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Justice and Outreach Council
Monthly Digest
August 2022
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Welcome to the Justice and Outreach Council (JOC)'s monthly newsletter.
A place to find all the happenings of this active ministry at Trinity.
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Moving Equality Forward on the Central Coast
JOC Signs Statement of Solidarity
Trinity is proud to be included with other faith communities in signing a statement of solidarity created by our friends at PFLAG Santa Barbara. The public statement of solidarity with LGBTQ+ people will be published in English and Spanish language publications the week of August 18.
Here is an excerpt of the letter:
As faith leaders and people of faith, our traditions unequivocally and fiercely affirm that LGBTQ+ people are a sacred and beloved part of the human family. We lament how religion is used to justify discrimination. Freedom of religion never gives us the right to harm others or impose our beliefs on them.
Stay tuned for more information on Trinity's participation in the Pacific Pride Festival to be held on August 27.
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Santa Barbara Feeding Ministries
Transition House. The July dinner was provided by Michael Neal Arnold who brought food from the Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch, which was happily received by all.
We can cook and serve again on site! Kaye Cantu will be leading a small team of 3 to 4 helpers on Saturday, August 27 in the Transition House kitchen, with an easy to prepare meal. If you'd like to help from 4:30-7pm, please contact Teresa Pietsch at teresapietsch@cox.net. Proof of vaccination required with the use of facemasks and gloves recommended
Dinner in Alameda Park. Karen Claydon, who volunteered as a server in July, described her experience after a 3 year hiatus in her long-term volunteer work with our homeless neighbors. “I was in my element! As I saw so many familiar faces, it was like a reunion. Such a beautiful community effort, so organized. Santa Barbara Street Medicine was there, a dentist, and a food pantry. Showers of Blessings was parked nearby. It was good for everyone’s souls.”
Join us on Thursday, August 25 as we partner with Trinity Lutheran Church to provide, prepare, and serve a meal to our unhoused neighbors in Alameda Park.
Check the online sign-up for the available volunteer opportunities, or email Sarah Thomas, sthomas@trinitysb.org.
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Environmental Defense Center
45th Year Anniversary Celebration
Save the date to join EDC's staff and board in celebrating their 45th anniversary on Saturday, September 10, 4:30-7pm. It will be a fun evening with food, drinks, and live music, celebrating the many environmental victories accomplished over the years in our community.
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Planned Parenthood Annual Book Sale
September 15-25, Earl Warren Showgrounds
Be sure to visit the Planned Parenthood Book Sale in this their 44th year. At this important time in the history of reproductive justice, JOC voted to donate $100 to purchase a sponsorship of the Religion and Philosophy table at this year’s sale.
Book donations are accepted year-round at their drop-off location at 5726 Thornwood Dr. in Goleta. For more information, contact info: 805-722-7870 or ppcccbooksale.com
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Openings on the Justice and Outreach Council
There are so many social justice issues to get involved with. Please consider joining our small team of committed volunteers, yearning to help make this a more loving, peaceful, and just world. Please email Jeffrey Krutzsch for more information.
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Opportunities for Involvement
in our local community, at Trinity, and in the world
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Drivers Needed with Drivers Listos
This interfaith initiative, born at Trinity in 2018, provides safe rides for immigrants at risk who are afraid to drive due to ICE enforcement, or they lack transportation or funds for transportation. With 40,000 undocumented immigrants in our county, the need is great. Volunteer drivers are trained and provide direct, tangible assistance to our immigrant neighbors.
Laurinda Marshall, who has been a driver for Drivers Listos for 4 years, said, “Something that seems so simple can make a tremendous difference in people’s lives.” On one trip, she took a local woman to a physical therapy appointment. To take the bus, the woman would have had to walk a long way which would have been very painful. Laurinda enjoyed taking a walk while she waited to take the woman home. “A ride simply helps lighten the loads of people whose lives are burdened by poverty, legal, or physical problems. This is a good way for me to love my neighbor. Not only does it help my neighbor, it brings me close to someone who, otherwise, I probably would not have personal contact with. I learn about a life very different from mine.”
Spanish is not required. Want to help? Fill out the intake form. Contact Molly Kellogg, molly@foodhuntermark.com or 805-886-4655 for more information.
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Racial Reconciliation
in the Episcopal Church
Reconciliation is the spiritual practice of seeking loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God and one another, and striving to heal and transform injustice and brokenness in ourselves, our communities, institutions and society.
In the Episcopal Church, we are guided by the vision of Becoming Beloved Community, our church’s long-term commitment to racial justice, healing and reconciliation. We’re all on a lifelong journey toward God’s dream, taking intentional and faithful steps as if moving through a labyrinth.
If you are interested in learning about Episcopal racial justice and reconciliation work, sign up here to be added to their mailing list.
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Support Middle East Peace
Sharing resources from our friends Art and Louise Fisher:
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The Diocese of Los Angeles supports the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Archbishop of Jerusalem will attend our Diocesan Convention in November.
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Participate in the Episcopal Public Policy Network
A grassroots network of Episcopalians across the country dedicated to carrying out the Baptismal Covenant call to “strive for justice and peace” through the active ministry of public policy advocacy. Facilitated by the Office of Government Relations, this network helps influence the development of legislation and policy of the U.S. federal government on critical issues.
The Office of Government Relations holds a weekly conversation about the policies and legislation for which it is advocating and how Episcopal Church policies intersect with those issues. Sign up to stay connected and to participate in the weekly calls held on Thursdays, 10-10:30am PST.
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Support Showers of Blessing
Showers of Blessing Santa Barbara provides free hot showers, fosters compassionate hygienic care, and offers access to critical services for people experiencing homelessness.
Wade Volk, site coordinator had this to say: "Our three Santa Barbara sites draw 30-40 guests each week. It takes an abundance of supplies and ample staff to accommodate them. There is always a need for washcloths and financial support is most welcomed to ensure our services to the community. We heartily appreciate the support of Trinity and its endeared congregants.”
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Every month we publish a story of justice, ministry and volunteerism from a Trinity parishioner. This month we feature Irene Marsi, a member of Trinity since 2008. Here is her interesting story of 90+ years of relationship with church and her evolution of service.
From my birth and throughout my life, initially in the Methodist Church and then in the Episcopal Church, attending services and volunteering time, talent and effort, has been a never changing part of my life.
I grew up on a farm in Kansas, located one mile on a dirt road from the blacktop. If it was too muddy for the car to navigate the dirt road or if the snow was too deep, my father would either hitch the team to the car and pull it to the blacktop or, having parked the car at a neighbor’s on Saturday evening, he would hitch the team to the lumber wagon and take us to the car so that we could be on time for church services on Sunday in the town seven miles from our home.
Continue reading.
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Santa Barbara's Housing Crisis Task Force Holds First Meeting
Committee Discusses Scope of Work and Options for Community Housing Stabilization
Wind Power Added to Santa Barbara's Grid
Modern Turbines in Riverside County to Power 40,000 Homes in 3CE Network
The Central Coast Regional Equity Study is available now. Covering Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the study is designed to yield a periodically updated equity database, of use for teaching, research, policy, and action. The goal of this research project is to deepen our understanding of regional disparities, facilitate a region-wide conversation, and support the planning and implementation of initiatives focused on advancing social, health, environmental, and economic equity. Read more here.
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Celebrate and Support Justice | |
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Look for the blue celebration envelopes in the pews!
CELEBRATE!...a birthday, an anniversary, a special event of any sort for which you are thankful.
Turn your “celebration” into a donation to the Justice and Outreach Council. We will use these funds to provide comfort and safety to those in need—food, education for children, assistance to immigrants—any of our neighbors needing support . . . so they can celebrate. Together, these gifts make possible our community of welcome, reconciliation and service.
For the month of June, JOC warmly thanks Sarah Fenstermaker, Jeannie Christensen,
Irene Marsi, and Jean Lange Davis for their generous contributions for justice locally and globally.
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The Justice and Outreach Council (JOC) continues its important work in our community and beyond. Funding for the JOC comes from your pledges and Celebration offerings. The JOC’s funding is part of our annual operating budget where five percent (5%) of all pledges received during the year is put in the JOC account. As pledge income has remained steady this year, these funds continue to be set aside for justice work.
There are two ways you can continue to celebrate and support our justice work in addition to your pledges both now and in the future. You can send in a check made out to Trinity and simply note “Justice” in the memo line and provide the names of the persons or occasion you want to celebrate. You can also donate via Trinity’s PayPal account, select "Justice Fund" and under “special instructions” provide the names of the persons or occasion you want to celebrate.
Thank you for supporting our justice work through your pledges, donations, prayers, and most of all, the work you do in your lives to make this a more loving, peaceful, and just world.
Kathryn Dean, JOC
Michael Dean, Treasurer
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Land Acknowledgement
The JOC committee devised this Land Acknowledgment statement to be read before meetings at Trinity.
We honor and acknowledge the Chumash people, the traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to the Chumash elders, past, present, and future, who call this land on which we sit their home. We appreciate their wisdom, their culture, and their presence among us today as the host people of this land. We lament the injustices done to the original inhabitants and the injustices done to this land in the centuries since. We seek the courage and wisdom to heal the wounds of the past and build a better future together, in deep solidarity.
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