Steps You Can Take to Welcome Immigrants

By United Methodist Women Immigrant and Civil Rights Initiative

May 17, 2012

The United Methodist Women’s Immigrant and Civil Rights Initiative has actively engaged members in study and action since 2006. The initiative draws on our biblical understandings of God’s reign, where all God’s children, created in God’s image, are valued and welcome at the table and where Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves becomes reality. Here are some ways you can take action:

Education

Host a local unit or district United Methodist Women program.
Encourage your conference mission team to do a workshop at a School of Mission.
Make immigration a focus of your annual meeting.
Create table displays on immigration at any United Methodist Women event.
Write articles on immigration for your conference United Methodist Women newsletter or website.
Hold a film screening (such as of the film Made in LA) as an educational event on immigration.
Attend a seminar on immigration through the United Methodist Seminar Program in New York or Washington, D.C. Contact Jay Godfrey at jgodfrey@unitedmethodistwomen.org.
Seek partners. Find out who is advocating for racial justice and immigrant rights in your community. Attend events of other organizations related to immigration.

Spiritual Growth

Make immigration the theme of your spiritual growth retreat and lead a Bible study on Immigration. Lead a Bible study on immigration at a circle or unit meeting. Visit unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/immigration.
Engage in the 2012 spiritual growth study Immigration and the Bible: A Guide for Radical Welcome by Joan M. Maruskin. Available from the Mission Resource Center: missionresourcecenter.org or call: 1-800-305-9857. Visit the companion website at unitedmethodistwomen.org/immigrationstudy.
Commemorate Advent through meditations on immigration and by commemorating December 18, United Nations International Migrants Day. See www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/resources/spiritual/observances/migrantsday.
Pray for immigrants. Share written prayers at immigration.umwonline.net.
Use “holy conferencing” to engage in difficult conversations about immigration. Read about the Desert Southwest Conference’s Holy Conversation Project at desertsouthwestconference.org. For a video description with Global Ministries missionary the Rev. Jim Perdue, watch on YouTube.

Advocacy

Distribute United Methodist Women action alerts via e-mail. Visit www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/network to sign up.
Sign up for United Methodist Women e-blast for action on immigration. Contact Sophony Lamour at slamour@unitedmethodistwomen.org.
Distribute United Methodist Women “How to” handouts for action on immigration, available at www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/howto.
Take action on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention or deportation. See www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/alerts/item/index.cfm?id=508.
Send letters to the editor of your local paper regarding local immigration concerns.
Send letters to state or federal elected officials regarding immigration policy.
Work with your conference social action coordinators and mission teams to host a legislative event at the state level. Contact United Methodist Women executive for public policy Susie Johnson at sjohnson@unitedmethodistwomen.org for more information.
Monitor state immigration legislation. See National Council of La Raza’s “The Wrong Approach: State Anti-immigration Legislation 2011”
www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/The_Wrong_Approach_Anti-ImmigrationLeg.pdf.
Organize or join a public witness for immigrant rights.
See www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/media/pdf/howtoorganize.pdf.
Wear or distribute United Methodist Women immigrant rights buttons. Contact Sophony Lamour at slamour@unitedmethodistwomen.org for buttons.
Seek partners. Find out who is advocating for racial justice and immigrant rights in your community. Attend events of other organizations related to immigration.

Welcoming Immigrants

Work at district and conference levels to address needs and concerns of United Methodist Women members who are immigrants and fully include them.
Provide language interpretation at United Methodist Women meetings to welcome immigrant United Methodist Women sisters.
Provide volunteer services for immigrants in the community.
Distribute “Know Your Rights” information to immigrants, available at www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/immigration/archives/studyaction/?i=22237.
Support a United Methodist Women national mission institution that serves immigrants. See February 2012 issue of response or visit www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/give/nmimap.
Provide material aid to families impacted by immigration laws.
Support Justice for Our Neighbors through volunteer, material or financial support. See: www.umcor.org or Contact Alice Mar at amar@gbgm-umc.org.
Visit immigrants in detention (prison ministry). See: www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/alerts/item/index.cfm?id=508.
Provide emergency support to immigrant families facing detention and deportation (bond, accompaniment to ICE, child care, access to legal aid, etc.).
Participate in community efforts to welcome immigrants.
Supported refugee resettlement in your community. Contact Naomi Madsen, UMCOR, at nmadsen@umcor.org.

Organizational

Make immigrant and civil rights a district social action priority.
Have immigration as one of your Racial Justice Charter priorities. See United Methodist Women Resources for Racial Justice at www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/racial.
Create a United Methodist Women district or conference immigration team. See: www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/alerts/item/index.cfm?id=512.
Serve on conference-wide immigration team.

United Methodist Women Resources

Immigration and the Bible: A Guide for Radical Welcome
2012 United Methodist Women spiritual growth study by Joan M. Maruskin
Book and leader’s guide available from the Mission Resource Center: www.missionresourcecenter.org or call 1-800-305-9857

United Methodist Women Social Network Immigration Page
immigration.umwonline.net

United Methodist Women Facebook Immigration Page
facebook.com/groups/UMWimmigration

United Methodist Women Program Book
Available from the Mission Resource Center: www.missionresourcecenter.org or call 1-800-305-9857

response magazine
Subscribe to response magazine at: www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/response/subscribe

United Methodist Women News
To subscribe to this free quarterly newsletter, visit www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/news/umw-news

Reading Program Books
www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/programs/readingprogram

Made in LA film and toolkit
www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/media/pdf/madeinlastudy.pdf

Public Witness Toolkit
www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/media/pdf/immigrantrightswitnesstoolkit.pdf

United Methodist Women e-mails for action on immigrant rights
Sign up for occasional action e-mails: Sophony Lamour, slamour@unitedmethodistwomen.org.

United Methodist Women Legislative Action Alerts
www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/act/alerts

For more information, contact United Methodist Women executive for community action Carol Barton at cbarton@unitedmethodistwomen.org or call 212-682-3633 ext. 3104.

Last Updated: 06/19/2012