Immigration Reform and the PC(USA)

Yesterday, our moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow sent out an invitation to comment on the statement issued on behalf of the PC(USA) regarding the recent Arizona legislation known as SB1070. This was his status on facebook:

Bruce Reyes-Chow just had a wonderfully challenging conversation with a "younger than me" person about today's interactions about the PC(USA) immigration statement. So here you go, for those 30 and under only, what are YOUR thoughts on the statement, the interactions, etc. Over 30's try really hard to listen.

No matter how inundated I am with final papers and exams, there’s no way I could pass up such a delightful invitation to thank the church for their active role in speaking out against this legislation, and give a few reasons as to why I am against the law myself. Before I show my response to Bruce’s message, here’s a brief summary of the statement if you haven’t read it or don’t plan to read the whole thing (though I do encourage you to read it - it's a great statement!):


I. An immediate need exists in the country for immigration reform
a) SB1070 is characterized by bigotry, trauma and fear
b) We need action at the federal level

II. Churches see the pain the broken system causes; ripping families apart, children left behind
a) law puts Christian workers at risk who work with undocumented immigrants
b) we cannot stand by and allow this to happen

III. The law also jeopardizes the safety of immigrant communities, further pushing the invisible population of undocumented immigrants into the shadows which:
a) prevents people from reporting crimes
b) fosters a distrust of the law
c) hinders federal legislation dealing with immigration

IV. LEV 19: 33-34
a) IMMIGRATION REFORM PLEASE!

Here was my response, it’s not eloquent (facebook just isn’t as fancy as a blog and I was in a bit of an “in-the-moment-adrenaline-rush” after reading the statement) but it sums up a few points:

Bruce,
When I got my tattoo of the Presbyterian seal on my wrist my mom asked me "why couldn't you just have gotten a necklace?" and many people asked me "what if you don't always agree with your church?"

Well, there have been times since when I haven't exactly adored what the Presbyterian church has done, but there are times like these when the PC(USA) stands up and speaks out against injustices in the world that completely overwhelm any trivial disagreements I have with the church. This is EXACTLY where I see the living church in action in the world. The statement issued about SB1070 is a testament to the living church. I'm so glad my church took action and stated plain truths about the legislation.

My concentration, I hope, in the sociology PhD program I enter in the fall will be immigration and immigration reform. I've already studied the issue at length and legislation like this has all kinds of unintended consequences. The third paragraph in the statement, for example, discusses the distrust of law enforcement that already existed. This legislation will only augment the distrust and push the invisible population further into the shadows. This kind of legislation hinders federal investigations and further complicates our already broken system.

In practice, the legislation is a nightmare. If Javier (my husband – from Chile) and I want to go on a road trip to California, he'd have to bring his birth certificate? What papers would we need? How sensible is it for him to take all of his precious documents with him? Those documents need to be kept SAFELY at home in a fire-proof lock box, because they were hard enough to get in the first place. How full will the already inhumane detention centers be? How many more families will be split up?

In a perverse way, though, this legislation has brought to the forefront something this country desperately needs: immigration reform. There's no way congress can escape this issue now. Again, unintended consequences.

This was not a part of my original comment but I later pressed the point of how important it is that our church MADE such a statement. We are not the only denomination to issue a statement on immigration reform: the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has issued a statement called “Toward Compassionate, Just and Wise Immigration Reform,” and the United Methodist Church is part of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition and works with groups to increase the religious diversity in the campaign toward immigration reform. What would we have the PC(USA) do – ignore the situation? Not stand up and make a statement? That’s just not our personality. We may not have a unified consensus – has that ever happened in our church? This is a time for action. I’m so proud of the PC(USA) for making this statement and joining the ranks of other denominations who have already become involved in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform.

What do you all think? We’ll take comments even if you are 30+ years old.

photo by: www.ryanrodrickbeiler.com, taken from Soujourners

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Book of Confessions

When I think about being a member of the PC(USA), there is a list of things that come to mind about the PC(USA) and the fact that we are a confessional church is, or was until recently, not anywhere on that list. As a younger member in our church, I think about things like Montreat, Ghost Ranch, Presbyterian Youth Triennium, and Young Adult Volunteers. When I think about the church as a whole, I think of General Assembly and our democratic processes, session meetings, synods, Presbyteries, the Church is ALIVE; there is a slue of words, phrases and places that are particular or not-so-particular but important to the past, present and future of the PC(USA).

One celebrated and historical aspect of the Presbyterian Church is the fact that we confess, as a church, every Sunday. That is part of what makes us a confessional church. I’m no seminary student, or graduate for that matter, but I’ll lay out a few guidelines to understanding the Presbyterian Church USA as a confessional church, which I think is important especially since it is something we do every Sunday.

The Presbyterian Church USA has a constitution comprised of two parts: the Book of Confessions (aka the boc) and the Book of Order (aka the boo! Which is great) The Book of Confessions is a series of historical documents written in the midst of difficult situations that are meant for the our church to be able, according to the boc preface, to:

“declare to its members and to the world
who and what it is,
what it believes,
what it resolves to do.”

These confessions shed light on the unity of our church and guide us through situations that we face in our own generations. While these documents may have been written to address very specific situations or questions that troubled the church in the past, they are consistent reminders of our own contemporary presence in the world and call our congregations to action when we need to be stirred up. The confessions are also helpful in the ways in which we interpret scriptures, and are good lenses through which we can look at our world at large. So you see, they are foundational and irreplaceable in our church’s identity.

The Book of Confessions is not only for seminary students, graduates, professors, ministers and elders. It is for all of us, because we do not want to be those church members who show up to church to go through the motions every Sunday. We want to be living congregants who actively engage in scripture, liturgy, and understand what it means when we say bits and pieces of confessions and when we state creeds. I got a gold star when I was in 2nd grade for memorizing the Apostle’s Creed, and I recited it pretty absent-mindedly for a long time until I asked my mom why we say we believe in the “holy catholic Church” if we are Presbyterian. It wasn’t until recently that I started paying attention to the creeds and confessions, and there really is some interesting stuff in that boc. So don’t let it gather dust, crack it open (or download it here) and learn a little more about what it means to be a Presbyterian.

God's Heart Has No Borders

In 2008, the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 11.9 million undocumented immigrants were living in the United States. Seven million of these immigrants are from Mexico and four out of every five undocumented immigrants is from a Latin American country just south of our border. Traditionally, Mexican migrants came to the United States to work seasonal agricultural jobs, staying for around six to nine months out of the year and returning to Mexico for the rest of the time. They would migrate to the same major agricultural locations in the United States going either up the west coast of California, through the center of the country or along the southern border from Texas to Florida as crops changed throughout the year.

The Church is ALIVE in Church Activism

Today's video comes from Tennessee. She has the following to say about how the church is ALIVE to her...

On February 4, 2009, prisoner Steve Henley was executed in Nasvhille, Tennessee. A brief statement from the website www.stevehenley.org sums up the unjust nature of the case:

"Two men were implicated in the murder of Fred and Edna Stafford. One served five years in prison.

The other received the death penalty."

The 171st General Assembly of the PC(USA) states: "capital punishment cannot be condoned by an interpretation of the Bible based upon the revelation of God's love in Jesus Christ," and calls on Christians to "seek the redemption of evil doers and not their death." The statement goes on to say "the use of the death penalty tends to brutalize the society that condones it." (This statement can be found here, as well as other resources regarding general facts about the PC(USA))
On February 3, some Presbyterian friends and I attended a candlelight vigil outside the prison until 1:00 in the morning when Steve Henley was executed by lethal injection. We prayed for clemency until the very last moment.

This was a very powerful experience for me in my faith. TCASK, or Tennessee Coalition Against State Killing, organized the candlelight vigil. Stacey Rector, the executive director for TCASK, was the associate pastor for my church (Second Presbyterian in Nashville, Tennessee) until she felt that her call was to lead this organization (here is a brief article on her decision to join TCASK).


I say it was a powerful experience in my faith because this was not just gathering of Presbyterians. There were people from all walks of life attending this vigil for Steve Henley and we all were able to put differences aside to join together and be present for Steve Henley's final moments.
I think the Presbyterian Church is alive in moments such as these, when we are able to gather with our brothers and sisters of other faiths and beliefs and yet who share this world with us to stand up for what we believe in. When we show the world that, despite our differences, we love each other, and simply do the right thing in this crazy world in which we live, we fill our church with life.

Thanks for your submission! We here at thechurchisalive.com are dedicated to representing any and all who feel the church is alive in their area. Send us your video today!