{"id":6551,"date":"2017-04-08T20:38:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T20:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.brethren.org\/news\/?p=6551"},"modified":"2018-10-08T20:44:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T20:44:23","slug":"special-section-immigrant-brethren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2017\/special-section-immigrant-brethren\/","title":{"rendered":"Intercultural leaders share concern for immigrant members: \u2018The fears are real\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Church of the Brethren Newsline
\nApril\u00a08,\u00a02017<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"By Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford<\/p>\n

Pastors of intercultural congregations are working to serve church members who are immigrants during a time when the nation\u2019s immigrant community is feeling threatened. Leaders connected with the Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries are expressing concerns for the wellbeing of immigrants–documented and undocumented–in their congregations.<\/p>\n

No one knows how many Church of the Brethren members are undocumented, or how many congregations have members who are undocumented, said Gimbiya Kettering, director of Intercultural Ministries and staff of Congregational Life Ministries. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a way of knowing this or tracking it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kettering\u2019s best guess is that there are more than 20 congregations who have members and attendees who may be undocumented or in deferred status or have family members who are not documented and vulnerable. Most often these are majority Hispanic\/Latino congregations, majority Haitian congregations, and perhaps congregations that have been welcoming refugees or displaced Nigerians.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we are also hearing from youth pastors in congregations that we think of as \u2018traditional, Anglo\u2019 Brethren congregations because the youth reflect the diversity of their community–in districts as diverse as Atlantic Northeast, Virlina, Atlantic Southeast, Pacific Southwest, and everything in between,\u201d Kettering said. In this she includes youth and young adults who may be \u201cDREAMers\u201d in various churches.<\/p>\n

So called because of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act first introduced in the Senate in 2001 as a means for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children to gain a pathway to permanent legal status, \u201cDREAMers\u201d are young people who were brought to the country as children without documentation, but have grown up as Americans, have assimilated to the culture, and have been educated in US schools. In 2012 the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program was introduced to provide some form of temporary relief to the \u201cDREAMers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Churches where \u201cDREAMers\u201d are worshiping have become \u201creal sanctuaries\u201d for these young people, Kettering said. Being accepted by a welcoming congregation offers young \u201cDREAMers\u201d a sense of community, she said, and the church becomes a resource for their increased success both at home and in school.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Intercultural Ministries director Gimbiya Kettering (standing at left) leads a training on racism and the church for the Mission and Ministry Board in 2016. Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kettering emphasized that the current anti-immigrant feeling and the uptick in racism and hate crimes is not just affecting undocumented church members but also others. She has heard about Church of the Brethren pastors and congregational leaders who have been racially profiled\u2014asked if they are citizens in both official and non-official settings because of their ethnicity. In one case, the person being stopped has been a US citizen for decades.<\/p>\n

Her emphasis at the moment? \u201cCo-creating answers\u201d for dilemmas faced by immigrant church members in cooperation with congregations interested in becoming sanctuary churches. Find an invitation to this effort at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/news\/2017\/intercultural-ministry-connects-with-sanctuary-jurisdictions.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Incredible prejudices are being unleashed\u2019<\/h4>\n

Their congregation is about one-third Hispanic, with a number of families from Guatemala, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The rest of the church \u201cis a mix,\u201d and includes people with experience of living in Latin America. Some members are US citizens, some are documented immigrants, others are undocumented–with some in a very vulnerable situation because they are in the process of gaining documentation and legal status. Some members of the church have no possibility of a legal pathway to citizenship.<\/p>\n

It seems like an understatement to hear these pastors, Irvin and Nancy Sollenberger Heishman, say about their intercultural congregation: \u201cWe\u2019re feeling a bit of a pinch.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it is not just undocumented people in the church who are feeling the pinch, the Heishmans emphasized. US citizens in the congregation have been affected by anti-immigrant sentiment. \u201cIncredible prejudices are being unleashed,\u201d said Irvin, and church members are suffering the emotional effects. He remembers one desperate call from a church member who was in the midst of \u201ca complete emotional breakdown,\u201d and had to counsel the person over the phone. Another church member, a US citizen who works as a factory supervisor, has been the recipient of racist comments at work, and fears he is being stalked by the police.<\/p>\n

The group showing the most stress is the children. A goal for these pastors is to find ways to support the church\u2019s children, and allow them to talk about their fears. \u201cThe fears are real, that their parents might be deported,\u201d Nancy said. Undocumented parents have been making plans for \u201cworse case scenarios\u201d by choosing guardians for their US-born children in the event that they are deported, and finding trustworthy people to give power of attorney to safeguard their property and belongings in the US. The church has been arranging for attorneys to help immigrant families understand their rights. Undocumented immigrants \u201cdo have some rights,\u201d Nancy said, but the political landscape \u201cis changing so fast that people don\u2019t know what they can and can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congregation is setting up a legal aid fund to help immigrant members. \u201cA lot of Americans don\u2019t understand how incredibly expensive it is to gain legal status,\u201d Irvin said. He estimates a cost of $5,000 to $7,000 per person for attorney fees and other expenses. This is beyond reach for some families. Others can afford to seek documentation for only one parent. Some families have put only the father through the process of gaining legal status, leaving the mother and children vulnerable to deportation.<\/p>\n

For one family with a legitimate case to seek asylum in the US–they had fled outright violence in their home country–\u201cthe process was brutal,\u201d Irvin said. It included a prohibition on working, and a prohibition on having a driver\u2019s license, among other things that prevented the family from being able to support themselves. In this case, the church stepped up to provide financial assistance. \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t been for the church, they wouldn\u2019t have made it,\u201d Irvin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach story is different,\u201d he added. \u201cThe decisions to leave family and homeland to go to a strange place are difficult. We tend to blame the individuals by using the term illegal, but the real fault can be laid at the door of systems created by governments, which make so many people vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s leadership team is considering how to make a solid statement of support for all its members. However, there are worries about making a public statement because sanctuary churches may become targets for immigration enforcement. When the church considered taking down a sign that says \u201cBienvenidos\u201d on one side and \u201cWelcome\u201d on the other, they decided not to, however. \u201cNo, we don\u2019t give in to fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

While grieving for members living under threat, the pastors see one bright spot of hope: the opportunity for evangelism through a clear welcome to the immigrant community. \u201cThink about the potential for growth,\u201d said Nancy. Churches across the denomination \u201ccould be growing if we are willing to provide the kind of welcome Jesus would offer. There\u2019s a hunger for that kind of welcome right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Routinely afraid\u2019<\/h4>\n

\u201cIn reality, someone of a different color or who has a different name could be susceptible\u201d in this anti-immigrant political climate, said Carol Yeazell. She is on the pastoral team of a Church of the Brethren congregation that includes members from a wide variety of national backgrounds. The congregation includes \u201cDREAMers\u201d as well. One of these young church members is \u201croutinely afraid\u201d of what may happen to her and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely for certain people there\u2019s a sense of anxiety, a sense of concern,\u201d she said, but that feeling is not keeping people from coming to church. She interprets that as a sign that the threat of mass deportations is not yet immediate. \u201cThey might voice their anxiousness but at this point I don\u2019t see anyone in real distress or facing [immigration authorities] knocking on their door.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her opinion, the nation needs to rectify the whole issue of immigration. \u201cIf the law is to be kept, it should be done fairly and justly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She herself has been working on immigrant concerns for many years, both locally and as an advocate for intercultural ministries across the denomination. For example, some years ago she helped church members avoid road blocks that had been set up by a county sheriff who chose to aid ICE immigration enforcement although he was not required to. \u201cI didn\u2019t want any of them to have a problem unnecessarily,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

In another example, her church has helped the family of a church member who was deported some years ago because documentation had been filled out incorrectly. The woman\u2019s family remained in the US, and so she missed her children\u2019s graduations, and a family wedding. When such concerns surface among church members, \u201cwe do what we can to assist,\u201d Yeazell said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether undocumented people may join the church seeking some kind of \u201ccover,\u201d she asserted, \u201cThey\u2019re not coming to church as a cover up.\u201d One man recently brought a friend to church, a co-worker who had gotten into drugs and alcohol and realized he needed Christ in his life. No one questioned his motives, she said. \u201cIt was obvious that a major transformation had come to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her church does not ask about documentation, \u201cbecause that\u2019s not our purpose. We\u2019re not in the church determined by our race or color or legality, but because of our relationship with Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It is heartbreaking\u2019<\/h4>\n

The situation of \u201cDREAMers\u201d in his district is heartbreaking, said Russ Matteson, district executive minister for Pacific Southwest District of the Church of the Brethren. In one congregation, half of a youth group numbering about 40 are \u201cDREAMers.\u201d This same dynamic is playing out in other congregations in the district, as well.<\/p>\n

He told the story of one \u201cDREAMer\u201d who has been active in the district and at Annual Conference, \u201ca bright kid who wants to go to pharmacy school.\u201d Accepted into a pharmacy program at an out-of-state college where \u201cDREAMers\u201d are welcomed, the decision to leave family and move several states away at this time is a difficult one.<\/p>\n

Families of \u201cDREAMers\u201d are experiencing a complicated mix of concerns, Matteson noted. The parents may be undocumented, with older children who are \u201cDREAMers,\u201d and younger children who are citizens born in the US. In some families, there are further complications such as parents who come from two different countries. Often various individuals in the same family have very different immigration status.<\/p>\n

How does a district executive serve intercultural congregations at this time? Matteson tries to keep in touch with pastoral leaders to \u201ckeep apprised of the ways that families are feeling the impact and effect of what\u2019s going on.\u201d He is concerned to do this \u201cwithout raising the alarm about things that aren\u2019t happening yet,\u201d for example the threat of mass deportations. He wants to help the district focus on \u201cwhat we know, rather than what we fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

People from majority white congregations in the district have been asking how to help. Matteson emphasizes the need to first listen to the immigrant community and learn from them how to be supportive.<\/p>\n

His district also includes people concerned about how undocumented people are breaking the law. Concern about the legalities may change when people \u201cencounter a sister or brother in crisis in the same denomination,\u201d he said. \u201cThey realize that they are serving in district positions together and on the same committees. The more people get to know and understand the complexities of the situation the more they understand it is not an easy thing to resolve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The only criteria to serve in district leadership is to be a member of a Church of the Brethren congregation in the district, he noted. \u201cThe documentation we need is: you are a sister or brother in Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knows that some congregational leaders he works with are undocumented, and he feels deeply for their situation. \u201cYour heart breaks, these are people I know and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

— Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford is director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren, and associate editor of \u201cMessenger\u201d magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/Newsline<\/a>\u00a0to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pastors of intercultural congregations are working to serve church members who are immigrants during a time when the nation\u2019s immigrant community is feeling threatened. Leaders connected with the Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministries are expressing concerns for the wellbeing of immigrants–documented and undocumented–in their congregations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1295,1274,1263,1277],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-6551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advocacy","tag-intercultural","tag-peace","tag-spanish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6555,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions\/6555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6551"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=6551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}