wfn.org | Advocacy for Immigrants

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3442 notes).

Note 3441 by UMNS on Feb. 18, 1997 at 09:10 Eastern (2275 characters).

SEARCH: Refugees, immigrants, uprooted, asylum              
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                            87(10-71B){3441}
          New York (212) 870-3803                   Feb. 17, 1997

EDITORS NOTE: This story may be a sidebar to UMNS #85 {3439}.

Ecumenical year promotes
advocacy for immigrants

                    by United Methodist News Service

     At "Just Neighbors Ministry," a mission project of the
Arlington, Va., district of the United Methodist Church, immigrants
and refugees receive both practical assistance and compassion.
     At Dumbarton and Foundry United Methodist churches in
Washington, planning has begun for a new outreach ministry designed
to provide hospitality for asylum seekers with appointments at
nearby immigration offices. According to the Rev. Mary Kraus,
Dumbarton's pastor, such hospitality could include transportation,
temporary housing and referral services.
     It is that kind of advocacy that Lilia Fernandez, executive
secretary for refugee ministries, United Methodist Committee on
Relief (UMCOR), hopes more of the denomination's congregations,
conferences or other groups will become involved with during this
Ecumenical Year of Churches in Solidarity with Uprooted People.
     To encourage action, U.S. churches are being asked to observe 
June 22 as a day dedicated to refugees and immigrants. UMCOR's
refugee unit has a liturgy and resource kit available.
     The World Council of Churches (WCC), sponsor of the ecumenical
year, also has a resource book, "A Moment to Choose: Risking to be
with Uprooted People."
     Fernandez noted that the United States has become a country of
asylum. "In most states, you can find persons seeking asylum,
struggling to get adjusted," she said.
     Besides providing assistance and advocacy, people of faith
also have a responsibility to address misconceptions and hatred
against immigrants, she said.
     "I think we need to heal those wounds with information and the
understanding of what's happening," she added.
                            #  #  #          

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