Border Workshop

A letter from the Bishop

Dear friends,

 In September the synod council, staff, and conference deans gathered in Tucson for a weekend of church business, worship, fellowship, and a border immersion experience. The experience comes out of our commitment to live into our strategic plan of communicating Jesus: “We will grow our public witness through advocacy, integrating our ELCA theology and engagement with current issues and contextual realities.”

The workshop included time to examine our perceptions and current knowledge and attitudes around border issues, to actually cross the border and visit our Lutheran-Episcopal ministry, Cruzando Fronteras, and worship with the GCS’s oldest Spanish speaking congregation, Iglesia San Juan Bautista and hear personal stories of their members. We also made commitments of how to share this experience with their congregations, conferences, friends and family. 

A few participants expressed the initial fears and concerns they had about crossing the border in Nogales. They feared gangs, drugs or guns—those things the media can play up. What they found, instead, were people—mothers, fathers, families who were shopping, eating out, playing in the park, visiting the cemetery. Our group visited two shelters where people are waiting to be interviewed by border agents. We learned about the violence they left behind and the hope that they would be chosen to enter the United States with the possibility of a new future. 

One participant said to me, “I was reluctant to come this weekend, but I’m glad I did. My fears were unfounded. I learned that we are on different paths and speak different languages, yet we want many of the same things—hope, safety, and stability for our families.”

Ministry is a team sport and we were able to do this with much assistance. My thanks to:

• Our Saviour’s and Iglesia San Juan Bautista for hosting the group;

• Planning team Pastors Jeff Kallevig, Mateo Chavez, and Miguel Gomez-Acosta, as well as Theresa Thornburgh and Brian Flatgard;

• Speakers Rev. Dr. Javier (Jay) Alanís, from Lutheran Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, Mary Campbell, Program Director with AMMPARO, and Heidi Ubina with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest;

• Deacon Rodger Babnew who is also the primary leader of the shared Lutheran-Episcopal ministry of Cruzando Fronteras; and 

• The Synod Council and Conference Deans who made the time to participate. 

Scroll down to view reports, resources, and reflections of the participants. Feel free to share this page with people you know.

My hope and prayer is that through these experiences we can look into the faces of those who are living in fear and see the face of Christ, and be moved to act with what Christ has taught us of offering God’s love and compassion to all, no exceptions.

In Christ, 

Border Workshop

The 3-day workshop began with introductions, followed by a discussion of what participants hoped to get from the retreat.

In general, we hoped to see in person the situation on the Mexico side of the border, to get to know people and their stories, and not be influenced simply by the news. Participants wanted stories they could share with others, and to feel a sense of energy and urgency.

A repeated topic of discussion—at the synod council meeting, in presentations, and on our long van rides—was the recent vote at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to become a sanctuary denomination. Participants hoped the workshop would clarify how they felt about this recent development.

Bishop Hutterer and Pastor Jeff Kallevig led an activity to help participants examine their perceptions, opinions, and biases. Small groups were given a photos of people in a variety of situations, and discussed what they thought was going on in the photos. This then led to identifying the many cultural, spiritual, familial and personal influences we bring with us when we observe the world.

Pastor Miguel Gomez-Acosta described aspects of his journey as a pastor in the ELCA, with its predominantly white and Midwestern culture. He told of difficulty fitting in at seminary, and the feeling of being a burden to the church. In seeing the church as defined by the theology of Martin Luther, and not as a culture, Pastor Gomez-Acosta showed how he found a home in the ELCA, and how we can all use this belief to see and expand our greater community.

Pastor Mateo Chavez, San Juan Bautista Church in Tucson, prepared participants for the border immersion experience by talking about expectations, misconceptions, and cultural sensitivity. You won’t see guns or cartel violence, he said, but what you will see in Nogales and at the shelters is what you see families do every day: doing jobs and errands, laundry, cooking, playing, laughing, and talking.

Throughout the weekend, Pastors Chavez, Gomez-Acosta, and Alanís all shared effective ways they’ve found to minister to immigrants by honoring their background and culture. For example, many will not take communion for a variety of reasons, but will be gladly receive a blessing in its stead.

Read more about presentations from Rev. Dr. Jay Alanis and AMMPARO’s Mary Campbell below.

Stories of the undocumented

Throughout the retreat, we heard from undocumented immigrants and those close to them. Some were relatively new to the United States, some have crossed the border for decades.

A striking theme was how the border and citizenship status divides families. A routine traffic stop of a multi-generational family—some documented, some not—can result in one or two family members being deported and sent to Nogales or Ciudad Juárez, stripped of their money and shoelaces. A grandparent dies in Mexico, and it’s the U.S. born grandchild who is able to make the border crossing to attend the funeral, while the undocumented middle generation struggles to close their grief. At the border wall in Nogales, we heard how families from each side used to picnic on each side of the fence on Sundays. Those areas are now divided by razor wire to prevent anyone coming too close.

Rev. Dr. Javier “Jay” Alanís

We were honored to hear each day from Rev. Dr. Javier “Jay” Alanís, Director of Lutheran Seminary of the Southwest in Austin Texas.

Rev. Dr. Alanís was born in San Juan, Texas, and has studied and received numerous degrees from universities and seminaries in the U.S. and abroad.

Alanís told participants that when he read the GCS core value to live out radical hospitality, “I knew we both speak the Holy Spirit’s language.”

Alanís gave two presentations: Living in Third Spaces, and A Theological Perspective from the U.S.–Mexico Borderlands, both available on his website.

Weaving personal history, ancestral history, political history, and Biblical history together, Alanís showed how the story of humankind and Jesus is one of exile and movement.

He shared how his own family was dislocated from their family ranch during the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848. “We didn’t cross the border,” he said, “the border crossed us.” His Catholic family migrated north to the new border, where they entered a Lutheran church run by Germans from Kansas. His great-grandfather heard something in the sermon that day, which made him turn to his wife and say, “This is our church now.” That something, Alanís believes, was the core of Martin Luther’s teaching.

Alanís shared how he reads the Bible through Hispanic/Latino/Mestizo/Hybrid eyes. We reviewed the many cycles of flight and freedom in the Old Testament, the exilic experience. He reminded us that the holy family—Jesús, Maria, and José—was homeless, displaced, and spoke with an accent in their flight to Egypt.

The Rio Grande is where Alanís hosts many events and border immersion experiences. This river is a gift from God, providing a meandering oasis in the midst of barren land, a place for all life to gather. Only humankind, he points out, could make it into a place of division.

Alanís feels that we can find the sacred in the liminal, the third space found when two worlds collide. That sacred space can be the meeting of languages, cultures, nations, religions, the space between God and humankind. He feels we are all bilingual when we inhabit these spaces, able to understand a different language if we just listen. To find the sacred, Alanís says, “We need to hear each other’s stories.”

Nogales: Cruzando Fronteras

On Saturday we drove to Nogales, an Arizonan/Sonoran town bisected by the border, and visited two shelters supported by the Cruzando Fronteras ministries, a joint ministry of the Grand Canyon Synod and the Episcopal Diocese. We also walked the location of the border shooting of José Rodríguez.

Our guides in this immersion experience were Pastor Mateo Chavez, Pastor Jeff Kallevig, and the Rev. Rodger Babnew, Ministry Convenor for Cruzando Fronteras.

Anywhere from 40-70 people may be in each of the shelters, known as La Roca (The Rock) and Los Torres (The Towers), both located up steep hills. La Roca stands one hundred yards from the U.S., and its residents easily see over the border as they wait for weeks.

Pastor Jeff Kallevig told us these shelters are a very unique product of officials from both U.S. and Mexican agencies working with Cruzando Fronteras to give dignity to asylum seekers, mainly through the bridge-building of Rev. Babnew. Through Babnew’s patient work, he has earned the trust of many government and non-government organizations. He meets with agencies in Tucson and testifies before Congress. The shelters in Nogales house asylum seekers in full compliance with the law.

At Los Torres, we were greeted by two supervising nuns, Sisters Lika and Laura. They told us an all-house meeting is convened each time new asylum seekers arrive, to welcome them and to let them know how the shelter is run. All residents take part in its operation. Some residents are so traumatized by their journey, it may take days to feel safe enough to venture outside. The nuns work with these people individually, and will literally hold their hands to walk through the doors together.

Presentation from Pastor Peter Perry

José Rodríguez

We were privileged to hear from Mary Campbell, Director of AMMPARO, the ELCA’s holistic, whole church commitment to accompany children today and in the future.

The ELCA’s strategy to Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO) was envisioned after witnessing the plight of children who are forced to flee their communities because of complex and interrelated reasons, including chronic violence, poverty, environmental displacement and lack of opportunities in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

Campbell gave us an update on AMMPARO’s work and the current realities of immigration. Her talk showed us how dizzyingly complex this issue is as an interplay of the politics of each nation, climate change, rapidly evolving policies and laws, and worlds of increasing poverty and violence. As someone who thinks and functions at the highest levels of migration as well as works with her sandals on the ground in individual cases, Campbell shared invaluable insights and details.

One insight is that internal displacement is a major immigration problem that is practically invisible. An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. This is particularly true in the the Northern Triangle of Central America: Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Another insight is that gender violence is a leading cause for women and children to flee their homes.

While the situation may seem unsolvable, the good news is that there is much our church is doing, and much that we can do individually and as congregations to have a real impact.

Campbell specifically is asking for a Guardian Angel coordinator in the Phoenix area, to help families and minors moving through the court systems. Guardian Angels act as the physical presence of the church in the courtroom. This coordinator doesn’t need to have a legal background, and works with volunteers every few months. View the video on this page for more information, or watch at https://Vimeo.com/157458987.

Congregations can become involved by joining the ELCA Welcoming Congregation Network. Such a congregation commits to welcome and minister to migrants, physically accompany migrants as they make new lives in local communities, pray for justice for migrants, and advocate for public policy.

Contact the synod office if you or your congregation are interested in working with AMMPARO as a Guardian Angel coordinator or joining the Welcoming Congregation Network.

What else can we do?

Pray for the safety of migrant children and families on the journey and for justice as they reach their destinations. 

View and use resources at: www.elca.org/Resources/AMMPARO

Advocate for justice for migrant children and families. www.elca.org/Advocacy

Give to AMMPARO to provide opportunities for children and families in Central America and in the U.S. https://community.elca.org/donations/ammparo-donate

Videos

In her talk, Mary Campbell referenced this amazing in-depth documentary from the New York Times, in part following unaccompanied minors as they try to reach the U.S. border.

Reflections from Pastor Peter Perry

St. John's Lutheran Church - Glendale, AZ

Dear Colleagues,

The Synod Council and Deans went down to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico last Saturday and saw some of the work that Cruzando Fronteras, the joint Episcopalian-Lutheran Ministry, is doing.

I'm sharing with you this Google folder that has some pictures from the trip and a power point presentation I made. The goals of the presentation is to:

1. Share the work of Cruzando Fronteras,

2. Clarify the differences between asylees, refugees, and immigrants, and

3. Give direction to what we can do to act on Christ's command to love our neighbor.

Feel free to use the power points and pictures as appropriate for your context.

You can view Pastor Perry’s presentation in the Cruzando Fronteras section of this page.

Reflections from Pastor David Brandfass

Christ Lutheran Church, Sedona

This year’s annual retreat for the Synod Council, Deans, and Staff was along the border in Nogales. One of my many takeaways is the story about an Episcopal priest and a Lutheran pastor who met with together with the Mexican and American border patrols during a significant period of crisis.

Instead of accusing the border patrol representatives of not doing their jobs effectively the priest and the pastor asked the border patrol leaders, “How can we help you do this better?” The border patrols had some good ideas of what could be done. The result is a system that houses asylum seekers on the Mexican side of the Nogales border until their number is called for a hearing of their case by US officials.

Is doing this easy? No. Does it require significant resources? Yes. Is it making life better for asylum seekers, patrol agents, and residents along the border? Yes, and I would add in a very significant way.

Sometimes the door that needs to be opened is only found when questions are asked in a spirit of mutual respect. Thank you for the pastors who had the vision to ask inquisitive questions, for the border patrol officers who were willing to search for a solution, and for those who have had the courage to help open the door so that people on multiple sides of this pressing issue would be treated with dignity.