Black Sash in South Africa | The Asylum Seekers
Friends,
I spent time today at a gathering of leaders of churches that are trying to make a difference. It was a small group, a short time, and the work feels hard.
But it feels so much better when we gather with others. Be sure you are taking time to see the beauty of the world, taking breaks from the news, sitting in prayer, and connecting to others.
Let me know if you'd be interested in zoom gathering of resistors.
-Liz
Being Church: Presence with Immigrants
Work as a street church pastor is mostly a ministry of presence. A lot of coffee, a lot of listening. As we got to know each person and their individual struggles, eventually that ministry included presence at court, in jail, in prison, at the police station, in a line at the mother vehicle administration, social security office.
One day Jack asked me to join him for a visit to his landlord, Worcester Housing Authority. He'd been on a drug binge, something he did every six months to a year. So he didn't have money for rent. Would I come with?
He introduced me as his pastor, and after that I said nothing. They negotiated how he would pay his rent, him offering to find the money "somewhere" and the representative instead suggesting increased rent for the next ten months. We said polite good-byes and left.
It was interesting, but it didn't feel like I'd done much. Jack, however was enthusiastic. "It was so helpful having you there. They were so much more helpful this time than last time. They really treated me so much better." After a long pause, he continued, "you know, I was better too. I didn't get so angry, and let the agent talk."
Presence matters. And in this world today our presence as a church, as clergy, as leaders, as members, is needed to witness to what is going on.
Our presence is a powerful force needed for immigrants (and black and brown people presumed to be immigrants) right now.
Our church can be a presence in many ways. Consider hanging a sign that says "I was a Stranger and you Welcomed Me" in English, and perhaps in the languages of people in your community. Inside, at your entrances post the blue signs that tell what to do if ICE shows up.
The simplest move to make is to notice people we interact with in a store, a restaurant, as we shop, as we go about life. Be the voice of love, of support, of righteousness.
If you have immigrant members of your congregation, or connected to your congregation through worship, food ministries, or thrift stops, now is the time to get to know them better. Ask how they are doing, and ask what they need. Build relationships.
Make sure you have contact information for any immigrants' extended families, both here and in the places they are from. Find out who should be told if they are picked up by ICE. Share the paperwork for identifying guardians for children if their parents are kidnapped. Discuss with parents what they will do if their children are used as "bait" to get them to turn themselves in. Start now to build a fund to support the families of those who are picked up.
Arrange for legal services now, keep them on retainer, so that if someone connected to your congregation is kidnapped you have someone to call. Call one of your local hotlines if you see ICE in the area.
Plan ahead for how to make public witness whenever someone is picked up. Do stand outs and put out signs, flowers, candles, and more, both where the person was arrested, and at any nearby detention centers. Try to get press to cover the loss to your community. Make sure it is visible that this is a spot where violence has taken place.
And find a way to go to immigration hearings. No one you know should be going to their appointments with immigration, or with any federal or law enforcement services, by themselves. A few of you should come inside with them, wait with them, attend their meeting. You don't need to say anything, but you need to witness what is happening.
Arrange for training for people who accompany immigrants to doctors appointments and grocery shopping. (A UCC training Sept 28 in Providence Rhode Island.)
Part of being the body of Christ is being present to one another. That has gotten more complicated, more risky, and more important then ever. Now is the time to be the Church of Presence.
Where is your church present to others? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
Black Sash was a group of white South Africans who decided to be present to people who were not white. They did this work for 39 years.
The Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts, and a few hundred parishioners, showed up for an asylum hearing.
Christina Rathbone spent time on the border interviewing Asylum Speakers. Her book The Asylum Seekers is out now.
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