IPJC Workshop on Immigration

Last Saturday morning was a little crazy. On Friday night Joan and I prepared to head out of town for several days of R&R in Winthrop, located just east of the Cascades on Highway 20 -- only the road through the mountains gets closed in the winter, so the only way to get there is very roundabout...a five hour drive, all in all.

But in the morning, my first obligation was to a parish workshop on Immigration, sponsored by our Social Justice Commission, and led by the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center, a really fine Seattle-based organization that provides workshops, training, and other programs on a diverse array of social justice topics. Immigration was chosen by our SJ group as its first priority for this year, in part because many of our members had been so moved the previous year by their personal encounters with "illegal" immigrants during their JustFaith experience last year.

However, by that morning there were only 18 individuals who had signed up ahead of time, in spite of a lot of work on the part of the commission members -- which might have meant that we would have an even smaller turnout when the workshop got underway. But at the 9:00 a.m. start time, people were still coming...33 in all! Our presenter, Sr. Susan Francois, CSJP, said it was the best turnout she had had, while doing these workshops. Here was the format:

Immigration: Creating Caring Communities

Context: Examining the complex issue of immigration including economic and legislative issues, faithful citizenship, and the call to act with justice.

Content:
•Reflect and pray as a community
•Explore scripture & Catholic Social Teaching
•Examine history & recent immigration trends
•Review US Bishops’ recommendations
•Receive practical tools & resources

Process: Includes prayer, reflection, presentation, interactive story sharing and discussion

The time just flew by! The first hour and a half was thoroughly educational, and presented with the background of our Christian scriptures and traditional Catholic teachings. It was NOT "dumbed down" at all -- and very current. The final section of the day got all the attendees involved, by engaging us in role plays at our tables, with three different scenarios, so that we could get a handle on the complexities of the issue, and many of the different points of view that exist.

Unfortunately, none of us who were present expects that comprehensive immigration reform will be passed by the newly constituted Congress, but at least we are all much more aware of the issues...and the real lives impacted by our collective failure to act.

For information on the US Catholic Church's position on immigration, check HERE. Or check out the bishops' campaign, Justice for Immigrants.