wfn.org | How do churches respond to immigration

[Beth Hawn]

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To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1999-04-14 16:02
Priority: 3
Message ID: 69008B30AE86BE11810A7611E65C8882
Conversation ID: How will the church respond to immigration issues?

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April 14, 1999
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

How will the church respond to immigration issues?

HARRISONBURG, Va. (MBM) - Walk into any immigration office and the   
variety of languages floating through the air are as numerous as might   
have been heard at the Tower of Babel.  All of these voices come from   
people searching for a
place to work or a place to live, free of oppression and with the hope of   
a
future.  Is the United States that welcoming shelter?  Is the church?

Beyond the News: Immigration, a new video from MBM Mennonite Media, looks   
at the issue of immigration from the perspectives of workers and   
immigrants
 in four areas:  Florida, Texas, Mexico, and Buffalo, N.Y.

"I'm hoping we are getting beyond the rhetoric of politicians and   
policies in
this video and meeting the real people," says video producer Jerry L.
Holsopple.  "These people are willing to put up with a lot, and I wish we   
could learn to be much more human, loving and welcoming from them."

The video works from the premise of the biblical command to "love the   
alien" (Leviticus 19:33) and focuses on these questions:
* Why do we fear immigrants?
* Why do people leave their countries to come to the United States?
* Have immigrants taken "our" jobs?
* What do immigrants and refugees have to offer to our culture?
* What is the role of the church?

In the video, Nathan Selzer, an educator for immigration rights with the   
Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project in Texas, gives some
insight into why immigration is such an important issue for Christians to   

face today.  "I think we need to hear the message the people are bringing   

us from the south.  We need to understand that the way we live is   
excessive," says Selzer.  "That's not a terrible thing, but we simply   
have to understand
that it does cause suffering for other people, whether we intend it to or   
not."

Along with Selzer, Beyond the News: Immigration introduces a variety of
people working in settings that deal with immigration issues:
* Daniel Werner in Florida, a lawyer with Migrant Farm Worker Justice   
Project.
* Brad and Sharon Ginter, volunteers with Mennonite Central Committee in   
Florida working with Catholic Charities Legal Services and Florida
 Immigrant Advocacy Center.
* Conrado and Ester Hinojosa, who live and work in Mexico as pastor,   
counselor and friend to neighbors who wish to cross the border to work
 in the United States.
* Rogelio Nunez, director of Proyecto Libertad, an organization that
 documents and monitors human rights and the application of immigration   
law   in Texas.
* Robert Roggie, director of Journey's End Resettlement Services in   
Buffalo, N.Y., which tries to alleviate the world's refugee problem by   
giving refugees
a second chance in the United States.

In this eleventh video in the Beyond the News series, Nate Barker joins   
Jerry Holsopple as producer.  Barker says, "I am proud to be a part of   
conveying such a powerful, positive Christian message to the world."

Beyond the News: Immigration is a 57-minute video with study guide and is   
divided into six segments for easy viewing and group discussion.  A   
20-minute version of the video is also available at the end of the video.

"My hope," says Holsopple, "is that the video will help people to examine   

their attitudes and recognize that we were welcomed here, too."

      * * *

Minnette B. Hostetler      PHOTO AVAILABLE