wfn.org | NCC and CWS slate immigration rally in DC on March 21

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

Immigration rally slated March 21 in Washington

Washington, February 12, 2010 -- As part of the faith community's  campaign for immigration reform -- and in coordination with Ecumenical  Advocacy Days -- the National Council of Churches and its partner  humanitarian agency Church World Service are urging members of  ecumenical congregations to join a March for America: Change Takes  Courage and Faith, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, in Washington,  D.C.  

Tens of thousands of people will gather on the West Lawn of the Capitol  Building to send a message to President Obama and to Congress: the time  to fix our broken immigration system is now. 

"We hope to show the moral urgency of repairing America's broken  immigration system"" said David Leslie, chair of the NCC/CWS Task Force  on Immigration. 

"This will be demonstrated in a dramatic display of unity among  supporters of comprehensive immigration reform - people of faith,  immigrant rights groups, labor groups, and others from all across the  United States," Leslie said, noting that people of faith have been  hosting prayer vigils and potluck suppers and meeting with members of  Congress in their home districts for months.

"Help us keep this momentum by joining us for this great action in  Washington," he added.  Leslie is executive director of Ecumenical  Ministries of Oregon, located in Portland. 

Wesley "Pat" Pattillo, NCC's program director for Justice and Advocacy,  asked the Council's friends to "recruit as many people as you possibly  can in your home communities to join us in Washington on Sunday  afternoon, March 21. Come make your voice heard in the White House and  on Capitol Hill.  Let's do all we can to win the enactment of just  and humane immigration reform," Pattillo said.  

The rally on the Capitol grounds will be one of the highlights of this  year's Ecumenical Advocacy Days, a weekend of seminars and addresses  centered on the topic of "Migration."  Up to 700 participants are  expected for Advocacy Days, to be held March 19-22 at the Doubletree  Hotel-Crystal City in Arlington, Va.  
 
For more information about EAD and the March for America on March  21, go to  http://advocacydays.org/ and www.changetakesfaith.org.  You also  may contact National Grassroots Coordinator Yvette Schock  at yschock@churchworldservice.org to learn about these and other  opportunities to advocate for immigration reform.  Further general  information and resources on immigration reform can be found on the NCC  website at www.ncccusa.org/immigration.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office),  646-853-4212 (cell) , pjenks@ncccusa.org