Eastern Orthodox - Immigrant, Refugee & Asylum Seeker Outreach

05/21/2026

A PRAYER FOR IMMIGRANTS

O Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth, and Father of all mankind, You fashioned every human person in Your holy image and likeness, and You have taught us through the Holy Scriptures to love the stranger, the foreigner, and the sojourner among us. For through Your Prophet Moses You declared:

“The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
— Leviticus 19:33–34

Look down with mercy upon all immigrants, refugees, travelers, and displaced peoples throughout the world. Be their protector in uncertainty, their shelter in danger, their comfort in sorrow, and their guide in unfamiliar lands. Grant them safety, dignity, meaningful labor, and peace of soul as they seek to provide for themselves and their families.

Strengthen those who are burdened by fear, loneliness, poverty, persecution, war, or injustice. Heal the wounds caused by prejudice, hatred, exploitation, and division among peoples. Remove from our hearts all bitterness, suspicion, and indifference, and teach us instead the way of compassion, hospitality, and brotherly love.

Guide the leaders of this city, this state, and this nation, that they may govern with wisdom, discernment, justice, and mercy. Grant that laws and policies may uphold both truth and compassion, preserving peace, human dignity, and the well-being of society.

O Christ our God, You Yourself became a refugee when You fled into Egypt as a child. You walked among the poor, the rejected, and the forgotten. Teach us to see Your face in every suffering person and to remember that we are all pilgrims and strangers upon this earth, journeying toward Your Heavenly Kingdom.

Unite us in peace and mutual understanding. Deliver us from the darkness of hatred, violence, greed, and oppression. Inspire us to labor together against ignorance, poverty, disease, and every form of injustice, so that all people may live in freedom, harmony, and reverence for one another.

Grant that through repentance, humility, and love, we may grow into true brothers and sisters in Christ, glorifying You together with Your Eternal Father and Your Most-Holy, Good, and Life-Creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

04/12/2026

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

03/18/2026

There is an extreme heat warning for this week with temps 20-25 degrees higher than normal.

Salvation Army will be acting as a cooling center for the next four days. Primavera will also be opening cooling centers at both Casa Paloma and HIP drop-in center.

Please seek shade and water to stay safe during this temperature spike.

02/28/2026

02/23/2026

Wishing everyone a blessed and prayerful Great Lent.

07/19/2025

✊🏾 Truth-Telling Tuesday: Jesus Was Not White

Jesus was not white.
He wasn’t American.
He wasn’t Republican.
He wasn’t part of an empire.

He was a brown-skinned, Aramaic-speaking, Middle Eastern Jewish mystic living under Roman occupation.

He was a pacifist who challenged violence.
A feminist who uplifted women.
A healer who touched the untouchable.
A socialist who said give away your wealth.
A justice-seeker who flipped tables and defied the powerful.
A deeply interfaith man who honored Samaritans, Gentiles, and outsiders.

⸻

To whitewash Jesus is to erase the revolution he lived.

The Gospel isn’t a flag.
It’s not a gun.
It’s not a corporate slogan.

The Gospel is liberation for the poor, the imprisoned, the outcast, the oppressed.

If your version of Jesus is unbothered by injustice,
it’s not Jesus you’re following.
It’s Caesar in a robe.

⸻

🔥 Final Words:

The real Jesus doesn’t uphold empire.
He unravels it.

⸻

🕊️ Aramaic Prayer

Yeshua d’Natsraya — Jesus of Nazareth
Brown-skinned child of colonized soil,
Liberator of the broken,
Lover of the rejected —
Strip away the white veil they’ve placed upon you.
May we see your true face, and follow.

⸻

🌿 Awen Prayer

Awen. Awen. Awen.
May I honor the truth of your body,
not the idol of whiteness.
May I walk in the way of the peacemaker,
the healer, the rebel sage.
Not the empire’s Jesus,
but the liberating Christ.

07/13/2025

07/13/2025

Aztlan is the ancient homeland where the Mexica (the Aztecs) began to form as a civilization prior to their migration to the Valley of Mexico.
Nahuatl, which is the language of the Mexica, is still spoken throughout Mexico and related to the languages of the Native "American" tribes of the Hopi, Kiowa, Tongva, and Paiute, among others.
According to Mexica historical records ("Aztec Codex") and Nahuatl legend, seven tribes lived in Aztlan, with the Mexica tribe being the principle one and the last tribe to leave Aztlan. Aztlan is a cradle of Native tribes in "North America!" The Mexica migrated south from Aztlan in the year 1064, arriving at the future location of Tenochtitlan more than 200 years later. When they arrived, they encountered many other tribes already there.

In Mexica history, Aztlan is believed to have been as far north as Colorado, Arizona, California, and Utah - the U.S. Southwest - that along with Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada, were part of Mexico until 1848 when the U.S. took possession of the conquered land after the War.

Our people have been living on, and cultivating the land of the Southwest for many centuries before any European had set foot here! There was no wall separating the north from the south at the border because there was no border. You are living in a city - Tucson, San Jose, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Las Vegas, that used to be in Mexico. This is our homeland, our home!

"Aztlan belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops..."

The migration is a reality, the language is a reality, the reasons people migrate are a reality. There is no doubt people have migrated and clear evidence that ancient Mexicans lived in the north. Mexicans and Chicanos, with native heritage, can never be aliens here because we are native people! We are part of a civilization that never went away. We belong here! Our roots are deeply planted in the soil of the Bronze Continent!

We are not aliens! We are not foreigners! We are not illegal! We are not immigrants! And, we are not going anywhere!
This is the Land of our Ancestors! We are not only heirs to the land, we are its caretakers. This is our Homeland and we will not be moved!

WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

🦅🪶🌾🌻🌞🌍🤎