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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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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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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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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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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