martes, 26 de noviembre de 2013

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
CELEBRATION 2013




Maclovia Perez
801-833-2793
Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA*
E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com
http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com
Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru
(1998-2011..)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú

Crossing Borders in the Church: On Embracing Undocumented Immigrants

 Note: This is the 3rd part in an ongoing series called Beyond Multiethnic, in which we’re talking about ways that we can honor the image of God in diverse people. Please see part 1 for context.
This week I’m excited to address the issue of honoring the image of God in our undocumented brothers and sisters. I’m grateful for Matthew Soerens’ thoughtful and persistent leadership in this area and am so pleased that he  agreed to share his insight with us.
Matthew Soerens is the Field Director for the Evangelical Immigration Table, the US Church Training Specialist with World Relief, and the co-author, with Jenny Hwang Yang, of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2009).  
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immigration-9Several months ago, I was invited to speak at a large, conservative Southern Baptist church that is, in some ways, a microcosm of American evangelicalism as a whole.  The crowd of several thousand at the first Sunday service was distinctly older and almost entirely white, but at the morning’s second service, the senior pastor removed his tie and delivered exactly the same sermon to an audience that was much more ethnically diverse.  Later that day, under the same roof, the church hosted worship services and Bible studies in Creole, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.  Within that one local church—as is true of the Church as a whole in the United States—coexist native-born U.S. citizens, naturalized citizens, lawfully-present immigrants, and undocumented immigrants, and with them a broad range of views on immigration policy. 
One of the church’s pastors related to me that, the previous week, a young Hispanic man had come forward at the end of the service seeking prayer. He shared, hesitantly, that he was facing deportation. He’d talked to lawyers and tried everything he could to resolve his situation, but it seemed inevitable that he would be separated from his family.  The pastor prayed for God’s provision and, then, as the man turned to leave, added, “We just want you to know how welcome you are at our church.”
“With all due respect,” the man replied, “if people at this church knew I was ‘illegal,’ they would hate me.” 
The pastor assured him that their church—which, to their credit, had done far more than the average congregation to embrace immigrant communities—lovedhim.  But he went home, he told me, shaken by the man’s comment: what was it about his church that had conveyed to this man that people would despise him if they knew he lacked legal status?
WHEN POLITICIANS AND PUNDITS SPEAK FOR THE CHURCH
However, if we consider the rhetoric that some in our society, including some Christians, have used to discuss the topic of illegal immigration, the young immigrant’s conclusion that many of his native-born Christian brothers and sisters might hate him seems quite logical.  When presidential primary candidates compete to see who can be harsher on undocumented immigrants and the TV pundits say they’re doing so to win the “evangelical vote” in the Iowa Caucus, the undocumented within our churches notice. When the church’s parking lot is marked with bumper stickers for a candidate who proposes—to wild applause—the construction of an electrified fence that would kill those who attempt to unlawfully enter the United States, the unintentional message is: “I’d rather you’d be dead than sitting next to me at church.”   Whenever those associated with Christianity blame the undocumented for the country’s economic trouble (despite nearly unanimous economic data to the contrary), imply that most are criminals or terrorists, or compare them to rats, cockroaches, or any other animal, the message conveyed to the undocumented within our congregations—even if very few would convey such a message directly—is that “God loves you…but we loathe you.”  (This, incidentally, is a pretty lousy evangelism strategy).
WHEN SILENCE SPEAKS LOUDLY AND CLEARLY
The reality is that, according to various polls, both most evangelicals (of all ethnicities) and most white evangelicals, specifically, actually support the sorts of immigration reforms advocated by most immigrants’ rights groups, including a process by which most of the undocumented could eventually earn citizenship.  But that’s not necessarily because they have heard thought about the immigrants in their community from a distinctly biblical perspective: according to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Centerjust 16% of white evangelicals and 20% of all Protestant Christians say they have ever heard the topic of immigration discussed by their pastor, which is likely why only 12% of white evangelicals and 9% of all Protestants think of this topic primarily from the perspective of their Christian faith.  For the most part, the Church in the U.S. has ignored this topic, allowing politicians and pundits to define our thinking, rather than God’s word.
WHEN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS ARE PART OF THE FAMILY
The irony is that—beyond the biblical reality that each undocumented immigrant is, like all human beings, made in God’s image with inherent dignity (Genesis 1:27)—most are also our Christian brothers and sisters.  Though many native-born Christians probably do not realize it, immigrant congregations account for the fastest growth in the American Church today.  Missiologist Tim Tennent estimates that “86% of the immigrants in North America are likely to either be Christians or become Christians,” which, he notes, is far above the national average and means that “the immigrant population actually presents the greatest hope for Christian renewal in North America.”
That reality is a surprise to many native-born believers, because meaningful interaction between native-born and undocumented believers is actually pretty limited: immigrants often worship in separate congregations, out of sight of their native-born brethren. Even when worshiping in the same building alongside non-immigrant believers, they too often feel unsafe discussing the legal status issues that are a challenge for about one-third of immigrants.  It’s worth noting that these challenges are not only a Latino concern, either: more than 20% of Korean immigrants in the U.S. are undocumented, for example, as are about 15% of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino immigrants.  At a primarily Nigerian church where I worshipped recently, the pastor estimated that half of the congregation might be undocumented.  And yet, many American Christians do not actually personally know—or realize that they know—an undocumented immigrant.
WHEN CROSS-CULTURAL INTERACTION SPURS US TO LOVE
The good news is that where the church is pressing into the unity to which Christ calls us, relationships form and attitudes change.  Political scientist Ruth Melkonian-Hoover finds that white evangelicals who worship alongside immigrants are far less likely to view immigrants as a threat (19.6%) than white evangelicals as a whole (50.7%).  Those who have heard a positive message about immigration from their pastor—presumably, one that highlights the scores of biblical commands related to how immigrants ought to be treated—are only about half as likely to think of immigrants as a threat and are also much more likely (81.5%) than white evangelicals as a whole (54%) to support immigration reform policies including an earned path to citizenship for the undocumented. 
Christian leaders across denominations and ethnic backgrounds—including many associated with the Evangelical Immigration Table, which I have the privilege of helping to lead—are also leading very effectively, challenging those “in the pews” to carefully consider what Scripture says, to faithfully pray for legislators as they debate immigration policy changes, and to stand with their undocumented sisters and brothers in advocating for immigration reforms consistent with biblical values.
While not everyone will agree on public policies, the Church must provide a biblical framework for thinking about and responding to immigrants, lest we leave that area of discipleship to political commentators on either side of the aisle.  We need to facilitate safe spaces for believers of vastly different backgrounds and experiences to hear one another’s stories, a process which tends to challenge media-driven stereotypes.  Only then, with genuine, mutual relationships, can we possibly live into the unity that Christ calls his Church to as one Body in which “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).











































Maclovia Perez
801-833-2793
Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA*
E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com
http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com
Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru
(1998-2011..)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú

lunes, 4 de noviembre de 2013


TurkeyDay2013


Maclovia Perez
801-833-2793
Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA*
 E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com
 http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com
 Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru
(1998-2011..)
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
 Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú



IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PERUVIAN COMMUNITY IN UTAH

Dear friends
The Governor of the State of Utah, is doing a very interesting project for social inclusion in which the Peruvian community want to be part of the second most important minority within the State of Utah.
That said, I have been given the responsibility, to prune contact with each of the organizations , foundations or individuals in the community who are holding events , so that they can be scheduled within the calendar of social inclusion that is developing governance.

The projects to be developed are:

The first project aims to identify local events organized by SLC Hispanic communities , since the city is developing a project for citizen participation to improve its outreach to Latino communities. They want to know about our activities or large community events planned by the Peruvian / Latino in the coming months , or for the coming year 2014 .
And to have a better schedule developed in the community, with the aim that each scheduled event have better success as a timetable would be announced in general.

Second, is developing a photography project , in which interviewing and photographing this minority leaders of the community , businesses , citizens, refugees, immigrants , etc., in order to promote through the media office social communication of Salt Lake City a culture much different from that which is believed to be .

If you or someone Peruvian community would be interested in participating in these interviews let me know. These interviews have had at most an hour and a half and will be published only after obtaining approval of his own person .

Those who wish to be part of this project , I ask please send me your information as soon as possible to go by a schedule of interviews.
They can also send me an email or just call me on the phone telling me your participation.

Remember that this is a social inclusion program is not mandatory , much less this low interest whatsoever.




Maclovia Perez
801-833-2793
Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA*
E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com
http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com
Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru
(1998-2011..)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú
DHRlogo email


Estimados amigos
La  Gobernacion del Estado de  Utah esta realizando un proyecto muy interesante de inclusión social en la cual desea que la comunidad peruana participe por ser una de las segundas minorías mas importantes dentro del Estado de Utah.
Dicho esto, se me ha dado la responsabilidad , de pode contactarme con cada uno de las organizaciones, fundaciones o personas de la comunidad que vienen realizando eventos, para que estos puedas ser agendados, dentro del calendario de inclusión social que esta desarrollando la gobernación.

Los proyectos a desarrollarse son los siguientes:

 El primer proyecto tiene el objetivo de identificar los eventos locales organizados por las comunidades hispanas de SLC , ya que en  la ciudad se está desarrollando un proyecto de participación ciudadana dirigidas a mejorar su alcance a las comunidades latinas. Ellos desean saber sobre nuestras actividades o grandes actos programados por la comunidad peruana / Latino para los próximos meses,  o para el ano que viene 2014 .
Y poder contar con un calendario mejor desarrollado de la comunidad, con el objetivo de que cada evento programado tenga mejor exito ya que estaria anunciado en un calendario general.

En segundo lugar , se esta desarrollando un proyecto fotográfico , en el que se esta entrevistando y fotografiando líderes de las minorías de la comunidad , empresarios , ciudadanos , refugiados , inmigrantes, etc , con el fin de promover a través de las oficinas de medios de comunicación social de Salt Lake City una cultura  mucho más diversa de la que se cree que es.

Si usted o alguien de la comunidad Peruana,  estaría interesado en participar en estas entrevistas  hágamelo saber.  Estas entrevistas han tenido como máximo una hora y media y serán publicados  sólo después de obtener una la   aprobación definitiva de su  persona.

Los que deseen ser parte de este proyecto , les ruego por favor me envíen su información a la brevedad posible para ir haciendo un horario de entrevistas.
Tambien pueden enviarme un correo electronico o simplemente llamarme por telefono indicandome su participacion.

Recuerden que esto es un programa de inclusion social, no es obligatorio ni mucho menos esta bajo interes alguno.

Maclovia Perez
801-833-2793
Fundadora,Directora General Red de Peruanos en Utah*USA*
E-mail:redperuenutah@gmail.com
http://redperuenutah.blogspot.com
Corresponsal Red Democratica del Peru
(1998-2011..)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion
Por una política exterior democrática en el Perú

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