Art, Advocacy, and Action Opportunities
Author’s note: My name is Pamela Warren Williams. I’m a poet and writer living in Silver City, New Mexico near the Mexican border. The closer you get to that border, the more is revealed to you about its realities. I went to Juárez for the first time last October, right after the loss of my husband, believing in the catharsis of service, and I was utterly gobsmacked by all that I learned. I feel that I can be of the most help to this crisis by publicizing the truths of the border to all of those in this country who have little or no idea what is happening. This poem was my first response. It’s called Magnitude.
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego Presents: The Border Ministries Summit 2020November 20-21, 2020
Join us for the Virtual Border Ministries Summit 2020 and hear from those at the center of the immigrant community in San Diego. Our focus will be on Christian Peacemaking in a World of Conflict. Learn from undocumented people, deportees, first generation immigrants and Christian leaders who live in Tijuana and San Diego. We will hear from Episcopal / Anglican Bishops and other leaders on both sides of the border, as well as from the Border Patrol and legal experts. We will not only learn about immigration but will be equipped with tangible Christian Peacemaking practices to live out in our own contexts as Everyday Peacemakers. The pain is real and the opportunity for transformation and healing is as well. This is the Third Annual Border Summit, designed for Episcopal and other Christian leaders wanting more information about the US-Mexico border, and for those who want to learn the basics of becoming Christian Peacemakers in this time of deep division. To learn more about The Border Ministries Summit 2020 and register for the event, please visit borderministries.com.
ADVOCACY UPDATE from EPISCOPAL MIGRATION MINISTRIES
The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Migration Ministries are members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) is a partnership of over 50 national, faith-based organizations committed to enacting fair and humane immigration reform that reflects our mandate to welcome the stranger and treat all human beings with dignity and respect.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition has launched a new email listserv for members of faith communities. You may subscribe here.
Among recent updates from The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations, and from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, is the need to advocate for additional COVID-19 relief for the most vulnerable, including immigrant communities:
Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations Action Alert
Interfaith Immigration Coalition Toolkit
In addition, September is the time for robust advocacy for refugee resettlement. The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and Episcopal Migration Ministries will issue an Action Alert next week on the refugee resettlement program. Make sure you’re signed up so you can take action!
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES from Episcopal Migration Ministries
Walking with Asylum Seekers: A Training Series for Congregations: In the month of October, join Episcopal Migration Ministries, in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and Lutheran Family Services of the Rocky Mountains (LFSRM), for a three-part training series for congregations interested in supporting and walking alongside asylum seekers. The three 90-minute virtual events will provide advocacy updates, resources for group discernment, ministry models, and important considerations when engaging in ministry with asylum seekers.
Walking with Asylum Seekers: Ministry Opportunities for CongregationsWEBINAR: October 8, 4:00 – 5:30PM Eastern
Walking with Asylum Seekers: Sponsorship Part 1MEETING: October 20, 4:00 – 5:30PM Eastern
Walking with Asylum Seekers: Sponsorship Part 2
MEETING: October 27, 4:00 – 5:30PM Eastern
Participants may choose to attend one or more of the virtual events offered. Registration is required. The October 8 webinar will be available on-demand following the event; the latter two meetings will not be available on-demand.
The Hometown podcast is now in its fourth season, and a near-future episode features the Rio Grande Borderland Ministry! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Google Play, and Spotify.
Internships with Episcopal Migration Ministries: Episcopal Migration Ministries’ Church Engagement Team is excited to announce four new internship opportunities for students at seminaries or other pastoral/theological training programs. These internships will offer advocacy and policy skills, opportunities to connect with community leaders, as well as relationship and partnership with grassroots networks of Episcopalians engaged in the work of migration ministries.
The internships will provide an opportunity to connect with developing ministry networks, to learn more about grassroots engagement at the parish, diocesan, and church-wide level, and to delve deeply into the resources available on migration ministries, from worship and liturgy materials to policy analysis and advocacy.
All internships are part-time, non-stipendiary, and fully virtual. Length of internship is negotiable. Information: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/emm-engagement-seminary-internship-opportunities/
Join an EMM Ministry Network: EMM is hosting two new ministry networks: the Episcopal Ministry Network on Detention and the Episcopal Ministry Network on Asylum. These networks are focused on education, service, and advocacy, with a special attention to developing resources and fostering relationships to benefit local ministries. New members are welcome.
Episcopal Ministry Network on Detention meets on the first Monday of the month, 10:00am-11:15am Mountain Time. Register.
Episcopal Ministry Network on Asylum meets on the third Monday of the month, 10:00am-11:15am Mountain Time. Register.
#EMMReads Book Kits
EMM is now offering free book discussion guides on a number of titles written by immigrant authors or about immigrant/refugee topics. Simply request the Book Kits and they will be emailed to you for download. Titles include We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, and The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You. Discussion guides for new titles will be added this fall, including Jessica Goudeau’s recently released After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America.
Ministry Resource: In fall 2019, Episcopal Migration Ministries released the first edition of Supporting Asylum Seekers: A Toolkit for Congregations. This resource is free; request it here and it will be emailed to you for download.
We stand among this incredible cloud of witnesses and today proclaim:Where hatred roars, we will sing of love.Where fear stalks, we will stand with courage.Where bigotry rages, we will call for justice.Where pain overwhelms, we will extend kind comfort.Where systems oppress, we will work for change.Now and ever, now and ever, now and evermore.
AMEN