National Day of Fasting and Prayer for Immigration Reform

November 16^th, 2010

As people of God who are called to care for the widow, the orphan and the migrant, we seek to hear and respond to God’s voice. We are compelled to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God, and to love our neighbors, including our immigrant brothers and sisters (Micah 6:8, Luke 10:27).

As people of faith who work to seek justice for immigrants in our communities, it has been a difficult year. Right now, there are more deportations taking place than ever before. Our experience with undocumented immigrants, our efforts to understand the concerns of all Americans, and our the convictions of our faith have made us more convinced than ever that fixing our immigration laws in a comprehensive manner is imperative and in the best interest of all of us. Laws like Arizona’s SB1070 are gaining momentum but are short-sighted and criminalize certain faith-based ministry. The anti-immigrant sentiment that pervades our airwaves and political discourse is poisoning our communities. Immigrants and advocates alike are beginning to lose hope, but to not act would be an affront to the faith that we profess.

We call for a National Day of Fasting and Prayer on November 16, 2010. Across the nation, we will be united in prayer for a common purpose: to pray for an end to family separation due to deportations, to lament the broken immigration system, and to ask God for guidance on the way forward.

We will fast because we recognize our need to repent for our nation's tragic neglect of immigrants throughout American history, and particularly today. We will fast with a spirit of lament because when our brother or sister grieves, we grieve along with them. We will fast because we want to intentionally remind ourselves that many immigrants in our land do without basic needs and security on a daily basis. Finally, we will fast because we want to unite in action as we lift our prayers up to God, pleading for God to act on behalf of the immigrant in our land by making a way out of no way for the Dream Act, and ultimately for comprehensive immigration reform.

How it works:

·      All people are invited to sign up to fast during the day and pray for the families who are separated. To sign up, visit http://bit.ly/b2OevG. 

·      Share information about the fast on Facebook by linking to our event page: here.

·      On November 16^th, abstain from eating and focus on prayers for an end to family separation due to deportations, to lament the broken immigration system, and to ask God for guidance on the way forward.

·      We encourage fasters to gather their community and congregation to close the day with a worship service, prayer gathering, shared meal or event. We’ll provide a sample order of service that you can use and adapt to fit your local context. Watch for more information on this here. Right now I have talked to people about an lunch time event in Whittier and and evening event in the OC.

We welcome you to join in this fast as an individual, family, church, or community group. For more information, contact Glen Peterson, gpeterson@capacitypartnership.com or 562/400-4739