Immigration

Evangelical leaders across the nation on Tuesday participated in prayer vigil events to call for comprehensive immigration reform.

The vigils took place in six cities where immigration policy is especially contentious: Phoenix; Denver; Santa Ana, Calif.; Chicago; Memphis, Tenn.; and Miami. The largest event occurred in Phoenix where more than 120 evangelical leaders from across the country gathered for a “Day of Education, Witness and Action” on immigration reform.

"The broken immigration system has taken a heavy local toll, and many call Phoenix ‘ground zero’ for immigration issues," said Kit Danley, president of Neighborhood Ministries, the host group in Phoenix. "Our brothers and sisters in Christ from around the country are standing in solidarity with us to call for something better, something more fair, something more compassionate." more >>

The Baptist World Alliance, which claims more than 37 million members, is celebrating Human Rights Day this weekend by encouraging its churches to emphasize human rights in their worship services.

Though the official U.N.-designated International Human Rights Day was Dec. 10, the BWA decided to observe the day during the weekend so churches could incorporate the theme into their liturgies.

BWA says human rights has been “at the heart” of the Baptist fellowship in its 104-year history, pointing to its opposition to racism, concern about wars, and defense of religious freedom. Moreover, the organization has a history of supporting the rights of the disabled, women’s and children’s rights, and the right of the sick to receive adequate medical care. more >>

Urbana 09, one of the country’s largest student missions conferences, expects more than 20,000 people from every state and many nations next month at its 22nd triennial event in St. Louis.

Organized by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the Dec. 27-31 conference will focus on the most pressing global issues currently faced by those active in missions around the world. The four main focuses at Urbana 09 are: movement of peoples, money in terms of missions funding, environmental stewardship, and divisions between peoples.

“God is at work in the midst of all kinds of unique challenges,” said Urbana director Jim Tebbe. “Attendees will hear speakers from a variety of cultural contexts discuss how God is at work and will also learn about the needs that still remain. They will also experience worship with thousands of others in one of the most diverse worship gatherings in North America.” more >>

Groups for and against immigration reform continue to butt heads over the recent stance taken by the National Association of Evangelicals, which last month expressed their support for reform that includes more compassionate treatment of undocumented immigrants.

America’s Voice, which supports humane comprehensive immigration reform, blasted leaders of NumbersUSA for encouraging its evangelical members to “hammer” their denominations with complaints against the NAE’s new immigration resolution.

In a Nov. 2 article in the Congressional Quarterly, Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, said that “about a third of our members are evangelicals” and “they immediately started hammering their denominations” after being informed of NAE’s stance. more >>

President Obama may get a shot at ushering in a new era of bipartisanship in Washington as he had promised with the largest evangelical body in the country having recently stated its support for immigration reform, including a pathway for 12 million illegal U.S. immigrants to become citizens.

When President George W. Bush was trying to pass immigration reform in 2007, the National Association of Evangelicals – which claims to represent 30 million U.S. evangelicals – abstained from taking an official position on the issue.

Now, two years later, the NAE has taken a firm and very public stance in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Top NAE leaders earlier this month even testified before the U.S. Senate in support of an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. more >>