Justice Ministries

Justice is what love looks like in public.” …Cornell West

A committed group of St. Mary’s parishioners has come together to live our Christian call to justice. As the Rev. David Erickson phrases it, the goal of justice ministry is “to address systemic evil with systemic good.” Justice goes beyond charity to address the systems that cause and support injustice. In addition to feeding the hungry, for instance, justice asks that we identify and address the sources of hunger. Justice invites us to recognize the incarnate Christ in everyone and actively live our Baptismal covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” If you wish more information or to be included on the Justice Ministry e-mail list, please contact David Crosson.

St. Mary's Accompanies Ukrainian Couple

The St. Mary’s-Congregation Sherith Israel Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT) has welcomed Kateryna Holub and Alexander Zemliachenko, who arrived in San Francisco from Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May first. Their route to the US was Odyssian is...

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THANK YOU, ST. MARY’S

Co-chairs Karen Alschuler and David Crosson tip our hats to the St. Mary’s parishioners who generously donated over $2,600 in retail gift cards to Rodnoel José Aranguren-Flores and the Jan Mohammad Baratzada family. We in the St. Mary’s-Sherith Israel Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT) cannot thank you enough for your generosity and enthusiastic support of these two migrant families seeking to establish new lives in America. We will keep you posted on their progress as we proceed. In the meantime, please accept our profound gratitude for your Advent generosity, both material and spiritual. You are making a profound contribution in these families’ lives while living God’s kingdom into this world today. Thank you. (Photo by Leslie Rabine)

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ST. MARY’S FAMILY HOSTS AFGHAN FAMILY

On Wednesday, November 3rd, Christine and I, with great assistance from St. Mary’s, welcomed an Afghan family of three, to a new home in San Francisco. (The family has requested that their names not be shared on the website.) They left Afghanistan a few months ago to seek asylum in the United States. They left Kabul, with stopovers in Qatar and Philadelphia, then spent a month at an air base in New Mexico, sharing a tent with another family. Wanting a better climate for their child, they then came on their own to the Bay Area. New Anchor, which recruits, trains, and connects migrants to hosted housing, worked with Nueva Esperanza Accompaniment Team (NEAT) to secure a 3-6 month housing arrangement for the family with us in Ashbury Heights. NEAT is a partnership between St. Mary’s and Congregation Sherith Israel.

The NEAT team has worked with us to help the family secure everything from kitchen and tableware to a sofa bed and highchair, and assistance with the local transportation system.Special thanks are due to the St. Mary’s Youth Group members who came out on a proverbial dark and drizzly night to deliver furniture!

The family is now settling in, and the father is preparing to seek work, hopefully in accounting, his profession in Kabul. The family may not need legal assistance with the immigration system, but if they do, we have located counsel to provide advice pro bono.

This entire arrangement came together in a two-week period through the generous and strenuous efforts of the NEAT community, and we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and good wishes from friends and neighbors. We all thank St. Mary’s for their leadership and support in welcoming this wonderful young family among us.

--Gerald George