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Christian Churches Together
April 6, 2014
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Immigration Reform and Beyond
by Jen Smyers
Original article at Evangelicals for Social Action website
More than 1.5 million people have been deported in the last five years alone. More than 200,000 US-citizen children have endured the deportation of their parent. Family members are forced by our inefficient visa system to wait up to 24 years to be reunited. Families and communities have been destroyed, all in the name of stubbornly enforcing an antiquated and unjust immigration system.
So why hasn't Congress fixed this broken immigration system that destroys lives, hinders our economic growth, and insults the God-given dignity of each person? The reasons are plentiful: politics, racism, fear of the unknown. Not to mention gerrymandering districts, the extreme absence of empathy, and a cowardly conspiracy to keep low-wage workers subject to exploitative employers.
Communities of faith across the country have taken action to address many of these problems. Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Unitarian Universalists-the list goes on-are advocating for immigration reform that will reunite families and create a path to citizenship for our undocumented community members. Pastors and lay leaders have met with members of Congress; hosted prayer vigils; started programs to provide English classes, immigration legal services, citizenship classes; and educated their communities about the need for immigration reform.
Thus far it hasn't been enough. We'll continue to push, but the more we wait for justice, the more it seems we have the wrong people in Congress to make this work.
In the House of Representatives, there are members who object to creating a path to citizenship because immigrants would "leave the farm." They recognize the poor working conditions but are either in the pockets of those exploiting immigrants for profit or choose to scapegoat immigrants for political gain. Some House members have compared immigrants to animals, insects, and disease. Others are less vitriolic but essentially clueless as to the realities faced by immigrants in this country.
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 Christian Churches Together congratulates Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim on his election as Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. |
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Pope Francis congratulates the new Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East
Vatican City, 4 April 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to Ignatius Aphrem II, the new Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, congratulating him on his election. Pope Francis expresses his joy at receiving this news and prays that His Holiness "may be a spiritual father for your people and an untiring builder of peace and justice, serving the common good and the good of the entire Middle East in today's difficult circumstances".
"It is important for all Christians to bear witness to the love and fellowship that binds us together, mindful of the prayer offered by our Lord at the Last Supper: that all may be one, so that the world may believe". The Pope gives thanks to the Lord "for the bonds of fraternity between the Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church", and prays "that our continuing friendship and dialogue may be further developed and deepened. May our heavenly Father fill Your Holiness with peace and strength for the noble task that awaits you".
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 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY a non-fiction film commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail." No longer will the Letter from Birmingham Jail be in the SHADOW of the "I Have a Dream" speech. The film stars community leaders of Columbus, Ohio and educators and leaders of The Ohio State University. The Letter from Birmingham Jail is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racial discrimination, arguing that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. After an early setback, it enjoyed widespread publication and became a key text for the American civil rights movement of the early 1960s. |
North Park University Immigration and Mass Incarceration Event
North Park University, together with churches and community organizations, is putting on a campaign this spring called People Are Not Illegal. It is a campaign to raise awareness and support around the issues of immigration and mass incarceration in our city and our country.
The campaign kicks off on Sunday evening, April 13th, at 8 pm. The former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Joshua DuBois, will be speaking at the College Life service. The next day, April 14th, we will have a worship service, a march to Cook County jail, and rallies downtown where we will show public officials how many people care about reforming our systems of mass incarceration and immigration. Our worship service begins at Anderson Chapel at 2:30, our march downtown starts at 3:30, and our final rally ends around 8:30 pm at the Cook County Jail.
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 At the Second Acts conference, April 25-27 (the weekend after Easter), we will be claiming anew the Easter resurrection of Jesus! People of faith will gather from Friday evening through Sunday morning to reflect on the life of Christian discipleship, and the intersection of discipleship and the world's injustice. Of the injustices we wrestle with, mass incarceration will be a key focus.
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 CCT 2015 Annual Convocation
February 10-13 Houston, TX Immigrant Faith Communities and the Future of the Church in the USA |
Support the work of Christian Churches Together
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For more information on Christian Churches Together in the USA
contact our Executive Director, Rev. Carlos L. Malavé at
email
or call 502.509.5168
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