By Rubén Ortiz Our eyes and ears never get a break. Continual sight and sound revolve around the border crisis. Headlines follow one another; news flashes and press conferences interrupt our daily lives. Expert opinions multiply, while solutions diminish. Politicians, logisticians, religious leaders and activists visit the Southern border. They all clamor to be correct … Continue reading
Tag Archives: immigration
Advocacy Action Alert: Immigration Reform
By Elket Rodriguez Immigration Reform is a priority for the current Administration and this Congress. We are calling on immigration advocates to engage their elected officials for immigration reform that is compassionate and consistent with our Principles and Values for Immigration Reform. Our Advocacy Action Team for Immigrants and Refugees is working to encourage and … Continue reading
Assisting Asylees to Begin a New Life
The following is a reflection from CBF field personnel Greg Smith, who serves in Fredericksburg, Va., with his wife, Sue. You can learn more about their ministries and support their work at www.cbf.net/smith. For LUCHA Ministries Immigration Legal Services, the final week of September was full indeed. Over a four-day period, I clocked 48 hours and, … Continue reading
CBF leaders reaffirm call to ‘welcome the stranger,’ pledge to advocate for ‘permanent solutions’ for immigrants and refugees
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders have joined other faith leaders across the country in reaffirming the biblical call to “welcome the stranger” and expressed appreciation for recent positive steps taken by the new administration on immigration policy and committed to work with elected officials to find “permanent solutions” for immigrants and refugees. “As Christians, we have … Continue reading
Investment in the lives of others
Over the next weeks and months, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will be sharing reflections from our CBF field personnel serving around the world. These are stories of impact and outreach, Gospel-sharing and relationship building, long-term presence and abundant love. The following is a reflection from CBF field personnel Sue Smith, who serves through LUCHA Ministries … Continue reading
CBF Podcast: Christians Against Christian Nationalism & DACA, DREAMers and the Church
Christians Against Christian Nationalism, Featuring Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Veterans Day tend to be the Sundays that most churches creep up to the intersection of Separation of Church and State. After generations of not giving it a second thought, many churches still have an American flag in … Continue reading
Lower the harps that hang in the willows
By Rubén Ortiz Jeremiah 29: 1-14 is written for exiles, for those in captivity. The vast majority of the Jews were uprooted from their birthplace, a land they dominated for centuries until 587 B.C. They were forced to travel roughly 700 miles through the Middle East desert. On their journey, these Jews left behind the … Continue reading
Advocacy Action Alert: Lend your voice to support raising the U.S. annual ceiling for refugee admissions
By Elket Rodríguez People of faith must speak up for immigrants before next Wednesday, Sept. 30, when President Donald Trump will set U.S. refugee quotas for the next fiscal year, CBF leaders urged. The current U.S. refugee admissions ceiling is 18,000—the lowest number of refugees resettled in a single year since Congress established the refugee … Continue reading
COVID-19 afflicts Fellowship Southwest’s immigrant network
By Fellowship Southwest The COVID-19 pandemic has spiked along the U.S. Mexico border, and now it has come calling on Fellowship Southwest’s ministry to refugees seeking asylum in the United States. FSW’s Immigrant Relief Ministry has been built upon a network of pastors who feed and protect immigrants from the Gulf of Mexico to the … Continue reading
Fellowship Southwest Immigrant Relief Ministry blesses refugees in Tijuana
By Marv Knox Refugee families who live in a Tijuana shelter supported by Fellowship Southwest have expressed thanks for the blessing they have received, Pastor Juvenal González reported. Since 2018, Fellowship Southwest has supported a network of pastors and congregations who minister to immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. The immigrants have journeyed from their homelands—mostly … Continue reading