[border wall header art]
© Leslie DeGrassi
Field trips are designed to give different perspectives of the border, immigration, and the humanitarian work that takes place. For groups coming to Common Ground, group members should choose a variety of trips, so they can bring back an assortment of experiences to their community.
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Please arrive at The Good Shepherd by 7:30 am.
Attendees will need to bring their own lunch and snacks. Dinner will be on their own.
Humane Borders Water Trip
Humane Borders was founded in 2000 to stop the suffering in the desert by putting water out on well traveled migrant trails. People will experience the harshness of the desert, hear stories of migrant realities, and literally save lives by putting out large quantities of water in the desolate desert.
A Day in Nogales, Mexico
Join us for a meaningful day in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico and visit the Kino Border Initiative. Spend the day with Shura Wallin, co-founder of the Green Valley/Sahuarita Samaritans, and filmmaker, author, and humanitarian aid volunteer David Damian Figueroa, learning about the migrant experience and the Samaritans, who provide various volunteer support to the borderlands. Includes walking tour, shopping, and non-hosted lunch.
*This activity requires 3 miles of walking. *Must bring a US Passport & government ID.
Limit: 10 participants
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Desert/Border Wall Search
This field trip will journey through the desert and to the border wall, bringing humanitarian aid to people in distress.
Limit: 8 participants
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Trip to Border Wall
This field trip will show people the vast desert, the oppressive wall and folks will spend time cleaning up some of the belongings left behind.
Limit: 12 participants
Water Drops
This field trip will take place in the desert where we will deposit water out on the migrant trails.
Limit: 8 participants
La Casa Misericordia
This trip will venture into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, to visit a migrant shelter run by Sister Lika. There will be opportunities to meet migrant families.
Limit: 30 participants
Migrant Memorial Walk
This easy hike will take place in the desert within sight of Green Valley, where three or four migrants gave up their lives.
Limit: 12 participants
Trip with Alvaro Enciso
This field trip will accompany Alvaro on his weekly trip to honor migrants who have died in the desert, by placing a cross and remembering them.
Limit: 12 participants
Tumacácori Mission
We will travel south of Green Valley with Rev. Pedro Goycolea to learn about Father Kino, the conquistadores and the Doctrine of Discovery.
Limit: 12 participants
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7:00 pm
NEW! Special Screening
Screening of two documentary films by David Damian Figueroa, "Shura," and "They Call Me the Cross Man," followed by light dessert and coffee. All are invited to attend; you do not need to be a conference participant to come. There will be a request for donation to support the work of the Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans.​
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2025
8:30 am
Registration
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9:00 am
Welcome and Orientation
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9:15-10:15 am
Press Conference
10:15 am-11:30 pm
Keynote Address
Reyna Grande, award-winning author of The Distance Between Us, and A Dream Called Home, will share her compelling experience of crossing borders and cultures. Born in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, Reyna was two years old when her father left for the U.S. to find work. Her mother followed her father north two years later, leaving Reyna and her siblings behind in Mexico. In 1985, when Reyna was nine, she left Iguala to make her own journey north and ran across the US-Mexico border to reunite with her family.
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Lunch On Your Own
1:00 - 2:30 pm
Keynote Address
Rev. Pedro Goycolea will give a workshop on the history of the border and the impact of the 15th century Doctrine of Discovery. Pedro is the pastor of Comunidad Limen CC, Tucson and the founder of Caminantes, the Arizona Disciples Border Immersion Initiative.
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The Welcome Quilt Project: Counteracting Messages of Hate and Fear
Maggie Urgo (Voices from the Border) and Gale Hall (early childhood educator and creator of the Welcome Quilt concept)
Learn what a Welcome Quilt is and how some communities are using Welcome Quilts (and related materials) to welcome children and families immigrating to our country, building empathy in children and adults for our new neighbors. Learn how to immediately participate in the soft power of creative activism as you help grow a movement that inspires us to examine immigration through an empathy and trauma-informed lens.
2:45 - 4:00 pm
Classes
Some Solutions for U.S. Border and Immigration Problems
Join Alyson Ball for a discussion of potential federal policy and procedure changes that could have a positive effect on the situation at the border and throughout the country. This discussion includes a summary of the international and domestic causes of the US border situation as well as suggested improvements that would avert mass migrations to our southern border while benefitting American citizens and the US economy. Limit: 30 participants
Old Mexican Sayings to Guide your Journey
Join David Damian Figueroa as we delve into the timeless wisdom of old Mexican sayings and apply them to our personal and professional relationships. Discover the power of quotes, thoughts on life, and personal wisdom as we reflect on lessons learned throughout the years. Gain valuable insights and guidance to help navigate life's journey and connect with wisdom of generations past. Limit: 20 participants
Canciones de Mis Padres
Peter Dalton Ronstadt's workshop is a living, breathing experience about the musical roots of the Ronstadt family that has lived in this valley for over five generations. Songs and stories will be shared as people begin to get a sense of the desert, the border, and a musical family that has an enormous impact on music in the United States. No limit
Making Artistic Desert Crosses
Alvaro Enciso is an artist from Colombia who has been making crosses for more than 10 years. Each week he makes a trek out in the Sonoran Desert to place a cross in a place where lie the remains of a migrants who has died in the journey. He will tell many stories about his project Donde Mueren Los Sueños / Where Dreams Die, while he instructs folks how to make a desert cross. Limit: 12 participants
How to Make Authentic Mexican Salsa
Andrea Cano, a long time advocate for immigrant rights in Oregon, has lived and worked in Mexico. From roots in Michoacán, Andrea will show you how to make several from different regions of the country as you learn about the culture, spirituality, historical and political significance of these condiments. Limit: 12 participants
Finding the Border in Your Community
Noel Andersen and Randy Mayer are both United Church of Christ pastors who have engaged people and congregations around the country to find the immigrant community near where they are located. They will help you understand the urgency of finding the border in your own community when you return home and how to accompany the strangers in your midst that you may not have even noticed. Limit: 30 participants
Weaving a Desert Memory
Charlene Virts, fiber artist, will help us to fashion a piece of art that will remind us of the beauty and nature of the Sonoran Desert. We will create a small woven piece using cactus, bark, vines, and grasses from the desert. Whether you participated in a trip to the wall, or visited the mission at Tumacácori, or wandered the desert on the memorial walk, the materials in this weaving will be reminder of your time there. Limit: 12 participants
4:45 - 5:45 pm
Free Time
5:45 - 6:45 pm
Dinner Served at the Church
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Concert
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Liz Cerepanya and Peter Dalton Ronstadt joined musical forces in 2019 to explore material old and new. Liz's heartfelt voice with Pete's haunting harmonies and rich guitar arrangements brought forth a new sound. In their music you will find yourself transported into the musical wonderland of the Postmodern American West, highlighted by the roots and Americana of Tucson, and the grit and beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Soulful and haunting harmonies along with arrangements that captivate the mind and tug at the heart.
Nicolas Carter is an internationally acclaimed harpist who charms audiences with the magical sounds of the Paraguayan harp. His unique performances integrate an extensive repertoire of Latin American harp music with storytelling, simple observations and reflections on culture, often with a hint of humor, to create a warm and inviting experience for audiences. Nicolas is a bilingual, bicultural musician and theater artist, raised in Paraguay and Minnesota.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2025
8:30 - 9:00 am
Registration
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9:00 - 9:15 am
Welcome and Orientation
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9:15 am - 12:00 pm
Border Issues Fair Keynote Addresses
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On Humanizing Immigration: Dora Rodríguez
Dora is a co-Founder of Salvavision, and an unwavering advocate for migrant rights. She survived the 1980 tragedy in Organ Pipe National Monument, Arizona, to where Salvadorans fled civil war, resulting in 13 deaths. This experience propelled her into the forefront of the sanctuary movement in Tucson.
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What Side Are You On A Tohono O’odham Life Across Borders: Mike Wilson
Mike is a Tohono O’odham tribal member. He will talk about his humanitarian work on tribal land as well as his transformation from US military service in Central America to a renowned human rights activist.
Break on the Amistad Patio
Enjoy refreshments, music, and visiting with local humanitarian groups and viewing their displays.
Lay of the Political Landscape Concerning Immigration and the
Border with a New Administration: Margo Cowan
Lay of the Political Landscape Concerning Immigration and the Border with a New Administration Margo has been an advocate for migrant justice for more than 30 years. Before becoming an attorney, she was a farmworker organizer mentored by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta. Margo’s efforts in the areas of border and immigration policy, as well as the development and representation of undocumented persons and refugees, has spanned decades.
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Lunch On Your Own
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1:30 - 2:45 pm
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Classes
2:45 - 5:30 pm
Free Time
5:30 - 7:00 pm
Dinner Served at the Church
Some Solutions for U.S. Border and Immigration Problems
Join Alyson Ball for a discussion of potential federal policy and procedure changes that could have a positive effect on the situation at the border and throughout the country. This discussion includes a summary of the international and domestic causes of the US border situation as well as suggested improvements that would avert mass migrations to our southern border while benefitting American citizens and the US economy. Limit: 30 participants
Old Mexican Sayings to Guide your Journey
Join David Damian Figueroa as we delve into the timeless wisdom of old Mexican sayings and apply them to our personal and professional relationships. Discover the power of quotes, thoughts on life, and personal wisdom as we reflect on lessons learned throughout the years. Gain valuable insights and guidance to help navigate life's journey and connect with wisdom of generations past. Limit: 20 participants
Canciones de Mis Padres
Peter Dalton Ronstadt's workshop is a living, breathing experience about the musical roots of the Ronstadt family that has lived in this valley for over five generations. Songs and stories will be shared as people begin to get a sense of the desert, the border, and a musical family that has an enormous impact on music in the United States. No limit
Making Artistic Desert Crosses
Alvaro Enciso is an artist from Colombia who has been making crosses for more than 10 years. Each week he makes a trek out in the Sonoran Desert to place a cross in a place where lie the remains of a migrants who has died in the journey. He will tell many stories about his project Donde Mueren Los Sueños / Where Dreams Die, while he instructs folks how to make a desert cross. Limit: 12 participants
How to Make Authentic Mexican Salsa
Andrea Cano, a long time advocate for immigrant rights in Oregon, has lived and worked in Mexico. From roots in Michoacán, Andrea will show you how to make several from different regions of the country as you learn about the culture, spirituality, historical and political significance of these condiments. Limit: 12 participants
Finding the Border in Your Community
Noel Andersen and Randy Mayer are both United Church of Christ pastors who have engaged people and congregations around the country to find the immigrant community near where they are located. They will help you understand the urgency of finding the border in your own community when you return home and how to accompany the strangers in your midst that you may not have even noticed. Limit: 30 participants
Weaving a Desert Memory
Charlene Virts, fiber artist, will help us to fashion a piece of art that will remind us of the beauty and nature of the Sonoran Desert. We will create a small woven piece using cactus, bark, vines, and grasses from the desert. Whether you participated in a trip to the wall, or visited the mission at Tumacácori, or wandered the desert on the memorial walk, the materials in this weaving will be reminder of your time there. Limit: 12 participants
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7:00 pm
An Evening with Josefina López
A Q & A with film and theatrical director Josefina López, writer of the award-winning film “Real Women Have Curves.” Plus a showing of the film “Real Women Have Curves." The Broadway musical previews starting April 1, 2025, in New York City.