Council Voices

In October, the NC Council of Churches will kick off a series of events to bring together clergy and seminary students around immigration issues – and you’re invited to attend! This statewide series represents an opportunity for local ministers and students to gather together and discuss immigration through the lens of faith. Every day we’re seeing how congregations are on the front lines of the immigration debate – offering English courses, meals, job training, and pastoral care to people facing very challenging situations. In these challenging times, there is nothing quite like sitting down with other faith leaders and students as we seek a faithful response together.

This is a recorded webinar that took place on Aug. 29, 2011. The purpose of this webinar is to help viewers get a sense for what is included in the curriculum and how to use it in your own unique setting. You’ll also hear from an NC pastor about her experience using this curriculum at her church.

My first job was as a machine shop shipping clerk. I was probably a little young, but during the summer I was able to earn a few bucks and develop a taste for new and shiny bicycle parts. However, it wasn’t the money or what the money bought me that has lasted. When I think about that time, my friends and the people I worked with were a highlight.

Last month the NC Council of Churches partnered with Duke Divinity School’s Summer Course of Study to offer a clergy lunch on immigration issues. Ismael Ruiz-Millán, Director of the Divinity School’s Hispanic House of Studies, spoke about the need for churches to offer hospitality over hostility in these fraught times: “Remember, when one part of […]

Major League baseball player and All-Star Adrian Gonzalez, said last year that the anti-immigration law in Arizona was cause for boycotting the 2011 All-Star Game in Phoenix.  A year later, however, the first baseman from Tijuana decided “It’s not something I am going to get into.” Baseball has a long, but often forgotten, relationship with […]

The Raleigh News & Observer recently featured a front-page story about how students are organizing in support of the Dream Act. Here at the Council, we’re excited to see this generation of young people come out of the shadows and stand against unjust immigration policies that separate families and undermine access to education. At the same time, we know these students are taking huge risks in revealing their status.

Last weekend I had the honor of participating in the annual conference held by the SouthEast Immigrant Rights Network (SEIRN) in Nashville, TN. SEIRN invited me to co-lead a workshop about connecting faith communities with immigration issues, which is a large part of my daily work with the NC Council of Churches. As I said during my session, one of the biggest obstacles to churches becoming more engaged is that conversations about immigration are often understood as conversations that don’t belong in church.

Meeting at the beautiful St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston Salem, NC, the North Carolina Council of Churches hosted a summit to help connect people of faith from across the state, who care about the plight of undocumented immigrants. After check-in and a short time of coffee, snacks and socializing, the break out sessions started. […]

The questions surrounding immigration policy have sparked an intense debate across the United States, including in North Carolina, where I live and work. Society remains divided on specific policies, but we also remain divided about some of the even bigger questions. For example, what does it mean to be “American”? Are immigrants generally intruders to be feared or new neighbors to be welcomed? And what values should our immigration policies reflect? This debate, in part, is about who “they” are and who “we” are.