From Bishop Kirk S. Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona:
Today I have sent the following letter to our Spanish-speaking Arizona Episcopalians:
My Dear Spanish-Speaking Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
photos from around the Diocese
Today is a sad day in the struggle to see all God's people treated in a humane and compassionate manner. I had hoped that our Governor and law-makers would listen to their consciences and not be swayed by the voices of bigotry and racism. With the Governor's signing of SB 1070, it seems that for now the advocates of fear and hatred have won over those of charity and love. Arizona claims to be a Golden Rule State. We have not lived up to that claim.
I know that the passage of this law is deeply troubling to many of you, especially those of undocumented status. I know that many of you fear for your jobs, your families, and your future in this state and in this country.
You are not the only ones affected. According to this law, anyone giving food or even water to an undocumented person in need could be subject to arrest. What would Jesus say?
I am writing to encourage you not to loose heart.
First, there is no need for panic. This law does not take effect for 90 days. During that time there will be many court challenges, including those coming from the federal government. The law might be tied up for months or years in litigation, and I believe that there is a good possibility it will never go into effect.
In the meantime, know that the majority of us in the Episcopal Church, and in many other churches and faith communities, stand with you in support and solidarity. We will continue to work as hard as we can to defeat this law and to work toward just and fair laws that protect the rights of all human beings. We all know that our immigration system is broken, but it cannot be fixed by scape-goating the most vulnerable of those among us.
Finally, know that God is with you in this struggle. Jesus always stands with the oppressed. You therefore have our concern, our prayers, and our support.Kirk Smith
Faithfully,
+Kirk
Episcopal Church bishops are doing us proud today: First Bishop Benhase and now Bishop Smith.
H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.
Instead of lamenting the fact that illegal aliens are picked up and returned to their country of origin, why not encourage them to come to this country in the same manner in which most of our forebears came - legally, learning the language and obeying the laws of the land?
ReplyDeleteShameless blog pimpage!
ReplyDeleteThe Episcopal Church as Abused Wife, over at my place.
BTW, Mimi, this is all your fault since you set the bar so high!
Anonymous, if you come again, please make up a name and sign your comment.
ReplyDeleteOur first forebears came and took the land from the Native Americans. Over the centuries, many immigrants entered the US illegally. We have no pristine history of orderly and legal immigration.
Does that mean that we do not need to change our immigration laws? No, but the change must come at the national level, and those who are here and have no history of criminal activity, should be given the opportunity to become legal residents.
The Arizona law will be challenged and will probably not stand. How will the law be enforced without racial profiling, which is against the law? Stop a few white libertarians, and you'll hear the shouts.
Episcopal Bear, what am I here for but for you to pimp your blog?
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a sad day. I lived in Arizona long enough to know that some of the sheriffs are going to have great fun with this one. How many native born Americans carry their birth certificates on their person? Well one of the past "round-ups" had children walking to school rounded-up and harassed. Of course they didn't have their birth certificates with them. Sadly, all this doesn't address the very real problem of the Coyotes and violence in southern Arizona. Its a Federal problem and needs to be addressed NOW!!
ReplyDeleteMany of our forebears (most of mine, anyway) came here "legally" only because there were no immigration laws to be broken when they came.
ReplyDeleteAnd when we steal land from Mexico, it should come as no big surprise to find some Mexicans in it from time to time. I have some trouble understanding this as a "problem."
I may be naive, but I truly did not think the governess of Arizona would sign the bill into law.
ReplyDelete"Instead of lamenting the fact that illegal aliens are picked up and returned to their country of origin, why not encourage them to come to this country in the same manner in which most of our forebears came - legally, learning the language and obeying the laws of the land?"
ReplyDeleteMy forebears came to this country in 1849 as stowaways. They were both barely 19, unmarried, and with a baby. They fled the violent crackdown following the collapse of the 1848 Revolution in Germany. When they arrived at the South Street Seaport in New York, they certainly didn't have anything in the way of papers. Neither of them ever learned how to speak English. Their infant son (my great grandfather) started a farm in central Illinois under the Homestead Act, but read the Bible in German and read the German language newspapers from Chicago and Saint Louis all his life. I doubt that he knew much English. His children all grew up to be very successful, starting their own farms or entering the professional class as doctors and engineers.
I think the only real difference between that story and that of more recent arrivals is time, and that many of the more recent immigrants had a much harder time getting here. While no one was exactly glad to see my ancestors arrive in New York in 1849, I would imagine today's immigrants get an even more hostile reception.
Digby points out on her blog that Arizona's Finest will be stopping and demanding papers from a lot of pale-faces in order to avoid charges of racial profiling and to maintain the pretense that this law is color-blind.
ReplyDeleteFloyd and Myrtle from Sheboygan will be parking the Winnebago in Taos from now on after they were stopped and required to prove their citizenship in Tuscon.
Counterlight, thanks for sharing your family's story. I am sure that many of us share a similar history.
ReplyDeleteThis bill is heartbreaking for some of the most vulnerable in our society. I am so proud to be part of a church who has bishops that will speak up as Bishop Smith has done.
Mea culpa for the "anonymous" posting regarding my comment - simply did not know I had to register to post my thoughts. Too new at this to know the rules. My comment re the illegal aliens was based on the admonition to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s. If we do not like the law of the land, then we must use legal and peaceful means (vote) to change the law and/or the lawmakers not violence.
ReplyDeleteI am kneeling woman, once a Eucharistic visitor and hospice chaplain but not much use to anyone anymore except in prayer.
May the blessing of God Almighty be amongst us and remain with us always.
Kneeling Woman, welcome. No need to apologize for the anonymous comment.
ReplyDeleteI never advocate violence to change the law or anything else.
We are all immigrants, but for the Native Americans, and we took the land from those we did not kill. I won't reiterate what has already been said here in the comments.
As for you being of no use, that's simply not true. You can be useful to many with your prayers. May God bless you for your Eucharistic ministry and for your hospice service, both noble activities. May God bless you in your ministry of prayer and in your life now. God's peace to you.