Immigration Advocacy Workshop and Additional Resource

As you may have a seen in a recent post, this past Saturday at Saint Peter's Church where I currently serve as Vicar we were supposed to hold an Immigration Advocacy Workshop.  Unfortunately, a whole lot of snow happened and we thus had to reschedule.  Luckily it wasn't too difficult to find an alternative date.  Here's the updated information in both English and Spanish in case you'd like to join us:

Immigration Advocacy Workshop (rescheduled)
Saturday, March 16, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
In the Sanctuary and Living Room, Saint Peter's Church
Late last November, members of Saint Peter's and Iglesia Luterana Sión gathered together over brunch to discuss how we could begin organizing around important social justice issues, with an initial emphasis on immigration advocacy. We decided to plan an Immigration Advocacy Workshop, and those efforts have now come to fruition. Ravi Ragbir, Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York, will discuss how current issues relate to past immigration and Amy Gottlieb, Program Director of the Friends Service Committee's Immigrant Rights Program, will discuss why immigration issues should matter to people of faith. After worshiping together we'll proceed to the main discussion and conclude with time for light refreshment and informal conversation.  Please join us!

Taller sobre defensa migratoria (reprogramada)
Sábado, 16 de marzo, de 14:00 - 16:00
En el Santuario y living room, Iglesia San Pedro
A finales del pasado mes de noviembre, los miembros de San Pedro y la Iglesia Luterana Sión se reunieron durante brunch para discutir cómo podríamos empezar a organizarnos en torno a importantes cuestiones de justicia social, con énfasis inicial cuestiones de inmigración. Nos decidimos a planear un taller de defensa migratoria, y esos esfuerzos han llegado a buen término. Ravi Ragbir, director de la Coalición del Nuevo Santuario de Nueva York, hablará sobre problemas actuales relacionados con el pasado sistema migratorio y Amy Gottlieb, directora del programa de Servicio de los Amigos del Comité del Programa de Derechos de los Inmigrantes, hablará sobre por qué los temas de inmigración debe importar a la gente de fe. Después de orar juntos vamos a proceder a la discusión principal y concluir con un ligero refrigerio y conversación informal. Por favor, únete a nosotros!

In the midst of the planning process for the workshop I discovered a number of additional immigration resources.  The infographic to the left does a great job of explaining the many weaknesses of immigration reform as it's currently proposed.  Here's a list of some of the other great resources out there:

- A recent statement on immigration reform from Christian Churches Together in the USA, a group representing the full breadth of Christianity (including evangelicals) in the US, can be found here.

- A list of prayers from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service can be found here (check out their site for additional great resources as well).

- A great worship resource from the World Council of Churches, including a comprehensive list of Bible verses, can be found here.

- A Roman Catholic parish resource kit can be found here.

- An amazing resource for non-denominational/ evangelical churches entitled "I Was a Stranger" can be found here.

This by no means is an exhaustive list of resources out there.  It is amazing (and very encouraging) though that the full-breadth of American Christians have been able to rally around immigration reform, given their history of agreeing on very few public policy concerns.

God's peace,
Dustin

Dustin is currently a vicar at the Lutheran Office for World Community and Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan, having recently completed his second year of a Masters of Divinity program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. While seeking ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his focus is on the intersection between worship, service and justice building in de-centralized faith communities unencumbered by a traditional church building. In his free time, Dustin likes playing frisbee, hiking and pretending to know how to sing.