The incoming U.S. presidential administration promises "shock and awe on Day 1" (and beyond!) as it rolls out its plan for mass deportation of the immigrants it claims are "poisoning the blood of our country." What that looks like and feels like in totality will be unknown until we and our immigrant and asylum-seeking siblings actually live through it. But we can't help but observe that cruelty seems to be part of the point. And therefore we do know that the UCC commitment to being a denomination of extravagant welcome is now being called into energized service and action, perhaps like never before in our lifetimes.
Our Conference's Immigrant & Refugee Support Group is in the midst of planning Zoom discussions and other means for engaging in dialogue with UCCers about how we can support and be in accompaniment with our immigrant kin who are facing new fears, anxieties and dangers. If you or your congregation would like to be informed directly of these opportunities for dialogue and action planning, please send your contact information to irsg.nhcucc@gmail.com.
Also watch for the multiple workshop opportunities on immigration and immigrant support at Prepared to Serve on February 22nd.
DONATE to the Conference's Immigrant Bond & Support Fund at https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZHQV/campaign/C-148V1
In This Season of Giving: What to Give Mom or Dad?
The NHCUCC’s Immigrant & Refugee Support Group's BJ Lates shares an inspired way that our church family and allies can give gifts of love that will keep on giving.
Don’t know about you, but the older I get the harder it is for my dear children to answer the all- important question: “What to give Mom for her birthday or for Christmas?” Bless them. We live in a smaller space now and whatever we once thought we needed is not necessary anymore. A fellow Immigrant and Refugee Support Group (IRSG) member, Cindy Nottage of the Community Church of Durham, gave us a wonderful idea for building up the IRSG’s now-urgently-needed financial resources and for bringing some level of comfort and assistance to our asylum-seeking siblings who have been detained by ICE at the Strafford County Jail in Dover, NH.
“Tell your children to donate money to the IRSG’s Immigrant Bond & Support Fund as a gift to you,” says Cindy. I thought about how I might suggest that my children could contribute a minimum of a dollar per year for each year that I remain alive. This could begin to add up! We will all become that much more valuable!!!
No matter the monetary value of the gift, I will be able to picture one of our immigrant brothers or sisters being given a modest deposit on their jail commissary account to make a much-needed phone call or to purchase some extra food or a personal care item. Or a gift in my name can help an asylum-seeker pay for legal support or contribute to a bond payment that will secure their freedom from ICE detention if an immigration judge issues a bond order. Or perhaps, one of our brothers or sisters who is bonded out of ICE detention will receive $100 in temporary financial assistance for a period of time while waiting to be allowed to work. Just imagine our immigrant friends’ relief and our own satisfaction! And to top it off, our children will know how happy it makes us. A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING!
Donations to the IRSG’s Immigrant Bond & Support Fund can be made online here. Or mail a check to NHCUCC, with Immigrant Support in the memo line, to 140 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke, NH 03275