Volume 127, No. 41 Wednesday, October 11, 2017
OPINION
SPORTS
A&C
HUGHES CAN BE REPURPOSED
CSU GOALTENDER FINDS HOME
HERE COMES HOMECOMING
PAGE 6
PAGE 10
PAGE 12
The exterior of Foothills Unitarian Church. PHOTO BY ABBY CURRIE COLLEGIAN
Foothills Unitarian Church becomes sanctuary congregation By Abbie Currie @ abcchic15
Sanctuaries like Foothills Unitarian Church provide a safe place for immigrants when they are in need. Senior Minister Reverend Gretchen Haley said after the 2016 presidential election, the Foothills Unitarian Church decided they needed to get more serious about what they were doing to help their immigrant neighbors in Fort Collins. The church’s work was a response to fear following the election and resulting legislative actions, including the travel ban. “There are people who value
immigrants, who understand the plight of the refugee, who are not demonizing people because they are Muslim (and) who value difference and value people who are here from various cultures,” Haley said. Haley said the Foothills Unitarian Church sanctuary mission statement is about love and justice in the community. “Courageous love, for us, is about our connectedness with all people and the capacity to live in to that connectedness even when there are potential risks,” Haley said.Sanctuary team leader Daniel Covey said he thinks there is a lot of confusion about what the experience of an
immigrant is. “There appears to be a lot of mistrust and fear associated with immigrants and what they bring to our community,” Covey said. “I think immigrants serve very important roles in our community.” There are no other options for those considering sanctuaries in Fort Collins—the only sanctuary congregation is Foothills Unitarian Church, Haley said. Sanctuary guests have to live in the church and not leave, and the congregation does not provide a legal pathway. There is a lot of risk in being a sanctuary congregation, according to Haley.
“I know there are a lot of people that are very invested, and we hold these folks lives so closely connected to ours,” Haley said. “It’s kind of intimidating at times, in that we don’t want to mess it up.”
Check out the video on collegian.com/video
Before officially becoming a sanctuary church, Foothills Unitarian met with the Plymouth United Church of Christ in order to gain more awareness of Fort
Collins’ immigrant community. Foothills Unitarian officially joined the sanctuary congregation in August, after six years of engagement with immigration justice. The church convened in March with all other congregations in the inter-faith community to begin a conversation about a coalition of the inter-faith community centered around a sanctuary. According to Haley, the church receives referrals of guests through local immigration attorneys in Fort Collins and various organizations, including The Family Center/La Familia, Fuerza Latina and Alianza NorCo. see CHURCH on page 5 >>