On May 10, our Sanctuary family will observe the 100th day since they came to live here at First Unitarian Church, saying no to deportation and saying yes to community. Most of us have met Vicky and her darling daughters Yaretzi and Isabella by now. But if you haven’t yet had an opportunity to volunteer as a Host with our Sanctuary team – and we need more volunteers! – I’d like to take some time to tell you why it just might be the best thing you ever did. 

I always knew that churches could be engines of pure love in our society, but I never realized how much love one church could produce until this spring. As we’ve gotten to know Vicky and the girls, our capacity for love has grown and grown. We’ve shared meals and late-night conversations, we’ve planned and strategized together, we’ve played hide-and-seek with Yaretzi and held little Bella’s hands as she learns to walk, and each moment we spend together draws our hearts and minds closer together. 

But the love doesn’t just go one way. I also see our church members making connections, growing closer together, forming new friendships and strengthening old ones. I see new leaders emerging, sharing skills and wisdom, learning to work together and trust each other. I see people not only living their values, but resisting the popular pessimism that says that the evil in the world is too strong to overcome. We are overcoming it with love, right here in this church, starting with this family. 

When you volunteer to give some of your time to Sanctuary, you’re making a positive difference towards immigration justice, racial justice, economic justice. It is life-giving and life-affirming work, and the fruit of your effort is measured in love expounded. I feel confident that most of our volunteers would say they receive far more than they give. 

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t yet joined the effort, I’m appealing directly to you.  Our Sanctuary effort depends heavily on volunteer hosts who can spend a block of time on the premises at our church. Although we had over 200 volunteers signed up at the beginning of the project, now most of our host shifts are covered by only about 40% of the volunteer pool. 

Here’s how you can help: 

We are looking for 4 new people to make a commitment to sign up for one shift per week;

And we’re looking for 12 new people to commit to sign up for two shifts per month. 

If we can secure that commitment, we will be able to spread the work – and the love – more evenly across the volunteer pool, preventing volunteer burnout, and increasing the growth and connection we all share. 

Here’s how to do it: 

Step a: Be at least 18 years of age, flexible, and in solidarity with immigrant families.

Step 1: Follow this link (https://tinyurl.com/volunteer-with-slc-sanctuary), and fill out the webform. 

Step 2: Check your email inbox for an automatic reply asking you to submit to a background check. (Very Important: check your spam folder for the automatic reply! You’ll only have a few days to fill out the background check request form before it expires!)

Step 3: Go to the app store on your phone and download Crew, a scheduling app you can recognize by its red chat-bubble logo. Create an account, and join our Sanctuary workspace. If Crew (or smartphones generally) are tough for you to navigate, contact our amazing volunteer coordinator Sven Haynes at – he can help you figure it out. (And if you’d like to work a regular schedule, say, every Tuesday night, he can make that happen too!)

Step 4: Experience one of our awesome training sessions, currently being held every other Sunday afternoon at First Unitarian Church.

Step 5: Sign up for a shift, and get ready to feel the love!

Many of us in these past two years have wondered what we could do to fight the racism, xenophobia, and hopelessness we see rising again in society. Participating in Sanctuary is a real way to do it. Thank you for sharing your love with Vicky, and thank you for supporting this incredible effort.