Welcome to the first installment of the SJRAISE monthly newsletter! Our goal - to provide you and your congregation with timely and useful resources for your efforts to stand with immigrants in our Diocese and beyond. 

In this and future issues, look for news, educational materials, worship resources, calls to action, and potential allies in this important work. While the struggle to defend the rights of immigrants can be daunting, there is a wide community of folks in the church and beyond who are engaged in the work with you. You are not alone! We hope this newsletter and that community make your efforts easier!

Several of us from the SJRAISE team were privileged to participate in the Second Annual Border Ministries Summit, Nov. 21-23, in Tucson, Arizona. It gave us an inspiring glimpse of that wider community. Hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, the ecumenical meeting gathered two hundred activists from along the United States/Mexico border and beyond. There were groups involved in many forms of direct service to immigrants, both in the U.S. and in Mexico, others were engaged in political advocacy, seeking a more just and humane U.S. immigration policy. Others were engaged in education on the issue. And some were doing all three.

In coming issues we’ll be lifting up some of those groups. Today, I’d like to recall one such effort, Take Up the Cross. Begun by artist Alicia Baucom, Take Up the Cross seeks to personalize the sobering statistics of unidentified migrant deaths in the Pima County area of Southern Arizona - an area of deadly heat, rough desert terrain and poisonous reptiles. Since 2001, some 3000 migrants have died in this area; more that 1/3 of them remain unidentified. Imagine the families they’ve left behind and/or the ones that awaited them. No news. No way to know what’s become of them.



The Reverend Deacon Tom Hampson is the Co-chair of the EDSJ Immigration Commission.
 
San Joaquin Refugee and Immigrant Support and Empowerment (SJRaise) is the Immigration Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.

Scenes from the 2nd Annual
Borderlands Ministry Summit,
Tucson Arizona
Prayers of the People for use in Advent, Christmas & Epiphany
SJRAISE Immigration prayers for all congregations Year A 2020

The following biddings are meant to be added, and modified to the current Prayers of the People format used by each congregation. The intention here is to include one bidding regarding Immigration for each Church Year Season. The reference to DACA recipients may be included at any time as the issue is being reviewed and decided currently.

As our leaders ponder the future of our DACA recipients;
Let us pray for those leaders to make fair human decisions.

Advent

As we enter the time of Advent with the anticipation of the coming of our Lord, let us pray for our
Immigrant sisters and brothers whose future is uncertain.

Christmas

Almighty God;
As we celebrate your incarnation and the birth of Jesus Christ. Help us to share your peace and love
with our immigrant sisters and brothers; who live their life daily in fear.

Epiphany

Lord Jesus with the coming of the Wiseman in search of your love, let us not forget the Holy Family’s long dangerous journey to Egypt in search of safety. Let us pray for all who need to leave their homelands in search of a safe place to live.

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Episcopal Migration Ministries

Episcopal Public Policy Network

Church World Services

Faith in the Valley
Designed for adult Christian formation, the Epiphany Curriculum offers education and resources about asylum in the U.S., models of ministry to asylum seekers, and ways to get involved. 

This resource is FREE and downloadable!



Episcopal Migration Ministries is a ministry of The Episcopal Church and is one of nine national agencies responsible for resettling refugees in the United States in partnership with the government. Episcopal Migration Ministries currently has 13 affiliate offices in 12 states. In addition to its long-standing work in refugee resettlement ministry, Episcopal Migration Ministries is The Episcopal Church’s convening place for collaboration, education, and information-sharing on migration.