Faith and Justice Walk Together

by Rev. Peter Goodwin Heltzel, Ph.D.

Representative Luis V. Gutierrez of Illinois ignited a fire in the Bronx this past Monday. On March 15^th over five hundred religious and community leaders gathered at the Latino Pastoral Action Center (LPAC) in the Bronx to voice their support for comprehensive immigration reform. An ardent advocate of immigration reform in the House of Representatives, Gutierrez proclaimed, “We will not rest until immigration reform comes,” calling on New Yorkers to march on Washington for immigrant rights.

It is our common humanity that grounds this social struggle. Rep. Gutierrez encouraged the crowd to show compassion for the stranger and love for the neighbor. He said the church is one of the last sanctuaries for undocumented workers, where they are safe from agents who demand to see their papers. “After March 21^st the sanctuary movement will permeate the whole nation, moving outside of the four walls of the church,” declared Gutierrez.

The immigration rally, hosted by Dr. Ray Rivera in the LPAC gymnasium, rocked with passionate chants of ‘Sí, se Puede!’ sounds of blowing whistles, beating drums, clapping hands, and hearty cheers, powerfully reminiscent of Barack Obama’s campaign for President. It is clear that there is a robust movement for immigration reform in this country that is growing rapidly.

Rivera urged, “Christians have led in the great moral struggles of history, they worked for the abolition of slavery, they worked for women’s suffrage, and they worked for civil rights. Now it is time to work for immigration reform. We must take the front seat in this justice struggle.” He then led the crowd with Pentecostal passion in a chant of “Fe y justicia marchan juntas” (“Faith and Justice walk together”)

New York is a strategic state in the battle for immigration rights. Senator Charles E. Schumer plays a vital role in the current legislative struggle. New York activists are serious about keeping the heat on Schumer to introduce immigration legislation this month, so there will be enough time for the Senate to debate and pass the measure.

New York City thrives on the cultural diversity and economic strengths of the immigrant community. In a statement sent from Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, she says, “our city’s immigrants and their families must be treated in a way that reflects our appreciation for them. Our immigrants are the backbone of what makes this city a unique place like no other in the world.” Since New York City is being supported by immigrant labor, many New Yorkers think that reform legislation will better support immigrant families and provide a pathway to citizenship for the city’s growing group of immigrant workers.

There was a strong presence or progressive evangelicals on Monday night, including Bishop Hector Bonano of Confraternidad de Lideres Conciliares, Lisa Sharon Harper of New York Faith and Justice, and the Rev. Gabriel Salguero of Latino Leadership Circle.

Rev. Salguero said “Immigration is a moral issue and evangelical Christians will not be silent on this one.” Pastor of the multicultural Lamb’s Church in New York City, Salguero will conduct his worship service on the road this Sunday morning. He says, “This is our moment! This Sunday our worship is going to be on the bus, as we travel to Washington, D.C. to stand up on behalf of millions of immigrants. The church must not just talk prophetically, but walk prophetically.”

This immigration rally was unique because it brought together religious leaders, community leaders, and political leaders, all committed to immigration reform. Representative Gutierrez encouraged all New Yorkers to march, saying “when we look back on 2010, we can look back with pride and self-respect, telling our children and grandchildren that we stood up and marched to Washington on behalf of immigration reform.”

Now is the time for change. As busloads of New Yorkers take off on Sunday morning, March 21^st activists around the country will join them on the National Mall, providing a unified witness in Washington for a more just and humane immigration policy.

Peter Goodwin Heltzel teaches theology and directs the Micah Institute at New York Theological Seminary. An ordained of minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he is the author of Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race and American (Yale University Press, 2009).

March for America

The New York State Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform

is sponsoring a bus to the

March for America

Change Takes Courage and Commitment

March 21, Washington, D.C. The National Mall

President Obama promised an immigration reform bill that provides a common-sense solution

for our broken immigration system, one that provides a path to citizenship for the nation’s

undocumented and serves the national interest.

But it’s getting late in the game, the administration has actually expanded the failed

enforcement-only approach of the Bush administration, and the opportunity could well be lost to

set things right if we don't act now.

Tens of thousands of people will gather from multiple sectors to send a powerful message to

President Obama and to Congress: The time to fix our broken immigration system is now.

It’s time for Immigration Reform.

No more raids.

No more fear.

No more broken families.

Schedule:

•6 am Buses depart NYC at 6 am (location to be announced)

•1pm Interfaith Service on the Mall

•2pm Rally and March

•6pm Buses depart Washington, D.C. to return to NYC

The cost is $20. Deadline for registration and receipt of payment:

March 15, 2009.

To register for the Network bus, contact: Lilliane Santiago at the

Presbytery of New York City: 212-870-2221, ext. 4256 lsantiago@presbynyc.org.

Or you can send a check for $20 made out to the Presbytery of New York City – along

with a note asking to be registered for the bus, to:

Lilliane Santiago

Presbytery of New York City

475 Riverside Drive, #1600

New York, NY 10115

Please include your name, phone number and email address with your payment!

Prayer Vigil for Immigration Reform

On behalf of The New York State Interfaith Network for Immigration Reform NY Faith & Justice invites you to Interfaith Vigil for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Thursday, February 18 @ 11:30am The Riverside Church 490 Riverside Drive New York, NY. Join a diverse gathering of regional and national faith leaders and key congressional leaders for one of the most important interfaith gatherings for immigration reform in the nation. Add your voice to the chorus calling forSenator Charles Schumer (D-NY), to draft and submit just and humane immigration reform legislation now! Co-founded by American Jewish Committee, The Interfaith Center of New York, The New York Immigration Coalition, the Presbytery of New York City, NY Faith & Justice, and UJA/Federation, the Network is a collaboration of diverse New York faith community leaders and organizations that have come together at this critical time in our nation's history to express our shared commitment to welcoming and honoring the "strangers among us" and our belief that the inhumanity and injustice of our current system require Congress and the Obama Administration to act now to enact reform. Your presence will make all the difference. Please don't pass up this opportunity to love "the strangers" in our midst through the ministry of presence. We hope you will be able to join us! To RSVP Contact Samantha at smclane@nyfaithjustice.org.

Thy Will Be Done...The Biblical Call for Health Care Reform

By Stephen Tickner

The health care debate in this country has ratcheted up to the likes of an accidental discharge at a fireworks stand in July.  Ever since members of Congress went back to their districts for the August recess and started holding Town Hall meetings to hear from their constituents, the obscene, absurd, ridiculous, and frightening have bared their ugly faces.  A frighteningly small amount of discourse and debate on health care reform has taken place-if any at all-and been replaced with scare tactics and a propaganda war on both sides.  With four bills floating around the House of Representatives waiting for a fifth, and no official bill floating through the Senate, now is the time to return to rationality and have that debate.  

Unfortunately, I am afraid that the essence of the problem is getting lost.  This country’s health care system is broken and needs to be fixed with true reform and I, as a Christian, believe it is a moral issue that God cares deeply about.  

I came to this belief after being challenged by friends on the question of Biblical imperative and observing various Christian organizations making the claim of the moral need for health care reform.  So, I wanted to see for myself.  A journey through the New Testament as well as visiting some Old Testament prophets ensued and provided me with some pretty interesting answers. 

To begin, I want to lay the groundwork for what God demands of his children.  Jesus began his ministry with the “Sermon on the Mount.”  In the middle of his first sermon, Jesus he teaches his followers how to pray by providing us with the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 6:9-13).  The prayer opens up by saying, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  So Jesus is telling us that God wants the Kingdom of Heaven to be brought to earth and have God’s will be done here. 

Which leads us to the question, what is God’s will?  It would be wrong of me to definitively say that I know without question what God’s will is, but Jesus gives us a good clue in Matthew 22:37-40 when he responds to a question from the Pharisees about which is the greatest commandment.  “Love the lord with all your soul and with all your mind.” he says. “This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Throughout the entire New Testament Jesus tells parables that damn the powerful for not loving their neighbors, for loving money more than the poor and the sick, for having the ability to care for the "least of these" and ignoring them, for holding on to ancient traditions rather than showing mercy in fear of breaking such traditions.  In fact, in the parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man goes to hell because he refuses to feed, care for, or take in Lazarus despite his ability to do so.  

So how does this relate to the health care debate?  According the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the United States has the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a single year, in the world.  That being said, the United States is also the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not ensure that all citizens have health care coverage.  Today in America there are nearly 46 million people without any kind of health insurance according to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.  In addition, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics has stated that there are roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the U.S. due to lack of health insurance.  To put these statistics in more staggering terms, that is like the tragedy of the World Trade Center occurring every other month in different cities around the country!  As shocking as these statistics are, we haven’t even addressed the underinsured or skyrocketing costs that cripple families on a daily basis (60% of bankruptcies this year will be due to medical bills and 75% of that number actually had some sort of insurance). These statistics do not coincide with me to “Loving your neighbor as you would love yourself.”  

I fear our country is like the Rich Man in Luke 16.  We wear fine clothes and feast sumptuously everyday.  We are provided for and are happy with where our life has led.  But we also know there are millions of people out there that need help and can’t get it.  It's impossible to pretend ignorance, we can see them daily at our gates like Lazarus to the Rich Man.  We can’t let our hearts harden to those who struggle in our society because as Jesus tells the Pharisees in this parable, we will be held accountable for our actions.

As the month of August continues, so does the argument over health care reform.  Like many problems, there are many solutions.  The Bible doesn’t provide a simple answer.  That is why the debate is so important, it is the only way we will ever develop a just solution that covers every single person and honors the sanctity of life.  Health care is a biblical issue.  If we keep that in mind, we can eliminate the obscene, absurd, ridiculous, and frightening and return to a vigorous and helpful debate that will result in a sustainable and just plan.