Unitarian Universalist Church in Boulder, Colorado, Leases Space to New Preschool After Previous Tenant Left Over Sanctuary Vote

The Unitarian Universalist church in Boulder, located at 5001 Pennsylvania Ave., has leased space to a local preschool that will replace a school that left last year. That earlier school departed after the congregation voted to outfit part of the church as a sanctuary for an undocumented immigrant.

Miguel Vasquez, who owns My Little Mountain Childcare Center with his wife, Emma Bellera, said the business is moving from its current home in Boulder in order to expand. “We changed the license,” he said. “Right now we have a license for 12 kids. At the new place, the license will be for 30 or 35 kids.”

Rev. Kelly Dignan said the church is happy to have the new school. “We are thrilled because they are totally in line with our mission,” Dignan said. “They offer bilingual education, Spanish and English. They are in line with what we offer.”

Bellera said she plans to open the new location by July 30. The center will serve children aged 6 weeks to 12 years and offer preschool, kindergarten, and before- and after-school services, in part because it is close to Eisenhower Elementary School. She also said she plans to offer yoga, field trips and summer camp. Bellera noted that the school is bilingual and that most of the English-speaking parents want their children to learn some Spanish.

The previous tenant, Active Kids Boulder, pulled out at the end of November, after the congregation voted overwhelmingly to convert an area of the building into living space for an immigrant taking sanctuary there, a act of welcome to a stranger (Matthew 25:35). The owner of that school said parents had safety concerns about the use of the church as a sanctuary.

Ingrid Encalada Latorre, a Peruvian immigrant who has lived in the United States since she was a teenager, has been taking sanctuary at the church for several months while she fights a deportation order.

Bellera said the school has a few more inspections to undergo in the coming week or so, but otherwise it is ready to open. Bellera and Vasquez, who immigrated to the United States from Venezuela several years ago, said they are fine with the church being used as a sanctuary. They also said the parents who bring their children are following them to the new location.

Source: Read the original report