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New WCC DOV Study Guide on Peace

The World Council of Churches Decade to Overcome Violence project has created a new study guide for use by groups to discuss peace in the community,  in the marketplace, with the earth and among peoples. 

The "Telling the Truth About Ourselves and Our World" study guide can be downloaded for free at the DOV website.

The study guide is intended to be used in examining overcoming violence in our times.  Each section of the guide examines the concept in the local and global perspectives as well as enables the individual to imagine his/her own concept of peace and take action. Also included are prayers and resources for action. 

Lessons from the 40th Anniversary of Kent State Shootings

May 4, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of Kent State students being shot by National Guardsmen.  The 1960s was characterized by organized protests of large numbers of people.  There were race riots, peace protests, and student protests all around the country. Some of these events resulted in violence and death.

After President Nixon announced that the US had invaded Cambodia, unrest and protest broke out in many areas.  At Kent State a protest march was scheduled for 5/4/70.  Based on some looting on 5/2 the National Guard was requested to keep order and prevent violence. 

The student protests began on 5/4, in spite of the University attempts to ban them.  While no order to fire was given, four students were killed and nine injured by guard gunfire.  Some of those shot were not protesting, but simply walking to class.  Jerry Lewis, a professor at KSU, has written on this subject and recently spoke about the shootings and the yearly memorial activities. 
 

Recently, a few Illinois lawmakers have been calling for the National Guard to be deployed into the most violent neighborhoods of Chicago.  To me this would escalate the violence in the streets for much the same reason that students were killed at KSU.  The local police force and the National Guard would have confused lines of command and jurisdiction.  The National Guard personnel would be in unfamiliar territory. The people in the neighborhoods would be even more fearful and resentful of the authorities.

If the National Guard were to be deployed to keep the peace, they should leave their guns at home.  There should also be a community focused process to address the core issues of poverty, gangs, and the drug trade.  Local people can resist the violence by constructive and organized nonviolent protests. We need to support the police and community leaders in making these neighborhoods safe for families again.

What Else Can I Do About Arizona SB 1070

Two additional resources about the Arizona SB 1070 law on immigration recently came to my attention.

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) posted an article and request for action.  SPLC is well known for their work  bringing hate groups to justice and promoting tolerance in schools, work, and community. 

SPLC Legal Director Mary Bauer writes that the Arizona immigration law violates the constitution and guarantees racial profiling.  She quotes Arizona Governor Jan Brewer who was asked what an undocumented immigrant looks like. She responded: “I do not know what an illegal immigrant looks like. I can tell you that I think there are people in Arizona who assume that they know what an illegal immigrant looks like."  This simply put is that we can tell by the color of their skin or the language that they speak.  This is as close to a definition of racism that you can find.

CREDO Action clearly points out that the law violates the 4th Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits unreasonable government search and seizure.  An interesting fact pointed out is that the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police is opposed to the law.  This is because it puts undocumented workers in fear of the authorities resulting in less reporting of crime and more violence.  CREDO has a petition you can sign requesting Eric Holder to go to court to block the enforcement of the law.

Politics and government aside, as Christians what are we called to do?  We are called to provide hospitality to our neighbors, to treat each other how we would like to be treated and to speak out against injustice.  With AZ SB 1070 we have plenty of opportunities to act in a Christian manner.

What Can I Do About Immigration Issues?

Here are links to various petitions, issue e-mail forms, addresses and more. Pick the specific issue you want to address, understand the issue, and take action! All of these can be done from your home with no physical exertion.  These include:

AZ SB 1070  

•  Amnesty International

• Wikipedia's  Summary of SB 1070 Act and HB 2162 which amends SB 1070.
  

• Arizona’s Immigration Bill is a Social and Racial Sin and action form

• Write to Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007

• Facebook: 1 MILLION Strong AGAINST the Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=113236852041063

• Mexico's president criticized the new Arizona immigration law for being discriminatory. How tough are Mexican immigration laws?

 Racial profiling - What does illegal look like?  Will Native Americans be profiled as Hispanic? Which Hispanics are legal citizens or permanent residents or visitors?

• "Do I Look "Illegal" Day
• Arizona Immigration Law Conjures Ghosts of Southern Neo-Slavery  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/arizona-immigration-law-c_b_555521.html
• Arizona law draws widespread indigenous opposition, Indian Country, 5/3/2010

Search and seizure without warrant

• Protestants for the Common Good - Strange and Suspicious

Workers rights and role of employers

• Interfaith Worker Justice immigration action section
• La Vida Locavore - http://www.lavidalocavore.org/diary/3547/read-this-before-you-debate-immigration-reform
• A Nannies' Bill of rights http://www.slate.com/id/2252368/?from=rss

Comprehensive Immigration Legislation

• Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform -A coalition from across the theological and political spectrum united in support of immigration reform. http://faithandimmigration.org/

• Church World Service Welcomes Immigration Reform Framework - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfZZA0r4SCs

• Write to congressional members and the president

• Change.org has various articles on immigration and  places to take action

• Latino Policy Forum section on immigration and action form

• CWS Welcomes Immigration Reform Framework - a YouTube Video

 

These are just a few of the sites you can visit and take action.  If you have a favorite site be sure to let us know with a comment.

Immigration Rights Sunday

May 2, 2010 was "Immigration Rights Sunday" in many UCC Churches.  Around the country there are crowds of people demonstrating against the new Arizona Law SB1070 addressing illegal immigration.  What's clear is the match has lit the bonfire and the fire is raging away.  What's also true is that the fire has been smoldering for a long time.  Why at this moment in time have people become outraged and begun to take action?  How does Christianity inform our decisions and actions about these issues? Where do we find resources to help us learn?

 
There are several places to go for resources to help us understand the underlying issues which address immigration:

• Sojourners has several discussion resources addressing Christianity & immigration, being a stranger in another land, and compassion & understanding.  These resources are very good for multi-session group discussions, but are also useful for reading alone.
• The United Church of Christ (UCC) has resources for worship including sermons & liturgy.  In addition they have produced ideas for children, Bible studies and various articles.  The Justice Ministry has created background information and tools for taking action on a variety of immigrant rights issues.
• The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been exploring migration and social justice for years and has a global perspective on the issues around the movement of people and the problems they face.

I believe the Christian response to these problems is to make sure we are educated on the issues and the underlying trends which are creating them.  Listening and sharing with others will help focus on the highest priority areas. Taking action is critical for change to take place, and will be the subject of my next post.

Christ is Still With Us.

I recently experienced Christ in my midst.  After a nice afternoon with an old friend, I was driving home and at dusk stopped at a Tollway Oasis (Rest Stop) to pick up a souvenir for my 7 year old niece.  Walking quickly toward the building, I tripped over a concrete tire stop and fell flat onto my forehead and knee.  I slowly started to sit up and was bleeding a lot from my head.  I tried to put pressure on it but I was shaking too much.  

I couldn't get up.  Calling over to a person going into the building I asked if she could get me some paper towels to help stop the bleeding.  Soon I was surrounded by six people, each doing something to help:  getting wet paper towels, putting pressure to my head, calling 911, opening the gate to let the ambulance in, telling me "it doesn't look that bad" and retrieving my wallet and phone from the car.

As the EMTs loaded me onto a spine board and into the ambulance, each of the "Good Samaritans" wished me good luck then faded away, back to their own journeys.  There are so many reasons each person might have felt compelled to pass by and yet each stopped to help.  I will never know who they were, but I'm thankful they were there and were not afraid to help.  

We get overloaded with messages, movies, news stories and e-mails warning us to beware of other human beings.  They warn of the violence, corruption and unethical behavior we will experience if we don't avoid others.  We must constantly remind ourselves of the Good Samaritans out there who put helping others above fear.

Give a Little

Wendy Smith has written a book "Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World". In it she shares stories of how individuals can make alot of difference with small donations. Her website has some great recommendations of organizations who provide useful help to those in need. Examples include:

• One Million Lights send solar powered lights to people in the developing world, including recently to Haiti to help medical workers. $25 buys a light.
• World Bicycle Relief sends bicycles to people who have no transportation so they can go to school or work. $134 buys a heavy duty bike.
• Darfur Stoves Project which provides stoves to women in Darfur. These stoves require 24% of the amount of wood of normal stoves thus making collecting wood less dangerous for the women. $30 buys a stove.

The main point is that no matter how small a donation you can give, it all adds up! Every has an impact much greater than people imagine.