Every Vote is Sacred!

Just a gentle reminder that tomorrow, Friday, October 30th at 12pm –⁠ the first day of early voting in Orange County –⁠ CLUE’s interfaith coalition of religious leaders and community members will meet at the Honda Center in Anaheim to offer prayers and blessings upon all who are voting at Orange County’s largest Vote Center. 

Clergy and lay leaders from local houses of worship will also conduct a nonviolence training, to prepare community leaders to peacefully defend democracy after the November 3rd general election.

Fri Oct 30th, 12pm
An Interfaith Blessing of OC’s Largest Early Voting Center & Nonviolence Training
@ The Honda Center, 2695 E. Katella Ave, Anaheim
In-person socially-distant action (masks required) and online

Please RSVP for exact location & details:  bit.ly/EveryVoteIsSacred
Facebook event
Watch Online: www.facebook.com/CLUEJustice/live/

Speakers and Participants at our blessing tomorrow will include:

Rev. Sadie Cullumber	Harbor Christian Church, Newport Beach (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Terry LePage	United Church of Christ
Akbar Hussaini	Executive Director, Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council
Rev. Edward G. Becker	Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs, Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and Pastor, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, La Habra
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin	Jewish Collaborative of Orange County
Avinder Chawla	representing the Orange County Sikh Community
Lillian Chesley	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Rev. Samuel Pullen	Community Congregational United Church of Christ, Los Alamitos
Joyce Swaving	President, Greater Rancho Santa Margarita Interfaith Council
Rashad Al-Dabbagh	Executive Director, Arab American Civic Council
Pastor Emily Rose	Community of Christ
Rabbi Stephen Einstein	Founder Emeritus, Congregation B'nai Tzedek, Fountain Valley
Rev. Jason Cook	Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Fullerton
Jessica Moss	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 In light of the potential uncertainty that could unfold in the days and even weeks following Election Day, CLUE and our partners are banding together to ensure that we remain united. We are seeking to galvanize the broader public to support the core values of the democratic process and the right to peaceful freedom of expression. Our faith community aims to harness the sacred power of ritual to preserve the sanctity of democracy and of the vote, to offer a commitment to nonviolence as well as practical de-escalation tools to support the rights and safety of all public, and to provide expression of peoples’ hopes and fears for our democracy. 

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Tomorrow's Vote Center Blessing is the first of a series of election defense events we're organizing, so please Save the Dates:

• Wed Nov 4th, 2pm
  A Post-Election Day Online Convocation & Nonviolence Training
  via Zoom (online-only event)
  
  

• Thurs Nov 5th, 12pm
  An Interfaith Vigil in Support of Vote Counting
  location TBD
  In-person socially-distant action (masks required) and online 

Please RSVP for exact locations, Zoom links, and further details: bit.ly/EveryVoteIsSacred 

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In this extraordinary time, our faith communities join with people across the country to affirm and advocate for people whose voice and votes are threatened.  We pray and speak out for complete and fair voting and vote counting, and for the partnership of government and community to support peaceful assembly and participatory democracy.

Please join us in this historic moment to declare, ‘Every vote is sacred!’

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Thanks so much to all our Organizers & Co-Sponsors for their help!

- Advocates for Peace & Justice at the Irvine United Church of Christ (UCC)
- Arab American Civic Council
- Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Southern California
- Community Congregational United Church of Christ, Los Alamitos
- Community of Christ in Orange
- Council on American-Islamic Relations: CAIR Los Angeles
- Fullerton Interfaith Ministerial Association
- Harbor Christian Church, Newport Beach
- Jewish Collaborative of Orange County
- Keeping It Sacred
- Los Alamitos Community United
- Mission Hospital
- National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW)
- Newsong Church, Santa Ana
- Orange County Alliance for Just Change
- Orange County Poor People's Campaign
- St. George's Episcopal Church, Laguna Hills
- St. Matthew Ecumenical Catholic Church, Orange
- The Orange County Jewish Coalition for Refugees
- Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Fullerton
- Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California (UUJMCA)
- Unite Here Local 11

WE’RE STILL ACCEPTING CO-SPONSORS! Please email [email protected] if your congregation or organization would like to co-sponsor and participate!