UUC’s Second Sunday Plate collections serve as a direct expression of our faith through justice and service work. November's Second Sunday Plate will go to the migrant support services at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila. Palmira Figueroa, from One America and the Migrant Arrivals Support Coalition, and Joey Lopez, from the Church Council of Greater Seattle, will join us on Sunday morning to share more. 

The Riverton Park Church community has welcomed hundreds of migrants in recent months, and the city of Tukwila has declared a state of emergency in response to this humanitarian crisis. Most of the migrants are asylum seekers from Venezuela, Angola or Congo who are fleeing violence in their homelands. There are currently over 350 people camped at Riverton Park Church, including 90 children and 10 pregnant women. Their needs include food, shelter, legal assistance and health care, and are beyond the capacity of this small church community.

The Migrant Arrivals Support Coalition is a recently formed coalition of four local nonprofit organizations working together to support the asylum seekers at Riverton: the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, OneAmerica, Congolese Integration Network and the Low Income Housing Alliance. The Migrant Arrivals Support Coalition is partnering with Riverton Park Church to assist families with housing, identify legal resources and engage community members in volunteering in a variety of roles. The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services is slated to create a task force, since the needs are state-wide, but that will take time.

On November 12, please join others from UUC, and many more from area faith communities, in supporting this work to uphold the inherent worth and dignity of every person. You may add your donation to the plate at the Sunday morning service, donate online through UUC Connect (select Special Plate and list November plate) or send your check to the UUC office, with the memo noted as 2nd Sunday Plate - November.

~UUC Social Justice Steering Committee