SALT Fellows Graduate at Justice GA

By Ted Resnikoff

SALT Graduates 12
John Bailey, a Spiritual Activist Leadership Training (SALT) graduate has been searching for someone, just one person, who knew his grandmother when she was a Unitarian Universalist minister. He knew she went to Starr King School for the Ministry, and has dreamed of going there himself one day. As part of SALT, John went to Phoenix to protest Sheriff Arpaio's tent city, and attend the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly. John was on his way to be a volunteer helping with the buses to the protest, and found himself in a seat with Starr King graduate, Rev. Harlan Limpert. John asked as he often does, “Where did you go to seminary?” Rev. Limpert replied that he had attended Starr King in the 1970's. John wondered if Rev. Limpert had ever run across his grandmother, Chris Bailey, and indeed, Rev. Limpert knew her in those days. This was a dream come true after several years of unsuccessful searching. Not only did the witness event at the tent city draw more of a crowd than expected – over 2,000 protesters peacefully bore witness to the suffering of immigrants who are kept in tents lacking air-conditioning in the Phoenix desert, inside of which often reach 136 degrees F, but the 14 SALT Fellows who graduated the next day earned their stripes in community organizing by helping distribute water, load and unload buses, and monitor the perimeter to keep everyone safe. The next day, the SALT Fellows heard Rev. Rebecca Parker, President of Starr King School for the Ministry speak about choosing to share their gifts with the world. President Parker also told the group that Starr King has scholarships available for half the price a year of seminary normally costs, just this year. John Bailey plans to take advantage of this offer – he will be applying much earlier than he originally thought possible to take advantage of the certificate program! Without the help of UU Legislative Ministry of California's (UULMCA) donors who brought SALT to General Assembly, neither of these remarkable life-long pursuits could have materialized for John. To learn more about UULMCA, SALT, and see a video about our first year, visit our website. We have a few more positions left for the SALT Fellows program starting in August 2012-2013applications are due by July 14.