Commentary: ?I was a stranger and you welcomed me’
April 27, 2006
A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Chester Jones*
Even the weather was with us on Monday, April 10, as I joined thousands of people
on the National Mall in support of comprehensive immigration reform. American
flags were everywhere — attached to baby strollers, displayed on T-shirts,
hats and jackets, and waved by people of all colors.
I said the Pledge of Allegiance at least six times,
surrounded by accents from around the world. Everything about the day supported
the
rally cry of
this new civil rights movement: “We are America.”
The faces in the crowd came from around the world
and personified the American identity as a nation of immigrants. Symbolically
located between
the Capitol
and the White House, not far from where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave
his “I Have a Dream” speech, force was gathering behind this emerging
movement.
From the group wearing T-shirts proclaiming “Asian Youth for Christ” to
the buses with “La Iglesia de Cristo” painted on their sides, it
was easy to see Jesus in the crowd. I imagine he would be carrying a sign reminding
us of his words in Matthew, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
I was proud to have many United Methodist Church
leaders and members in attendance, including Bishop Minerva Carcaņo
from the Desert Southwest Conference who addressed the crowd on behalf of
the Council
of Bishops. It is important
that our church actively encourages and expands its ministry of hospitality
among immigrants. This will call for the Council of Bishops to prioritize expanding
immigrant ministries, particularly those working with Hispanic/Latino people.
Evangelism and discipleship in the 21st century will depend on these ministries
to share the Gospel with the largest and fastest growing racial/ethnic groups
in the United States.
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A UMNS photo by Jay Mallin United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaņo addresses protesters gathered on the National Mall April 10.
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United
Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaņo addresses thousands of protesters
gathered on the National Mall in Washington during a day of protest
April 10. The protests, held simultaneously in cities around the United
States, called for rights and fair treatment of illegal immigrants. A
UMNS photo by Jay Mallin. Photo #06437. Accompanies UMNS story #243.
4/27/06 |
A part of welcoming the stranger among us is recognizing the challenges and
injustices many immigrants face. This starts with economic or political conditions
in their home countries that cause them to leave home with the odds stacked
against them and continues through the racism they face in immigration policy
and daily existence in the United States.
When considering immigration reform, the United
Methodist Church calls for just and comprehensive immigration reform in its
Book of
Resolutions (#119
and #266). Resolution 266 reminds us, the “Wesleyan call to work for
prophetic justice, calls us to follow our Social Principles and respond in
appropriate and direct ways to prevent harm to the sojourner. Jesus teaches
us to show concern for the poor and oppressed who come to our land seeking
survival and peace.”
The bill that passed the House of Representatives last December is far from
just and does not begin to meet Wesleyan standards. Known as HR 4437, this
bill criminalizes not only the immigrants who come here illegally, but also
those who offer them humanitarian assistance. This bill is only about enforcement.
The Senate attempted more comprehensive reform, but then recessed without passing
any immigration legislation. The Senate bill included a path to citizenship,
a guest worker program, more opportunities for family reunification, and more
protection of the civil and human rights of immigrants.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, close to
12 million undocumented people live in the United States. We cannot extract
them from
our society — they
are housekeepers and business people, construction workers and college students,
farm workers and congregants. These people, who often live and function in
the shadows, must be afforded the same opportunities that immigrants have been
offered in the United States since the Pilgrims landed here in 1619.
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A UMNS photo by Jay Mallin Members of First United Methodist Church, Hyattsville, Md., join Washington demonstrators in advocating for immigrants' rights.
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Members
of First United Methodist Church, Hyattsville, Md., join demonstrators
on the National Mall in Washington during a day of protest April 10.
They called for rights and fair treatment of illegal immigrants. A UMNS
photo by Jay Mallin. Photo #06438. Accompanies UMNS story #243. 4/27/06 |
American history books are full of the heroic plights of European immigrants
in the 19th and 20th centuries. The struggles and journeys of current immigrants
are similarly heroic. They come to the United States to provide for their families,
looking for work and a living wage, or to escape horrid living conditions.
They face hardships in the United States but are willing to learn English,
pay taxes and work hard to become American citizens. They dream of sending
their children to college.
I believe we must not address the issue of immigration
from a state of fear — fear
of a country where racial/ethnic people make up a majority of the population,
fear of immigrant cultures thriving, fear of depressed wages.
Standing on the National Mall, in the midst of cherry blossom season, surrounded
by people of all colors, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of humanity; I was
overwhelmed by patriotism at the ideal of America as a field of dreams; and
I was overwhelmed by the sacrifice so many people are willing to make to become
American citizens.
It is my hope that the history books will be telling
the story of this civil rights movement and its heroes and “sheroes” in
the near future. It is my prayer that the United Methodist Church will be
an active participant
and leader in this movement.
*Jones is top staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion
and Race.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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