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Cultivating Relationships
and Understanding
Across Borders
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Going forward to live out the gospel | |
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Dear friends,
"What are you thankful for?" is the question we always asked our kids and ourselves as we were praying before going to bed. Every Wednesday, Frontera de Cristo's staff gathers for a time of prayer and reflection that includes sharing what we are thankful for. With community dinners we host or with delegations who visit us, we do circles of gratitude.
This morning, before a delegation of church leaders departed after having shared several days of life and ministry with the community, one of the leaders shared how they were surprised by the joy and hope they experienced in the community. She asked what it is that causes the ministry to exude joy and hope in the midst of such challenging realities.
We believe that naming what we are grateful for is an essential spiritual discipline that nourishes our lives and ministries. And yet to name what we are grateful for is only the beginning of this gospel discipline; we also must practice gratitude.
If we say that we are grateful for the hands that worked to bring the food to our table, we must also resist the dehumanization of those who plant, harvest, process, and package our food. We must recognize that those hands are connected to whole human beings who are part of families and communities.
We do this, first, by not using dehumanizing language. And then we must remind our friends, family, and colleagues who use terms like "illegal aliens" to describe millions of persons who are working on farms and in processing plants, that the human beings they are talking about are created in the image of God and beloved by God.
Practicing gratitude also means providing safe places for vulnerable people who are targeted by violent rhetoric, and advocating for policies that allow them to live without fear in our communities.
We are grateful for you and for all the ways you encourage and support Frontera de Cristo and our community partners as we seek to live out the gospel.
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Jesucristo PRESENTE!
Reflections from Mark Stephen Adams, November 6, 2024
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ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, AS ON EVERY TUESDAY since December 12, 2000, a small group gathered for the “Healing Our Borders” Prayer Vigil, to remember our sisters and brothers who died while crossing the US/Mexico border in the hopes of a better life: to pray for their families, to pray for our governments to create policies that support the midst vulnerable among us instead of exacerbating their vulnerability, and to pray for ourselves and commit to working for a more just, peace-filled, and loving world.
Our colleague David reminded us that regardless of who won the election, our call as followers of Jesus remained the same:
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to honor each human being, recognizing them as being created in the image of God and beloved by God; to welcome the stranger; to love the foreigner and treat them as a native born, to love them as yourself.
That afternoon before the vigil, I was the guest speaker in an ethics class of Austin Theological Seminary and based my reflections on three questions that I have been confronted with since coming to the border:
-- Do I (you) support illegal immigration?
-- Is our border policy of using mountains and deserts as lethal deterrents to migration
a moral policy?
-- Is it legal to be Christian? (i.e., to follow God’s command to love the foreigner,
treat them as a native born, welcome the stranger, etc)
Continue reading the article and see photos from the vigil
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Crossing Borders With Song
A music and mission journey to the US-Mexico border
by Greg Allen-Pickett, as published in The Presbyterian Outlook, November 6, 2024
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IN OCTOBER 2024, A DIVERSE GROUP OF 20 pilgrims from Hastings, Nebraska, embarked on a transformative journey to the U.S.-Mexico border. This Music and Mission Team traveled to Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian border ministry that fosters relationships across borders. | |
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Day of the Dead
A Reflection from Bridich Saragos, Assistant Director, Migrant Resource Center
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ON NOVEMBER 2, MEXICO CELEBRATES THE DAY OF THE DEAD, a day in which we can appreciate the most intense color and smell of the flower. The Cempasúchil flower is originally from Mexico; its name comes from the Nahuatl “Cempohualxochitl,” which means “twenty flowers” or “several flowers.”
Many Mexican families dedicate their time and energy on this day to extend a warm welcome to their families who have died, by cleaning their graves, and creating altars of remembrance with pictures and their favorite food and drink.
Continue reading the article
Lea en español
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Advent 2024: Walking in the Light of God
The Good News of Advent in the Context of Migration
A New Advent Resource in English and Spanish
from the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA)
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THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT is December 1. Are you looking for new Advent resources? The Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America just published a new Advent study: "Walking in the Light of God: The Good News of Advent in the Context of Migration." And our own Mark Adams is a contributor! The study is available in English and Spanish. You can download either, or both. | |
Donate to Our "40 for 40" Campaign | |
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IN CELEBRATION OF 40 YEARS of building relationships and understanding across borders, we invite you to donate to our “40 for 40 Campaign” as we begin our 41st year of ministry on the border. Your donation will support all our ministries, helping us to―
- expand our Children’s Enrichment Ministry which provides safe and welcoming spaces for children’s talents to grow and flourish;
- provide Café Justo for hospitality centers through our Love Mercy, Do Justice Ministry;
- strengthen our ministry with our siblings who are in recovery from addictions to alcohol and other drugs;
- participate in the formation of young adult leaders through our bi-national internship; and
- strengthen and enhance our welcoming ministries through the Migrant Resource Center and CAME.
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Love Mercy, Do Justice, Order Coffee | | |
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FRONTERA DE CRISTO AND CAFÉ JUSTO CREATED the "Love Mercy, Do Justice" (Amar Misericordia, Hacer Justicia) initiative to provide coffee for migrant shelters across the southern border. Thousands of women and men each week are greeted with a cup of coffee, a meal, and vital medical attention when they are repatriated into Mexico. You can help support this effort with a donation to Love Mercy, Do Justice. | |
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In the mean time, why not order some coffee for yourself today? You will enjoy delicious 100% organic coffee cultivated, freshly roasted, and shipped by the Café Justo cooperative. Online orders placed by 8:00am Mountain Standard Time on Tuesdays will be shipped the same week. To order by mail instead of online, just download this form.
Attention Coffee Lovers: If you plan to order freshly roasted Café Justo for the Christmas/New Year holiday season, please place your orders by Tuesday morning, December 10, at 8am MST. We anticipate that some of our staff may plan on taking holiday vacations, and we want to be sure you have the coffee you need for the holidays!
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"40 Years of Building Bridges and Tables of Love" | | | | |
