On Saturday, August 29, God allowed me to enjoy the wonderful experience of listening to reflections and sharing worship with many brothers and sisters in Christ from the continents of the Americas, from Canada to Argentina. A reflection that deeply moved me was made by Jesús Vera. He spoke of the massacre that occurred in the municipality of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on August 22, 2010. The state in which I live.
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May 8 marked the third anniversary of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church (Lakeshore) becoming a Sanctuary Congregation – our renewed commitment to stand with the immigrant community as they face injustice and inhumanity by our government. We’ve lived out this ministry in a number of ways over the past three years and, as with everything, our work has taken a new direction and meaning in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
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When I decided to participate in the Immersion in Tijuana 2018 experience, I had no idea of what it will mean to my life. There were plenty of experiences lived in this immersion, yet I would like to highlight some that impacted my life the most.
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As we gathered in the basement of Casa Vidas to introduce ourselves, we were asked the questions. Tell us who you are? where you're coming from? Who did you say goodbye to last when you were leaving?
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On Saturday, May 9th, less than 100 people gathered under tents outside the NW Detention Center in Tacoma. We gathered to hear stories and to be a presence to those who are detained, and to say “enough is enough” to the 34K nation-wide nightly bed requirement set by ICE: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
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On Monday, our first full day on the Border Awareness Program, we had the opportunity to see first hand a small portion of the disputed fence marking our border. As we walked up to the fence, a couple of children living in the neighborhood along the fence on the Mexican side, ran up to greet us with smiles. I felt a deep disconnect in my heart. The short time we spent there, I couldn’t stop asking myself, “Where is God?”
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Yes, the unaccompanied children had to walk a long and treacherous path to arrive at our borders. But once here, the path doesn't necessarily get a lot better.
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"Let us go now to the banquet, to the feast of the universe. The table’s set and a place is waiting. I will rise in the early morning; the community’s waiting for me. With a spring in my step I’m walking with my friends and my family. God invites all the poor and hungry to the banquet of justice and good; where the harvest will not be hoarded so that no one will lack for food. May we build a place among us where all people are equal in love; For God has called us to work together and to share everything we have."
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They are privileged to live in a country of privileges. I am privileged unfairly, in a country where opportunities do not exist for all. My brother and sister do not have the same opportunities I have. Why? Youth of my people must migrate for pursuing dreams and new opportunities. Why? Not all of them have the same fate of being successful and their dreams become nightmares.
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We can’t change what has happened in past, but we can learn from our past to change the future. I had a wonderful experience at the Border Friendship Tour. By hearing some of the familiar stories, this experience brought back some of my old memories as well. I want to share some of my personal background that has shaped my perception toward the border and immigration.
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Easy answers and quick decisions are so often employed when it comes to immigration. The rhetoric that we often hear and accept (whether passively or actively) includes statements such as “immigrants would rather be in the US than their country”, “immigrants are a drain on our social services”, “terrorists are coming in through our southern border”, and “NAFTA was a positive economic move.” Our list continues to grow as the debate continues. Why do we so easily accept statements such as these for truths? Why do we allow these to dictate our opinions, lifestyle, hospitality, action, and inaction? We have betrayed a gift of our culture. Friends, our values of investigation, truth, and hard work have given way to blind acceptance, false truths, and negligence.
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Peach Jack was an attendee on the Justicia en la Frontera/Justice at the Border Friendship Tour to Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, TX. Originally published in "The Spire," the newsletter of Seattle First Baptist, her article addresses some of the important details of the trip itself as well as provides some useful information to help others formulate responses to questions concerning immigration and the issues around it.
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“It’s important to come to the border. To come here is to be unsettled by truth.” These were the words spoken to us by Ruben Garcia, one of the founders and the current executive director of Annunciation House, our host for the week in El Paso. Being unsettled by truth was the unofficial theme during the Justicia en la Frontera/Justice at the Border Friendship Tour.
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From February 8-15 a delegation of 15 attended the BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz Friendship Tour in El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Called Justicia en la Frontera/Justice at the Border, the experience educated participants about the injustices occurring at the U.S./Mexico border and equipped them to assist others in strengthening their responses to border-related issues including economic and immigration policy, humanitarian aid, labor organizing, and border militarization. The group was hosted by Annunciation House in El Paso and stayed at Casa Vidas, one of the two migrant shelters owned and operated by Annunciation House.
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Peace, we know, is rooted in justice. We are beyond grateful for our dear friends and colleagues who work for it. See what some of your fellow peacemakers have been up to - just within the last four days!
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The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA) received a $15,000 Palmer Grant (through the American Baptist Foundation) for a project called Justice at the Border, a two-part experience that will equip individuals and communities of faith to respond to injustices on the U.S./Mexico border. The grant covers the costs for 10 participants with a particular focus on attracting justice-minded young adults.
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On Friday, August 29, 2014, American Baptist International Ministries missionaries Ray and Adalia Schellinger Gutierrez, along with ABCUSA General Secretary A. Roy Medley held a prayer vigil at Friendship Park in Tijuana, Mexico. The vigil was in response to the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied minors fleeing violence and seeking refuge in the United States.
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The wind grates specks of dirt deeper into my skin as I sip my morning coffee and survey the devastation. I force my eyes away from the maquilas (maquiladoras?) directly in front of me and further into the horizon. The deep blues and reds comfort me that this is still a beautiful world despite humanity’s tendency toward depravity. I’m standing on top of one of Tijuana’s many hills with my back toward a playground where the laughter of children redirects my energy from hopelessness to love.
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In January 2012, the BPFNA and Palmer Theological Seminary (formerly Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary) co-sponsored a traveling course titled Ministry on the Borderline.
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American Baptist missionary Ray Schellinger was our host for the week. Ray and his wife Adalia run a domestic violence shelter in Tijuana called Deborah’s House. Early in our visit, Ray took us to Friendship Park, described what it had once been, let us see what it has become and invited us to contemplate throughout the week the messages we’d like to add to the wall.
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