Today is Labor Day, which for the vast majority of Americans means little more than a three-day weekend and the end of summer. It seemed to me an appropriate occasion, though, to write about immigration. You see, most of immigration is explained by labor. While there are individuals who migrate because they are […]Continue Reading →
Guest Blog by Michelle Warren This week I read an article on CNN about an Alabama court’s decision on the constitutionality of their State’s new Arizona copycat law. This was of no surprise to me since numerous states have proposed legislation to attempt to address the undocumented population in America, and this is […]Continue Reading →
People have asked me why I am so taken with the undocumented immigrant. There are law-abiding people who need your help, they say.
Good point.
Why do the stories of the undocumented immigrants touch the deepest parts of my soul? Why do I remember their stories more vividly than all the others I have heard in my work at the Willow Creek Legal Aid Ministry? Why is it that I can still see the eyes of the undocumented immigrants when I close mine? Why do their stories, so different from mine, seem like part of my own story? After all, I grew up downtown Chicago in an upper-middle class white family. I have never gone without anything I need. I attended the best schools and enjoy any number of privileges. The undocumented immigrants I have met have experienced a very different kind of life, one with very little schooling, if any, and even less privilege. Continue Reading →
This weekend, my wife and I went to see the movie The Help. Based on a popular 2009 novel written by Kathryn Stockett, The Help tells the story of a Skeeter Phelan, an ambitious white woman fresh out of college in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, as she seeks to chronicle the lives of African-American maids. […]Continue Reading →
Guest Blog by Josh Hanson Under what circumstances is it acceptable for Christians to use violence? For most of us, this question barely requires any thought at all. We are all familiar with the exhortations to “love your enemies,” to “put away violence and oppression,” and to “turn the other cheek.” Of course, […]Continue Reading →
Guest Blog by Diana Soerens “Monsieur Curé,” said the man, “you are good; you don’t despise me. You take me into your house; you light your candle for me, and I haven’t hid from you where I came from, and how miserable I am.” The bishop, who was sitting near him, touched his […]Continue Reading →
As I sat there—hour after hour—I was flabbergasted by the way that the receptionist treated the various people who arrived at the front of the line. Her standard greeting was a stern “why are you here?” (not, “good morning, how can I help you?”) and she would berate people for not knowing what and where their “A Number” was. She also did not speak Spanish; I ended up spending part of the day translating for Spanish-speaking immigrants whom she began to yell at after they did not understand her instructions.
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Guest Blog by Adam Gustine Last night, I had a conversation with some friends over dinner. They were asking questions about our church and the new legal clinic we are starting to serve our immigrant neighbors. As I was explaining the vision and the steps we were taking, my friend, Jeff, asked me […]Continue Reading →
Sexuality, like immigration, is too taboo a topic to be discussed in most churches–but it’s too important to simply be left un-examined, especially for the many single individuals in the Church. The biblical call to chastity is clear, but, like their married counterparts, single immigration reform activists were created by God as sexual beings. Does faithfulness to Scripture simply mean suppressing all sexual desire?Continue Reading →
Last Thursday and Friday, along with tens of thousands of Christian leaders at satellite sites across the country (the rest of the world gets to participate in the coming months), I attended the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit. This was the second time that I’ve had the opportunity to attend the event, […]Continue Reading →
