Meeting Notes
May 10, 2026
We reviewed a number of requests for our support:
1. The embargo of arms shipments
Kent brought our attention to these people https://armsembargonow.com/religious-institutions who are asking for support from Oakland religious institutions for an arms embargo. We agreed to propose this to the vestry, noting that the Episcopal church has long been an advocate for the just treatment of Palestinians, from the 2014 Diocal resolution in favor of Divestment to April 2024 National Executive Council calling for an end to violence to the June 2024 General Convention resolutions calling for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Paula will send a note to the vestry, and Kent will attend a meeting of the Embargo folk to see what can be done.
2.Coal out of Oakland
The City of Oakland has been trying to stop the horrible plan to ship massive amounts of coal out of the Port of Oakland. This coal would be transported through West Oakland, where the asthma rates are already very high due to the pollution from industry there. Irene, who is a member of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (a group strongly fighting to keep the coal out, will be our contact with them to see how we can help. The website is https://nocoalinoakland.info/
3. ICE out of Dublin
ICE is trying to turn an old, closed federal prison that is situated in Dublin into an ICE detention facility. The ICE Out of Dubin group has events to try to stop this. Paula will publish those events to the Social Justice Committee.
This is the latest:"TAKE ACTION
Join the ICE Out of Dublin Coalition and Bay Resistance for a Power Hour on Tuesday, May 19th, from 6-7 PM on Zoom. RSVP here.
Learn how to submit public comments against this vile move and get more key updates on the ICE Out of Dublin campaign. We will also work together to write and submit our public comments in real time.
Can’t make it to the Power Hour?
Use the ICE Out of Dublin Coalition Toolkit, tinyurl.com/IOD-EA-Toolkit, which includes a sample comment.
Submit your public comment by emailing [email protected] (in the “to:” line), and PLEASE BCC [email protected] in the “bcc” line. Include "FCI Dublin Environmental Assessment" as your email’s subject line. The deadline is June 1.
FCI Dublin survivors fought for years to expose the violence and abuse inside those walls. We cannot allow the federal government to reopen this site as a new detention center for immigrants and families.
No ICE detention in Dublin. Not in the Bay Area. Not anywhere.
In Solidarity, Bay Resistance"
4. Requests to support individuals
About once every two weeks or so, IM4HI will send a request to help an individual who is being wronged by this immigration system. The help might be in the form of showing up at their court proceedings, or signing a petition, etc. We agreed that Paula will send one of these requests to the group, with the note that if people are interested they could sign up for the IM4HI newsletter.
5. Bay Area Episcopal Peace Fellowship
It is wonderful that the EPF is starting up again in the Bay Area, and we will do what we can to support them,
6. Vigils at 630 Sansome
Paula will send information about when the next vigil at 630 Sansome is. This is a locaton where immigrants must come to check in with ICE, and where they are randomly snached.
7. Guns to Gardens
It went very well, and the next one is scheduled for Nov 14.
1. The embargo of arms shipments
Kent brought our attention to these people https://armsembargonow.com/religious-institutions who are asking for support from Oakland religious institutions for an arms embargo. We agreed to propose this to the vestry, noting that the Episcopal church has long been an advocate for the just treatment of Palestinians, from the 2014 Diocal resolution in favor of Divestment to April 2024 National Executive Council calling for an end to violence to the June 2024 General Convention resolutions calling for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Paula will send a note to the vestry, and Kent will attend a meeting of the Embargo folk to see what can be done.
2.Coal out of Oakland
The City of Oakland has been trying to stop the horrible plan to ship massive amounts of coal out of the Port of Oakland. This coal would be transported through West Oakland, where the asthma rates are already very high due to the pollution from industry there. Irene, who is a member of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (a group strongly fighting to keep the coal out, will be our contact with them to see how we can help. The website is https://nocoalinoakland.info/
3. ICE out of Dublin
ICE is trying to turn an old, closed federal prison that is situated in Dublin into an ICE detention facility. The ICE Out of Dubin group has events to try to stop this. Paula will publish those events to the Social Justice Committee.
This is the latest:"TAKE ACTION
Join the ICE Out of Dublin Coalition and Bay Resistance for a Power Hour on Tuesday, May 19th, from 6-7 PM on Zoom. RSVP here.
Learn how to submit public comments against this vile move and get more key updates on the ICE Out of Dublin campaign. We will also work together to write and submit our public comments in real time.
Can’t make it to the Power Hour?
Use the ICE Out of Dublin Coalition Toolkit, tinyurl.com/IOD-EA-Toolkit, which includes a sample comment.
Submit your public comment by emailing [email protected] (in the “to:” line), and PLEASE BCC [email protected] in the “bcc” line. Include "FCI Dublin Environmental Assessment" as your email’s subject line. The deadline is June 1.
FCI Dublin survivors fought for years to expose the violence and abuse inside those walls. We cannot allow the federal government to reopen this site as a new detention center for immigrants and families.
No ICE detention in Dublin. Not in the Bay Area. Not anywhere.
In Solidarity, Bay Resistance"
4. Requests to support individuals
About once every two weeks or so, IM4HI will send a request to help an individual who is being wronged by this immigration system. The help might be in the form of showing up at their court proceedings, or signing a petition, etc. We agreed that Paula will send one of these requests to the group, with the note that if people are interested they could sign up for the IM4HI newsletter.
5. Bay Area Episcopal Peace Fellowship
It is wonderful that the EPF is starting up again in the Bay Area, and we will do what we can to support them,
6. Vigils at 630 Sansome
Paula will send information about when the next vigil at 630 Sansome is. This is a locaton where immigrants must come to check in with ICE, and where they are randomly snached.
7. Guns to Gardens
It went very well, and the next one is scheduled for Nov 14.
St. Paul's Hosts Ceasefire Teach-In with Mayor Barbara Lee, July 2025
Ricardo Gomez Angel | Unsplash
St. Paul's In The News!
An article about the Sanctuary Movement featured St. Paul’s and Paula Hawthorn, and written by Cara MacDonald Meredith, in The Living Church.
An article about the Sanctuary Movement featured St. Paul’s and Paula Hawthorn, and written by Cara MacDonald Meredith, in The Living Church.
For updated info and actions, see our HOME PAGE.
Standing Against ViolenceGuns to GardensGuns to Gardens
We work towards peace in our streets by participating in Night Walks sponsored by Faith in Action East Bay, in which a group walks through the streets of an impacted Oakland neighborhood to let them know we are not alone. Every second Saturday we join the members of True Vine Church for a Stand In, where we stand from 11am until noon at a corner in West Oakland near where someone has been killed and loudly, with bull horns & chants, call on people to put the guns down, and let the community know that this cannot be just another blip on the nightly news, that this person was important and their death is not acceptable. We are the principal supporters of Guns to Gardens, an initiative that helps to beat swords into plowshares by collecting guns at one-time events in exchange for gift certificates and a hand-forged garden tool fashioned from the weapons retrieved at the previous year’s buyback. Helping to Create Pathways Out of PovertyWe support the Episcopal Impact Fund, which funds community-based poverty relief efforts, focusing on housing security for families as a cornerstone in breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty in the Bay Area.
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