Judy Collins has been singing folk and protest songs for six decades. In 2018 she began performing “Dreamers,” about the plight of immigrants and asylum seekers in America. The song is sung from the perspective of an immigrant mother, Maria, fearing for her daughter’s deportation, declaring in the chorus that,
This land was made by dreamers
And children of those dreamers
We came here for democracy and hope
Now all we have is hope
Listen to here on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyok_k_n1AE&t=5s
IMMIGRANTS
Immigrants come to the U.S. for a variety of reasons, many are the basis for asylum: escape from violence, disaster, persecution, and poverty. I have been involved with immigrant support and ministry since the 1980’s in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as the Metro DC area. I continue to accompany people to immigration court, ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) “check-in’s in Northern Virginia, to immigration lawyers, and use families’ funds to submit bonds for individuals’ release from detention centers across the country. I also serve as a hotline volunteer for Freedom for Immigration (FFI), when for 2 hours at a time, detainees can call for free to hear a friendly voice and report medical or legal needs or even abuse or neglect.
It is my conviction that, as the U.S. has prospered with forced migrants (slaves) and migrants with and without permission. At a time when our unemployment figures are very low, extra workers, whether skilled and highly educated or not, are needed in every arena. The UCC churches need to be “Immigrant Welcoming” and learn how to give support and encouragement to our new neighbors and future citizens. Jesus and his family were migrants in Egypt seeking safety. Our scriptures teach us to love our neighbors and treat the migrant as members of our own family.
REFUGEES
The U.S. Administration’s cap on refugees in the current fiscal year 2021 has been 62,500. In 2022, the cap is 125,000. Church World Service and its partners such as the UCC, are seeking a cap of at least 200,000. The Biden administration plans to distribute 40,000 refugee spots for Africa, 35,000 for the Near East and South Asia, 15,000 for East Asia, 15,000 for Latin America and the Caribbean, 10,000 for Europe and Central Asia and 10,000 unallocated spots.
The U.S. cap for refugees is proportionately the lowest of western countries for our population. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, in the first months of 2022, more than 100 million individuals were displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations; 26 million of those were refugees in another country than their own.
UCC are encouraged to respond to the needs around us. In the Metro DC area, thousands of new immigrants are being bused from Texas and Arizona by their governors. Without support from local groups to meet those buses, the new immigrants often end up on the street to sleep.
Refugee & Migration Services Booster Grant.
The purpose of this grant is to re-energize existing immigration working groups and ministries hat may have fallen dormant during the pandemic. Eligible applicants include churches, associations, and conferences that either have a immigration ministry structure in place or have a viable plan for creating one. Smaller awards are available for resettling or accompanying a single family or individual; larger awards are available for structures that intend to sustainably serve migrants at an ongoing capacity. Requests for proposals regarding all types of migrants: from refugees, to asylum seekers, to humanitarian parole or other, are welcome to apply for this grant:
https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/83019-United-Church-Of-Christ
I also encourage those of you who are currently hosting migrants who are seeking to enhance their career opportunities with continued education, training, a car, or open their own business, to review our Employment Savings Matching & Microenterprise Grant: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/80268-United-Church-Of-Christ
Applications for both of these grants are reviewed on a monthly basis. Both grants close at the end of the year 2022. Please reach out if you have any questions!
Floods and Storms in Kentucky and West Virginia
Record-breaking floods have devastated communities from central and eastern Missouri to eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. Kentucky has already received a federal disaster declaration.
We ask you to be ready for future disasters- with the unprecedented nature of these storms, we invite you to join the Willing to Respond network: https://www.ucc.org/willing-to-respond-in-disaster
This is the Disaster Response of UCC churches preparing and planning with your CDCs. Let us know you are actively serving or Willing to Respond, please join us- we look forward to serving with you.
For more information, go to https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/wider-church-ministries/global-hope/disaster/disaster-flood-update/
I am looking for individuals throughout the Central Atlantic Conference to be alert to nearby disasters, of any size, so we can respond as a Conference or as the UCC. Such individuals can also assist their churches in disaster preparedness for themselves and their families. Please let me know of your interest and your questions.
Pray with me for guidance for our churches, pastors, and members to increase our active love and support for those in need.
Contact me for more information according to your own interests:
Jerry Foltz
Centreville, Virginia
703-346-6184
Jerry Foltz (Rev. Dr. Jerrold Foltz), a native of Hagerstown, Md., is a “son of the Conference,” having served 5 congregations in 4 Associations, including founding Wellspring UCC , Centreville, Virginia. For the 7 & ½ years before retirement, Jerry was Associate Conference Minister for the 5th Association – Catoctin — while on the Conference Staff with Conference Minister John Deckenback. Since 2001 Jerry has also been a UCC Conference Disaster Coordinator.
