Illinois Maya Ministry

The Death of a Saint

2011-02-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

From the San Cristóbal Diocese

Today, January 24 2011, at 10:00 am, Mons. Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Bishop Emeritus of San Cristobal de las Casas, ended his pilgrimage on earth and passed into full Life.

He died in Mexico City, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks, due to pulmonary and renal insufficiencies, coronary and carotid problems and prolonged diabetes.
His remains were taken today to the Cathedral of San Cristobal, where, beginning at 7:00 pm, they will be on review, for the prayers of the faithful and the farewells of the communities.
In the Cathedral, masses will be celebrated at different times, principally at 12:00 and 7:00 pm; in particular, this Tuesday, there will be a celebration of his 51st episcopal ordination.
He will be buried in the Cathedral on Wednesday January 26, beginning with an internment mass in the Cathedral Plaza at 12:00 pm.

He was born on November 3, 1924, in Irapuato, Guanajuato. His studies were done in the Seminary of Leon, Guanajuato. He was sent to Rome for specialized studies in Holy Scripture in the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Biblical Institute, where he obtained a doctorate.

From 1952 to 1959, he was a professor , prefector of studies and rector of the Seminary of Leon.

He was named Bishop of Chiapas on November 14, 1959 by Pope John 23, and consecrated in the Cathedral of San Cristobal on January 25, 1960, becoming the 35th bishop of this Diocese.

He has received different recognitions, distinctions, prizes and medals in different parts of the world. He participated in the four Vatican II Councils, from 1962 to 1965. From 1965 to 1973, in the Episcopal Conference of Mexico, he presided over the Commission for the Indigenous, instilling a renewed spirit to indigenous pastoral work. In 1968, he participated in the II Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) in Medellin, Colombia, and was elected President of the Department of Mission of the CELAM, which concerned indigenous pastoral work.

In 1970, he convened and presided over the "Xicotepec" Meeting, which revolutionized pastoral work with the indigenous: there would no longer be an "indigenist" pastorate, in which the indigenous are merely objects of evangelization, but they would grow and become actors within their own church and society. In 1974, the state government entrusted him with the development of the Indigenous Congress, in which different ethnicities of Chiapas gave their pronouncements and demanded their human rights. In 1975, he convened the first of the Diocesan Assemblies, which have been continued to be held without interruption since that date. In that year, he also initiated the Permanent Diaconate, primarily within indigenous communities, as a form in which the church could incarnate and grow within those cultures. At the end of his service in May, 2000, there were 341 permanent deacons.

From 1982 to 1995, he compelled attention to the refugees which had fled from Guatemala, because of the war in that country. In 1993, he published his Pastoral Letter: "In this Hour of Grace", in which he warned of the gravity of the injustices against the indigenous. From 1994 to 1998, he served as Mediator in the conflict between the EZLN and the federal government, and founded the National Commission of Mediation (CONAI) in October, 1994. On February 16, 1995, he participated in the signing of the San Andres Peace Accords.

On July 20, 1994, he convened the III Diocesan Synod, which was formally initiated on January 25, 1995 and ended on November 3, 1999, the day he turned 75 years of age. On that date, faithful to the that which had been prescribed by Vatican II, he signed his resignation from the Diocese, which was accepted on March 30, 2000. From that day until May 1, 2000, he functioned as the Diocesan Administrator until the arrival of his successor.

In order to respect the pastoral work of his successor, he moved to the city of Queretaro, where he lived until the end of his life. From there, he continued to serve the indigenous and the cause of the poor, in whatever place and circumstance which required his presence.

The theme of his episcopate was: To Teach and to Instill. Alluding to this theme, he ended his homily on January 25, 2010, on the golden anniversary of his installation as bishop, in the Cathedral Plaza: "We give infinite thanks to the Lord, Triune and One, for having made us His children, and for having called us as pastor of His Church, to educate and instill His Kingdom of justice, love and peace."

He leaves as his legacy his efforts in:

1. The promotion of the integration of the indigenous, that they may be actors within the church and the society.
2. The preferential option for the poor and the liberation of the oppressed, as a sign of the Kingdom of God.
3. The freedom to denounce injustices before any arbitrary power.
4. The defense of human rights.

5. Pastoral involvement in social realities and history.

6. The adaptation of the church to the culture, promoting native, autochthonous churches in different cultures--indigenous and mestizo--as was urged by the Council of Vatican II.

7. The promotion of women's rights and her equal responsibilities in the church and society.
8. A Church which is open to the world and a servant of the people
9. Ecumenism not only with other Christian confessions, but with all religions.
10. Mutual pastoral work with shared responsibility.
11. Indian Theology, as a search for the presence of God in the original cultures.
12. The Permanent Diaconate as a specifically indigenous process.
13. Reconciliation within the communities.
14. Unity in diversity.
15. The affective and effective communion with Peter's Successor and the Church Universal (III Synod, 571).

School of the Americas Vigil 2010

2010-12-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

by Rev. Don Coleman

On the weekend of November 19-21, 2010 over 5,000 gathered at the gate of Fort Benning demonstrating against the School of Americas (SOA) or, as it is renamed, the Western Hemispheric Institute of National Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Hundreds of thousands of people from Central and South America have been brutally tortured and killed by their own governments trained by U.S. military at Fort Benning.

Speeches and singing and the drama of large puppets made the event festive in the midst of the serious business of working to close the School which, because of its mission, is still called “the School of the Assassins.” For twenty years folks have come from all over the country, and now from Central and South America, mobilizing to stop these barbarous activities. Actually, a former military officer was refused a visa because he intended to speak at the rally.

Participants are disappointed that President Obama has not taken a more active role in investigating the activities of the School. And now with the new Congress closing down the SOA will not happen soon. But our calling is to be faithful and to continue to lift up the names of those slaughtered through U.S. military training.

Thirty people were arrested. Four of them were arrested for climbing over the fence, topped with barb wire that had been erected at the entrance of the base. They are charged with trespassing. Those engaged in this self-conscious act of civil disobedience include: Louis Vitale, OFM. (crossed the line for the fourth time) and David Omondi (of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker) who pleaded ‘no contest’ and were immediately convicted in the federal court. They were sentenced to six months in prison by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Hyles. Nancy Smith and Chris Spicer, the other two who climbed the fence, pleaded ‘not guilty’ and will go to trial January 5, 2011.

Seven others were willing to risk arrest by demonstrating and closing the main street near the base leading to the city of Columbus. Nineteen others were arrested by being caught up in the city police’s sweep that included a local barber who stepped from his shop to watch what was going on. All these folks had to pay exaggerated bail and large fines and spent at least on night in jail.

Whether intending arrest or accidentally being caught up in the police action, demonstrators still stood by the call for justice and for the closing of the School.

So why does the U.S. military train military personnel of other countries to torture and kill teachers, priests and nuns, and labor organizers? Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of

School of the Americas Watch, puts it this way:

For the past several decades, the US has allied with dictators in Latin America who helped the regimes small, elite group of wealthy landowners….We get involved militarily with these countries because they (are) rich in natural resources, with coffee in Colombia, bananas in Central America, copper in Chile, petroleum in Venezuela and tin in Bolivia. With their militaries, the US joined with them to exploit those natural resources and to pay workers $1 a day….We are like the new conquistadors.

Reflection on Broadview Vigil: Dec 10, 2010

2010-12-20T08:27:00.000-08:00

Reflection on Broadview Vigil: Dec 10, 29010

Sharon Hunter-Smith

Today is Human Rights Day. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world..."

Today, I went to someplace close to home--the Broadview Immigrant Detention and Processing Center. Up until a few years ago, this was invisible to me. There is a weekly Friday prayer vigil held there at 7:15 in the morning, when undocumented immigrant detainees from all over the Midwest are "processed" (note the industrial language; the center is located also in an industrial zone): handcuffed, shackled, tied together at the waist, and "loaded" onto buses and vans to transport them to the airport to be deported. Today, 90 people were deported. People are deported every Tuesday and Friday from Broadview. I went, because I wanted an Advent discipline that was related to some aspect of the current reality we are living in, that would help me articulate what it is we are waiting for during Advent.

There was a woman, 8 months pregnant, who was praying with us today. Her husband was being deported to Mexico. He'd lived and worked here for 17 years. Denise Griebler, who was able to go onto one of the buses, told us of a 31 year old from El Salvador who came here with his parents as a 3 year old. His entire family system is now in the U.S. He knows no one in El Salvador. He primarily speaks English. He will be escorted across the U.S.-Mexican border with everyone else on that bus and left off in Mexico with $20 in his pocket.

The vigil is centered around praying the rosary, which means nothing to my Protestant sensibilities but means a lot to the primarily Catholic detainees and their family members present. I can see how "...pray for us now and in the hour of our death..." might have a lot of significance for someone who had made the harrowing journey across the border once and who might be facing a different kind of harrowing journey now.

Some impressions from today: since I last went, religious leaders are now allowed inside the detention center to minister to people in the hours before they are deported (of course, they are only allowed in 4-6 am on Fridays). Even though there has been a law on the books in Illinois since June 2009 that allows undocumented immigrant detainees access to religious ministry, Broadview chose not to recognize that right in practice for over a year.

Today, one of the people who was inside providing ministry witnessed the way detention center rules change, seemingly on someone's whim. On the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website are instructions to family members of detainees that they may bring up to 40 pounds of things for the detainee to take with him or her when s/he is deported. Understand that not every family will have the privilege of knowing when their family member is going to be deported--they are supposed to be able to call ICE or Broadview and find out, but sometimes people leave daily messages for weeks and never get a call back, or the phone rings and rings when they call. For those who do make it to the detention center on the day their loved one will be deported, sometimes there are surprises. Today, when family members gave detention center officials suitcases for their relatives, they were told that the deportees were not allowed to have suitcases. The person offering ministry today had shopping bags in the trunk of her car and brought them in so that the family could unpack the suitcases and put clothes and things in the bags instead.

People who are in power can be arbitrary. They don't need to have a reason. During Advent, we are waiting to celebrate the birth of someone who came as a baby without power, dependent on the love of others to sustain him and who later sustained others with his love (and apparently scared a lot of people in power). Maybe during Advent, we walk around in the darkness to make sure we know why we don't want to stay in it.

BorderLinks North Delegation--October 17-19

2010-11-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 17-19, 14 religious leaders came together in Chicago to listen deeply to our immigrant brothers and sisters. We heard testimonies from many, including:

· a young man who had grown up here but was undocumented. He had suffered from depression like so many other young people whose lives are in limbo. But he had found hope through joining with a local organization to create opportunities for himself and for others;

· Labor rights defenders from Mexico who are hard at work informing immigrants and native-born people of their rights (and shocking lack of rights) under US law;

· Nationally-recognized leaders in policy change;

· The regional director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

We shared meals, sleeping quarters, and personal histories, and together were transformed as we came to recognize Christ in our neighbors, the strangers and sojourners in our midst. We challenged ourselves not to be the “voice of the voiceless,” because our neighbors are not voiceless. This time, we are called to listen, and to think of ourselves as the sound engineers, amplifying and promoting the eloquent and powerful words already on the lips of our brothers and sisters.

By the end, we came away not only transformed, informed, and inspired. We also came away with new friends and partners in the immigrant and religious communities: partners who will accompany us as we continue the journey. Thanks be to God.

The Importance of BorderLinks North Delegations--Rev. Sara Wohlleb

2010-11-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

I have always understood Salvation as a continual process: God is always hard at work, saving God’s people from our own misunderstandings, fears, and injustices. It is during these delegations that I can feel that presence and power very close at hand.

Of course God’s work is urgently needed in the immigrant community: families are being ripped apart; victims of crime are afraid to call the police; our youth are facing no future without a 9-digit number. But as we are invited in to see the courage and inspiring leadership at work, we come to understand how active God is in that community already.

And I believe that God is needed just as urgently in my own community--those of us who been here for a little longer. We need to be saved from our own too-small circles of friends; our willingness to accept the negative picture of “those people” promoted by the world-at-large; and our tendency to fall into “business as usual” instead of seeking the radical transformation of the Holy Spirit in every corner of our communities.

These delegations are a powerful way to usher in the Good News: that Salvation is here. We ARE being saved from small-mindedness, from injustice, from all kinds of division. Our work is far from done, but we have so many beautiful co-workers in the building of the Kingdom. How can we help but smile, even if it is through tears, at the awesome possibilities before us?

Cipriano Juardo, Risking Life for Justice

2010-11-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

Cipriana Jurado has worked as an advocate for the labor rights of women and for economic and environmental justice for more than 20 years in Cuidad Juárez, Mexico. In the mid-90's, she founded the Center for Information and Solidarity for Working Women (CISO), a non-profit organization. She has been at the forefront of the workers’ movement in Ciudad Juárez and is fiercely committed to the principals of justice and equality for all people. She’s demonstrated her commitment time and time again, putting her life on the line.

Since 2008, Cipriana and others have undertaken investigations of human rights violations committed by Mexico's Army, which has been deployed by President Calderon to reduce the flow of drugs into the USA. Because of this work, Cipriana received death threats, and one of her colleagues was killed. In January 2010, Amnesty International released an alert asking the international community to protect Cipriana and other human rights defenders in Juárez from intimidation and death threats. The Chicago Religious Leaders Network responded to their appeal, and she has come to Chicago seeking temporary refuge from these threats.

Cipriana is available for speaking engagements in churches, organizations, schools and institutions. To schedule an event featuring Cipriana, please contact Erica Spilde or Jenny Dale at 773-293-2964.

Emergency Resolution of Solidarity with Immigrants and the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ

2010-09-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

With stirring speeches preceding dialogue and vote, the Illinois Conference passed a prophetic resolution. This grass roots effort reflects the hard work of so many people within the Illinois Conference. Illinois Maya Ministry is proud to be part of this hard work.

See the full text of this resolution here.

Delegation Opportunities!

2010-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Immersion Education for Religious Leaders of All Faiths: October 17-19, 2010

This BorderLinks delegation is a two-day immersion experience, connecting clergy and leaders of all faiths with the daily realities and stories of their immigrant neighbors. The delegation will assist religious leaders in understanding the immigrant experience in Chicago and the surrounding area. Participants will return home with practical resources and insights to engage their congregants around the divisive issue of immigration. Intentional reflection time will focus on appropriate and caring ways to accompany a congregation confronting this timely issue. For a brochure with more detailed information, click on the attachment here.

Youth and Young Adult Delegation to Chiapas: December 27, 2010-January 5, 2011, "Building Peace in Chiapas."

Only five more slots open! Youth and young adults will learn the strength and courage of the Chiapan people, how our partner organizations work on a daily basis to build a lasting peace, and how life in Chiapas affects the immigration crisis in the United States. Present work project includes building a structure for the distribution of Western and folkloric medicines to be distributed to the rural poor. To see the brochure and a fuller description of the delegation click here or contact Rev. Mike Mulberry.

Postville Second Anniversary

2010-05-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Three members of Illinois Maya Ministry made a pilgrimage to Postville, Iowa, to mark the second anniversary of the ICE raid of May 12, 2008. Our main purpose was to be present, pray, and show our concern through showing up.

Our first stop was for the chapel service at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. We were present to listen to mothers whose families were split up by the raid witness to their experience and suffering. We were able to greet Campus pastor David Vasquez, whom we had met at the IMM forum last month in Rockford. We enjoyed a time of fellowship and greeting after the service. David talks about this service at this address: http://faithonthemove.ning.com/forum/topics/may-12-2010-2nd-anniversary-of?xg_source=activity

From Luther College we drove to Congregational UCC in Decorah. There we talked with Rev. Matthew Perkins who brought us up to date on the response of the religious community in the last year.

We stopped at St Bridget's Church in Postville for a time of prayers. Father Paul greeted us and we let him know that we were there for a pilgrimage and regretted that we could not stay for the commemoration service to be held at St Bridget's at 5 pm that evening.

Next, our little delegation stopped to see Rev. Gary Catterson, pastor of the Presbyterian Church there in Postville, to learn about what developments were taking place. He told us about how AgriStar has taken over from Agriprocessors. The work force is now about 1/3 of what it was before. The new workers coming to town are not as family oriented as those who were there before, and this is making for some tension in the community. One of the local banks has some 60 foreclosed homes, and while many towns have foreclosures this large number seems to be at least in part a result of the raid and the reduced workforce. We thanked Gary for his insight, and shared in a time of prayer before we left.

We stopped for lunch at the local Mexican Restaurant. We had the place to ourselves. As we drove back to Rock Island, our beginning point, we talked in the car about how our visits in Postville are similar to those made in Central America, and how everyone we spoke with thanked us for our support and concern.

On the Willows There

2010-04-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

by Joan Maruskin, Church World Service

By the waters of the Rio Grande
By the waters of the Rio Grande,
There we sat down and there
We wept
When we remembered Zion.

On the willows there
We hung up our guitars

For there the Border Patrol
Asked us for songs

And the vigilantes asked for laughter
Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing the Lord’s song
In a foreign land

By the waters we weep and we remember
We remember Mexico and El Salvador
We remember Burma and Tibet
We remember Colombia and Chile
We remember Cuba and Haiti
We remember Darfur, the Congo, and Romania

By the waters we remember

On the willows we hung up our guitars
We hung up our hopes
We hung up our homes, our land, our dreams
We hung up our poverty, our hunger, and our thirst
We hung up our friends, our traditions and our culture
We hung up our family ties, our food, and our language

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

We sing only the song of the homeless, the unemployed
The laments of hunger and thirst, of death and destruction
The songs of the songless, the hungry, the thirsty
The songs of the dying.

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?

Letter from the UCC Southwest Conference in response to the new immigration law in Arizona

2010-04-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

An Open Letter to President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary Janet Napolitano and Governor Jan Brewer,

On April 24, 2010, the Southwest Conference of the UCC gathered at our Annual Meeting in Sedona, AZ. Our meeting was disrupted with the announcement that Gov. Jan Brewer had signed SB1070. We immediately went into a time of prayer for the soul of Arizona and all people who reside here.

As people of faith we affirm and live by the biblical imperative, “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. ³⁴The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”( Leviticus 19:33-34)

We are profoundly disturbed by the passage of the harshest anti-immigrant legislation in the country by the Arizona Legislature. It is legislation such as this that codifies racial profiling and creates an atmosphere of suspicion, hatred, and scapegoating of immigrants and U.S citizens.

We celebrate the diversity of our nation and the contribution of immigrants and call for the end of the criminalization of individuals and the destabilization of our communities.

We call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform that will provide a path for legalization for people who are contributing to our society, an adequate system for future legal economic immigration and family reunification, and policies that prevent deaths in the desert. We find it morally reprehensible that 5,500 men, women and children have lost their lives in the last 16 years trying to provide a life of dignity for their families. Policies such as SB 1070 and 287 (G) diminish the ability of local law enforcement to keep our communities safe.

We are dedicated to the following actions to demonstrate our solidarity and commitment to our immigrant brothers and sisters who are created equally in the image of God regardless of race or nationality. We are committed to:

· Encouraging members to pledge non- compliance with the unjust and racist law SB 1070

· Cancel plans to hold 2011 annual meeting in Arizona

· Relocate our next annual meeting to another southwestern state

· Encourage our business and professional members to influence board decisions

· Direct action of prayer, study, protests, and fasting

· Mobilize our congregations to advocate for the Dream Act, a just and fair Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the abolishment of SB 1070 and 287 (G)

As people of faith and conscience rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ, we hold to our UCC Statement of Affirmation of faith, in declaring, “You call us into your church…to be your servants in the service of others, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil.”

In Solidarity and Service,

A Letter to a Young Man from Chiapas

2010-03-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

by Elizabeth O'Brien (from the Humane Borders newsletter)

No more mangoes to pick
En la estancia de su abuelo.
No more money for food.
No way to take care of your family.
You don’t want them to starve.
So,

First gather your family
Your village.
Share your plan,
Ask their help,
Collect their money—
$2,000 U.S.
Te dicen adios y te dicen buena suerte,
Hijo.
Your first shedding.

Find a coyote
Not the one Jose Martín used--
Jose Martín está muerto
Find one who knows the way
Around the wall.

Never mind that you don’t know
About the three days travel
In the Arizona desert
After the 2000 miles in Mexico.

No food. No water.
Except occasional water stations
Set out by Yanquis.

Never mind that you will
Leave so much of yourself
In the desert, maybe
Even your body.

Pero tu esperanza está muy fuerte
Y tu vas.

2000 miles by train or bus
On foot, in cars.
Sleep, your face pressed against the window
Mexico whirring by
Desert to trees to mountains
To desert.

Join a group in a safe house
Not really safe.
The coyote demands more money
No hay más
So you smuggle marijuana
While he rapes a wife
Or a daughter
Or an abuela--
Your second shedding.

Finally at the border.
And through a break in the wall

Bienvenidos a Arizona!
No shade. Sharp rocks.
Stabbing thorns
No water in the arroyo,
Only a few smooth stones
To hint at summer floods.

Your prized jacket--
“Baille de salsa”
Escrito en la espalda--
You won at the dance hall
Beating Jose Martín and Pedro
With your lightening turns
And sassy hips,
Spinning Maria ‘til dawn,
Worn for 2,000 miles.

But the heat in the desert
Even at night
Turns your triumph
Into a burden—
Too heavy, too dark, too unnecessary
You lay it with care up a rise
Under a creosote bush.
Later you toss the matching pants,
Silver stripe down the leg
Another shedding,
Leaving more of yourself behind.

As you stumble in the arroyos
Sliding on jagged granite
Or porous basalt
You have to lighten your pack.
Now the prayer book
Tia Gracela gave you
For confirmation.
You hope someone finds it
Who can carry it,
Treasure it,
Wonder who you were, or are.

You drop water bottle after water bottle
Sucked dry.
Now one gallon left
For three days
Under the AZ sun and moon.
One bottle—black plastic
Bought at the border.
No glint of white or clear
To alert the binoculars
Searching for you from the choppers
That criss-cross the desert
Looking for any glint--
A gold cross
A silver bracelet
A brass buckle
A white water bottle.

You freeze when you hear them
“La Migra! La Migra”
No motion allowed.
Hiding ’til they pass.

The coyote yells, pushes, tugs
Ordering things to be left behind--
“Salven la agua! Salven la comida!”
Nada más!!

You see what others have left
Along the rocks and shrubs.
A torn blouse embroidered with
Red and yellow flowers.
A tortilla cloth
Colcha stitched in
Blues, greens and reds.
One leg of jeans—one side
Faded almost white
The other a defiant blue
Pressed to the ground.
One shoe—
“Por qué?” tu piensas.
A jeans’ pocket
Embroidered with pink flowers
Silver studs and gold threads,
Like the one you gave tu sobrina Esperanza
Para su quinceañera.

The most worrisome find--
A baby bottle with pedialite
A diaper bag, empty now.
No longer needed--
Or almost there?

Suddenly shouts.
A scuffle.
Silence as you
Huddle beneath
A boulder.
A navy-sleeved arm
Grabs you.
Screams las palabras en inglés
You don’t understand.

You are shoved hand-cuffed into a van
Lights flashing.
Again, your face pressed
Against the window as Arizona whirs by
Stopping only when you reach
Nogales
And the detention center.

The coyote nowhere to be seen.

At least se hablan español aquí.
A sandwich.
A coke.
Half bus fare home.

Home.

Es verdad.
(It’s true)
Tu sueño esta rompiendo
(Your dream is broken)
Pero tu tienes esperanza
(But you have hope)
Y tu comienzas a planear otra vez.
(And you begin to plan again)
Not having lost
All of yourself in the desert.

Illinois Maya Ministry Forum - "Immigration Stories"

2010-02-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Saturday, April 17,

Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Rockford, Illinois,

Registration: $35.00

Presenter, Rev. David Vásquez, Campus Pastor, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa,

Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Rockford, IL

Rev. Vásquez is presently the campus pastor at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. During this, his sabbatical year, he has been focusing on migration narratives--in the Bible and in people’s lives today--exploring how the immigrant experience mighthelp us better understand our sacred texts while engaging our faith communities in the contemporary conversation about immigration reform. Pastor Vásquez was pivotal in providing support and advocacy for the immigrant community in Postville and Decorah, Iowa, after the largest (to that date) Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in May 2008.

A play recounting the experience of the Guatemalan and Mexican workers of the May 12, 2008, raid in Postville, Iowa, will be presented that was originally acted out by people who were detained awaiting deportation. For more information and to see a brochure in pdf format, click here.

Send check to: Rev. Mike Mulberry; P.O. Box 927; Byron, IL 61010

Postville Witnesses Soon To Be Deported

2010-02-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

Illinois Maya Ministry wishes to express its grief and solidarity with those Postville witnesses that will soon be deported. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement/Department of Homeland Security has disregarded the State of Iowa's wish to keep all the witnesses in Iowa, and has ordered their deportation on or before March 31, 2010. With all that these people had suffered, the hope was that they might receive visas, dual citizenship or just more time to prepare for their departure. Illinois Maya Ministry will certainly try to keep you aware of any future actions or advocacy that might be done on their behalf.

UCC Immigrant Rights Sunday

2010-02-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

The first Sunday in May, May 2nd, has been designated Immigrant Rights Sunday within the UCC. Justice and Witness Ministries and Wider Church Ministries are urging congregations to lift up immigrants on this day: to learn about their concerns, honor their contributions to our country and communities, and listen to hear where God is leading us regarding issues of immigration. For worship resources, click here.

Beyond the Border: Chicago 2010

2010-02-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

Description: As a delegation solely in the interior of the United States, the trip forms part of our “Beyond the Border” series. Among the goals of the series is to work with local partners and groups around the U.S. who are interested in learning, serving, and worshipping alongside immigrants in these communities. Like traditional BorderLinks trips, the Chicago delegation will include educational visits with agencies working for immigration advocacy and policy reform, sharing and dialogue with immigrants living in Chicago, cultural activities and exchanges, and time for reflection, worship, and action planning. Delegation leadership will be shared between BorderLinks staff and local partners based in Chicago.

The February delegation is open to individuals or small groups, but space is limited. If your group of 13 people (high school age and up) would like to book the entire delegation, please contact the BorderLinks office as soon as possible.

Date: April 15-18, 2010. The trip begins and ends in the late afternoon.
For more information, please contact the BorderLinks office in Tucson at 520-628-8263 and ask for the Education Department, or send us an e-mail.

2009 Illinois Maya Ministry Annual Report and Appeal

2009-12-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of Illinois Maya Ministry,

Greetings in the name of the One who accompanies us all.

I’m just back from accompanying Mayan sisters and brothers in Chiapas where people struggle to make their voices heard. I was there for the annual board meeting of SiPaz, an international observation group dedicated to non-violent peacemaking. IMM has partnered with SiPaz from the beginning. While there, we visited a community that had suffered repression at the hands of a death squad known as “The Army of God”. A young man was killed and five others wounded simply for demonstrating against the building of highway that is to split their communal farmland down the middle and change their lives beyond knowing. For protesting, for demanding a place at the table where development decisions are made, a bright young person is dead. And no one has been held accountable. I was able to accompany this community for one day. SiPaz is there everyday.

Over the years IMM has come to value partnerships like the one we have with SiPaz. We have some deep and long-lived ones to be thankful for. And new ones that are emerging.

This past year we have joined with our partners in Guatemala (Guatemala Cultural Action - ACG) to support their projects to work with youth, sustainable agriculture, healing herbs, a short-wave radios, and building stoves so that open cook fires in the home become a thing of the past. We continue to support our Global Missions missionary, Gloria Vicente, who works with ACG.

In Chiapas we continue to support INESIN, the Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research, formerly known as the Ecumenical Bible School. They’re making progress on construction projects, building more classroom and meeting space. They’re programs bring together grassroots people from rural and urban areas to study and develop relationships across lines that all too often divide – ethnic, gender, and faith traditions. Perhaps you’d like to join a group of UCC pastors this summer who will participate in a 2- week study group sponsored by the Wisconsin Conference. Let us know.

These are our longstanding partnerships. We remain committed to supporting these ministries and programs. They continue to serve profound needs among the Mayan peoples of Chiapas and Guatemala.

And as I said before, there are new partnerships emerging. Two of our members just returned from accompanying the Honduran people in their struggle to defend their democracy after a military coup ousted democratically elected President Zaleya. Our partner group, Chicago Religious Leadership Network joined with other groups to sponsor this delegation. We traveled numerous times to Borderlinks and Centro Romero organizations on the Arizona/Mexican and California/Mexican border respectively. Both serve new immigrants and stand in solidarity with them, even as they offer immersion experiences to folks like us so we can appreciate the roots and struggles of migration and offer our support and solidarity to new immigrants who travel through Mexico and cross the border at great risk.

In Chicago, we’ve partnered with Borderlinks to develop a Borderlinks North immersion experience. This new program explores the challenges of life for new immigrants north of the border. We’ve also joined with the New Sanctuary Movement in accompanying those who are about to be deported, offering prayers and presence at a time when all the world seems to have abandoned them.

We’ve continued to develop our relationship with the faith communities of Postville & Decorah, Iowa. On May 12, 2008, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement conducted one of the largest raids in United States history in Postville, Iowa. 398 workers were arrested. Most were Guatemalan. The raid devastated the community. The faith communities in Postville and Decorah, Iowa responded with quick generosity. Those faith communities now have incredible stories to tell of the work they’re doing to meet needs, re-build their culturally diverse communities, and respond to the immigration crisis in our nation. IMM offers two and three day delegations as an opportunity to see God's hand at work in the people of Postville and Decorah and ask deep questions about how we might respond to the current immigration crisis locally. Contact IMM to arrange a delegation for a group from your church, cluster or association.

We’re proud of the work we’ve done this year to advocate for just foreign and trade policies toward Latin America and for comprehensive immigration reform. IMM members participated in Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, D.C. This week some of our members will travel to Fort Benning, Georgia to join thousands from around the US calling for the closure of the School of the Americas.

Partnerships, some spanning decades, others new and promising. We can do much together. Will you join with us to sustain our work? We depend entirely on gifts from individuals and congregations. Please give as generously as you are able.

Gratefully,

Rev. Denise Griebler

for Illinois Maya Ministry

To make a donation to Illinois Maya Ministries, please send a check payable to the "Illinois Conference UCC" to Illinois Maya Ministry; c/o Rev. Michelle Prentice-Leslie; 410 McHenry Avenue; Crystal Lake, IL 60014-7128.

Save the Date! April 16-17, 2010, Illinois Maya Ministry Forum

2009-12-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

This year Rev. David Vasquez, the Campus Pastor at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, will be sharing some of his experience from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid that happened in nearby Postville almost two years ago. Out of this experience, Rev. Vasquez has developed a Biblical critique of the national immigration crisis that helps all of us discern a faithful path. Rev. Vasquez is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and was born in Guatemala.

The Illinois Maya Ministry Forum will be held in the Rockford area. Please contact Rev. Mike Mulberry at 815-406-8063 to share your interest or ask questions. More information will be forthcoming at the beginning of 2010.

School of the Americas Watch Report 2009

2009-12-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

by Rev. Don Coleman

Thousands demonstrated again this year (Nov. 20-22, 2009) at the entrance into Fort Benning. It was an inspirational event with singing and dancing and speeches. People from Latin American countries told stories of family members being killed and villages razed to he ground by the military whose officers were trained at the U.S. military base located at Columbus, Georgia.

Healing was facilitated as people shared their tragic stories, found comfort and support and when all united in cries to close the Western Hemispheric Institute for National Security Cooperation. (WHINSEC) – formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA). Hundreds of thousand Latin Americans have been killed or disappeared by action of military personnel trained in the United States.

Four people courageously crossed the line entering into Fort Benning. They were immediately arrested: Nancy Gwin of Syracuse, NY; Ken Hayes of Austin, TX; Fr. Louis Vitale of Oakland, CA; and Michael Walli of Washington, DC. Michael is refusing to put up bail and will remain in custody at least until the trial in January 2010. Nancy, Ken and Louis posted bail and were released. They will all return to Columbus to be tried in Federal Court.. If history is repeated and they are found guilty they can expect a fine and imprisonment.

All of us can continue our support of these four committed folks by supporting the passage of HR 2567. This bill, authored by Rep. McGovern of Massachusetts, calls for suspending operations of WHINSEC until an investigation takes place. Illinois sponsors of HR 2567 include Jan Schakowski, Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Melissa Bean and Luis Guitierrez.

The crowd erupted with joy when informed that Fr. Roy Bourgeois and the School of the Americas Watch have been nominated by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) for the Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination is made “for our (SOAW) sustained faithful nonviolent witness against the disappearance, torture, and murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians by foreign military personnel trained by the U.S. military at taxpayers expense at the School of the Americas.”

La lucha sigue! The struggle continues!

Honduran Protest

2009-12-14T08:42:00.000-08:00

by Rev. Don Coleman

SOAW/Honduras

Approximately 75 people gathered in front of the Honduran Consulate in Chicago on Sunday, November 26. The group was protesting the rigged Honduran elections taking place that very day.

On June 28 a military coup d’etat took place in Honduras with the military arresting President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales. Leaders of the coup were trained at Fort Benning (Columbus, Georgia) by the School of the Americas (SOA).

U.S. human rights delegations to Honduras have verified systematic abuse of human rights since the coup. They saw evidence of raids, detention, physical abuse, and intimidation on the part of the Honduran state security agents.

The demonstration in Chicago was an act of solidarity with the people of Honduras. Rev. Dan Dale, pastor of Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, led the gathering in prayer and read aloud the names of the 25 martyrs killed since the coup. In typical SOAW style, as names were called out, people responded: PRESENTE. Martyrs sacrificed continue to be a living presence.

The photo to the right is of Hondurans in civil resistance surrounding the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa to greet President Zelaya, ousted by the coup. That morning, coup regime troops attacked them violently, sending 24 to the hospital.

Possible Itinerary for Postville/Decorah Delegation

2009-11-09T10:32:00.000-08:00

First Day
6:00 p.m. Introductions/Dinner as we watch movies

"Postville: When Cultures Collide" (Runtime 60 minutes)
"Guatemala: A Tale of Two Villages (Runtime 15 minutes)

8:00 p.m. Lectio Divina Leviticus 19:33-34 (read four times)

After first reading, some context
After second reading, reflect on a word or phrase that attracts you. Speak that word or phrase with no elaboration after silence for one or two minutes
After third reading, reflect on the question, "Where do you see God or Christ in this Scripture verse?" Share after two or three minutes of silence.
After fourth reading, reflect on the question, "What is God calling you to do or be today/this week through this Scripture verse?" Share after two or three minutes of silence.
Finish with prayer for the person on your right--that they may be able to fulfill what God is calling them to do or be today/this week through this Scripture verse.

8:30 p.m. Preparations for Tomorrow (Witness for Peace model)

Someone to introduce our group each time.
Someone to take photos.
Someone to record.
Someone to check that we have everyone.
Someone to offer a prayer at an appropriate time.
Someone to thank each person/group formally.
Someone to make sure we are staying according to schedule.
Someone to monitor the mood of the group.

9:00 p.m. Break for Evening

Second Day
Breakfast
Lectio Divina (see process above) Matthew 22:37-40
9:00 a.m. Meet with Father Paul and Paul Rael, St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church, Postville, Iowa
10:30 a.m. Meet with Postville Response Team or Postville community members
12:00 p.m. Eat Lunch with Rev. Gary Catterson, Presbyterian pastor in Postville
2:00 p.m. Drive to Decorah, Iowa
3:00 p.m. Meet with Project Jubilee Organizers
5:00 p.m. Meet with John Murphy, Congressperson Braley's Dubuque office, to talk about the status of Immigration Reform legislation in Washington, D. C.
6:00 p.m. Meal and discussion with nine Guatemalan men being held in detention while the Agriprocessors trial continues.
8:15 p.m. Lectio Divina Mark 4:30-32
8:45 p.m. Evening Break

Third Day
7:00 a.m. Breakfast
7:30 a.m. Lectio Divina Leviticus 19:33-34
9:00 a.m. Meeting with Davis Vasquez, Campus Minister at Luther College, Decorah
10:30 a.m. Reflection on next steps for your work in our nation's current immigration crisis.

In solidarity: Faith group visits Decorah to learn about local faith coalition's efforts on behalf of immigrant workers

2009-09-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Pastor David Vasquez

A framed poster leans against the wall outside room 201 at the First United Methodist Church (UMC) in Decorah: "Celebrate our differences, celebrate our similarities," it proclaims.

Contextually speaking, the sentiment is apt -- the people inside the room are listening to a presentation on Decorah UMC's Sister Parish linkage with Potrerillos, El Salvador.

"The idea is to go and be a part of another person's life," they are told.

This delegation of retired and semi-retired people from First Congregational United Church of Christ in Algonquin, Ill. visited Decorah last week. Hosted by the Decorah Area Faith Coalition, the group came here as part of a study trip to learn about immigration issues and reform.

Through the Sister Parish relationship, the visitors learn, participants "travel as peacemakers, opting for and identifying with the poor, being one with Christ and thus reflecting the quality gifts of a shared spirit: a deeper faith, a broader vision, a greater understanding of important issues, and new relationships... The goal is to foster mutual understanding and a commitment to peace and justice among people" (www.sisterparish.org).

The idea of embracing a common commitment, across cultures, to peace and justice, is not an unfamiliar one among the people gathered in room 201. One of them, Rev. Michael Mulberry, pastor of the United Church of Byron in Byron, Ill., has spent time in Chiapas, Mexico and in Guatemala -- where, he tells the others, whole communities are without wage earners and heads of household because they've gone to the United States, hoping to make enough money to support their families.

"These are the places where I feel God on my skin," Mulberry says.

Having heard and read about the May 12, 2008 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville, one of the visitors, John Novak, says he "couldn't believe anything like that could ever happen... Ever since, I've been interested in finding out how it happened and why it happened."

Another visitor, Dick Elke, concurs.

"Based on things I've read, and seeing things in the media, it just appeared that there's a lot of injustice going on in immigration today," he says. "[This trip] has been extremely educational, very informative - a real eye-opener... There's a bit of me that's very angry now. I'm looking for a place to help."

Indeed, the visitors all say that's a large part of the reason they came to Northeast Iowa -- to learn how they might help, from people who've been trying to do just that.

Prior to their arrival in Decorah, the group spent time in Dubuque and viewed the film, "POSTVILLE - a pre-raid documentary," and visited Postville -- meeting with Paul Rael of St. Bridget's Catholic Church and with Gary Patterson and the Postville Response Coalition.

Project Jubilee

Once in Decorah, in addition to learning about Sister Parish, the group met with Project Jubilee organizers.

Project Jubilee is a no-interest loan program set up in Decorah to allow nine men who are being detained as material witnesses in the cases against Agriprocessors Inc. resulting from the 2008 raid, to repay the crippling debts they owe loan sharks -- debts they incurred in order to come to the United States, seeking to support their families.

Leslie Sand and Dave and Brenda Carlson, all of Decorah, talked about Project Jubilee with the delegation from Illinois.

"We know they're going to be deported," Sand says, in reference to the nine men. "We wondered, 'How can we help them have something to go home to?'"

Sand described the conditions of the loan program and provided an update on repayment progress -- noting that one of the men owes a remaining balance of only $660 on his loan, and explaining that all the men continue to make payments on their loans.

Don Schmidt, a retired UCC pastor from Algonquin, says he was touched by the commitment of area residents who raised money and awareness with the loan project.

"I salute you folks; this is a wonderful thing you've done and are doing," he says. "With your enthusiasm, you're bound to affect other people."

But Dave Carlson says it's a two-way street.

"This community has given a lot," he says. "But [the nine guys] have given us more."

Faith coalition member, Decorah UMC's Rev. Carol Kress, agrees. "It's changed us as a community," she says about the experience of befriending the nine men. "We're different people, now."

Rev. David Vasquez

and immigration reform

Before heading home to Illinois, the group met with Pastor David Vasquez from Luther College, whose presentation brought socio-economic history and analysis into a dynamic conversation with scriptural texts and teachings.

"Today, we have the largest number of people on the move in the history of the world," Vasquez notes -- between and among countries, and within the U.S., itself.

At the same time, though, outdated and inappropriate U.S. immigration laws -- laws that have always been created, Vasquez says, "to reflect a particular interest on the part of the culture" and that were changed as different groups started coming into the country, over time -- have failed to keep in touch with economic reality.

At a time when a broader shift in the US finds people moving away from rural areas into cities, and when Iowa is facing a tendency to train people and send them off to other states (according to a study commissioned by the University of Iowa), Postville has demonstrated a reversal of those trends.

But, says Vasquez, complicated and out-of-touch immigration laws are disrupting and crippling communities like Postville, even as they are trying to find a way forward.

And we should not forget, says Vasquez, that immigration is nothing new.

"Every single character in the Bible is an immigrant," he says. "Something happens in the immigrant experience that exposes us to the Divine."

Furthermore, these encounters, involving the unfamiliar as they tend to do, can give rise to fear.

In the Bible, Vasquez says, "every time a human being has an encounter with the Divine, one phrase is repeated: 'Do not be afraid.'" In national political life, "the moment we begin to make our national decisions out of fear, we become really stupid."

The Church, says Vasquez, as the voice of the Divine in daily life, has to become involved in the movement for immigration reform. The consequences of not doing so, he says, are dire.

"We will lose our soul if we don't participate in this," he says. "Our children will know if we acted in a way consistent with our values and our faith, or if we were fakes."

Musings from Rev. Michelle Prentice-Leslie

2009-09-03T13:25:00.000-07:00

Good News from Guatemala

      What does justice served feel like? I've never been involved in a lawsuit, let alone one in which I was on the winning side, but some of you may have, so you may be able to respond to this question more adequately than I.
      Whatever justice feels like, I think I've experienced some of its feelings, however, this past week, with some surprising good news from Guatemala. As many of you know, I have been doing short term mission work in Guatemala since 1988, through the civil war (yes, with armed soldiers harassing us) and in years following it (yes, with armed soldiers harassing us). During the Civil War, almost one million indigenous Guatemalans (we call them “Mayans,” you know, the ones who built the pyramids of Central America) were murdered, disappeared (that's a verb in this case) or forced to flee the country. Guatemala is roughly the size of Tennessee, and had a population at that time of eleven million people. So, if that number of people lost would be transported to the United States, it would be equivalent to losing to violence about 28 million people.
      I have made friends with, supported and advocated for some of those indigenous Guatemalans who lost family members, and/or those who themselves were tortured and/or raped, suffering all manner of unspeakable brutality, but who survived. It's been thirteen years since the Peace Accords were officially signed. There have been numerous excavations of mass graves where massacres occurred and meticulous record keeping of the dead so ill-regarded by their own country. There have been numerous identifications of perpetrators by indigenous victims or family members of victims. There have been numerous stays, blocks, intimidations and murders of forensic scientists, attorneys, and judges who have tried to pursue justice for victims. This year, this month, is the first successful indictment, prosecution and sentencing of one military leader involved in any of the atrocities perpetrated by the Guatemalan government and its mercenaries, aided by our USA government (yes, the USA was involved; some of us knew it before the official evidence, then the Freedom of Information Act of 1996 revealed the evidence).
      Felipe Cusanero was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 150 years' imprisonment for the disappearances (i.e., murder) of six indigenous persons in the village of Choatalum in the Guatemalan state of Chimaltenango. The 150 years represents 25 years' penalty for each of his six victims (that we know of). (Another military man was convicted in 1999 of dozens of killings but none of those was termed 'disappearance,' which is an added layer of criminality.)
      I try to imagine what it must have been like to be sitting in that court room among victims and families of victims. I try to imagine what they must have thought and felt as they observed and heard legal proceedings, wondering, at any point, the trial would, again as in hundreds of times before, be halted or thwarted by the powers that be. I try to imagine what they must have thought and felt as they thought about the years Felipe Cusanero has been able to live all these years, as a criminal on the lam in broad daylight, while they endured the pain of grief over lost loved ones. I tried to imagine what they must have thought and felt when the verdict was delivered and the sentence pronounced.
      I realize I cannot. What I feel -- so many thousands of miles away, in an entirely different and much safer political context -- is much gratitude, relief, vindication. But I know it would take Jesus Himself to enable me to actually feel what they must have felt. It would take Jesus Himself for me to know true compassion, from the Latin com paseo, which means “to feel with.” Still, what I do feel is indescribable. All I know is that it feels very, very good.
            How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
            Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the
            lowly and the destitute. - Psalm 82:2-3

Algonquin UCC travels to Postville and Decorah, Iowa

2009-09-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

“I went on the trip to Postville and Decorah with my mind pretty much made up about the illegal immigrant. However after hearing about the immigration raid on the meat processing plant in Postville and seeing the awesome commitment of the folk in both places my mind and heart was changed. What an awesome experience!”
The above quote from one of the five participants in our trip to Postville and Decorah comes as a result of the wonderful job Mike Mulberry did in setting up the agenda for us and taking us to meet some very committed and exciting folk who have been involved in the drama of the raid and the aftermath.
Our decision to make this trip came as a result of a seven week study of the immigration issues during Lent of this year during which we looked at where we or our ancestors came from, the Bible as the Immigration handbook, DVDs on the subject, NAFTA, immigration laws over the past 100 years +, and what is happening now in immigration reform.
We were deeply moved by the way people and churches faced the challenge of the immigration raid on the Kosher meat processing plant in Postville late last year. Their efforts to help the women and children left behind and suffering from the harassment and their work with the nine witnesses from Guatemala who have been detained for five months and now await the trial and are deeply in debt. The emotional cooperation between the churches and with in the community was very inspiring.
We urge others to learn about these people and the undocumented workers and work for immigration reform just as we intend to do.

If you are interested in taking a two to three day delegation yourself, please contact Rev. Mike Mulberry, mmulberry@gmail.com or call him at 815-234-8777.

Join a BorderLinks Delegation to Chicago this Fall

2009-09-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

Learn Firsthand about the Realities of the Immigration Debate

We are excited to announce that registration is open for a unique immersion experience in Chicago. For three days this fall we will learn about the realities of the immigration debate from those who live them daily. The tentative agenda includes:
- Lodging at San Adalberto United Methodist Church, a congregation providing sanctuary to immigrants under deportation orders as an act of civil disobedience. Flor Crisostomo, currently in sanctuary there, will host us;
- Participation in a weekly prayer vigil with deportees headed to the airport for immediate deportation;
- A visit with day laborers and a nonprofit which supports justice for immigrant workers;
- A meeting with representatives from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE);
- Worship/Reflection opportunities, cultural events, and suggestions for how to take action for justice in the immigration system.

The delegation is sponsored by BorderLinks, an organization on the US/Mexico border which has been providing immersion experiences for over a decade. This delegation will inaugurate the "Beyond the Border" series: experiences with immigrants around the USA. Leadership of the delegation will be shared between BorderLinks staff and local partners in Chicago.

The November delegation is open to individuals or small groups, but space is limited. If your group of 13+ people (high school age and up) would like to book the entire delegation, please contact the BorderLinks office as soon as possible.

Dates: Thursday, November 12 through Sunday, November 15, 2009. The trip begins and ends in the late afternoon.

For more information, please contact the BorderLinks office in Tucson, AZ at 520-628-8263 and ask for the Education Department.

NEWSLETTER OF THE INSTITUTE FOR INTERCULTURAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH, Civil Association

2009-09-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

San Cristóbal de Las Casas February to May 2009

INTRODUCTION

Dear sisters and brothers, with the strength and warmth of the morning sun and the freshness of the afternoon rains, we send you heart to heart greetings from this beautiful town of San Cristóbal. We also want to share with you news of what has been going on during the last months in our work towards another possible world, one with greater justice and peace for each and everyone. We hope that you will enjoy it and we are, as always, grateful for your support on this path.

EDITORIAL

*Spring renovation*

Months go by, activities and changes too. In February of this year we had our General Assembly and also a course on John Calvin with a guest, Irena Backus. This was been our way of celebrating the anniversary of Calvin’s birth, recognizing the importance of this figure for many of our churches.

Then in March we received two foreign groups: first brothers and sisters from the Czech Republic, for a few days and a very nice time of exchange. Then a delegation of students came from the US to bring us support in the construction project. We also had the 4th session of the Course on Pastoral Accompaniment in cases of Domestic Violence (DAPVF).

April has been a time for receiving visits and working on our projects with our partners, the Mennonite Central Committee of Mexico and DMexchange and mission from Switzerland. From there, the whole month of May has been dedicated to activities of the Week of Prayer for Unity of Christians, with devotionals, sports, meetings and a beautiful, ecumenical closing ceremony.

In these months the time also came to say thankyou to our friends and colleagues Kirstin Soares, Maeva Arnold and Pascal Feller for al the work, time and commitment they dedicated to INESIN. It is not a goodbye because we know that we shall meet again and we wish them a path with many flowers and blessings.

ACTIVITIES REPORT:

*Strengthening Communities*

· Ecology workshops for secondary school students in Pablo L. Sidar, Chicomuselo,Pacayal and Zapotillo (February-May)

· Participation in a workshop on sewage water in Comitán (February)

· Birth Workshop in Trinitaria (February)

· Visits to the communities of Chamic and Pablo L. Sidar to present the results of the diagnostic on trash management (February)

· Participation in a forum on adequate energies in Oaxaca (March)

· Manure and compost workshop in Zinacantan (March)

· Presentation of the final report in the trash management diagnostic project (March)

· Visits to rural communities (Pacayal, Zapotillo, Pablo L. Sidar, Chamic, San Gregorio) to support the ecumenical groups of the community gardens project with workshops and socio-cultural presentations (February-May).

*Ecumenical Studies*

· Course on John Calvin at INESIN with Dr. Irena Backus (February)

· Preparation of the Week of Prayer for Unity of Christians 2009 (February-May)

· 1st session of the 2nd generation of the Ecumenical Course on Pastoral Reading of the Bible at INESIN –DLPB (April)

· Preparation, coordination y evaluation of 2 meetings of the Ecumenical Group of Reality Analysis in Chiapas –GEARC (February-May)

· Ecumenical Workshop on Biblical Hebrew for local translators – 3 sessions (February-May)

· Participation in the Peace School of SERAPAZ in Mexico City – 2 modules (March-May)

· Meeting with representatives of 3 catholic parishes for an introduction to ecumenism (April)

· Activities and celebrations of the Week of Prayer for Unity of Christians 2009 in San Cristóbal (May)

*Gender Studies*

· Support to the organization and coordination of the course on John Calvin with Dr. Irena Backus (February)

· Preparation, realization and evaluation of the 4th session of the Course on Pastoral Accompaniment in cases of Domestic Violence – DAPVF (February-March)

· Preparation and coordination of the 5th session of the same course - DAPVF (April-May).

*Mayan Indian Theology*

· 1st follow-up workshop with graduates of the Indian Theology Systematization Course - DISTI (March)

· Correction, printing and distribution of the official report of the 2008 Ecumenical Mayan Indian Theology Gathering (April)

· Participation in the meeting of the Ecumenical Coordination of Indian Mayan Theology in Yucatan (May).

*Capacity Building*

· Excavation work with the delegation to prepare the site for house building (March)

· Synthesis and presentation of annual reports to the Associates of INESIN’s Assembly (February)

· Reception of a group from Czech Republic (March)

· Reception and coordination of a student delegation from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA (March)

· Investigation and contacts to hire an architect for the building of the house. (February-May)

· Coordination and systematization of two institutional planning meetings (February-April)

· Realization and systematization of 4 INESIN work team coordination meetings (February-May)

· Renting of lodging and food services to six local groups and civil organizations (February-May)

*External Relations, Contact with partner organizations*

· Visit of Padre Henry Mc Laughlin (February)

· Work visit of Ricardo Torres from the Mennonite Central Committee of Mexico (April)

· Work visit (evaluation and planning) of Nancy Carrasco from DM- exchange and mission, Switzerland (April)

· Edition and distribution of INESIN’s seventh Newsletter in 3 languages (February-March).

BRIEFLY

Words of evaluation from students of Madison’s Universityof Wisconsin, after spending a week at INESIN:

· My heart is full, filled with people I had never known before. It is broken by many wounds, it will cure trough my actions with others for change. It has hope for the good that so many people are doing…

· What I’m taking into my heart after spending some unforgettable days with INESIN’s people is hope and passion to change. In order to continue fighting. To continue looking for remedies. To look for peace at any time. Not to forget to pray and find God even at the moments when one feels lost. My heart is filled with humility, laughs, good memories and friendships, and above all with Love. Thank you!

Chiapas Global Justice Trip - June 14-24, 2010 United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

2009-09-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Faculty Trip Leader: Chris Smith

Assistant Leader: Don Christensen

In Country Trip Leader – Teresa Ortiz – Mexican educator from the Twin Cities who lived and worked in Chiapas

Estimated Price: 20 participants - $1750 15 participants - $1875

Airfare and trip expenses included, this price does not include course tuition.

Description: Until the Spanish conquest over 500 years ago, the country we know as Mexico today was the land of indigenous people. This began a long history of slavery, oppression, and genocide that still continues throughout Mexico. This trip will focus on the southern most state of the country, Chiapas. While there we will experience the pervasive strength of Mayan indigenous culture and spirituality. We will meet individuals and communities working for change and liberation there: 1. The ongoing struggle for autonomy and liberation of the Zapatistas, 2. The active non-violence strategies of Las Abejas, and 3. The liberation theology influence of Bishop Samuel Ruiz who served the Diocese of San Cristobal for over thirty years. During our time in Chiapas we will visit co-operatives, ecological projects, religious communities, worship in Acteal with Las Abejas, and spend time with some of the Zapatista leaders.

Deadline For Initial Refundable Deposit: September 15, 2009

This trip is open to UTS students first, and then we always welcome guests. If you have further questions please call Chris Smith at 651-255-6128 or e-mail her at csmith@unitedseminary.edu

Name ______________________ E – Mail ________________________

Telephone ___________________ Address ________________________________

For guests, will you please send your $200 deposit made out to United Theological Seminary, and the simple form above into Adam Pfuhl, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, 3000 Fifth Street Northwest, New Brighton, MN 55112

Guests:

At some point in the process you will need to pay a $225 audit fee
If you are not an alum of the seminary, and you have not enrolled

as a non degree student before this trip, you will need to fill out

a non degree student application form at some point as well

3. If you are a clergy person you will have the opportunity to take the

course for professional continuing education

You do not need to take care of anything right now except the initial deposit and turning in the basic information above to Adam Pfuhl.

New! Youth and Adult Service Trips To Immigrant Communities in Chicago

2009-06-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Serve
…your immigrant neighbors according to their needs and your skills. Projects can include painting and yardwork, children’s activities, pastoral care, legal assistance, and others.

Connect
…with strangers, with your neighbors, with God. Make friendships across boundaries of language, ethnicity, and birthplace. Be ready for transformation!

Learn
…about immigrant realities from those who live them daily. Educational opportunities include immersion experiences in diverse neighborhoods, dialogue with immigrants and policy experts, and recommended reading materials.

Our standard mission trip is 2-3 days, usually on a weekend. Your group will be hosted by a congregation or neighborhood center in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs. Lodging, translation, orientation and logistical support are provided.

Fees are very affordable and go to support the immigrant groups you are serving.

The project is sponsored by a network of faith and community leaders in immigrant neighborhoods. The program coordinator, Sara Wohlleb, is a candidate for ordination in the UCC. She has 17 years of experience serving immigrant communities in various settings.

For more information, contact Sara Wohlleb, Program Coordinator, at 773-456-1641.

Join the Broadview Detention Center Friday morning vigils

2009-06-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

There are no illegal people, we are sisters, sons and wives.
There are no illegal people, all are precious in God’s sight.
- song by Dave Martin, sung between each prayer offered

The expected flagpole stands before the entrance of the Broadview Detention. A frayed American flag stuck at ¾ mast, is tangled among too-close tree branches. A poignant image that, for an immigration policy mired and frayed by fear, resentment and racism. The current economic crisis adds more anxiety to the mix. We need comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform, and soon. This broken system is tearing us up.

It’s also tearing the lives of immigrants and their families.

Out of solidarity, in the early morning June 12th, I joined about 40 others in the weekly ecumenical and interfaith vigil at the Broadview Detention Center located just west of Chicago, in Broadview, Illinois. Led by Sr. Joann Persch & Sr. Pat Murphy, the Sisters of Mercy have been doing this every Friday morning for the past 3 years. There were Roman Catholics – sisters, brothers, deacons, priests, diocesan staff, lay people – Jewish friends – a rabbi and a lay person, a Mennonite lay person, and members of the United Church of Christ, both clergy and lay, along with family members of immigrants being deported that day. There have been Hindu and Islamic clergy and lay persons who have participated.

The weekly vigils are simple and profound. The focus is around praying the rosary. Which may not sound very ecumenical or interfaith, but there’s power and truth in the fact that the vast majority of detainees themselves find this prayer to be a deep comfort. In that sense it is an act of solidarity for us to join them in their prayers even as we offer other prayers for the detainees, their families and for all who are working on behalf of compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimates 322,000 people passed through its custody in FY 2007, and 277,000 were deported. The numbers continue to grow. At any given time there are about 33,000 immigrants detained in various detention facilities throughout the US, held in a wide variety of facilities ranging from county jails, state and federal prisons and for-profit privately owned immigrant detention centers. County, state and federal prisons receive federal funds for housing immigration detainees. It’s big business.

The Broadview Detention Center is operated by the Chicago ICE office, which oversees all detainees in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky. All immigrants detained in any of these states are brought to Broadview for final processing and deportation. According to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Rights, there are consistently about 1,000 people in custody under the supervision of the Chicago ICE office at all times; and 11,000 people have been deported through Broadview in the past year. Deportations take place from this location on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

On June 12th, approximately 70 people were deported from the Broadview Detention Center. As our prayer vigil drew to a close, the razor-wired gate slid open and a converted school bus and two large vans, each filled with immigrants pulled out onto the street. Religious leaders were invited to step onto the busses to offer prayers and words of encouragement to the immigrants. There is a surreal quality to all of this. For the past year, the Sisters of Mercy have been leading an effort to convince ICE and the State of Illinois to allow pastoral care for the detainees. It’s been just five weeks since ICE has allowed a pastoral presence on the busses. This can hardly be called pastoral care, but at least it’s something. We were on each of the busses for just a couple of minutes – enough time to greet the people, pray the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary (which ends “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death”) and offer some words of solidarity and encouragement. Then they were off to O’Hare International Airport and Juarez, Mexico.

Here’s the surreal part. The busses were filled mainly with young men – some no more than teens – a few elders and a handful of women. Most are people who, until they were arrested and detained for immigration violations, had been working and caring for their families, maybe going to school. Now they were being treated like dangerous criminals. They were being transported on busses that had literally been turned into cages – bars on the windows and across the doors, bars and thick Plexiglas dividing the detainees from the driver and guards – as if they posed a serious security threat. Each person was handcuffed at the wrist and shackled at the ankles, and all were tied to one another at the waist. I had heard that this is how the people in detention were routinely treated. Still, I was not prepared for seeing with my own eyes. Nor for the gratitude reflected in theirs for our presence, prayers and solidarity, offered through bars and bullet-proof plastic.

We should be clear here. An immigration violation is a civil offense. Yet people are being treated as if they are dangerous criminals. It's street theater par excellence, directed and produced by ICE. The whole thing is meant to instill shame in the detainees and casts them as criminals before the guards and the US public. Our silence makes us complicit and casts us in roles that support a broken immigration system and betray our immigrant brothers and sisters. It’s shameful street theater, meant to get under our skin. Shaken, I was grateful the words of Dave Martin’s song were still ringing in my heart and mind: There are no illegal people, we are sisters, sons and wives. There are no illegal people, all are precious in God’s sight.

Come and join us at one of the Friday morning vigils. Come in prayer to be present and to be a presence. I’ll be there on the 2nd Friday of each month and members of Wellington Ave. UCC are always there on the 1st Friday. And the Sisters and many other friends are there every week. You’ll be welcomed whenever you go.

For more information, contact
Rev. Denise Griebler,
Pastor of St. Michael’s United Church of Christ
630/231-0687 (church office)
630/297-1740 (cell)
dgriebler@sbcglobal.net

Directions to the Broadview Detention Center:
The weekly Friday vigil begins at 7:15 am and lasts about 45 minutes. Religious leaders are invited to remain and offer greeting and prayers on the busses as they depart, as co-ordinated by the Sisters of Mercy.

The Broadview Center is is located at 1930 Beach St, Broadview, IL 60153.

From Chicago drive I-290 W to South 25th Ave exit, 18A, turn right at Lexington St., Turn Left on Beach Street.

From the West, I-290 East. Exit South 25th Ave. Turn Left at the ramp stop sign onto the frontage road. The frontage road bends right and becomes Beach Street.

Threatened by Resurrection

2009-06-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

One: During the 1980s, refugees fleeing the terror created in their own countries by United States foreign and trade policies, came across both the Mexican border and the United States border seeking sanctuary. Guatemalan poet, Julia Esquivel, recognizing the terror, torture, and death in her own country, wrote a poem conveying her faith in a God who brings resurrection over and against terror, torture, and death.

Two: That poem remembered the sacred story of John the Baptist who threatened King Herod with his resurrection, the sacred story of Jesus of Nazareth who threatened Caesar and his Empire with his resurrection, the sacred story of Oscar Romero who threatened the rulers of his age with his resurrection, and the Guatemalan people who threatened the rulers of their age with their resurrection.

One: Resurrection reminds the powers and principalities that though they may have terrorized, tortured, and killed the prophets, God is still at work, still speaking, living while dying.

Two: The following litany is an adaptation of Julia Esquivel’s poem, “Threatened with Resurrection” recognizing that United States foreign and trade policies have again created a crisis leading to people leaving home to cross an ever-more dangerous border.

It isn't the noise from the gangs in the streets
that keeps us from resting, my friend,
nor is it the crying of the children in Postville,
their fathers detained in some obscure prison,
nor is it the tumult of those who pass by
in a hurry on their way to the border.

There is something here within us
Which doesn't let us sleep, which doesn't let us rest,
Which doesn't stop pounding deep inside,
It is the silent, warm weeping of Indian women without their husbands,
It is the sad gaze of the children
Fixed there beyond memory,
In the very pupil of our eyes
Which during sleep, though closed, keep watch
With each contraction of the heart
In every wakening...

What keeps us from sleeping
Is that they have threatened us with resurrection!

Because at each nightfall,
Though exhausted from the endless inventory
Of people who have lost their livelihood because of NAFTA,

Of people who have lost their lives in the Sonoran desert,

Of people who have lost their lives locked in a truck trailer in Texas,

Of people separated from their families in a place with unfamiliar terrain, climate, and food,

Of people terrorized by the Mexican or United States police,

Of people in fear of another ICE raid in Laurel, Mississippi, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Postville, Iowa, or Bellingham, Washington,

Of people detained in a who-knows-where U.S. prison.

Yet we continue to love life,
And do not accept their death!

Because we have felt their inert bodies
and their souls penetrated ours doubly fortified.
Because in this marathon of Hope,
there are always others to relieve us
in bearing the courage necessary
to arrive at the goal which lies beyond death.

They have threatened us with Resurrection!

Because they are more alive than ever before,
Because they transform our agonies,
And fertilize our struggle,
Because they pick us up when we fall,
and gird us like giants
before the fear of those demented drug cartels.

They have threatened us with Resurrection

because they do not know life (poor things!)

This is the whirlwind which does not let us sleep
the reason why asleep, we keep watch,
and awake, we dream.

No, it's not the gunfire from the gangs in the street,
nor the shouts from the drug cartels along the border,
nor the headlines about leprosy and swine flu.
It is the internal cyclone of a kaleidoscopic struggle
which will heal the wound of the widow, the orphan, and the migrant
forced off a Mexican farm, fallen in the Sonoran desert, forgotten in a U.S. prison.
It is the earthquake soon to come that will shake the world
and put everything in its place . . .

Accompany us then on this vigil
And you will know what it is to dream!
You will then know how marvelous it is
To live threatened with resurrection!
To dream awake,
To keep watch asleep
To live while dying
And to already know oneself resurrected!

Gloria Vicente at the Illinois Conference Meeting

2009-06-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

by Rev. Michael Swartz

At the Illinois Conference Meeting at Springfield, Illinois, Gloria Vicente was the speaker at the Illinois Maya Ministries luncheon that took place on Saturday, June 6, in the Convention Center. Gloria, along with her husband, Santos, and their baby, Nicolas, were present with about twenty conference members, and we all had lunch together.

Gloria, as the speaker, shared some of her own journey with us. There is something remarkably engaging when persons give witness to their own experience. There is power when we construct the narrative of our life. Gloria began by talking about the experience of her family.

The village where she lived was totally destroyed by the military. It was quite near the village of the Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, and Gloria’s father knew Vicente Menchu, Rigoberta’s father. Gloria’s father met with Vicente Menchu the night before he was killed in the 1980 burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City. The Campasino Unity Group had entered the Spanish Embassy and the Guatemalan police burned down the building on January 31, 1980, killing 36 persons, including the Spanish Ambassador. This was a defining event in the Guatemalan Civil War, and in Gloria’s life.

Gloria’s family fled to Mexico, and later to Texas. In Texas they were sheltered by a Presbyterian Church, and later they came to Chicago and were offered sanctuary by the University Church in Hyde Park. This was all part of the Sanctuary movement, and she came to Chicago in 1985, when she was ten years old.

Gloria remembers interpreting into English for her father as he spoke to groups in the Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance and in the Chicago Religious Leadership Network.

Later, accompanied by a delegation of Disciples and members of the United Church of Christ, she travelled with her father and saw for the first time the village of Sac Ja in Guatemala. She saw the place where he grandparents were killed. She saw their names listed among those killed on the pillars in front of the National Cathedral in Guatemala City. She walked the land that they had worked as campasino farmers. This was a profound experience for Gloria, having grown up in the United States. This required quite a lot of emotional processing.

“As I learned to process the pain it made me want to go (back to the homeland of my ancestors) and serve as a missionary,” says Gloria. “I feel called to serve and to be a bridge builder.” Gloria is aware that on the one hand she has a lot in common with the people in Guatemala, and on the other hand her differences are significant as well – growing up in Chicago. “I want to return and accompany others as we were accompanied in our time of need.”

Gloria is now assigned by Global Ministries – a joint ministry of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), http://www.globalministries.org/, and she is working in Santa Cruz, in the highlands of Guatemala with ACG – Guatemalan Cultural Action. This is in the K’iche’ region and Gloria is impressed with her co-workers.

Gloria has been living and learning in Guatemala. She was married to Santos Par, whom she met in Guatemala. Her husband is K’iche’, and she has been learning the language. Her husband is from Huehuetenango. Among her responsibilities with ACG is to receive international delegations. She said she hoped to see some of us who were at the luncheon in Guatemala!

She and Santos are in the United States right now. Her son, Nicolas was born in the US. He will soon have a surgery and then they will be able to return to Guatemala.

In the last few years Gloria has become ever more aware that her life has purpose. The very unusual experiences she has had, being born of Mayan people in Guatemala, travelling through Mexico to arrive in Chicago. Having been sheltered by the church and given sanctuary, then to return as a missionary and bridge-builder to Guatemala – give her an ability understand and to act in this moment.

Gloria’s talk was an inspiration to us all.

Guatemalan Cultural Action (ACG), Healthy Stove Project

2009-06-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

On May 2002 a group of doctors from the United States spent one week making house visits in ACG's communities. A total of 250 community members were examined. At week's end, the doctors informed ACG that their findings included eye infections, respiratory problems, constant headaches, burns, chronic fatigue, etcetera. Such findings were the result of smoke inside the families' homes on a daily basis, created by floor or raised cooking fires without chimneys. While men tended to the agricultural sphere of labor outdoors, it was apparent that women, girls, and small children were the most effected. ACG evaluated the doctors' findings and were determined to begin a healthy stove initiative.

ACG also found that the new stoves burn a third less firewood. So there is a reduction in the amount of trees cut needed to burn for fires in the home. Ecologists have determined that a group of 500 people need a total of one square kilometer of forest in order to meet their annual usage of firewood. The average annual consumption of firewood for one family is between 600-900 kilograms. A healthy stove reduces this amount by two thirds. (The Sphere Project, Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, Oxfam, p. 208)

Here's what you can do! Help ACG build stoves for over 1500 families still on a waiting list. Support the work of Illinois Maya Ministries. Make a difference today on your own, with your family, with your church, and help a family breathe easier. You can do this by: Making a special gift of $300 to cover the cost of a healthy stove. Write a check to the Illinois Conference UCC with an important memo indicating: Illinois Maya Ministry, Healthy Stoves.

Please send to: Illinois Maya Ministry; Illinois Conference UCC; 1840 Westchester Blvd, #200; Westchester, IL 60154.

Illinois Conference Meeting Workshops

2009-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Friday Workshop: Immigration and the Midwest: The Destruction of a Small Town
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid of a rural Iowa community has brought two Iowa communities to the breaking point. Learn more about the Illinois Maya Ministry delegation to those communities, the local United Church of Christ response, and how you can protect your community. Illinois Maya Ministy is working to develop a more humane immigration policy. Browse educational materials available to educate your congregation. Begin discussion with Illinois Maya Ministry about how your congregation might become part of a future delegation.

Friday Workshop: Gloria Vicente: Global Ministry Missionary and Illinois Conference Member
Gloria Vicente will be returning to Guatemala soon to continue her work as a Global Ministry Missionary in partnership with Guatemalan Cultural Action. Her workshop will focus on the programs & mission of ACG, including information and stories and pictures of the microcredit program, scholarships, and “healthy stove” project.

Legislation to Close the School of the Americas

2009-06-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

From the School of the Americas Watch Website:

HR 2567 Campaign

Representative Jim McGovern and 42 other members of the House of Representatives have reintroduced the Latin America Military Training Review Act. This legislation would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC, investigate torture manuals and human rights abuses associated with the school, and conduct an assessment of military training in Latin America.

Has your House Rep cosponsored HR 2567? Check out the list of cosponsors at the bottom of this page. If not, take action and be a part of the legislative campaign to close the SOA/ WHINSEC!

First step: Click here to email and fax an automatic letter to your House Representative and ask them to cosponsor HR 2567!

Here are some resources to help you with your work:

Check out the list of HR 1707 cosponsors from 2007-2008 to see who still needs to sign up

Use this sample letter as a guide to write to your Member of Congress

Tale a look at other sample resources in the sample materials section

Check out our sample phone script and make a quick phone call to Congress! You can contact the DC office of your Representative by calling the Capitol Hill Switchboard toll free at 1-800-473-6711, (or 202-224-3121). Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant and here is a suggested message for you to convey:

"As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to be a cosponsor of the Latin America Military Training Review Act, also known as HR 2567. This legislation would suspend operations at the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, and investigate the history of human rights abuses and failed policies of the institution.

New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school.

I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office and ask that your boss be added as a cosponsor of this legislation. I hope you will represent my views and support this bill."

Other important Links:

Legislative 101 Flyer

Roll Call results for the May 2008 Defense Authorization Amendment

"Names" Amendment Information

Roll Call results for the June 2007 Foreign Ops Amendment

Learning about your Representative

An important part of a successful meeting with your Member of Congress on the SOA/ WHINSEC issue in the 111th Congress is doing your homework. Here are some key places to get the information you need to know the history and background of your legislator and their support (or oppositon) to the issue:

Check out the list of cosponsors for HR 2567. These Members of Congress support a suspension of operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC, an investigation of the school, and an assessment of U.S. foreign military training

List of the new members in the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress

Vote results for the June 2007 Foreign Ops Amendment to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC

House of Representatives homepage

Senate homepage

Congress.org, a comprehensive source of information about Congress

For more information on the detailed history of SOA Watch's meetings with your Representative and their voting history since their election to Congress, contact the DC office.

Tips and Resources on Setting up a Meeting

SOA Watch has pulled together tips on setting up a meeting with your Member of Congress that will help you with all of the ins and outs of a successful meeting with your legislators.

Cosponsors of HR 2567 (as of 5/25/09 - date of last cosponsor) 42 + McGovern

Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2]

Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1]

Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1]

Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1]

Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8]

Rep Carson, Andre [IN-7]

Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1]

Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14]

Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7]

Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3]

Rep Driehaus, Steve [OH]

Rep Ellsworth, Brad [IN]

Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17]

Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2]

Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4]

Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]

Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4]

Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-27]

Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22]

Rep Hodes, Paul [NH]

Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12]

Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3]

Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10]

Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]

Rep Lewis, John [GA-5]

Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9]

Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14]

Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7]

Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4]

Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7]

Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4]

Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8]

Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19]

Rep Price, David E. [NC-4]

Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9]

Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9]

Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16]

Rep Tonko, Paul [NY]

Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30]

Rep Welch, Peter [VT]

Rep Wu, David [OR-1]

Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3]

Martha Pierce's Work in Guatemala

2009-04-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

First, this community was different from the one that I visit every year in several ways. For one thing, it’s much smaller; although it’s kind of divided into two sections (one higher up the mountain than the other) the group I was with has a stronger relationship with the smaller/higher section because most of the people there are related to one family, the Vicentes, who came to Chicago through the sanctuary movement in the 1980’s and still live there and participate in the activities of their host church (University Church UCC) and also of the Sanctuary Alliance. The father of this family, Virgilio, is a wise elder, and accompanied us on the trip, which for him was a visit to his brother and numerous other family members. It wasn’t his first trip back; he and other members of the group had been there 5 or 6 times before. This village was one of the 660 or so that were completely destroyed by the Guatemalan army in the 1980’s; Virgilio’s parents, grandparents, and about 30 other relatives were massacred at that time, along with the rest of the people in the village. Those who were able to flee survived by hiding in the mountains, fleeing from army bombardments and patrols, for several years; others fled into refugee camps in Mexico or to other parts of Guatemala; Virgilio and his family went to the U.S. So the folk from University Church are helping them to rebuild their village, by providing support for a water system, helping to build the school, and giving scholarships to students who want to study beyond 9th grade (they have to leave the community and live in the nearest large town for this). Most of the people now have houses made of wood, with laminated tin roofs, instead of just sticks and plastic as when they began, but there’s still no electricity in the village and of course no indoor plumbing. It’s not really a village in the sense of having streets and stores and stuff like that; the 10 or 12 houses are scattered around on the hills, each with its own small fields (or “milpa”), and there is one small community building, which is where we spent most of our time. The women of the village cooked meals for us there, and we all ate together; some of our group slept in tents which they had brought. It gets quite cold at night there, and the stars are unbelievably brilliant, and roosters don’t crow only at dawn. All of the people speak the language K’iche, and most also speak Spanish; our meetings involved lots of translations from one language to another to another, and back again (Spanish-English was my department), and I’m sorry to say I didn’t learn any K’iche words except “maltiox” which means “thank you.” In addition to arts & crafts projects to do with the kids, and a couple of soccer balls, and some yarn for the women who wanted to learn to knit, the group brought a small solar-powered camping lantern for each family, which thrilled the women a great deal. These will enable them to see their way home in the dark at night, and provide more light for their cooking; they’ll also mean the people don’t have to spend so much money on candles, and perhaps help avoid burning the children or houses with the candles. For many people of this group it was a great reunion to see their village friends again, and we were greeted with hugs and smiles, and everybody on both sides cried when we left.

Before we went up to the village we spent a couple of days in Guatemala City, where we had meetings with various people and organizations who work on human rights and social justice issues. One of these was the Forensic Anthropology Foundation, which carries out exhumations of clandestine burial grounds left from the internal conflict. They carefully exhume the bodies, examine them and document the evidence of how they died, etc. and then return the remains to the families for a proper burial. The point of this is both to provide dignity to the victims, and also to develop the proof needed to prosecute those who are responsible. Needless to say, this is dangerous work, and the people who do it are constantly threatened. We saw a video about their work, and then went to see the actual lab: 6 or 8 tables with skeletons, or partial skeletons, laid out on them, with lab workers carefully documenting every detail. It was quite moving to see the tiny bones of a 2-year-old child, and the skull of an old woman with only 1 tooth left in her jaw. Before we went I was concerned that our friend Virgilio might be disturbed by this experience, since his own parents were killed and buried somewhere on the mountainside, but he was very interested and even asked for a copy of the video. He brought it to the village – Saqa Ja is its name – and one afternoon while we were there we all gathered, men, women, children, visitors and villagers, at Virgilio’s brother Guadalupe’s house, where they have a solar panel that powers a tv with a video player, and we watched the video together. Most of the people and all of the visitors wept during the movie, and afterwards many of them spoke quite movingly about their own experiences. Most of that was in K’iche, but it wasn’t hard to get the point of their stories, especially as occasionally there would be a word in Spanish: “army” or “helicopter” or “massacre” or “suffering.” The next day they decided to have a Mayan ceremony to remember their murdered family members. Everyone gathered in a circle, sitting on the grass, and the spiritual leader created a traditional Mayan ceremonial altar in the middle. This is a circle marked out by flower petals and pine needles, with flowers and candles of different colors at the 4 cardinal points, and two candles in the middle – blue and green to symbolize earth and sky. Various kinds of incense, spices, sugar, chocolate, and seeds are sprinkled around in a mound, and more candles are placed on the mound, and the whole thing is set on fire while the priest waves incense over it and prays. Various people gave him lists of names of their loved ones who had been killed, and as he chanted and prayed for each one, three women kneeling upright by the edge of the circle sang/told the story of each person, while holding offerings of bread in their hands. After this ceremony, which went on for quite a while, they also had a celebration for the 10th anniversary of partnership with our group. They had made a welcome poster, and another poster with photos from previous years (including one that was taken several years ago when our Chicago group brought a man from the community, German, to the U.S. for a speaking tour – he stayed here at our house, and I took him and his traveling partner, Mateo, to the top of the John Hancock Building, and we had a souvenir picture taken!) Then we all shared a corn drink, and Virgilio gave candy to all the kids, and it was quite festive.

What else? Lots more, of course. Yes, the hike was difficult – rocky, steep, and narrow – but with spectacular views at every turn; I was grateful for the people and mules who helped to carry my packs. The village is quite hard to get to, but they are all very excited that the local government has promised that this time, for sure, they will build a road to them. We’ll see. It could be a mixed blessing in some ways, but they would like to be able to get their crops to market more easily, and also to bring materials to the village.

What work did we do there? Just the work of accompaniment, I guess. It is such an honor and a privilege to be with people like that – to “encounter God at the margins,” as one woman puts it, and to find that “slowly our centers of gravity move outside of ourselves and we find ourselves suddenly dancing with friends in unknown places and with great joy.” Yes, we did dance!

INESIN Newsletter (continued)

2009-04-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

INESIN ACTVITIES REPORT

Strengthening Communities

Visits to rural communities (Pacayal, Zapotillo, Pablo L. Sidar, Chamic, San Gregorio) to support the ecumenical groups of the community gardens project with workshops and socio-cultural presentations (October-January)
Pregnancy and Birth Workshop in Marqués de Comillas (November)
Introduction of the new volunteer in the secondary schools of Pacayal and Zapotillo (November-December)
Preparation and realization of the 1st Inter-Community Meeting in Comalapa (November)
Visits to the communities of Chamic and Pablo L. Sidar to realize a diagnostic on trash management October-November)
Participation in a course on organic gardening and food security in Veracruz (December)
Systematization of the trash management diagnostic results, workshops planning (December-January)

Ecumenical Studies

“Positive Transformation of Conflict” Workshop with CORECO in Tuxtla (October)
Celebration of the Week of Prayer for the Unity of all Christians - 100 years - in Tuxtla and San Fernando (October) Presentation of the exposition on ecumenism at the Annual Meeting of Peace Builders in Comitán (November)
3rd session of the Ecumenical Course on Pastoral Reading of the Bible at INESIN (November)
4th session of the Ecumenical Course on Pastoral Reading of the Bible at INESIN and graduation of its first generation (January)
Ecumenical Workshop on Biblical Hebrew for local translators (December)

Gender Studies

Preparation and realization of the 3rd session of the Course on Pastoral Accompaniment in cases of Domestic Violence / DAPVF (October)
Participation in the catechists meeting in the parish of Huixtán (October)
Evaluation of the 3rd session and preparation of the DAPVF’s 4th session (October-January)
Information and awareness rising on INESIN’s work with family violence prevention to groups and parishes in Switzerland (October-December).

Mayan Indian Theology

Participation in the International Congress of Liberation Psychology in San Cristóbal (November)
Work meetings with the Ecumenical Coordination of Indian Mayan Theology – preparation of the Annual meeting in Sibah’a (October-November)
Follow-up meeting for the tsostil participants of the Spirituality Course / DIACHE (January)
Participation of the 17th Ecumenical Mayan Indian Theology Meeting in Sibah’a (November)
Participation in the catechists course on “Family” in the parish of Zinacantán (January)

Institutional Strengthening

Preparation, realization and systematization of INESIN’s annual evaluation session (October)
Reception and coordination of a delegation for Women from Mennonite Central Committee (Oct)
Realization and systematization of three work team coordination meetings (October-January)
Renting of lodging and food services to five local groups and civil organizations (October-January)
Reception and accompaniment of a group of Lutheran seminary students from the USA (Nov)
Coordination and systematization of two institutional planning meetings (December-January)
Construction of the second lateral wall around the property (December)
Roof repair on INESIN’s offices (December-January)

External Relations, Contact with partner organizations

Visits of Ricardo Torres y Marion Meyer from the Mennonite Central Committee of Mexico (October-December)
Presentation of INESIN and its projects to parishes in Switzerland (November-December)
Edition and distribution of INESIN’s sixth Newsletter in 3 languages (November-December)
Diffusion of Season’s Greetings to all INESIN’s partner organizations in 3 languages (December)
Participation in the Mennonite Central Committee Mesoamerican Retreat in Nicaragua (January)

BRIEFLY

Testimony of participants about the work on gender in separated

groups during the DAPVF 3rd session:

“As women, we value the bravery of the men. We had never seen men as wounded; we always saw them as strong. The image of a vulnerable man invites us to rebuild ourselves together. We want to search for ways to open our hearts and sincerely share between both women and men.”

“As men we see that there is a great deal of interest in the women for the things to go well between men and women. This is also needed for the men. It is important for us to oppose to what society and the church say about the roles of women and men.”

Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research Newsletter

2009-03-31T08:12:00.000-07:00

October 2008 to December 2008

INTRODUCTION
Happy New Year dear friends! From INESIN and its entire staff, we are pleased to send you many greetings and wish you all the best for the beginning of 2009. We are returning with energy and faith to our activities and are anxious to start new ones. During the next months we hope to live new challenges, and many more moments of sharing and learning. Meanwhile we would like to share with you about our activities during the last weeks of 2008. We are, as always, very grateful for your support in our work.

EDITORIAL
"Closing circles"
Months and years pass by but it is only when we
stop and look behind that we can see the route
we’ve been walking on and all the achievements
we’ve obtained. That is exactly what we had the
chance to do as the staff of INESIN with our annual
evaluation session at the end of October 2008. This
exercise also allowed us to start planning the
coming new year with a clearer mind.

But before this, at the beginning of October, we
welcomed a new colleague, Blaise Obrist, civil
service volunteer from DM-exchange and mission
(Switzerland). He’ll help us with awareness building
workshops on the environment with secondary
school students in the Sierra region. We’re glad to
welcome him and wish him a nice time with us.
In October and November we celebrated 2 sessions
of our training courses (Pastoral Accompaniment in
cases of Domestic Violence and Pastoral Reading
of the Bible), which are important meetings and
were attended by many people in a very successful
way.

November was also a month for making contacts
and public relations with the participation of our
team in meetings like the International Congress of
Liberation Psychology in San Cristóbal, the Annual
Meeting of Peace Builders in Comitán and the
Ecumenical Mayan Indian Theology Meeting in
Sibah’a (Ocosingo).

Finally in December we closed the year with a very
nice picnic with the whole team.

CENTRO ROMERO BORDER – CROSSING EXPERIENCE

2009-03-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sponsored by Illinois Maya Ministry of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ

Friday, October 16 - Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday, October 16: Arrive at the Romero Center. Settle at hotel and meet at the center for evening dinner. Leave for home after lunch on Friday, October 23. (Book return flights for 2:30pm or later).

Centro Romero Center for Border Ministries

173 W. Hall Ave

San Ysidro, California 92173

This week long event will center on issues concerning the USA/Mexico border region. The group of 10-15 members and friends of UCC churches in the Illinois Conference will be organized by the Rev. John Buttrick and the Rev. Faye D. B. Buttrick, members of Illinois Maya Ministries.

The purpose of this immersion experience is to be introduced to the complexity of life on the border and to develop a better understanding of the impact of the global economic trends and economic policies on social conditions, health, gender, culture, immigration and labor rights as well as on the environment. There will be opportunities to experience firsthand life in communities like Chilpancingo, Dolores and Colonia Postal, among others in Tijuana. Participants will also meet farm and maquiladora workers, newly arrived migrants from Mexico and Central America and government immigration enforcement officials on both sides of the border.

Faye is an Intentional Interim Minister in the Illinois Conference of the UCC and is on the national boards of the UCC Wider Church Ministries and Common Global Ministries, a partnership of the UCC and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). John recently retired as the Western Association Minister of the Illinois Conference, UCC. Faye has traveled to Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. She has volunteered at Humane Borders in Tucson, AZ. John has made several trips to Chiapas, walked the 78 mile desert Migrant Trail from Sasabe, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona, and spent time at one of the Arizona desert camps set up to rescue migrants in distress. Both John and Faye have participated in Borderlinks educational programs out of Tucson, Arizona.

FINANCES

A fee of $450.00 covers pre-immersion reading materials, shuttle from the airport, food, programming and international health insurance.

Lodging will be $27.50+ tax double occupancy (total for seven nights, $192.50+ tax).

$55.00+ tax single occupancy, (total for seven nights, $385+ tax).

Approximate roundtrip airfare to San Diego: (Feb 28): from Peoria, $407, From Chicago, $369 - $413. These rates will probably fluctuate between now and September. You may have your own source for a good fare. We researched Travelosity, Orbitz, and Expedia. Plan to arrive in San Diego between 2 & 4 PM, if possible, on Friday October 16. Book return on Friday October 23, 2:30 or later.

Mail Registration by September 15, 2009 to: Border Experience, Revs Faye and John Buttrick, 1006 N. Maplewood Ave, Peoria, IL 61606

Name:

Address:

Phone & e-mail:

Church affiliation:

Any mobility or dietary issues:

Enclose $450.00 registration fee. Make checks out to Illinois Conference of the UCC.

IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR YOUR PLANNING

+ You must have a valid passport, to be used for our trips to Mexico.

+ As we receive your reservations we shall send e-mails to all registrants so that you may connect with one another if you need a roommate.

+There will be a block of rooms reserved at the Economy Inn, San Ysidro in the name of Centro Romero. To book your lodging phone : 619 / 428 – 6191

+After you have made your flight reservations, e-mail your itinerary to John and Faye so we can coordinate transportation from airport to Centro Romero. It would be helpful if we can all plan to arrive in San Diego between 2 and 4 PM to be picked up by the shuttle. (Return flights on Oct. 23 should be no earlier than 2:30pm)

+There will be an orientation meeting for all participants: Saturday, October 3, 2009

+Questions, more information: John and Faye Buttrick, 309 / 637 – 5749 or buttrickfj1@att.net

Centro Romero is a ministry of Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

BorderLinks Delegation in May 8-14, 2009

2009-02-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Delegation
The purpose of our delegation is to experience the international border between the United States and Mexico in the company of Mexican pastors, guided by the Borderlinks staff.
Borderlinks provides food, lodging, translation, accompaniment and program staff. You can find out all about them at their website: www.borderlinks .org

Our Journey
We will meet at BorderLinks in Tucson, Arizona on Friday, May 8 at 9:00 am. Most will arrive a day or so earlier may meet us there. Please be on time. We will conclude on Thursday, May 14 with supper. Please check with Michael Swartz before you buy your airplane tickets.

Accommodations
Simple, comfortable dormitory style accommodations arranged by Borderlinks. Good food. Do look at the website.

Travel
Please make your own arrangements after conferring with the delegation leadership. We can help make sure you are traveling with one or more delegation members.

Leadership
Who is going so far?
· Rev. Felix Ortiz-Cotto, Common Global Ministries.
· Rev. Michael Swartz, Illinois Maya Ministry.
· Rev. Justino Perez, CGM Missionary
· A representatives of:
· Alianza de Iglesias Cristianas Evangelicas Discipulos de Cristo
· Junta General de Iglesias Cristianas Congregaacionales de Mexico
· Confraternidad de Iglesias Cristianas Evangelicas Discuplos de Cristo
· We can accommodate 13 persons in total on the delegation.

For more information contact Rev. Michael Swartz

Telephone: 309/788-6357

Email: revswartz@gmail.com

Photos: Top - Previous BorderLinks group at Casa de la Miseracordia in Nogales.

Second - shopping for Fair Trade Coffee at Aguaprieta.

Third - A US watchtower with surveillance camera atop the wall between US and Mexico.

Fourth - Art decorating the wall decorated by Mexican Artists.

Report from one of our Partners--Guatemalan Cultural Action (ACG)

2009-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

Asociación Acción Cultural Guatemalteca, ACG

February 9, 2009

Guatemalan Cultural Action

2008 Report

Guatemalan Cultural Action (ACG) was established in 1989 as groupings of Mayan Guatemalans affected by the civil war in that country were able to return to their rural lands and rebuild their lives. Prior to 1989, they had lived as refugees in Mexico or had been internally displaced during the conflict. Global Ministries has partnered with ACG since its beginnings. ACG has four main objectives: 1) to promote community projects in the area of education, culture, economics, and ecology; 2) to promote Mayan and Christian spirituality as inspiring and encouraging sources of meaning for community work; 3) to promote ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue in promotion of a climate of harmony, peace, and solidarity within rural, indigenous communities; and 4) to provide training for the communities on their human rights and how to defend them.

In 2008, ACG created a three year plan for 2008 to 2010. The Strategic Plan 2008-2018 also was elaborated through several workshops that included representatives from various communities and members of the ACG Board of Directors. Through two ACG General Assemblies it was possible to elect a new Board, create the Strategic Plan 2008-2018, and review what has been accomplished during year 2008 in order to plan for the work in 2009. The monitoring commission of ACG had two meetings to ensure all operations were going as projected and to make suggestions for the work ahead. The ACG administration worked on revision and authorization of documents, meetings, and proceedings with the help of ACG's Executive Director.

Additional achievements included:

* Repairs and maintenance at San Carolos Borromeus Farm and marketing of their products.
* The creation and distribution of the Association News Bulletin to inform the communities in Guatemala and in other countries.
* The "Bees" Project for credit and savings, utilized by 710 women between January and November 2008.
* Distribution of 42 irons and other materials to build firewood-efficient "Thrifty" stoves in the Santa Elena and Nueva Libertad communities.
* 31 students helped through ACG's scholarship program.

Limited economic resources forced a reduction in personnel but ACG continued to push through the work in 2008.

The Strategic Plan 2008-2018 will serve as a guide in achieving all priority projects and programs. ACG is most proud of the success of the Women’s Program. ACG’s goal for 2009 is to reach 1,000 beneficiaries and to continue to lay the groundwork for self-sufficient programs. As in the past, the participating families will benefit from the moral, spiritual, and financial support of ACG through projects, education, community participation, and personal rights.

Reflections on Postville-Rev. Denise Griebler

2009-01-24T01:29:00.000-08:00

On December 2, 2008, a delegation of United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ pastors and laypersons from Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota traveled to Postville, Iowa to learn about the historic large-scale immigration raid that took place in May 2008. We met with detainees, pastors and lay workers who recounted the raid itself and told of the devastating effects still being felt in this community seven months later.

Postville is small-town Northeast Iowa. Picture hard-working people carefully tend their yards and gardens. They know their neighbors. They see each other at church, little league games and high school sporting events. Folks stop and chat on Main Street or at the local diner and families enjoy home-cooked meals with each other just about every evening.

Ethnic diversity doesn’t immediately come to mind with this picture. But in Postville, Iowa, population 1,478, an intermingling of diverse cultures has taken root over the past twenty years. In the late 1980’s a new kosher meat processing plant brought into the mix 300 Hasidic Jews who haled from New York City and 400 migrant workers, mainly from Guatemala and Mexico. Two decades later, half of the population of Postville is made up of new-comers who are more or less successfully being integrated into the community.

On May 12, 2008, 900 ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents conducted a military-style siege upon Postville and the Agriprocessors kosher meat-processing plant. Agents armed with assault weapons and motion and heat-sensing devices descended upon the town in helicopters and passenger vans while school children watched in fright from their classroom windows. The entire town was traumatized by this disproportionate show of force. In all, 398 people were arrested on immigration charges, about 30% of the town’s population.

The arrestees were taken to the Cattle Congress, the county fairgrounds, and held in animal pens while they awaited being formally charged. ICE agents joked that the detainees were the equivalent of animals. Besides immigration violations, many were also charged with identity theft for having used false social security numbers provided by Agriprocessors for a fee to each worker of $220. This marks the first time undocumented persons have been charged with this type of felony crime which carries with it fines and prison time, greatly complicating each case.

Women - mothers - with minor children were placed under house arrest and tethered with a Global Positioning System (GPS)-monitoring device around their ankles. They are not allowed to leave Iowa until their hearings (set for May 2009) but neither are they permitted to work. How can they provide for themselves and their children, most of whom are US citizens? The men - many fathers, husbands - taken into custody were ferried between eight or nine different prisons from Miami to Texas, only to be shipped back to Postville under house arrest and tethered with GPS-ankle bracelets. While imprisoned their families were frantic to know where they had been taken. Multiple moves from one prison to another and another complicated their ability to stay in touch with their families or receive legal council. Many are still caught in this nightmare. Others, after agreeing to testify to Agriprocessors’ child labor law violations, are now back in Postville. They share the same fate as the women: they cannot leave Iowa and are not permitted to work. No government provisions are made for their food or housing. How are they to live and provide for their families?

We met with a group of men all wearing ankle bracelets. Hard-working people who were good neighbors in this small-town community, they spoke of the humiliation they felt at being treated like criminals and forced into dependency. They originally came to Iowa because they’d heard there was work at the meat-packing plant. They were happy to find a small town not entirely different from their own small towns back home.

Immigration from Mexico and Latin America has mushroomed since NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) went into effect in the 1990’s. NAFTA undermines local economies in favor of global markets. Employment opportunities in their own communities in Mexico and Guatemala are fewer and fewer. At the same time, US companies like Agriprocessors are built around access to this desperate labor pool will work for low wages in unsafe conditions.

Trade and immigration policies are intimately linked and in need of comprehensive reform for the good of all. For instance, conservative estimates of the cost of the Postville ICE raid to US taxpayers are approximately $13 million. Their local economy devastated and the social fabric torn, who can say how long it will take for the town of Postville to recover from the chain of events set in motion by the ICE raid?

On the day of the raid, Postville churches responded immediately and continue to provide support services for those who await trial. During the siege on their town, individuals and families sought sanctuary in St. Bridget’s Catholic Church and Community Presbyterian Church in Postville. Churches and their pastors and congregants were immediately willing to help provide a safe space for their neighbors. An ecumenical prayer vigil and march to Agriprocessors was quickly organized. It’s significant to note that ICE agents did not enter the churches to make arrests.

During the first month after the raid, 1,000 meals a day were served at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church. Father Paul Ouderkirk estimates that his parish is spending about $30,000 each month to support those who are living under house arrest and their families. Postville is not a wealthy community and St. Bridget’s is a humble parish. Theirs is a profound generosity of spirit and resources, the stuff of deep solidarity, the best of what it means to be a neighbor. Even as one asks how the detainees will be able survive, you can’t help wondering how much longer St. Bridget’s will be able to sustain itself and all whom they are supporting?

The quick and faithful response of the churches instructs us. The Postville churches formed a different kind of bracelet – a bracelet of love and solidarity – around threatened parishioners and neighbors. Should a raid like this occur in or nearby our communities, would our congregations respond in kind?

This is an excellent time for congregations and groups to study the roots and reality of immigration along with learning the rights of immigrants and their advocates. A good resource can be found in the book, The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers, by Jane Guskin and David L. Wilson, Monthly Review Press, 2007. A local organization doing excellent work on this issue is the Chicago New Sanctuary Movement. They can be contacted at cmsa@chicagosanctuary.org.

Delegation to Postville on December 2, 2008

2009-01-24T01:28:00.000-08:00

Summary from Rev. Mike Mulberry

December 2, 2008

I guess what I believed going into the experience was that the Postville event was effectively over. Though May 12 was a terrible day and left the community in ruins, most of the pain experienced was lodged in the events in that day. What we experienced was much different.

We met first with a group of Guatemalan women and one man who were working on getting their GED and would later be going to English classes. That provided a backdrop for our discussions with Father Paul.

Father Paul and the coordinator for Hispanic Ministries, Paul Rael, both of St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church shared with us the incredible suffering going on presently in the community. Women who were not deported because they have children are wearing ankle bracelets with GPS tracking chips. The women are not allowed to work, never seem to get any reliable information on what happens next, and are kept around for the trial to testify to Agriprocessors breaking over 9,000 child labor law provisions. They are going to take a legal angle he swore us to secrecy on so we'll bring you up to speed on that. Father Paul was clearly angry for the way these immigrant people had been treated. They have to ask permission to do everything or go anywhere and now their probation officer is refusing to answer the phone when they try to call him. The people have asked to voluntarily deport themselves but the government won't allow it.

The raid was clearly planned years in advance as a county fairgrounds’animal pen was reserved to keep the people who were detained.

Postville is at a breaking point. The Jewish community does not know how to reach out (feeling both ashamed and abiding by their identity to be separate) and those in the immigrant community are hamstrung by the limbo the government is putting them through. When I handed Father Paul the check from IMM, he broke down sobbing in my arms...thanking us.

Over lunch we met with a Presbyterian pastor who shared with us how hard the immigrant community worked in town. All they wanted to do was work. He would have gladly given them his social security number if they had asked. He shared that closing down Agriprocessors has been devastating to the community. The community lost its largest employer, local producers that have grown up around the plant have no processor, and he had a Jewish friend he could call that would have Agriprocessors fill the local food pantry with meat when they ran out. That is no longer possible. Resources are exhausted. People are exhausted.

We traveled to Decorah to meet with the local UCC pastor. Decorah took on some of the burden because Postville just could not handle any more need. A local Lutheran congregant is allowing 6 Guatemalan men to use a house. The Catholic parish house is providing lodging for three others (across the street from one another). The UCC pastor shared with us how Agriprocessors used a local Palauan man to recruit from 25-30 people from the south Pacific Island. Now that the plant has shut down, they are stranded.

We went to the home where the Guatemalan men (and one Mexican man) were staying. Two or three men told us their story. These men have been brought back for the trial and all wear ankle bracelets. Because the government does not allow them to work, people of Decorah are paying them in cash for odd jobs so that they can have some money and send some back to their families. Particularly heart breaking was the story of their detention in about six or seven U.S. prisons. They were moved around, fed very little, and sometimes put into a cold cell with only a t-shirt. Such stories had us thinking about what the men remaining in prison are going through. This man cried as he related that he had not been able to talk to his wife or sons for six months.

As we were about to leave, a young woman from Luther College came to talk to us. She said the situation is very dire with the women. She is worried about how depressed the women are getting and what they might do in the future with such depression. They cannot go anywhere, do anything, and their children cry at night for fathers who are no longer there

Cuernavaca Encuentro

2008-09-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

In February of 2007 members of the Illinois Maya Ministry (IMM) traveled to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to participate in a leadership planning retreat with representatives of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ (WCUCC), the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ (MCUCC) and INESIN (El Instituto de Estudios e Investigacion Intercultural) of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.

The location of this Encuentro was at the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue. This was a wonderful setting and we received great hospitality.

The first photo is most of the group. We are, from Left to right, Rev. Ernesto Martin Guerro, INESIN, Miguel Moshan, INESIN, Anne Roulet, a Swiss missioner at INESIN, Rev. Faye Buttrick, IMM, Rev. Gail O'Neal, WCUCC, Rev. Becky Johnston, (WCUCC), Rev. Paula Bidle, (MCUCC) and Rev. Michael Swartz, IMM. Participants not pictured are: Rev. John Buttrick, IMM, and Felipe Touissant, INESIN.

On other occasions we have met in Chiapas. The difference here was that we were experiencing the CCIDD program together, under the direction of Sister Kathy Long, OP, and enjoying the good food and comfortable accomodations of the center. We were having a common experience facilitated by a third party.

In the second photo we are together learning about some of the impacts of immigration of Mexican people to the United States.

Also, while we were there together we were able to do some long term planning and dreaming. We collaborated on a timeline of history for INESIN, from its founding under the inniative of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, who was then the Episcopal leader in Chiapas, to the present.

One of the unexpected aspects of our time together was a celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Bishop Sergio Mendez Arceo at the cathedral in Cuernavaca. It turns out that Bishop Arceo was the Bishop of Cuernavaca from 1952 to 1983. And as a progressive bishop and a colleague of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, Bishop Ruiz came to Cuernavaca for the celebration!

What a wonderful serendipity - or provedential guidance of the Holy Spirit, that Bishop Ruiz was in town at the same time with the leaders of the Institute that he had helped innitiate.

It turns out that Bishop Arceo was instrumental in the founding of CCIDD, so it is a smaller world than we even anticipated. The third photo in this article is of the poster for the special celebration, with a picture of Bishop Arceo.

The forth photo is of the procession into the back of the Cathedral of Cuernavaca, with Bishop Samuel Ruiz in the mitre, backlighted by the door.

The fifth photo in the series is a banquet in the patio area of the CCIDD facility, with Rev. Paula Bidle standing right behind Bishop Ruiz in the garden.

The time spent at the Encuentro was productive in several ways. We were able to plan for the future and communicate in a deeper way because we had more time together. We were able to experience several sorts of activities together - we studied, prayerd, ate, worshipped at the cathedral, enjoyed recreation and the beautiful setting both of Cuernavaca and of the Center. One of the exciting parts of the planning was a plan for developing the facility of INESIN put forward by Martin and the leaders from Chiapas. This includes a fairly ambitious plan to develop a retreat center that would facilitate their work with groups studying at the Institute.

Meeting Dates

2008-09-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

At the annual retreat at Pilgrim Park the following dates for meetings were selected:

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - Byron, Illinois - United Church of Byron
Thursday, October 30, 2008 - Westchester, Illinois - Conference Office
Monday, December 1, 2008 - Rock Island, Illinois - Church of Peace UCC
Friday, January 23, 2009 - Dwight, Illinois
Friday, February 27, 2009 - Warrenville, Illinois - Home of Denise Griebler
Friday, March 27, 2009 - Ottawa, Illinois - Congregational UCC
Friday, May 8, 2009 - Westchester, Illinois - Conference Office
June 5 - 7, 2009 - Springfield, Illinois - This is the Illinois Conference Meeting
August 23-25, 2009 Sawyer, Michigan - Annual Retreat at Tower Hill Camp

"The Devil's Highway" by Luis Urrea

2008-05-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

One of the great introductions to the immigration crisis is The Devil's Highway by Luis Urrea. It is the story of over twenty men who enter the Arizona desert with not all of them coming out.

If you are interested in having access to the study guides, please e-mail Rev. Mike Mulberry at mmulberry@gmail.com.

To the left of the screen, in "Links to Our Relationships and Work", are copies of study guides prepared for you, your book club, or your congregation in walking through Urrea's text. Please feel free to use them and help us out with any commentary, editing, or additions.

INESIN 2007 Report

2008-04-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

The Institute for Cultural Studies and Research (INESIN) has focused its ecumenical efforts on the need for dialogue and understanding among intercultural groups so they can define and articulate their understanding of God, faith, truth, and other aspects of the divine. In 2007, INESIN held a series of workshops on the topics of spirituality, theology, community reinforcement, and support. Groups from diverse communities were trained with the purpose of their taking what they have learned back to the grassroots of their communities. For many, this is the only way they receive an education.

Workshop titles included: God in the Motherland; Indigenous Theology in Pastoral Care; Human-Spiritual Development for Lay Servants; Systematic Indigenous Theology; Theological Dialogue: Mayans, Mexicans and Yucatans; Preventing Domestic Violence, Women of the Bible and Paul; Women Prophets of the Old Testament; Mission Ministry in the Church; Summer School of Theology; Intercultural Conflicts and Nonviolent Resolutions and Ecumenical Dialogues on Violence and Death. In addition to these educational events, INESIN sponsored and organized several spiritual retreats and intercultural worship events. Groups included indigenous groups from Zinacantán, Margaritas, San Cristóbal , Chiapas Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Ocosingo, Chanmic Huixtán , Oaxaca , and Juchitán. Over 1,000 persons participated in these events.

INESIN works closely with churches, communities and individuals to help develop community leadership at the grassroots level. Moreover, INESIN works with leaders who are responsible for nurturing the education and faith development of their communities. Workshops and community events were held in 2007 on child and youth development, environmental care, and conservation. Work groups helped those still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Stan, and provided Vacation Bible School events and ecological and natural history tours. The work groups helped build water containment sites, helped build homes, and helped start protective measures for marine turtle habitats in Puerto Arista. These events are educational as well as recreational, and help to build cohesiveness and solidarity among the groups that interact. All events were intergenerational.

Other achievements include collaboration with the Baptist Seminary of Mexico-Chiapas Extension, the Intercultural Mayan Seminary, and UNITE of Bolivia with student and leadership exchanges. INESIN personnel were able to participate in various continuing education events, among them at the School for Peace, Center for Ecumenical Studies, and the Agape Ecumenical Center in Italy .

INESIN expresses its gratitude to Global Ministries for the funds that helped support the ministry of education, research and dialogue.

Translated and edited by:
Office of Resource Development
Global Ministries
P.O. Box 1986
Indianapolis , IN 46206
Tel: (317) 713-2555
Fax: (317) 635-4323
gifts@dom.disciples.org

SiPaz Report-Rev. Griebler's Report from Chiapas

2008-03-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Ones - I'm home safe from Chiapas. There's surely a piece of my heart that lives in Latin America. It was good to be there even for a little while. And it was a short little whirlwind trip. I was there for a board meeting of SiPaz (International Service for Peace) and to meet with Congregational and Disciple of Christ pastors from Northern Mexico who were visiting Chiapas and our mission partners at IMM and Global Ministries invitation.

Lots of meetings, including one with all 14 cabinet ministers from the state of Chiapas. Had to wonder why the governor wanted his entire cabinet to spend the day with SiPaz? Perhaps to portray an image of concern for human rights. Too bad the reality says different. Most of my meetings were with the board of SiPaz, this incredible little international coalition that provides critical presence, reliable information and works to build a culture of peace in Chiapas. Which is still one of those strategic places where you can measure the social temperature of world.

The conflict in Chiapas smolders still. Where the movement for autonomy among the indigenous people is strongest (the Northern Zone – which is where the ancient Mayan site Palenque is located) the military and paramilitaries have increased their presence. The Protestant churches are fanning the flames once again, pastors preaching that Zapistasta supporters and communities are devil-possessed. And that the devil must be driven out. Not that the churches are causing the conflict – it’s rooted in issues around land and power and access to strategic resources. Not surprisingly, expulsions are on the rise and fear grows that the situation is ripe for more Acteal-type massacres. (Back in 1997 paramilitaries killed 47 people who were gathered in a church praying for peace in the town of Acteal. The victims were members of Las Abejas, a group committed to active non-voilence that supports the Zapatistas’s goals, if not always their means. Many of the victims were women - 4 were pregnant - and children. The killing spree took place over 5 hours. A military installation was just a football field's length away, but no one came to intervene and stop the killing. Which leaves one to presume that the military chose not to respond and so is complicit in the crime.) SiPaz is one of the groups that works to lessen tensions and to actively build a culture of peace. I’d say we’ll be in business for a while.

See, there's oil in them there hills. And quite a lot. And uranium, fresh water (think hydro-electric dams), rich bio-diversity of cloud forest, rain forest and jungle(think pharmaceuticals), natural beauty & Mayan cultural sites (think eco-tourism). The Mexican government and the trans-national corporations are interested in clearing out most of the indigenous communities to make way for development. This is what the trade agreements from NAFTA to CAFTA to Plan Pueblo Panama are all about. Phase 1 is an Indian removal project to be sure. Of course, some co-operative indigenous communities will be allowed to remain and make a show of their authentic Mayan culture for the tourists. The Zapatista autonomous communities aren't planning on co-operating with the various free trade agreements. At the very least they will not just roll over. They want to have a say, now and into the future. Their resistance - which has taken the form of active non-violence - is more than admirable - really courageous, creative and inspirational.

If you or your congregation would like to see pictures or hear more about this, just ask and I will be happy to talk with you or even a group that’s interested. I can be reached at St. Michael's United Church of Christ, 630/231-0687.

School of the Americas Vigil

2008-03-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

Human Rights Protesters Sentenced to Federal Prison for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Opposing Controversial U.S. Army Training School

Federal Magistrate Sentences 78-year-old Blind Man

Columbus, Ga - Eleven human rights activists, ranging in age from 25 to 78, appeared before U.S. Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth in a Columbus, GA federal courthouse today. The eleven were charged with trespass after peacefully walking onto the Fort Benning military base on November 18 in protest of a controversial U.S. Army training school for Latin Americans with a legacy of human rights abuses.

Ed Lewinson, a 78-year old Professor Emeritus of History at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, was sentenced to 90 days in prison and a $500 fine. Ed trespassed onto the base in three previous years but the state refused to prosecute due to his blindness.

Lewinson, together with the ten other defendants, were among the tens of thousands who gathered November 16-18 outside the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia to demand the closure of the controversial U.S. Army’s School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/WHINSEC). The group peacefully crossed onto Ft. Benning, site of the school, at the culmination of a symbolic funeral procession in memory of those killed by graduates of the institution in Latin America.

"I crossed onto the base because of what graduates of the SOA/WHINSEC have done to the people of their own countries and I wanted to contribute something towards stopping this,” said Lewinson in regards to his act of nonviolent civil disobedience. “Only by pointing out the results of violence can we stop violence,” he added.

The defendants and sentences are:

Joan Anderson, 65, Casper, WY - 30 days and a $500 fine
Ozone Bhaguan, 33, Duluth, MN - 90 days and no fine
Le Anne Clausen, 29, Chicago, IL - 30 days and no fine
Art Landis, 74, Perkasie, PA - 30 days and no fine
Ed Lewinson, 78, Newark NJ - 90 days and a $500 fine
Chris Lieberman, 54, Albuquerque, NM - 60 days and no fine
Diane Lopez Hughes, 58, Springfield, IL - 45 days and a $500 fine
Tiel Rainelli, 25, Canton, OH. – 90 days and a $500 fine
Gus Roddy, 45, Chicago, IL – 30 days and a $500 fine
Stephen Schweitzer, 45, Binghamtom, NY – 60 days and a $500 fine
Michelle Yipé, 45, of Argonia, KS - 30 days and a $500 fine

The SOA/WHINSEC, a military training facility for Latin American security personnel located at Fort Benning, Georgia, made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. In spite of an aggressive international PR campaign and lobbying efforts on behalf of WHINSEC, support for the institute continues to erode. In 2007, Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia and Oscar Arias of Costa Rica announced that they would cease to send military and police to the school, becoming the 4th and 5th countries after Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela to commit to a withdrawal from the U.S. Army training facility.

Since protests against the SOA/WHINSEC began 18 years ago, 226 people have served prisons sentences of up to two years for nonviolent civil disobedience

From Guatemalan Cultural Action

2008-01-22T10:15:00.001-08:00

FOR OUR CHRISTMAS:

The environmental problems that affect the countries of the world are a clear sign that humanity has lost its values as well as [forgotten] the importance of considering ourselves part of the planet, and not owners of it. It has not been assumed that each one of us plays a very important role in preserving and conserving our world, beginning with concrete actions and not waiting for others to do something for us. We forget that we have to do something for ourselves, especially those that have the responsibility of governing. Global warming preoccupies governments right now, but there are no concrete actions that demonstrate that they have the will to diminish the factors that favor its worsening in the short term. The criminalization of social struggles, in the moment that we get on the train of development, is another way of negating the citizen’s right to make demands that lead to harmonious coexistence. The anchorage of the process of development is the consequence of the interest the few rich have of increasing the number of hungry mouths for the expansion of their sources of wealth. The parallel government, or the parallel governments, of our countries [I think he’s referring to corporations, and the power they have over actual governments] have kidnapped the law, tying the hands of state leaders to apply these laws. They have bought the will [translation?] so that it is them that have the greatest ability to act with freedom.

Individual interests are above the collective interest, where those that have benefited by the vote of the people act in such a manner that they besmirch the dignity of the people, proposing laws that benefit them [the rich], ignoring the initiatives that ought to help give life to laws that benefit the majority, like what happened with the initiative to compensate Congressional representatives and what the magistrates of the Supreme Court have done in order to maintain themselves in their posts, consenting to the aims of future authorities of occupying their posts without complying with legal requirements. The increase of violence is bleeding out the already very injured Guatemala.

The most troublesome is that they are blinding the life of young citizens and women. It seems that the effects of the post war are prolonging themselves and Guatemala is becoming in a very bad position in terms of human rights violations. The actions undertaken by the Latin American people to preserve their dignity and their free will have bothered imperialism, led by the World Trade Organization, the IMF, and the World Bank. One very concrete case is the efforts of the countries for the creation of MERCOSUR, ALBA, and the more recent Banco del Sur. Nevertheless, the most interesting is the tireless struggle of the people to be counted. The vicious circle of power in creating political demagogues has significant effects on the conscience of humanity. The United States’ fear of Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia and other countries is because they are gaining ground in carrying out concrete action to stand up to health problems, education, and trying to create mechanisms to reduce social inequalities. The Latin American School is challenging the School of the Americas, producing professionals disposed to lend their services in the most marginalized communities, as is the case with Cuban doctors in Guatemala; young Guatemalans are also graduating, while the {School of the] Americas continue[s] producing professionals of torture and antiterrorism. Pacification by warlike means has allowed the interests of the powerful to openly control the wealth of other countries with their interventionist politics; such is the case in Iraq, Palestine, and very possibly, Iran. I hope that actions favor peace and development that fills us with hope. When the streams and brook come together they form grand rivers. I hope that our God, creator of all that exists, pours out his blessings upon each one of you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Excerpt from INESIN Newsletter

2007-12-05T14:55:00.000-08:00

*Spring Renewal*

During these first months of 2007, several new ways of working have arisen inside of the already established projects of INESIN. Or better said, new ways of seeing our work appeared which allowed us to discover new manners, always richer, to walk towards a world with Peace and Justice for all.

In April we welcomed a new fellow worker, Raphael Gallay from Switzerland. He is working in the area of Community Building (or Strengthening Communities), accompanying transforming processes of through visits and workshops on care of the environment to children and adolescents in communities of the mountainous boarder region of Chiapas. We hope that his path with INESIN will flourish and be full of blessings.

In the same month of April another companion of Switzerland, Laurent Gaberell, finished his work at INESIN and left for his homeland. We’d like to thank him very much for his commitment and we wish him the best for his future, wherever he will be.

After that, we had some very busy summer months with a variety of activities. This meant that there was a lot to do for everyone on the staff, but at the same time there were very rich moments of sharing experiences with sisters and brothers from both here and far away.

So we continue following this path, convinced of the need to work and struggle in order to make "another world possible "....

Thank You from INESIN

2007-10-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

INESIN FRIENDS... THE UCC PASTORS,

We're deeply thankful with You, for your solidarity to us. Our commitment is with Chiapas, but also with You, because we think that INESIN Proyect has been in your hearts from beginning. We'll continue working energetically for peace in Chiapas, with the confidence that the borders don't can to separate the love; nor religions, nor color, nor policy, because the love is of God.

The money that You'll send to us, will be of great help to us.

God bless You.

Greetings.

Ernesto Martín Guerrero Zavala
INESIN co-ordinator

From Mary Naftziger, University Church Guatemala Partnership Group, Sharing a Message from Juan Carlos (ACG) who tells of Gloria Vicente's Arrival

2007-10-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Dear fellow Guate Partnership group members,

I imagine some of you have heard from Virgilio that Gloria got to Guatemala Monday. We've exchanged occasional e-mails with Juan Carlos and his latest one this week included the following message about Gloria's arrival. Anyone who wants to help me improve my Spanish is please to send me a private e-mail with corrections. Mary

From: Juan Carlos DeLeon Ventura:

Hola Mary y Bob,

Felicidades por el amor tan grande que sienten por ser abuelos, es otra etapa que nos presenta la vida.

Congratulations for the great love you are experiencing in being grandparents, another stage that life gives to us.

Gloria ya llego en ACG, lo fuimos encontrar en el aeropuerto de Guatemala, ahora ya esta en el Quiche, iniciando una planificacion en los multiples trabajos que lo espera en ACG.

Gloria has arrrived en ACG, and we went to meet her at the Guatemala City airport; now she is in Quiche, beginning to plan/organize for the many tasks that await her at ACG.

Todo bien sin novedad.

All is fine as usual.

Por favor de avisar a los resto de Grupo de Chicago que ACG esta pasando en momentos historicos de tener otra voluntaria mas, con en unico fin de mejorar la relacion, el trabajo y conjunto buscar una paz para el pueblo guatemalteco (indigena).

Please let the rest of the Chicago group know that ACG is experiencing an historic moment in having another volunteer, with the purpose or end result being improving our relationships and the work, so that together we search for peace for the indigenous people of Guatemala.

Hasta luego

Juan Carlos

Letter from Anne Roulet of INESIN

2007-09-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The Peace of God be in your hearts. Thanks a lot for your responses to our last message. Now we have very good news we want to share with you:

We received the deed documents yesterday; INESIN now fully and legally owns its land!!!!!!

Many thanks to all and every one of you for walking hand in hand with INESIN during all these years. We are all so grateful for this and for the opportunity to finally have these documents done and legally approved. We surely now face new challenges in terms of financial sustainability but we believe that everything is possible with patience, dedication and of course the help your prayers.

Thanks again for everything and we’ll be in touch before the end of the month.

Blessings,

For INESIN:

Anne

Meetings This Year

2007-08-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Friday, December 14, 2007, 321 Canterberry Lane, Oakbrook, IL, 9:30 a.m.

Friday, January 25, 2008, Conference Office, Westchester, Illinois, 10:00 a.m.

Friday, February 22, 2008, Pilgrim Park, Princeton, Illinois, 10:00 a.m.

Friday, March 28, 2008, Dwight First Congregational UCC, Dwight, Illinois, 10:00 a.m.

Monday, April 21, 2008, Conference Office, Westchester, Illinois, 10:00 a.m.

Monday, May 12, 2008, Peoria, Illinois (details to follow)

Conference Meeting Thursday, June 5--Saturday, June 7, 2008, Doubletree Hotel, Bloomington, Illinois

Annual Retreat Sunday, August 24--Tuesday, August 26, Pilgrim Park, Princeton, Illinois