Today when I logged onto Facebook, among all the heartbreaking news in our world (some from credible sources, others questionable), I was taken with a graphic shared by Hacking Christianity, a blog that engages in conversations about faith using the lenses of progressive theology, technology, and geek culture. It was an Advent Calendar for Dismantling White Privilege. As a white person who has been dealing with how to support communities of color post-election, I found this a great tool for tangible suggestions about how to engage race and privilege and make the world a better place during the Advent season. As such, I adopted the idea (originally credited to Bethany Queior) with ways to support immigrants and refugees. It includes praying, calling your representatives, donating time and/or money, learning, network building, and even suggestions for writing, reading, music, and movies. I hope that this calendar may be a resource of ways that people of faith can engage with the mass migration crisis during a tumultuous post-election season and Advent, a season of hope, anticipation, and quiet preparation. Download here.
About Jennie Belle, Former Immigration and Farmworkers Director
Jennie was born and raised in Savannah, GA. She moved to Texas for her undergraduate education at Rice University, during which time she studied in Mexico, Peru and Argentina and participated in service projects in Central America. After graduation she moved to Spain for a year to teach English. Jennie then came to North Carolina for a dual degree MDiv/MSW graduate program at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill where her work focused on advocating for farmworkers and organizing churches for social justice. Recently graduated, Jennie is excited to use these skills in her role at the Council of Churches as she works to help improve conditions for immigrants and farmworkers in the state.
Jennie lives in Durham and attends First Presbyterian Church. In her free time she enjoys dancing, distance running, traveling, walking her dog, and planning her upcoming wedding. Jennie can be reached at: jennie@ncchurches.org.
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