Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice condemns the violence and hatred that white supremicists brought to Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Heather Heyer, who was killed in an act of terrorism, the families of Virginia state troopers H. Jay Cullen and Berke M.M. Bates, and all those who were injured.
 
We are deeply disturbed that our President seems to make a moral equivalency between those who spew racist and anti-Semitic hate speech and counterprotesters bringing a message of peace and love. The hate, violence, and terrorism of white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups have been emboldened by his own hate-filled rhetoric toward Muslims, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and women. Hatred, intolerance, and incitement to violence cannot be allowed to flourish in this country, and we need for our President to be someone who will stand up against the forces of evil.
 
Above all, we pray for a restoration to peace and sanity, in Charlottesville and across the country. In the face of such brutal and evident inhumanity, we as people of faith will continue striving against divisive rhetoric and violent behavior. And even when dominant voices of our country refuse, we invite all concerned citizens to join in the work for a more just and perfect union. May we all stand together for justice, equality, and in celebration of the rich diversity that has made our country great!

Mishnah Torah 10:7-14
The highest level of tzedakah (righteousness), exceeded by none, is that of the person who assists a poor person by providing him with a gift or loan or by accepting him into a business partnership or by helping him to find employment – in a word, by putting him where he can dispense with other people's aid.
 
Last week, President Trump sent his 2018 budget proposal to Congress.  Widely denounced as cruel and heartless, pundits and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sought to placate us with the pronouncement that the proposal is “dead on arrival”.  This message is meant to persuade us that we have dodged a bullet. But make no mistake, the bullet is still speeding toward us.
 
The Trump budget is very much in line with previous Republican budget proposals, as illustrated in this chart from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. So, while the Trump budget might be dead, the same policy proposals will still be put forth, just under other names.
 
Our faith traditions teach us to share our bounty with those less fortunate than ourselves. Jewish tradition teaches that the highest level of giving is to provide the poor with the means to lift themselves out of poverty, to the point that they no longer need help. The Republican policies would turn this teaching on its head. They would withdraw the assistance (food stamps, health care, housing assistance), without providing the means to end poverty (education, job training, economic development).
 
These extremist policy proposals target the most vulnerable in our communities.  Those most at risk include the elderly, children, and the disabled, as funding for Medicaid and Medicare, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income are slashed. Working families will struggle to get even their most basic needs met, as nutrition assistance, health care subsidies, and low-income housing are all on the chopping block.

Touted as a ‘job creation budget’, the reality is these policies will end funding for education programs, student loan supports, job trainings, and other supports for low-income workers and their families.  Instead, the real winners will be the wealthiest Americans, who will see an average of $50,000 in tax savings every year.
 
This week, Congress is on recess.  We must take advantage of this recess to call and visit our Senators and Representatives in their home offices or attend their town hall meetings and urge them to oppose budget policies that will make America sicker, hungrier, and poorer.  Instead, we urge them to support policies that help people meet their basic needs, that invests in our future by investing in infrastructure, education, health care, renewable clean energy, and provides needed support for the elderly, disabled, and our children. Use this link to find your Congressperson.
 
Further resources:
https://americansfortaxfairness.org/trumps-budget-steals-working-families-give-tax-breaks-billionaires-big-corporations/
 
http://www.chn.org/fiscal-year-2018-budget/
 
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2017/05/26/433065/trump-budget-threatens-american-people/

Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice is outraged at the passage of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives. We can only hope that wiser, more compassionate, heads will prevail in the Senate.  This dangerous legislation will result in the loss of health care for 24 million Americans, including the millions of Americans who live with pre-existing conditions. This legislation is immoral and unconscionable.  We call upon all members of the Senate to stand against pressure from those extremists who promote tax credits and benefits for the wealthy at the expense of the health and well-being of moderate and low-income Americans. We are appalled that a cynical political calculation on the part of certain members of Congress placate their base by passing “Trumpcare” was placed above the welfare of the American people.
 
The American Health Care Act was passed before the Congressional Budget Office could issue its assessment of the impact the bill will have on Americans’ access to health care and the impact on the national budget and the economy.  However, we do know that it will gut Medicaid, slashing $849 billion dollars from this vital program, and putting at risk millions of the elderly, the disabled, and children.  It strips the protections from the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. And it eliminates the Ten Essential Health Benefits that had guaranteed free preventive care measures such as mammograms and other cancer screenings, brought mental health services on par with other health care, and ensured access to habilitative and rehabilitative health care, among other provisions.
 
In exchange, the American Health Care Act provides tax breaks and tax shelters to wealthy Americans, allows Americans aged 50-64 to be charged premiums up to five times those of younger individuals regardless of their income or ability to pay, and allows for annual and life-time caps on coverage, which means the sickest Americans, such as people with chronic disease or cancer, will use up their coverage and be faced with the devastating choice of bankruptcy or forgoing necessary treatment.
 
As people of faith, we believe that access to affordable, comprehensive health care is a right, not a privilege.  We call upon members of the Senate to refuse to consider this legislation and allow it to die the death it deserves. Otherwise, millions of Americans will die premature deaths for lack of access to affordable care. 

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in God, … to spend of your substance out of love for Him for your relatives, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who seek assistance, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage;”
 The Quran, 2:177
 
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice decries the recent acts of hate and violence that have occurred around the country. Last Friday a Sikh man was shot in his own driveway in a Seattle suburb by an assailant who told him to “go back to your own country”.  Just a few days earlier, two Indian men were shot, one of them killed, in a bar in Kansas. Their attacker similarly shouted ‘get out of my country’ just before opening fire. Two Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia were vandalized, in the wake of two months of bomb threats against Jewish institutions across the country. And there is a reported rise in hate crimes against Muslims, including the burning of mosques in Texas.

As people of faith and moral conscience, we stand in solidarity with our Sikh, Indian, Jewish, and Muslim brothers and sisters. We call upon our elected officials, from the highest office in the country to local governments, to take a vocal and vigorous stand against hate. And we call on our law enforcement agencies to put all their resources into protecting our vulnerable communities.

We are heartened by the outreach of Muslim communities who have raised funds to restore the Jewish cemeteries, and of the Jewish community that provided worship space to a Texas mosque while it rebuilds.  Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice and our Faith Leaders Building Community, Standing Together initiative is dedicated to bringing together the many diverse faith communities among us, to stand together in mutual respect and support, and to create a society where our diverse cultures and beliefs are celebrated and we live together in safety and in peace.
In peace and solidarity,

Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
President
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
www.wisconsinfaithvoicesforjustice.org
www.facebook.com/WisconsinFaithVoicesForJustice
608-827-9482
 
 

Dawn Berney, Executive Director of Jewish Social Services
Presentation at the Temple Beth El Sisterhood Shabbat Service
January 27, 2017
 
Shabbat shalom. Thank you to the Temple Beth El Sisterhood for the lovely service and the warm welcome. And thank you to all of you for not making me stand in this room alone.
Thank you so much to the community. I can’t believe the number of diapers, wipes, detergents, etc. that you have donated.

I had a sermon written that I planned to give tonight. It was great. It included personal stories about how I became involved with Jewish Social Services. It included information about everything that we do and everyone who we serve at Jewish Social Services. It even included a very colorful description of watching one of the Syrian toddlers we resettled playing in the snow for the first time and his interaction with the son of a member of the JSS team. And I would’ve added all that I learned about how much the two little girls who arrived seven days ago loved their first day of elementary school. But then President Trump started to dismantle our safety nets and started to sign Executive Orders. And I deleted the talk that I had written and started over.

Jewish Social Services has three legs. First, we provide social services to those who need help with their basic needs and we provide programming for seniors who might otherwise be isolated.  We do case management, help with housing, and help with arranging care. We do the Lechayim lunch program here at Temple Beth El and we do the Levy series. We have been doing these for nearly 40 years and we do them well.

Second, we provide immigration legal services to those who cannot afford lawyers. This includes a significant number of young people who came to the US from other countries, including Mexico as children. They also include asylees who are seeking protection from the dangers in their own communities. JSS has been working in this area for a number of years.

Third, we provide refugee resettlement. We started this work many years ago, first when Jews were fleeing Europe, then we resettled Cubans, then Soviet Jews. Most recently we became an affiliate of HIAS, the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, because the Jewish community of Madison told us that they want to help resettle the more than 21 million refugees there are worldwide. This is 2.5 times the population of New York City. Jewish Social Services is already working with three families from Syria who have arrived in Madison. Two more families from Syria and one from Eritrea are in the pipeline and instead will be continuing to live in refugee camps.

But the president signed an executive order today. I haven’t seen the final version yet, but assuming it is similar to the draft order. This executive order would be a travesty no matter what.  But he signed it today, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. And in case anyone was wondering. President Trump neglected to mention Jews at all when he talked about this.

Just so you know, I did think about comparing the president to the Pharaoh in this week’s Torah portion, but I decided not to go there.

Among its provisions the current version of the executive order will:

• Suspend admissions of all people, immigrants and non-immigrants, for 30 days from countries including Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
• Suspend the entire refugee program for 120 days, which means no refugees will be allowed in the United States for four months.
• Prohibit Syrian refugees from entering the country until the President decides that Syrian resettlement to the U.S. is in alignment with the best interests of the U.S.
• Prioritize refugee claims, upon resumption of the program, on the basis of religious-based persecution (if that person is a religious minority in their country of nationality). This means that Christians from Muslim countries will be given preference.

 
The Jewish community has seen America at its best—when many of our families were given opportunities to gain education, join the workforce, and become part of building our great nation. Tragically, we have also seen xenophobia overwhelm our nation’s capacity for compassion, and we have experienced the doors slam shut in our greatest hours of need.
 
JSS is proud to stand with over 1,700 American rabbis including the rabbi of this congregation, who recently urged elected officials to keep America’s doors open to refugees, declaring that “Our Jewish tradition teaches that every individual was created in the image of God. We must not turn our backs to the suffering of those individuals who have fled horrific violence, and who continue to be in extreme peril.”
 
Jewish Social Services stands with the Madison Jewish Congregations for Social Justice. We also stand with the Syrian community of Madison, several of whom came to the Jewish Social Services office earlier this afternoon to talk about all of their help to us with the refugees, as well as next steps and a discussion of how we can support one another.  We were actually in the middle of this meeting when we heard that the Executive Order had been signed.
 
This week I read a quote in the Forward newspaper, written by Rabbi Ilana Schackter, campus rabbi at UPenn’s Hillel, who wrote an article about Hillel Students and the Muslim Student Association riding together to the Women’s March in Washington D.C., “We belonged to each other at 5 a.m., when the MSA’s Muslim chaplain described the power of beginning this journey at the last third of the night, a sacred time for Muslims when one is closest to Allah. We belonged to one another just before sunrise, when we laid out prayer rugs for Muslim morning worship. We belonged to one another at the Religious Action Center’s pre-march worship service, where we heard an insightful Torah portion, reflecting on the impact of a new and unknown Pharaoh. As we held up signs, as we huddled together, as we shared our stories, over and over again, we remembered that we belong to each other. Thank you, Mr. President, for the powerful reminder.”

Now I have an ask of all of you.

1. Please support the work of Jewish Social Services. Consider volunteering with our agency, either directly members of our community, whether they are seniors, refugees, or others or serve on one of our committees. http://www.jssmadison.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer
2. Urge our president, Senators, representatives and governor to continue to Welcome Refugees to Madison. There are flyers floating around. Pick one up and make a call. http://www.hias.org/call-congress.
3. Donate to Jewish Social Services. Many of our clients are the people most at risk under this administration. Some rely on Medicare and Badgercare, cash assistance and housing support. Others were brought to the United States as children, have gone to school here, and are studying things like biomedical engineering, but are at risk of being deported. Still others managed to just get to the United States, but their families have been left behind. https://secure.qgiv.com/for/jssomi.

 
We need to help one another. It is what we have always done at Jewish Social Services and what we continue to do.
 
Shabbat shalom,
Dawn

UPDATE: The American Immigration Lawyers Association and and National Immigrant Justice Center have issued a travel advisory for refugees and immigrants lawfully trying to enter this country, who are caught in President Trump's ban.   Please share and circulate widely!

Read about JSS's efforts and the stories of the three families they have been able to settle here.

On January 20, 2017, Temple Beth El in Madison, Wisconsin held a special service - Speaking Out for Justice – A Time for Action!  We offer this description of the service and the process behind it as a template in the hope that this can be a model for other congregations.
 
Background: In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, and in consideration of the alarming rise in hate speech and incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, the harmful rhetoric promoting misogyny, homophobia, and demonizing of immigrants and refugees, the clergy and Social Action Committee of Temple Beth El in Madison, WI decided to hold a special service in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King jr. that focuses on human rights and speaking truth to power.
 
Process:

• Six weeks prior to the service, the clergy conferred with the Social Action Committee to discuss the idea of holding a human rights service in honor of MLK Day and in response to the current climate of fear and distress.  The committee recommendation was to keep the service positive and focused on opportunities for action.​  
• Four weeks before the service, the Rabbi sent out the following message to the congregation via the congregation’s listserv:

 
“Subject: "January 20 Service at Temple Beth El: Standing Up for Justice: A Time for Action" 
Dear friends and fellow congregants,
 Silence is no longer an option. 

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
      Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
     Because I was not a Trade Unionist. 
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
     Because I was not a Jew.
 Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." 
(--The Rev. Martin Niemoller, prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps)
 
     Many are familiar with these sentiments written in the awesome and frightening shadow of the Nazis' ethnic cleansing of the Third Reich. They remind us of the ultimate price we might pay for silence in response to threats against the human family on account of racial, ethnic, gender, or ideological differences. 
     Now is the moment when we must put our energies behind the true import of these words, for these same feelings have resurfaced by the racially-charged rhetoric of the recent presidential campaign. With direct threats made to Muslims, Mexicans, and members of the LGBTQ continuum; with anti-Semitic imagery and language having come forth from a major political party candidate, and with a discernible increase of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim assault following the election; with disrespect to those with physical disability and misogynistic references made to American women: Members of these groups and others have felt threatened to the point of real fear. This is why silence is no longer an option. 
     I invite you to our special Temple Beth El worship service on January 20 at 7:30 PM, at which time we will offer prayers of hope and inspiration, hear from guest speaker Lester Pines who will speak about our post-election situation and our needed Jewish response, and learn how each of us can get and remain active locally in helping to stand up to the hatred and bigotry that have been elicited during the campaign and after it. 
     The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for every experience on earth, and this is our time for action, for is only by our actions, as individuals and as a nation of citizens who will stand up for what is good, that we have a chance to make a difference. 
    Please join me, Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy, members of our Social Action Committee, guest Lester Pines, and other concerned congregants, for a night of reflection, inspiration, and commitment to action.”

• Two weeks before the service, the Rabbi sent out a similar message, and the Social Action committee sent out a message in support of the service, encouraging people to attend.  
• Reminders were also sent in the weekly Temple e-news in the month leading up to the service  
• The Rabbi and Cantor worked together to compile the service, focusing on upbeat music and inspiring words from diverse sources on the imperative for speaking out against injustice in all its forms.   
• At the end of the service booklet, a piece was included from Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice (of which Temple Beth El is a member congregation), outlining our Faith Leaders Building Community, Standing Together initiative, explaining the five Working Groups of the initiative, and inviting participants to sign up for one or more Working Group.  
• The sermon that evening was presented by a well-known civil rights attorney who focused on current and future civil rights issues that we are confronting in today's political climate.
• Speaking Truth to Power Mini-Museum: As people came into the synagogue, they were invited to browse through the Mini-Museum that had been set up in the lobby outside the sanctuary. Six portable room dividers were set up in rows with room between for people to walk around. On each room divider was placed a photo or image and a written description of an important time in history when a person or a group stood up to tyranny. The photos included an image of Moses confronting Pharaoh; Gandhi’s Salt March; Sojourner Truth and her Ain’t I a Woman speech; Nelson Mandela; Malala Yousafzai; Rosa Parks; Harriet Tubman; Civil rights workers Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman; The Arab Spring; the Suffragist Movement; The Stonewall Uprising; Lech Walesa and Solidarnosc; the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; the 2004 March for Women’s Lives; the Exodus 1947; and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King jr marching with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (a sampling of some of the images and descriptions used in the exhibit can be found here).
• The exhibit was so popular that people asked it to be kept up for Religious School on Sunday and for the following Shabbat eve service, where the speaker was going to focus on the issue of refugees.  
• At the end of the service, at the Oneg Shabbat (celebration of the Sabbat – coffee and cake in the lobby area held every Friday night after services), copies of a sign-up sheet for WFVJ’s Faith Leaders Building Community Working Groups were put out on tables for people to sign on to join some of those working groups, or to connect with Jewish Social Services on refugee resettlement.

 
If you are interested in learning more, or would like help in presenting a similar event at your congregation, please email Rabbi Bonnie Margulis.

THE CALL FOR SANCTUARY!
 
(We gratefully acknowledge the assistance provided by Voces de la Frontera in the preparation of this article)
 
Leviticus 19:33-34: "‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
 
It is no secret that our immigrant communities are facing difficult and dangerous times.  As people of faith, it is our duty to reach out and provide whatever help and assistance we can, from pastoral counseling and legal assistance, to financial support, to providing shelter. The imperative of Sanctuary calls out to us to live out our faith commitments in the service of those in dire need.

Our faith communities have a long history of providing sanctuary for individuals and communities in trouble. From Biblical sanctuary cities, to the Underground Railroad, to Righteous Gentiles protecting Jews during the Holocaust, to Vietnam War draft resisters and Central American refugees in the 1980’s, congregations and people of faith have stood up for justice and compassion for all in need.
 
Today the need for congregations, communities, and individuals to provide Sanctuary is greater than ever.  The incoming Trump Administration has committed to reverse all executive orders President Obama has issued to provide deportation relief and to begin deportation proceedings against undocumented immigrants on day one.  Families are at risk of being split apart and youth who came forward under the Executive Order known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are at risk for deportation. 
 
These people are an integral and important part of our communities – they are the students we teach and learn with; our neighbors and friends; business owners and our fellow-workers; the people we sit beside in the pews. We owe them our help and support.
 
There are many ways to become part of the Sanctuary Movement:

• Raise our prophetic voices to bring awareness of the injustice of threats of widespread deportation
• Be the voices of compassion and justice for asylum seekers and for families struggling to stay together
• Speak out for those brought to this country as young children, who have known no other home but this, and advocate for continuing the DACA program
• Advocate with the Trump Administration and members of Congress to uphold President Obama’s policies of deferred action and prosecutorial discretion in pursuing deportations
• Provide legal assistance to those facing deportation proceedings
• Provide “Know Your Rights” trainings
• Provide shelter, food, and other material support

 
Below is a list of resources, upcoming trainings, and events. Please share this information widely with your congregations and communities and use the Comments section to let us know what is happening in your own communities! 
 
Organizations (not an exhaustive list)
 
Centro Hispano 
 
Groundswell
 
Immigration Equality: The Nation’s Leading LGBTQ Immigrant Rights Organization
 
Sanctuary, Not Deportation
 
Voces de la Frontera 
 
Upcoming Events:
January 9 and 10 – Community Information Session on Sanctuary, presented by Voces de la Frontera with co-hosts First Unitarian Society, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice and Madison-Area Urban Ministry. What is sanctuary, who might need it, and who might provide it? What’s the process, and what are the legal implications? Sanctuary is one way some faith communities have felt called to respond to the needs of their neighbors. Clergy and lay leaders of all faith communities are invited to come learn about the Sanctuary Movement at this free, multi-faith informational meeting. The same presentation will be offered twice. Please join us on Monday, January 9 OR Tuesday, January 10 at 7 pm. Locations will be announced soon; we hope to offer one session on the east side and one on the west side.
 
January 14 - National Day of Resistance for Immigrant Refugee Rights. Voces de la Frontera is organizing a march at 11am from 1027 S. 5th St. in Milwaukee. No to mass deportation, yes to DACA, Refugees Welcome, no Muslim registry, Keep Families Together!  
 
Toolkit:
Toolkit adapted by Voces de la Frontera from http://sanctuarynotdeportation.org / section “Sanctuary Toolkit New”

​
The following statement was sent on Nov. 21 to the Madison Common Council, the Dane County Board of Supervisors, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Madison Chief of Police Michael Koval, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, and District Attorney Ismael Ozanne.  We are continuing to accept individual signatures and organizational sign-ons.  If you would like to sign on as an individual or organization, send an email here. For those who live outside Dane County, please use this as a template for organizing a similar effort in your community.  WFVJ would be very interested in helping you do so! Contact us here.


FAITH LEADERS STATEMENT AND
PROPOSED PROCLAMATION AGAINST HATE
November 21, 2016
 
 
On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, the American electorate chose a new president, one whose campaign, public statements, and victory have already brought a significant increase of hate crimes in our country, as well as an intensification of racist, homophobic, Islamaphobic, anti-Semitic, anti-science, and isolationist rhetoric in the public sphere.  As clergy, faith leaders, and members of our community, we believe that, as a nation of immigrants of different faiths, we all share a common understanding that our differences only make us better. It is incumbent upon us as faith leaders and upon our elected representatives to protect our inclusive and diverse community where we may all practice our faith traditions in security and peace.
 
We appreciate the recent resolutions on immigration from the Madison Common Council and on safeguarding the Muslim community from the Dane County Board of Supervisors.  However, we believe these resolutions, important as they are, do not go far enough. In the current political climate, minority communities are all feeling under threat.  In addition to the Muslim and immigrant communities, the Jewish community and other religious minorities, people of color, and the LGBTQ community are all deeply concerned and anxious for their safety and the protection of their religious and civil rights.
 
We therefore call upon the Madison Common Council and the Dane County Board of Supervisors to pass follow-up resolutions and take a public stand in affirmation of the values we all cherish, and in opposition to the forces of bigotry and ignorance that would take us backward to a dark and dangerous time. We also ask our county officials, including Mayor Paul Soglin, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Chief of Police Michael Koval, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, and John Vaudreuil, US Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, to issue an official proclamation in support of the values of inclusion, diversity, and mutual responsibility.
 
We further pledge that our faith communities will continue to stand together in solidarity and mutual support to advance these values. We offer the following draft statement as a proposal for such proclamations:
 
 
PROCLAMATION:
On behalf of the City of Madison/County of Dane, Wisconsin, we hereby issue the following proclamation affirming our ongoing commitment to the values we all hold dear, and we pledge to all who live within our boundaries that your county government will stand by you. 
 
We affirm our deep and abiding commitment to the democratic ideals of inclusion, celebration of diversity, and mutual responsibility toward one another. We pledge to stand against intolerance, hatred, and discrimination. We declare Madison/Dane County to be a safe space for all, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status. We welcome the refugee, the outcast, the stranger among us. 
 
We look to all our residents, regardless of how they voted, to join together in the spirit of community to stand against hate, racism, and misogyny, and to stand together in mutual respect, support, and love.  We face great challenges as a community, but we will face them together, as together we move Forward!
 
Organizations
Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church in Wisconsin
Call for Peace
Fair Wisconsin
Integrity/Dignity- Madison
Lutheran Office for Public Public Policy in Wisconsin
Madison-Area Urban Ministry
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
Wisconsin Friends Action Network (Quakers)
Wisconsin Jobs Now
 
Individuals (affiliations for identification purposes only)
Rev. Dr. Ron Adams
Madison Mennonite Church
 
Vaqar Adhami
 
Masood Akhtar
 
Joyce Anderson
 
Pastor Katie Baardseth
Madison, WI
 
Alderman Samba Baldeh
 
Rabbi Renee Bauer
 
Ann Beaty, Associate Minister
First Congregational United Church of Christ
 
Rabbi Joshua Ben-Gideon
Beth Israel Center
Madison, WI
 
Vicki Berenson
Religious Society of Friends
 
Ron Berger
Active McFarland
 
Joanna Berke
 
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch
Temple Beth El, Madison
 
Rev. Jeffrey G. Billerbeck, Chaplain

Bonnie Block,
Member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and the Madison Raging Grannies

Reverend Roger Brooks
 
Kristine Burck
 
Lianne Burnson
Member, Society of Friends
Madison, WI
 
Mary Collet
 
The Rev. David Couper
 
Reverend Cindy Crane
Lutheran Office of Public Policy in Wisconsin
 
Rev. Kelly J. Crocker
First Unitarian Society
 
Rev. Rafael Cubilette, OSL
 
Pastor Kirsten Curtis
 
Guta Cvetkovic BCC
Director of Pastoral Services
Capitol Lakes
 
Martha De La Rosa
Executive Director
Wisconsin Jobs Now
 
Rabbi Irvin S. Ehrlich
 
John Elliott
 
Rev. Mark Elsdon
Campus Pastor/Executive Director
Pres House - UW Madison
 
Bonnie Denmark Friedman
 
Stacy Graff
 
Elsa Gumm
Staff and lifeServe Coordinator, the Church
 
Reverend Jerry Hancock
 
Reverend Dr. Paula Harris
 
Rev. Phil Haslanger
Pastor
Memorial United Church of Christ, Fitchburg
 
Rev Dr. Miranda Hasset
 
Reverend Eldonna Hazen
 
Andrea Hobright
 
Reverend Breanna Illene
 
Rev. Sonja L. Ingebritsen
Community of Hope United Church of Christ
Madison Christian Community
 
Asif Iqbal
 
Gwen Costa Jacobsohn 
 
Alhagie Jallow
Imam
Madinah Community Center
 
Julie James
 
The Very Rev.  Andy Jones
Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church
 
Rev. Tim Kehl 
United Church of Christ, retired
 
Linda Ketcham
Executive Director
Madison-Area Urban Ministry
 
Saad Khalifa
 
Donna Kirschenmann
Member, Society of Friends
Madison, WI
 
Laura Komai
 
Diane Kravitz
 
Reverend Tina Lang
First United Methodist Church
Madison, WI
 
Ellen Lindgren
 
Louise Lund
 
Kate MacCrimmon
Doctoral Student - UW-Madison
 
Rev. Jason Mack
Minister of Community
First Baptist Church
Madison, WI
 
Abdullah Mahmood
 
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
President
Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
 
Reverend Scott Marrese-Wheeler
 
The Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler
 
Kathy Mazur
 
Tim Mazur
 
Megin McDonell
Executive Director
Fair Wisconsin
 
Sr. Maureen McDonnell, O.P.
 
Cathy Miller
 
Kaisa Miller
 
Neal Miller
 
Rev. Jerry L. Mosser
Affiliated with the First Unitarian Society of Madison
 
Mike Murray
 
Reverend Martha Nack
 
Moniba Nazeef
 
Lewy Olfson
Member, Society of Friends
Madison, WI
 
The Rev. Katya Ouchakof
Pastor
Lake Edge Lutheran Church
 
Rev. Kathleen Owens
Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
Oregon
 
Reverend Kerri Parker
McFarland United Church of Christ
 
Gloria Peterson
 
Judith Pierotti
 
Audra Prebish
 
Reverend Michael Rehak
 
Rev. Glen Reichelderfer
Associate Pastor
Christ Presbyterian Church
 
The Rev. Blake Rohrer
Midvale Community Lutheran Church – ELCA
 
Cemile Sahin
 
Abdiwahid Said
 
The Rev. Jessica C. Scholten
Interim Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church
 
The Rev. Dr. Michael A. Schuler
First Unitarian Society of Madison
 
Eric Severson
Ministerial Intern
First Unitarian Society
 
Pastor Larry L. Sexe
Pastor of Deerfield Lutheran Church ELCA
 
Abdi Sheikh 
 
Brad Sherman
 
Reverend Pat Siegler
 
Sohail Siraj
 
Sherie Sondel
Co-chair
Temple Beth El Social Action Committee
 
Yusuf Tunkara
 
 
The Rev. Nick Utphall
Advent Lutheran / Madison Christian Community
 
Rev. Brad Van Fossen
Monona United Methodist Church
 
Katherine van Wormer
Professor of Social Work
Member, Society of Friends
Madison, WI
 
Clare Wagner, O.P.
 
Ann Marie Waterhouse
 
Reverend Doctor Julia Weaver
Dane County Jail Chaplain
 
Abdullah Yavas
 
Rabbi Laurie Zimmerman
Congregation Shaarei Shamayim
 
Business Supporters
Anthology
218 State St.
Madison, WI