Invitation to learn about immigration and the New Sanctuary Movement in Philadelphia

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!

About the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement

The Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) is an interfaith coalition of immigrants, congregations, and passionate individuals dedicated to taking a stand for immigrant rights by responding actively and publicly to the injustices faced by our immigrant brothers and sisters living in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia NSM working groups include outreach to faith communities, accompaniment of immigrant families, Know Your Rights workshops, education, fundraising, and Immigration Reform Campaign. We are affiliated with the national NSM which has groups working in metropolitan areas across the United States.

For more information about the Philadelphia NSM, contact Peter Pedemonti (646-226-0848) and Jen Rock (267-275-7810), or email nsmphiladelphia@gmail.com.

We expect to launch a website / blog for the Philadelphia NSM in the near future. To learn more about the national movement, see www.newsanctuarymovement.org.

We encourage you to learn more about the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement by attending our monthly coalition meetings. Join us for our gatherings at 7pm on the 2^nd Thursday of every month at Visitation BVM Catholic church at 300 E. Lehigh Ave. in Kensington. (Note that the August meeting is one week early, on Aug 6th.) All are welcome!

Upcoming dates and topics for Philadelphia NSM coalition meetings:

• August 6th at 7pm: Messaging Workshop: Help craft NSM's message and then learn to effectively deliver it! Please note that this is a week earlier than our usual 2nd Thursday schedule.

• September 10th at 7pm: Media Training: Learn the tools necessary to get media, talk to media, and successfully use media to get our message across.

Advocacy Training re: Immigration Reform and New Sanctuary Movement

Plan to attend the Advocacy Training Event at Central Baptist Church this Saturday, Feb 21st, from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Breakfast is included.

One of the topics to be addressed in small groups will be Immigration Reform, which we have identified as a focus issue for education and advocacy.

The CBC Board of Outreach has lined up 2 people to present information on immigration issues -- Antony Dugdale, who works with the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union in Philadelphia, and Peter Pedemonti, who is co-director of the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement.

• Take a look at this article for info about the Philadelphia New Sanctuary Movement - http://www.phillyimc.org/en/comment/reply/76978
• And here is the main website for the New Sanctuary Movement -- http://www.newsanctuarymovement.org/
  

The advocacy training general session will be lead by Rev. Lisa Harris from ABC-USA National Ministries. She will address a number of issues including:

• How can we most effectively engage in the advocacy work that our faith calls us to?
• How do we know what legislation is out there? What resources are there to evaluate it?
• Where can we find out who our congressional representatives and who their staff are?
• Is there a new paradigm for citizen participation in the Obama presidency?

The training will also include small group breakout sessions when you will choose from one of several focus areas:

• Healthcare Reform – Dr. Stephen Gambescia, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions
• Gun Violence Prevention – Pastor Dolores McCabe, Eastern University and Millcreek Baptist Church
• Immigration Reform – Antony Dugdale, Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, and Peter Pedimonte, New Sanctuary Movement
  

US presidential candidates on immigration issues and additional resources

With an estimated 2 to 3 million Salvadorans currently in the US (both documented and undocumented combined), US policy on immigration is an issue of great interest and concern to those of us with connections to communities in El Salvador and Salvadorans living in the US.

Take a look at the Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin official campaign web pages to read about the US presidential candidates' stands on immigration issues:

Obama / Biden official campaign statement on immigration issues

McCain / Palin official campaign statement on immigration issues

Also see "Tim's El Salvador Blog" (www.luterano.blogspot.com) which frequently provides excellent summaries of news reports, government statistics, and first person stories about remittances, deportations, border crossings, and more. Check out Tim's collected blog entries labeled "migration."

Immigration issues in US presidential campaign ad

The CNN Election Center 2008 website reports that McCain is releasing an ad today blasting Obama on immigration although McCain voted the same. Read complete article from Sept. 12 or see excerpt in italics below.

Meanwhile, McCain's campaign said a new Spanish language ad set to air in battleground states blames Obama and Senate Democrats for the failure of attempts to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

"Obama and his congressional allies say they are on the side of immigrants. But are they?" asks the announcer in the 30-second spot, "Which Side Are They On?"

"The press reports that their efforts were 'poison pills' that made immigration reform fail," he continues. "The result: No guest worker program. No path to citizenship. No secure borders. No reform. Is that being on our side? Obama and his congressional allies ready to block immigration reform, but not ready to lead." Watch the ad

But Obama and McCain cast identical votes in the major congressional showdowns on the issue last year.

Both men cast votes in favor of an unsuccessful early June effort to end a filibuster. Later that month, they voted again to end debate on the issue -- but again failed to shut down the filibuster effort, led for the most part by Republican senators.

The ad is set to air in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, all crucial states in November with significant Hispanic voting populations.

Push and Pull: Free Trade and the Immigration Debate

Monday, April 3oth, 5:30pm at AFSC
1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia

The dramatic debate over immigration that played out in America's streets and the halls of Congress last year has returned to the national stage with increasing raids against immigrants and the introduction of the STRIVE Act legislation. David Bacon and Juan Manuel Sandoval,
two leading scholars and activists, one from each side of the border, will help us grapple with the complex and controversial issues surrounding free trade and immigration using photos and stories from their years of organizing.

Sponsored by:
SEIU District 1199P, American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, AFSCME District Council 47, Philadelphia Coalition of Labor Union Women