The New Sanctuary Movement
Congregations and Immigration: An Issue of Faith
A series of four discussions
9:30am to 10:30am on Sundays
Sept 13th, Sept 20th, Sept 27th, Oct 4th
Central Baptist Church / Wayne, PA
As part of a Central Baptist Church focus on immigration and advocacy for immigration reform, we begin our fall Adult Learning Community with a four session series organized by leaders of the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement. Through presentations, group discussions, videos, and conversations with special guests, we'll be looking at a variety of questions:
Why is immigration a faith / moral issue?
Who are the people who are immigrating to the U.S.?
How do current U.S. immigration laws actually work?
What would a better immigration policy look like?
What is the potential for reforming immigration policy under the Obama administration?
What is the current climate like for immigrants in PA, especially in the Philadelphia area?
What local advocacy efforts are forming around immigration issues and policy reform?
What is this “New” Sanctuary Movement all about?
Facilitators for this class will include the current co-leaders of the Philadelphia NSM -- Peter Pedemonti, one of the founders of Philadelphia NSM, lives and works at a Philadelphia Catholic Worker House; Jen Rock, who joined Peter in leadership of the Philadelphia NSM in 2009, works for Habitat for Humanity.
We hope to have several special guests share their personal stories, as well. Faheem is Pakistani, and he and his family were accompanied by Phildelphia NSM when he was detained by immigration and sent to the immigration detention center in York, PA. Eva, who is Mexican, has an equally powerful story to tell.
We are also inviting Mishkan Shalom, a progressive Jewish congregation in Philadelphia that was one of the 19 original Sanctuary congregations in Philadelphia in the 1980s, to talk with us about their decision to become the first congregation to officially affiliate with this New Sanctuary Movement.
Central Baptist Church is located in the center of Wayne, one block south of the train station, near the intersection of Route 30 (Lancaster Ave) and Wayne Avenue. Click here for a map and specific directions. We hope to see you in September!
