News

GBCS Applauds Change in Immigration Policy

Change would improve possibility for undocumented immigrants to keep their families together. WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) sent a statement to the White House this week applauding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision to enable some undocumented immigrant children and spouses to reunite with their U.S.-citizen family members.   DHS's proposed change would enable undocumented immigrants with a U.S.-citizen spouse or...

UMs Participate in Global Event on Migration, Development, and Human Rights

NEW YORK, NY—A delegation of 18 Methodists, hosted by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), is attending the People's Global Action on Migration, Development, and Human Rights (PGA) in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the mission agency's focus on global migration and poverty. The global event began Nov. 28 and ends Dec. 2, 2011. The PGA is a grassroots event organized by Migrant Rights International that brings together migrant organizations from around the...

UM Communications Recognized for Creative Excellence

Malaria Documentary Wins Highest Awards in International Competition NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three MarCom awards have been awarded to United Methodist Communications by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals for documentaries produced by the agency: A Killer in the Dark: An Extraordinary Effort to Combat Malaria and Dreamer.   "To be recognized for the quality of our work is rewarding," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United...

UMs Hold Half of DREAM Sabbaths Across Country

More than 500 events raise awareness of unjust situation thwarting ambitions of young, undocumented immigrants brought to this country by their parents. WASHINGTON, D.C. — United Methodists accounted for almost half of the observances of DREAM Sabbath across the United States this fall. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition reported more than 500 events to raise awareness of the unjust situation thwarting the ambitions of young, undocumented immigrants brought to this country by their...

Webinar on Immigration Planned for Oct. 4

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Immigration is a front-burner topic in today's political world, yet people of faith who work with immigrants often avoid talking about immigration issues. To help Christians foster fruitful conversations on immigration, Rethink Church will conduct a webinar at 8 a.m. (PDT) on Tuesday, Oct. 4. To participate, sign in as a guest. Rethink Church, part of United Methodist Communications, also offers a free resource guide to help organize and facilitate discussions....

'Rethink Immigration' Resources Now Available

Nashville, Tenn. (UMNS) — Rethink Church is ready to help you rethink immigration, by offering a free package of materials to use in many different ways. The package features a 12-minute video about Jasmine, a Michigan teen who found solace in The United Methodist Church when the complications of immigration left her alone. It also includes bulletin graphics, promotional poster designs, and newspaper ads to help you advertise to your community, along with supplementary resources...

DREAM Sabbath Sunday Toolkit Available

Churches are encouraged to participate in interfaith observance between Sept. 16 and Oct. 9. By Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action   The United Methodist Council of Bishops' Committee on Immigration, the United Methodist Interagency Immigration Task Force, and the General Board of Church and Society are encouraging congregations to observe a DREAM Sabbath.   The interfaith observance will enlist churches, synagogues, and mosques across the country to dedicate time to a...

'Pass DREAM Act,' Urge UM Bishops, GBCS Chief Executive

Letter sent in support of citizenship process for undocumented students WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three United Methodist leaders sent a letter July 18 to the U.S. Senate subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees & Border Security urging them to pass the DREAM Act.   The bipartisan legislation, recently reintroduced by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., in the Senate and Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in the House, would provide a process for undocumented...

Immigration Task Force Seeks Stories

By Alice Ann Glenn In the California-Nevada Annual Conference our borders are airports, sea ports, bus depots, and train stations – not international borders. That has not left us immune to serious immigration issues with which we as United Methodists need to deal on a regular basis, however. In this Conference we have had a major portion of an ethnic congregation removed, individuals deported, and others left struggling to get papers or needing to leave the country for a period of time...

Last Chance for Tickets for Saturday's 'Laugh for Justice' Event at Temple UMC

You still may purchase tickets on line to attend Saturday's "Laugh for Justice" comedy fundraiser in San Francisco – but time is running out! Nationally-acclaimed comedian Jimmy Tingle will appear at Temple United Methodist Church this Saturday (May 7) at 7:30 p.m., in a special benefit performance on behalf of the Bay Area Immigration Task Force (BAIT). BAIT is raising money to hire a specialist attorney for its immigration law clinic, hosted by Temple UMC.   Tingle has...

UMW Members Rally in Support of Immigrants

By Connie Jones CA-NV Annual Conference UMW Executive Committee United Methodist Women from across the California-Nevada Annual Conference rallied at the California State Capitol in Sacramento April 11th, in support of comprehensive immigration reform.   The 2011 CA-NV UMW Legislative Event, "A Place To Call Home," began at First United Methodist Church of Sacramento with speakers, the Rev. Brenda Vaca, chair of the Conference Immigration Task Force; Elizabeth Sholes from the...

Don't Forget to Buy Your Tickets! 'Laugh for Justice' Event Is May 7 at Temple UMC

Buy your tickets now to attend the "Laugh for Justice" comedy fundraiser on Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m., at Temple United Methodist Church in San Francisco. The event is a benefit for the Bay Area Immigration Task Force (BAIT), which is raising money to hire a specialist attorney for its immigration law clinic, hosted by Temple UMC. Nationally-acclaimed comedian Jimmy Tingle (at left) will perform. Tingle has appeared on (to name a few) the Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan...

'Laugh for Justice' at Temple UMC on May 7!

Nationally-acclaimed comedian Jimmy Tingle will appear at Temple United Methodist Church in San Francisco on Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m., in a special benefit performance for the Bay Area Immigration Task Force. Tingle (who could also be called Jimmy Tickle, or Jimmy Giggle, or Jimmy Makes-Me-Laugh-So-Hard-It-Hurts!) has donated his talents to support the BAIT immigration law clinic, which is raising funds to hire an immigration law attorney.   The clinic provides free (sliding scale)...

Early Registration Deadline Approaches for GCORR's Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Event in May

February 28 is the deadline for early registration for the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) "Facing the Future: Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Appointments in a Global Church" event, to be held May 16-18 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles. Co-hosted by the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM), this event includes pre-events on May 15, providing an eight-hour seminar on cross-cultural competency and a Teaching Church Site...

'A Place to Call Home': UMW Legislative Event Focuses on Immigration

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt" (Ex. 22:21) "For I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Matt. 25:35b) Immigration reform is the focus for the California-Nevada Annual Conference United Methodist Women's legislative event, "A Place to Call Home," taking place Monday, April 11 at First United Methodist Church in Sacramento.   Speakers include the Rev. Brenda Vaca, Chair of the Conference Immigration Task Force; Belinda...

"A Call to Radical Hospitality": A Commentary

By Cate Monaghan Communications Director "It's a justice issue." I heard that over and over at the Western Jurisdiction Immigration Training Event, "A Call to Radical Hospitality," in San Francisco Jan. 21-22 – so many times, in fact, that finally, I started to believe it.   Don't get me wrong; it isn't that I hadn't all along considered immigration rights to be a justice issue – but like so many people, I also thought it was far more complicated than...

Three New Immigration Training Event Videos Uploaded

Three new videos from the Jan. 21 Western Jurisdiction Immigration Training Event in San Francisco – including the keynote speech by Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference – are available to watch on REEL Witness, the video library on the California-Nevada Annual Conference website. The training event, "A Call to Radical Hospitality," also featured (among others) Bishops Warner H. Brown, Jr. of Cal-Nevada and Grant Hagiya of Pacific...

Social Justice Agency Sets 2011 Legislative Priorities

Overcoming global poverty, U.S. jobs crisis, clean air – on list along with holdovers immigration and healthcare reform, and international family planning.  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) has set its 2011 legislative priorities for the 112th U.S. Congress. The six priorities include several holdovers from 2010, including healthcare and immigration reform.   The priorities support social justice stances...

Church Responds to Immigration Arrests

By Paul Jeffrey* Jan. 26, 2011 | ELLENSBURG, Wash. (UMNS) – In the wake of a surprise immigration sweep through a normally quiet town in eastern Washington state, a United Methodist congregation has become the center of the community's support for families affected by dozens of arrests.   Early on Jan. 20, agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law-enforcement personnel arrested at least 30 people around Ellensburg...

Video From Immigration Training Event Uploaded

The Immigration Task Force for the California-Nevada Annual Conference hosted bishops, directors of connectional ministry, clergy, laity, and others from across the Western Jurisdiction, Jan. 21-22 in San Francisco for "A Call to Radical Hospitality," a jurisdictional immigration training event. Bishop Minerva Carcaño, resident bishop for the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, was keynote speaker for the Friday evening session, which kicked off a day of workshops and worship...