Our November breakfast meeting (we call it The Fools of the Round Table) reminded me why I love Fools Mission . The social hall at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Redwood City (UUFRC) was humming as 25 adults and kids gathered in the social hall. The cast of characters were a typically diverse mix—an SRI Scientist, Honduran immigrants, a retired tech writer, an attorney, Mexican immigrants, and a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
The September breakfast meeting of the Fools of the Round Table.
Our community outreach includes tutoring, book groups, workshops, classes, and street retreats. We partner with charities, too—but we are not a charity ourselves. When the expectations of our culture move us in the direction of provider/client models, we shift our focus back to building community through one-on-one personal accompaniment. Despite our efforts to detach ourselves from outcomes, results can be powerful.
A chalice lighting and opening reading helped to create a space of deeper listening. A Honduran couple whose son disappeared at the U.S./Mexican border in May reported how encouraged they were by the new relationships they had formed though Fools Mission —including a Red Cross official who agreed to travel to Arizona with them, and an aide to Rep. Jackie Speier. The aide offered to help confirm whether her son is in detention in the U.S. Regardless of outcome, we provide supportive companionship.
A young man from San Mateo related his story about a police incident that a good judge will probably throw out of court. Three fools will accompany him at his hearing in January and try to connect him with good legal representation. An immigrant family shared the struggles of a family member to obtain a U.S. passport, despite her Texas birth certificate and full citizen status. Another fool offered to set up a meeting at Jackie Speier’s office to seek assistance.
The immigrant families had asked us to explore a partnership with an established Adopt a Family program for the holidays, but the office hadn’t returned our calls. With Thanksgiving only a week away, we decided to just go ahead and adopt families on our own. Six fools offered to share holiday turkeys and toys with other fools in the circle, and three of the donors were immigrants themselves.
It is truly magical to witness how this works—when we build community and personal relationships, the barriers to meeting our needs dissolve before our eyes. The covenanted circle had done its work. (Prompt translation from bilingual fools helped!) We had everything we needed before we asked. During the meeting evaluation, one of the fools expressed her appreciation this way: “What I like about Fools Mission is that when we say we’ll do something—we do it!” Si — es verdad.