Chelsea Community Church & Chelsea Neighbors United
Invite the Public to a Free Afternoon of
Songs, Socializing, and ICE Preparedness Training
Sunday, May 3, 1pm at 346 W. 20th St. (btw. 8th & 9th Aves.)
Chelsea Community Church (CCC)—the lay-led, non-denominational Christian Church whose annual Candlelight Carol Service is a popular December draw—marks its early May calendar with a collaboration whose “knowledge is power” message is well-calibrated to the challenges of our current climate.
That is to say, CCC will present an ICE Preparedness Training session based on the ones regularly offered by Chelsea Neighbors United (CNU)—a recently formed group whose public protest actions come with the know-how to resist, when ICE asserts.
CCC member and board trustee E. Diane Nichols first floated the notion of a collaboration after attending a CNU event late last year. “I was so impressed,” said Nichols, “I spoke to our [church] members and said, “We should all get the training.” Another parishioner, recalled Nichols, “said it was imperative that we have the event in the church [where Sunday services are held]. She feels that the Church [CCC] must be doing more things like that, for the community.” And so, the event takes place on the same day, at the same time, as CCC’s weekly service.
This May 3 edition eschews the regularly scheduled sermon, and reduces the runtime to 30 minutes–during which, says Nichols, “Our Choir Director, Jeff Cubeta, has put together a program of resistance songs.” Under Cubeta’s direction, those and “other upbeat selections” will be sung by choir members, with ample sing-along opportunities for those who populate the pews. That’s followed by a half-hour set aside for coffee, cake, and socializing. Following that, CNU’s Ice Preparedness Training will educate attendees about proper protocol when interacting with ICE, how to best protect immigrants who work in private homes, and what business owners and their employees should do when ICE is on the premises (information shared by CNU, when its volunteers canvas local businesses).
For questions and more information, email CCC at info@chelseachurch.org. To contact CNU, send an email to ChelseaNeighborsUnited2@gmail.com. To attend CCC’s weekly Sunday 1pm service online, click here.
—Compiled by Scott Stiffler
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