First Friends means exactly what it says. It is an organization that reaches out to be the first friends to refugees and asylum seekers left in detention and corrections centers in Essex, Hudson, and Bergen counties in New Jersey.

First Friends was started in 1999 by groups from Jesuit Refugee Service and Community Services of the Archdiocese of Newark, staff members, and over 200 volunteers; visit detainees, send cards and letters, and make themselves available to detainees.

Today, we visited with the staff and some former detainees to hear how effective this organization has been in truly welcoming and caring for the women and men who are forced into detention cells.

We listened to several of these immigrants tell of their experiences of horrible disrespect and brutality. Ali, who learned English while in detention, asked us “to listen not to my broken words, but feel my broken heart.”

Ali and his friends told us of the great dignity and respect shown to them when First Friends officials Sally Pillay, Program Coordinator and Social Worker, and Rosa Santana, Coordinator of Visitation Program reached out and offered them consolation. They initiate contact with the detainees asking if they would like a visit or have any other needs.

In appreciation of the efforts of the First Friends staff, many detainees have created works of art displayed on the Wall of Gratitude.

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One of the main focuses of the Nuns on the Bus tour this year is meeting with members of Congress who voted in favor of the tax bill that became law in December 2017. It can truthfully be called a Republican bill because it was formulated, discussed privately in the Republican caucuses, moved forward with no public discussion or proposed amendments by Democrats, and given to Democrats with only 48 hours in advance of the vote to read 1800 pages.  Only Republicans voted in favor of it.

Today in Langhorne, PA we had an appointment with Representative Brian Fitzpatrick’s Chief of Staff, Michael Conallen.  Four Sisters attended the meeting, along with four of the Representative’s constituents from District 8 in Pennsylvania. The constituents all work in programs that benefit women and children, and they are extremely concerned about the anticipated cuts to programs that

Republicans say will now be necessary in order to pay for the huge tax cuts given to the wealthiest Americans and to corporations. Since tax revenue will be so much less, Republicans say that Medicare, Medicaid, nutrition programs and other parts of the social safety net will have to be drastically reduced or eliminated.

We started the meeting on a positive note by complimenting the Representative’s vote against the Republican health care bill, but noted that he had voted twice for the tax bill. We wondered aloud whether he worries about how this law will affect the working poor and middle class in his district. We challenged him to take leadership in the Republican caucus to work for changes in the law that will reduce tax giveaways to the wealthy and to corporations, which they don’t need, and to work for increases in wages and in programs that will directly support his constituents who need government services. His chief of staff took copious notes.

At the rally outside the Representative’s office after our visit, we were told by several people that he is in a very tight race and they are working mightily to replace him. November 6^th will tell the tale.

Today was another early day for the nine sisters and NETWORK staff who are traveling on the Bus this week.  Each day begins with contemplative prayer in Simone’s room, where the sisters sit in quiet and listen to the stirrings within our hearts, recalling the people we met the prior day. After a period of extended quiet, we lift their intentions, mingled with our own and then one by one, share the fruits of our contemplation.  Part of the program the prior evening was an illustrative example acted out by the sisters of how the tax cuts impact real people. One sister shared in this morning’s prayer about a conversation with a woman who came up to her afterwards and said, “I am the Nicky you spoke about.  I live in HUD housing and I am so fearful that if cuts are made to the social net programs I use and need, I will lose my apartment.”  As the sister gazed into her face she saw a middle age woman of pallid complexion, simply dressed who was doing the best she can, day by day, yet living on the edge and carrying all the uncertainty that this stark reality brings to her life.

We ended our prayer, gathered our suitcases and stepped onto the bus, fortified by our faith, called to be bearers of hope to those we will meet each day. Leaving Seneca Falls a little after 8 am, our first two stops were lobby visits with Representative Tenney (New Hartford) and Representative Faso’s (Kingston) offices.  Sister Betsy shared these experiences in her blog for that day.

As evening dusk began to fall, we arrived in Morristown, New Jersey.  Our hosts were the parishioners of Church of the Redeemer.  We were greeted warmly by Reverend Cynthia Black, and introduced to Mayor Tim Dougherty.  We shared a meal with the parishioners in the parish hall, where we were told that they serve over 70,000 meals to individuals and families in need in their community. Rev. Black shared that their church was founded by the Abolitionists; they are also a “Green Faith sanctuary.”

After dinner, we moved to the church for the program.

Simone gaves a brief introduction to the trip, but the real purpose of this evening’s program was a live podcast interview with Jesuitical, which is sponsored by America Magazine. Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless from America moderated the conversation with Sr. Simone and Sr. Richelle Friedman, another “Nun on the Bus.” Sr. Simone and Sr. Richelle shared moving stories from the road trip, and explained why the Republican tax plan is so devastating to over 60% of the country’s population, encouraging all to get out the vote for the midterms.   After the podcast concluded, all gathered were invited to sign pledge cards and move outside to sign the bus. It was a beautiful moonlit night – Rev. Black “signed the bus” with a Church of the Redeemer bumper sticker with this slogan: “supporting the separation of church and hate since 1852.”

Clearly, all that we heard and experienced from these parishioners embodied these words.

After the podcast, all participants moved outside to sign the bus. We were provided hospitality by the Filipini sisters at their Filipini Villa Walsh, a 100 + acre campus which includes an all-girls academy, grades 7-12. Sister Ascenza and Sister Alice greeted us and after showing us our rooms, we gathered briefly to give gratitude for the people we have met and the graces we have received.

I am humbled by these experiences, and enriched by the desire of so many good people in this country who truly want to be a caring community for others, in contrast to the negative rhetoric and policies that are being implemented by the current administration.  This trip is all about bringing hope to those who are discouraged by all that they are seeing happening in our country.  I am richly blessed for these days shared with my sisters and those we have met on the road to Mar-a-Lago.

We pulled into the edge of the Home Depot parking lot in New Hartford, NY (near Utica) where a small crowd was starting to gather. Matt and Nicky, our “Advance Team,” had arranged and arrived ahead of us so that everything would be ready when we pulled up in the wrapped tour bus. It is hard to miss us…a 45 foot long, 13 foot high, brightly colored bus! We had asked for a meeting with Representative Claudia Tenney, the incumbent in that congressional district and n Central New York. No meeting did occur, but the constituents gathered on the gently-sloping hill in anticipation of joining with like-minded people who care about our neighbors.

Sr. Simone started us off with our main purpose: to support reasonable revenue for responsible programs. Then Sandy who is an LPN spoke about her concern that her representative was not doing enough for healthcare and described how dangerously short staffed her work place was. Someone in the crowd started to come forward to dispute her claims but stayed put with clarity from Simone.

Then Rev. Jeff Courter, a Presbyterian minister from a nearby community spoke about ICE having arrested a father from Guatemala who worked on a local dairy farm leaving his family and the farm in dire straights. He offered a prayer for the efforts of the bus tour and suggested that we are our “sister and brother’s keeper.” He said, “I applaud sisters for standing up for the least of these.”

Otter sang a song which included the line- “better jobs, better health care and clean up for planet Earth.”  Sr. Simone ended the rally reminding the crowd of about 75 that we need tax justice to support 100% of the country and not the 1% and corporations. The Sisters then spread through the crowd to hand out pledge cards and Connection, the magazine of Network. With the signed pledge card, people came forward to sign the bus so they can go to Mar a Largo with the Nuns.

This gathering was special for me as many members of my congregation were there and brought birthday greetings!

Earlier in the day, I began my morning with an audio interview with a local AM radio station with a little publicity for our morning rally. The questioner was very interested in having me speak for all women religious and for the Church. I spoke about the dignity of life from conception to natural death and how we need to care for our sisters and brothers.

We continued on to Kingston, NY. At the eleventh hour we learned that a staff member of Rep. John Faso would meet with us. Sr. Richelle Friedman and I climbed into the advance team’s car and headed to Kingston. We had a nice ride on the unremarkably-colored New York State Thruway with Matt and Nicky. Upon arrival, we met Kevin from Citizen Action, who joined us in our meeting with Ryan McAllister, the District Director, and George Christian, the Senior Caseworker. Interestingly, Ryan grew up in my hometown so I know his parents and family.

We thanked Ryan for the Congressman’s “no” vote on the tax law and talked on about the impact of the law on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and healthcare. We told him that we understood that Rep Faso was hard to meet with. He said, “I do his calendar for him and that is not true. He has had more than 1000 meetings with constituents and two Town Halls. He also goes on radio. He talked about the jobs that are being created as a result of the tax cuts to corporates.” We challenged that with only 4% of corporations gave a bonus and much of the money was used to buy back stocks. He had no response. He did say that Rep. Faso does not believe compromise is a dirty word.

We thanked them for taking time with us and went outside to join the rally. People were very vocal in saying that Rep. Faso did not listen to his constituents.  The group outside was 80 strong and ready to join us on the road to Mar-a-Lago.

The sight of the St. Louis Arch always brings a feeling of ‘coming home’ as I spent 8 years of my ministry in St. Louis.  Arriving at St. Alphonsus “Rock” Church brought back even more wonderful memories of serving this community.  For a little over a year I served as a caseworker at the Blumeyer Public Housing Development which surrounds St. Alphonsus “Rock” Church.  I then went to work at St. Patrick Center in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and was involved on the team that helped launch McMurphy’s Grill.  Living at Holy Trinity Parish and serving this area of the inner-city was both an adventure and a learning experience.  I gained so much from the local people with whom I served.  Learning that we were stopping in my old home territory thrilled me beyond words. So the sight of the crowd that greeted us was so exciting!

The crowd continued to swell in the gymnasium as we gathered.  More than 250 people crammed into the space with enthusiasm swelling.  People of all ages gathered to listen, learn, and share their wisdom.  Even more, I believe, we gathered to share hope for a future where everyone can flourish.  While many worked in social service programs and are seeing the impact of existing local and state budget cuts, there were a few that came to listen and learn.  One young man during a portion of small group discussion, finally spoke up.  He expressed that he was like “George,” our character that represents the 1% in the activity that the Nuns on the Bus Sisters use to demonstrate the impact of the Republican Tax Law.  He had a good job earning a significant salary and could afford things he wanted.  While he didn’t go into much detail and did not share what was going through his mind, it was obvious he was processing what he was hearing and that it was having an impact on him.

The Town Hall for Justice is an opportunity for Nuns on the Bus to educate interested persons on the impact of the 2017 tax law.  Through stories and a visual representation of the economic disparity that has taken place over the past 36 years – presented by the Sisters that are riding on the bus, the audience gets a clear picture of why the gap between the 1% and the lowest 20% has taken place.  They are moved further when the visual presentation begins to demonstrate the impact of the newly passed GOP Tax Bill.  There were obvious gasps throughout the crowd.  Many commented to us on how they were strongly impacted by the visual presentation of the economic data.  For a subject that normally gathers yawns and glazed over eyelids, those present were fully engaged and outraged. Reasonable Revenue for Responsible Programs is the call of this Nuns on the Bus trip.

The evening ended with a inviting participants to brainstorm solutions and what people can do in their communities.  Local propositions that would benefit seniors and increase the minimum wage were supported along with encouragement to educate neighbors, family and friends.  Sister Simone ended by encouraging the audience to build community and to lift each other up as we work to build a stronger foundation for the common good . . .the common good of all!  Our U.S. Constitution calls us to this very theme in its first words, “We the People.” As Sister Simone reminds us, it doesn’t say, “We the Citizens,” nor “We the Rich,” nor “We who are White.”  Rather – it says, “We the People.”  Sister Simone emphasizes that it is for all of us.

The most exciting part of the evening is the opportunity for the audience to sign the bus.  After only 10 days on the road and with another 2½ weeks to go the bus is nearly full of names and messages of support.  This is a sign that the message of hope and possibility is resonating across our country bringing together people of all ages, genders, nationalities, religious traditions and sexual orientations together.  This for me is what it means to be a faithful citizen of the United States of America.