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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
2:30 P.M. EST December 3, 2010 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
United Methodist the Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith is led away for
processing after she was arrested on criminal trespass charges. A
web-only Photo courtesy of glara@express-news.net.
UPDATE Dec. 7: The Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith, a United
Methodist pastor arrested Nov. 30 after a sit-in, is on a spiritual
fast and is determined to remain jailed in solidarity with thousands of
young people advocating for the DREAM Act.
United Methodist supporters of the “DREAMers” have organized a Facebook
page and are organizing a “rollover fast.” On the Facebook page, called 365 Day Fast in Solidarity With DREAMers,
people are encouraged to “relieve Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith of her
fast for a day” by committing to a day when they will fast. The goal is
to have someone fasting each day for the following year.
On Dec. 5, Smith “escalated” her fast and will not be accepting food
or water, said the Rev. John Feagins, United Methodist campus minister
at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and a friend of Smith’s.
Student hunger strikers were welcomed at the “Culto Unido”
interfaith worship service held at La Trinidad United Methodist Church
Dec. 5 where retired Bishop Joel Martinez is pastor.
Pastors of the San Antonio area Rio Grande Conference churches,
parishioners and colleagues from the Southwest Texas Annual (regional)
Conference offered support and prayers for Smith and the other hunger
strikers.
Vigils are being held nightly outside the Bexar County Adult Detention Center where Smith is jailed.
Smith, pastor of Westlawn United Methodist Church, joined a group of
students from the University of Texas at San Antonio as they staged a
sit-in at the office of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R.-Texas. Their goal
was to get the senator to talk to them about why she has decided not to
support the legislation
that would allow illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children to
apply for conditional legal status after attending college or serving
in the military for two years.
Hutchinson had previously been in favor of the bill. In a statement her
office released Nov. 30, Hutchison said she supported giving temporary
student visas to those seeking relief under the bill.
The students know the visas will not help them when they graduate and
start looking for jobs, said the Rev. John Feagins, United Methodist
campus minister at the University of Texas, San Antonio.
Feagins was present at the sit-in and has been working with the students
on campus who support the Development, Relief and Education for Alien
Minors Act or DREAM Act. He said he introduced Smith to the group.
Before the sit-in at the senator’s office, the group of about 15
students tried fasting for several days and marched 16 miles to the
downtown campus to stage a demonstration in a main plaza.
“I am not on a hunger strike, but rather a spiritual fast,” Smith said
from the Bexar County Adult Detention Center Dec. 2. “I will break this
fast when other clergy and laity join the fast by committing to relieve
me of one or more days, to have fasting and prayer for the DREAM Act
students going on all year.”
The DREAM Act is a human issue about young adults going to school and
working hard in their communities, she said. “These are folks trying to
contribute to this society.”
Smith had the opportunity to post bail for her release, but she is
intentionally staying in jail until there is a vote in Congress, Feagins
said.
United Methodist Bishop James Dorff, Southwest Texas Annual (regional)
Conference episcopal leader, visited Smith in jail and spoke to her
after she was arrested. He said she had notified him that she was going
to participate in the sit-in and that it might lead to arrest.
“As her bishop, I wanted to support her personally, affirm her statement
of conscience, affirm her Christian witness,” he said. “I do not
condone nor recommend breaking the law and she is aware of that, but I
appreciate the depth, compassion and sense of commitment she has to
seeking some kind of just immigration reform.”
Retired Bishop Joel Martinez prays for Derek Smith, son of the jailed
Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith (front left) in an interfaith worship service
at La Trinidad United Methodist Church. The service was held in support
of his mother and other hunger strikers Dec. 5. A UMNS photo by the
Rev. John Feagins.
View in Photo Gallery
Dorff added Smith has been on the forefront in the conference advocating for various immigration issues.
“I do support the DREAM Act; I think it is a very reasonable and
sensible way to assist young people to have an opportunity for
citizenship,” Dorff said. He added the bill might need modifications
before it will pass.
‘Catch-22 situation’
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society and Phoenix Area Bishop Minerva Carcaño
also issued a statement Dec. 1 urging United Methodists to pray and
call their senators and representatives to urge them to vote for the
DREAM Act.
MARCHA, The United Methodist Church’s Hispanic caucus, issued a statement in support of Smith in her act of civil disobedience.
“We urge our members to pray for her and for all the students and
supporters; may their ordeals and sacrifices be a strong witness to
Congress and the DREAM Act be approved soon. Furthermore, we request
everyone who reads this statement to call their elected officials and
urge them to vote in support of the DREAM Act.”
Students on other college campuses have also been demonstrating for the
legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would
move to force a vote on the bill before the end of the year.
Feagins said he has encountered students caught in this “Catch-22 situation” for a long time.
“I work with these students all the time, and they are indistinguishable
from other students. They are U.S.-raised college students who are
American in every way except where they were born.
“Lorenza and I are supporting the justice issue behind the legislation.
We want our government to find a solution for these young people who our
country needs and who need us and who love us and want to live and work
here. If we can’t love people who love us, how can we ever love our
enemies?”
* Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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