Pilgrimage for Children's Justice 

By the time you read this, we will have left for Arizona. Our introductions are below so that you might better know who we are. As a group, we are "Strangers No More" on a Pilgrimage for Children's Justice. We are funded, in part, by a gift from Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ. We are on our way to the borderlands of Arizona to learn about the plight of women and children who have been fleeing their homelands in Central America due to violence, the threat of violence, the kidnapping of children and a high incidence of actions against citizens by the drug cartels there. These are some of the "tired and poor, yearning to breathe free" who have arrived in recent months at the borders with Texas, Arizona and California. Some call them "illegal." Others, including me, call them "refugees" who are deserving of our care, concern and compassion.

We will be blogging about our journey, but there will not be much to say today. Today involves 26 hours in a car as we get to know one another and form a pool of common wisdom about the issues we'll be facing in the days ahead. Our itinerary is not final as I write today. On Tuesday, we hope to visit the Pio Decimo Center in Tucson, Ariz. to learn about ways this community center responds to the needs of women and children who have fled Central America. On Wednesday, we expect to go across the border into Nogalez, Mexico to share lunch at a women's shelter and to learn about life on the "other side of the wall." We also have plans to hike on a migrant trail and feel just the littlest bit of what it must be like to cross the desert alone, afraid and hopeful for a new life in the US. We will be educated along the way by UCC and other partners who are active in the sanctuary movement, immigration reform, the legal system and humanitarian outreach and uplifting. Our short stay will end with participation in a migrant prayer vigil at the El Tiridito Shrine in the Old Barrio neighborhood of Tucson.

On Friday, we will depart for the 26-hour (plus time change) trip home, so that we can worship in our respective churches on Sunday, Aug. 10. So, please hold us in your prayers as we journey, learn and bear witness to the love of God for all people in a place that yearns to know that love more fully.

We will be blogging at pilgrimageforchildren.blogspot.com, so please look in on us along the way and know that we appreciate your prayer and support for the frightened people who have come in search of the extravagant welcome to which we bear witness in the United Church of Christ. May their lives be changed for the better even as ours will be changed by what we see and hear and learn.

Be at peace, and in be in touch, won't you.

John Vertigan  

j.vertigan@ikcucc.org

Wendy Peters Bruner is the pastor at Zion UCC in South Bend,  Ind. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book, singing a good song or running a good run. "I come from a family of Russian immigrants to Canada and am myself an immigrant in the US," says Bruner. "Perhaps this is why this journey to the US/Mexican border is so important to me. This is not the season for silence. Children are hurting. We must listen to their stories and raise our voices to tell these stories to others."

Jen Einspahr is a member of Zion UCC in South Bend, Ind., where she serves as co-chair of the Evangelism Ministry. "I am interested in exploring the ways in which faith communities can work for social justice," says Einspahr. "It is my hope that my engagement in social justice ministries will be enriched, by bearing witness to the lived experiences of child refugees."

 

  Tyson Graham attends Zion UCC in South Bend, Ind. He will be in 9th grade this fall and participates in gymnastics and writes poetry. "I want to go to Arizona, because I want to meet the children coming to the US border, comfort them and learn about their experiences," says Graham.

Linda Kowatch is a member of Zion UCC in South Bend, Ind., where she serves as co-chair of the Evangelism Ministry and is the ROC (Rekindling Our Congregation) Coordinator. Linda teaches 7th and 8th grade science in South Bend. "God has called me to get out of my comfort zone, love all people and be a voice for those who have no voice," says Kowatch. "This pilgrimage will introduce me to just some of my younger brothers and sisters in Christ whose lives have been threatened and have come to us, not just the United States, but to us for safety."

John Vertigan serves as Conference Minister of the United Church of Christ in the Indiana-Kentucky Conference. In that role, he signed a pastoral letter to the Church that invites us to look at Central American child refugees as "the face of Christ in our midst."

"I'm taking this calling seriously and going to the US/Mexico border to bear witness to God's compassion among us, and to share that love wherever we are allowed," says Vertigan. "It may be with a Honduran or other child - that is well and good. Perhaps, it will be with community volunteers and organizers who can be uplifted by the reminder that they are not ministering alone in this area of great need. I hope this trip will grant me humility to serve better where I live, with a global perspective that is bold for inclusion and mutual respect among peoples."

A Pilgrim Testimomy: Answering the Call

The Struggle of the Call by Linda Kowatch

I got the call today.  It was the call from my pastor telling me that she was going to the Arizona/Mexican Border to bear witness to the 57,000 children that have come to the U.S. seeking safety and a better life.  She and John Vertigan, the minister to the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the UCC, were going to drive 27+ hours to the border next week.  “Are you in?” she asked. 

I was confused and stunned and petrified all in one minute.  “Wow! Are you crazy? You mean, ME?” I thought.  I didn’t dare say that out loud.  I just hesitated and listened.

She continued, “I am taking Tyson (her son) and I think Jen is going too.  We will go down to see what is happening and help, in any way we can, the children that are coming across the border.  What do you think?  Do you want to go?” 

I was still lost for words.  And all in that split second I experienced the struggle of Jacob with God.  Was I ready to drive all that way? Was I ready to be in the heat of the desert?  Was I going to step up and love my brothers and sisters in Christ?  Was I going to love people that I didn’t know?  Was I going to give up a week of my summer vacation?  Was I going to be the voice for the voiceless like others have done for me in the past?  Was it really necessary for me to go?  Was this the opportunity for me to love as God intended?

 “Yeah, maybe.  Give me a little time to talk to a couple of people and I will get back to you.”  And the call ended... the telephone call I mean. 

The CALL continued.  Have you ever known in your gut the right answer to the question, but your head was much smarter?  Your brain made you hesitate and try to come up with a better answer so you wouldn’t have to make a commitment.  All afternoon I wrestled.  In recent months I had been praying about immigration and even protested at my Representatives Office to encourage her to act on behalf of those needing a secure place to live with their families.  Now I was presented with the opportunity to see with my own eyes the plight of children being sent by their families alone to a foreign country because life was too dangerous at home.   I must admit that I was praying that I would love as God intended, but only as long as it was within my comfort zone.  The wrestling continued.

My gut kept saying, “Go! Love all of God’s children! Hear and see their stories. Love them!”  But my head kept asking questions like, “Is this really necessary?  How will this be different than seeing the cardboard homes in Tijuana that you’ve already seen? Or the poor neighborhoods and kids in your own town?  What if things get really scary down there?”

But my gut continued, “ These are not just numbers coming across the border illegally into the United States.  These are people that are your brothers and sisters.  These are God’s children that are fleeing from dangerous times.  Would you turn away your own brothers and sisters?” 

My head was catching up.  While I still needed time to accept the discomfort I would experience riding in a car for 27 hours, sleeping on the floor, being hot, sacrificing a week of my summer vacation, being in an unknown setting and missing the comforts of my life; I knew that my discomforts were nothing compared to those of the children sleeping in a foreign land without their families. 

Now my head caught up to my gut.  My thoughts started racing, “When else will you get the opportunity to be with real followers of Jesus like those in the Sanctuary Movement or those from Church World Service that are on the front lines?  How much, or how little, is this trip really costing you?  If your biological brothers and sisters were hanging on for life, would you not go to them immediately?  These are your brothers and sisters in Christ whose voices are being silenced. What can you do?”  The struggle of the call was over.

I am headed to the Mexican Border. I am going to bear witness to the plight of my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am going to try to love them as Jesus would love them.  I am going to see and listen to their stories.  Maybe, by my following the call and using my voice and resources, others will hear the call and use their voices and resources.   Then maybe our brothers and sisters will be strengthened and be able to love others as they were loved.  

Prequel to a Pilgrimage

I have been stricken with a sense of the mysteries of God.

I am one of the signatories on the letter published nationally and sent out by our conference last week, regarding the child refugee crisis. What follows is a piece of that letter that calls Christians to action on behalf of these children:

"Deeply aware not just of our own immigrant stories and roots, but also of the clear biblical imperative to care for the stranger in our midst, we invite all settings and all leaders of the United Church of Christ to respond in any of the following ways:

  

* Pray for the children who seek refuge across our southern border, and see in them the face of Christ;
* Support with your donations organizations that house, clothe, feed, educate, and provide medical care to the refugee children;  

* Write to your elected Representatives and share with them your concern for these children, asking them not to see them as a threat to us or as criminals;
* Stay alert to emerging opportunities to respond to the needs of the refugee children. One good source can be found here on the UCC website.   

* Prayerfully consider sermons, newsletter articles, adult and youth classes that articulate a narrative of care for the stranger and alien among us.

The United Church of Christ has a long and proud history of demonstrating courage in the struggle for justice and peace. Now, as ever, our resolve is being tested. It is with a good deal of hope and courage that we face this injustice. Let the actions forged by our compassion silence the voices of hatred and fear that ring right now in the ears of these precious children of God. Let them know we are Christians by our love."

I was moved to "see in the them the face of Christ," and I rather casually asked, via Facebook, if two or three people might want to go to the US border with me next week to bear witness to God's love for these young ones who are fleeing violence, drugs and hopelessness in their home countries.

I am pleased to say that, by the power of God and social media, I will be joined by members of Zion UCC in South Bend, Ind. on a "Pilgrimage for Children's Justice" Aug. 4-9. Pastor Wendy Bruner will accompany three members of her congregation and me on a road trip to Tucson, Ariz. and the US/Mexico border. Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ has offered partial funding for our trip and The Good Shepherd UCC in Arizona has offered us housing and help with our itinerary.

Our hope is to visit a detention center both to witness the conditions we've read about in the media and to offer love wherever we are allowed. We plan to meet with leaders in the Sanctuary Movement and with partners from Church World Service who are providing humanitarian relief. Pastor Delle McCormick, former Executive Director of BorderLinks, a nonprofit organization in Arizona that focuses on cross-border relationships, and now Senior Pastor of Rincon UCC in Tucson, Ariz., has extended herself in hospitality to help us plan for an experience that will not only impact our lives, but have an impact on those who we meet, talk and pray with along the way.

Be at peace, and in be in touch, won't you.

John Vertigan  

j.vertigan@ikcucc.org