Feb. 11, 2004 By United Methodist News Service Concerned
about a growing backlash against immigrants, a United Methodist pastor
is leading a clergy effort in New Jersey to focus on discussion instead
of discrimination. The Rev. Myrna Bethke, pastor of
First United Methodist Church in Freehold, said the community has become
increasingly polarized since local government officials shut down a
"muster" area last November where the immigrants - many without legal
status - waited to be hired for a day's work. Members
of the Freehold Clergy Association became concerned "that there was no
opportunity for people to sit down and talk about the issue," Bethke
told United Methodist News Service. In response, the association has
scheduled a three-hour community forum on March 28 at the First
Presbyterian Church. Bethke, who leads the ad hoc
committee organizing the event, said the hope is that people "will be
able to come and share what they're afraid of." Freehold
- the hometown of rock star Bruce Springsteen, located west of Asbury
Park on the Jersey Shore - has received "wave after wave of undocumented
persons" that come to work in landscaping and construction or at race
tracks or restaurants. Many of the immigrants are from Mexico, and their
children constitute 50 percent of the local school population, she
noted. Bethke's own congregation has been working with
Hispanic immigrants since 1995. Its "Amistad" project, begun as an
after-school venture to teach English to schoolchildren, has expanded as
a full-time program for all ages. But some residents
have complained about the stresses that have accompanied the new
population. Although there have not been any violent incidents yet
against the immigrants, some vandalism has occurred, she added. The
Second Baptist Church, where the day laborers now wait for jobs since
the closing of the muster area, has been picketed for providing that
space. For Bethke - who traveled to Afghanistan the
year after her youngest brother was killed during the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attack on the World Trade Center - the real issue in Freehold
is reconciliation. Since Sept. 11, she said, she's realized "if we don't
choose to work for reconciliation and peace, there are always forces of
evil that are waiting to take over." Interacting on an
interfaith level also is important to the pastor, who recently
participated in a pulpit exchange with a local synagogue. Christians,
Muslims and Jews are all part of the Freehold Clergy Association. Hoping
for 300 participants, Bethke is promoting the March 28 forum with a
variety of community organizations, ranging from the Rotary Club to day
laborer groups. Sixty facilitators are being trained, with two of them
leading a smaller group of 10 participants. Thirty translators, one for
each small group, also are needed. The pastor said she
is modeling the process for the forum after the "Companions in Christ"
series from the Upper Room. Participants at the forum will meet as a
whole first to establish the ground rules, then break into small, random
groups to share their stories and their fears and identify ways to
build community in Freehold. Ideas for action generated
by the groups will be forwarded to local organizations or authorities
for further consideration, Bethke said. More information about the March 28 event is available by sending Bethke an e-mail at myrnb@aol.com.
News media contact: Linda Bloom (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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