I'm Father Stephanos Pedrano, a Benedictine monk and priest.

At the invitation of Bishop Michael Pham of San Diego, I'm joining clergy and other volunteers in accompanying immigrants to their hearings at the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego. The bishop described this effort:

"to accompany refugee and asylum seekers in this vulnerable time of their lives. As we know, a good number of migrants showing up for their court appearances have been arrested there at the court building. While we cannot change this reality, we can at least pray for them, stand with them, and accompany them. Further, we also discovered on June 20 that our presence can change the atmosphere in the courtroom and hallway for the better."

Each time I go, I will need to find and pay for parking for about 3.5 hours at $12 per hour. Would you please consider donating to help me with this expense?

I've set the goal of $200 to cover the cost of parking for four or five trips to the courthouse. If my scheduling allows me to accompany immigrants more often, I will repost this appeal as may be needed. If I must lessen the frequency of my accompaniments, I will hold off on repeating this appeal. I am making this appeal for no other purpose than to cover the expense of paying for parking whenever I can accompany immigrants to the courthouse.

God bless you for reading this and considering a kind response!