Immigrants Find Solace After Storm of Arrests - NYTimes.com
- added July 17, 2008
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- helloimcat
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"Then came the morning of May 12, when both satisfaction and retirement ended for the 75-year-old priest (Father Ouderkirk). Federal immigration agents raided the Agriprocessors factory, arresting nearly 400 workers, most of them men, for being in the United States illegally. Within minutes of the raid, with surveillance helicopters buzzing above the leafy streets, the wives and children of Mexican and Guatemalan families began trickling into St. Bridget’s Church, the safest place they knew."
"At a practical level, Father Ouderkirk has hired four temporary staff members to help track the court cases and distribute food and financial aid to the affected families. Along with other religious leaders around Iowa, he had been preparing for a march in defense of immigrants’ rights. St. Bridget’s parish, which has only about 350 members, is spending $500,000 in the relief effort, he said."
In light of many stories that highlight awful religious leaders, I'd like to post this article to simply remind the Current Community the potential an organized church has in furthering social action and change. Churches have organized numbers and motivation (God) on their side, and while many leaders are exploiting that, there are places that not only do good things, but become movements (Dr. MLK Jr's Ebenezer Baptist).
"At a practical level, Father Ouderkirk has hired four temporary staff members to help track the court cases and distribute food and financial aid to the affected families. Along with other religious leaders around Iowa, he had been preparing for a march in defense of immigrants’ rights. St. Bridget’s parish, which has only about 350 members, is spending $500,000 in the relief effort, he said."
In light of many stories that highlight awful religious leaders, I'd like to post this article to simply remind the Current Community the potential an organized church has in furthering social action and change. Churches have organized numbers and motivation (God) on their side, and while many leaders are exploiting that, there are places that not only do good things, but become movements (Dr. MLK Jr's Ebenezer Baptist).
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- helloimcat
- 2 months ago
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