people all reading the same book and then talking about it is not a new one. Cities and organizations have been successfully initiating “common reads” for some time. Canton did one as part of its bicentennial celebration. The idea has been adopted by the UUA, which in 2010-2011 urged congregations across the country to read Margaret Regan’s The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands. Our church began its participation at that time (see below).

This Year's UUA Common Read

The UUA has announced Eboo Patel's Acts of Faith as the Common Read for 2012. The book is available in the Coots Library. Plans for a discussion in the late Spring will be announced in January.

 

 

---

The Death of Josseline:
Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands

The Library and Social Action Committees promoted and encouraged our congregation's participation in the 2011 Common Read as a compelling way to become more informed about immigration and more committed to working for solutions to a very complex issue.

 Duncan Cutter (whose review appeared in the January 2011 newsletter and can be read on the “I Just Read”  page) led a discussion of The Death of Josseline after church.  Twenty-five attendees voiced commitment and concern, many of whom also came to a follow-up program October 2 at which Bob Reuss and Kate Harloe talked about their personal experiences volunteering for the service group No More Deaths.

 Click here to hear an NPR interview with author Margaret Regan.

SASO As a complement to our Common Read activity, the May 2011 Social Action Shared Offering resulted in our sending $971 to benefit the humanitarian and social justice work of No More Deaths (No Más Muertes), a ministry of the UU Church of Tucson. The goals of No More Deaths are to provide water, food, and medical assistance to migrants walking through the Arizona desert; to monitor U.S. operations on the border and work to change U.S. policy to resolve the “war zone” crisis on the border; and to bring the plight of migrants to public attention. This ministry blends education, advocacy, and direct service on these important issues. They collaborate with other groups in Arizona to achieve these goals.  The Tucson Church was awarded the UUA 2010 Bennett Social Justice Award for their No More Deaths ministry and Immigrant Rights Working Group. Visit the No More Deaths and UU Church of Tucson websites.

Learn More

Kate Harloe, now a senior at Hamilton College, volunteered with No More Deaths in her freshman and sophomore years at Hamilton. After her first year, she and a friend were inspired to develop a course on matters of immigration and border issues that was offered in the spring of her sophomore year.  With Kate's permission, we share her final paper from this course with you.

Students in a St. Lawrence course called La Frontera: Cultural Identities in the US/Mexico Border traveled to El Paso, Texas, to observe border issues first hand. "Shaking Hands Through the Fence: Students Learn About Life Across the Border" in SLU’s The Hill News describes their experiences.