UUFSMA: “Despensas during the Pandemic”

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Online Service

“Despensas during the Pandemic”

Speaker: Hannah Swenson

Sunday, August 23, 2020

10:30 am

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/414604040 

Password: 294513

By Joseph Plummer

UUF Secretary

The first time Hannah Swenson, UUFSMA’s guest speaker for this Sunday’s online service, heard her call to public service in Mexico City, the earth literally shook beneath her. The powerful 2017 earthquake created enormous damage and suffering in the federal metropolis of 21-million people. And it also drew Sra. Swenson immediately into the works of Ayuda Mutua, the mutual aid society that became a vital force in sustaining lives shaken apart while the city recovered.

Still a force in the purposefully unstructured and leaderless organization, in the current Covid-19 pandemic, Sra. Swenson works both ends of the chain of civic assistance, organizing volunteers who deliver basic grocery supplies, diabetes medication and dog food to some 289 families. These weekly despensas provide fresh fruits and vegetables along with staples like rice, beans, and tortillas across the city.  At the other end of this emergency provision system, Sra. Swenson also helps Ayuda Mutua to raise money and solicit donations of merchandise. Its on-line art gallery helps local artists survive difficult times.

What brings a person forward to meet the needs of people whom governments and institutions fail to assist?  How is it that ordinary people come together to help one another? This Sunday Sra. Swenson will share her insights into these timely questions with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship here in San Miguel. She will offer these insights to a service that forms a covenant around such values and so provides vital financial support for despensas that support families in San Miguel who are left without income by the pandemic.

To participate in our online Sunday Service, visit the Fellowship’s website at www.uufsma.org and click on the Zoom Service button displayed on the home page. If requested, enter password: 294513. Sign-in between 10:15-10:25 am.

Through grants and awards, UUFSMA donates fifty percent of all income it receives to support nonprofit organizations that provide health, educational, and environmental services for underserved communities in the San Miguel region. Please support this work by clicking on the website home page’s Donate button. Now more than ever, your support is essential.

Due to the arrival of the coronavirus in San Miguel de Allende, UUFSMA has indefinitely suspended in-person Sunday services and other gatherings. We advise members and friends to follow the advice of reputable public health authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control, and to contact our Minister or Care Team for needed assistance. The UU Fellowship welcomes people of all ages, races, religions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.