Saturday, July 7
West County Detention Facility, 5555 Giant Hwy, Richmond, CA 94806
9:30 am – 10:30 am – Zazen
11 am -“ noon – Ceremonies, Teachings, and Testimonials

On Saturday, July 7, Green Gulch Farm sangha members, led by Central Abbess Linda Ruth Cutts, will travel to the West County Detention Facility in Richmond to practice zazen, hold a well-being ceremony, chant, circumambulate, and offer incense, teachings, and a sacred “Moment of Noise” to express our compassion, care, and concern for those affected by ICE’s implementation of cruel and dehumanizing immigration policies. Please come join us!

We will begin with open zazen at 9:30 am, followed at 11 am by an hour of ceremony, teaching, and testimonial from people directly impacted by ICE. All are welcome to join or depart at any time during the program. The event will take place in the parking lot and entryway of the West County Detention Facility, 5555 Giant Hwy, Richmond, CA 94806. There is ample parking.

This vigil is sponsored by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity (IM4HI), which has since 2011 been organizing monthly vigils at this facility to pray and bear witness to the pain, suffering, and separation of immigrant detainees. Each month, a different local congregation co-hosts the vigils and offers services from their tradition, and Green Gulch is honored to have the chance to do so on July 7.

In addition to thousands of others in over 250 detention centers across the country, West County Detention Facility holds 150-300 detainees who face deportation, many of whom are asylum seekers, green card holders, and long-term residents. These arrests cause both dire emotional and economic disruptions to families, which consequently make their communities insecure as well.

Any and all are welcome to join us on July 7 in this enactment of our vows to bear witness and respond to the cries of the world.