Shaking the System: What I Learned from the Great American Reform Movements

I've added this to my wish list, anyone read it? Matt Soerens at World Relief just recommended it via a tweet.




You can shake the system today, call your congress representative and senators, ask them to support the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act this week. Find out what the moral issue is from Dallas Seminary's James Dennison.

Prayers and comments overheard from the Day of Fasting and Prayer

Just over a month ago, on a conference call on immigration, someone said: “we need to pray.” We don’t just need to plan right now, but we need to pray often and pray well. We need to fast. After a somewhat discouraging season in congress, we were disappointed. We met with Senators and congressional representatives in Washington, DC and in their home offices. Some of us heard encouraging word of agreement; we were disappointed by a lack of leadership. A congressman told one of our colleagues that it was Christian acts of kindness and charity that encouraged immigrants to come and stay without authorization. We were disappointed by slander even though it was too ridiculous to be plausible. We need to pray. We marked November 16 so we could deliberately set aside a whole day to pray. And, invite other to join us.

In the morning I prayed with a group of youth leaders and pastor trainees who are immigrants and born of immigrant parents. We prayed: Señor Jesucristo, oramos por la iglesia Americana. Lord we pray for the American church that you would soften their hearts to move the government to change policy. We pray for reconciliation.

One student said: I was born 20 years ago; my mom came to this country 21 years ago and has been without papers ever since. She chose to come here for a better life for her family and herself. She would have come with papers, if only there was a way.

Lord we’ve been isolated too long. We pray for reconciliation between the immigrant church and the rest of the church. Teach us to love one another. Give us friendships through our relationship with you.

Lord, it doesn’t have to be this way, stir the hearts of your church, and members of congress, and senators, and the president.

At noon a very different group, a student, pastors, an attorney, a teacher met in a suburban church to pray.

“We pray for those not here, the invisible: hiding where they work in restaurants or hotels, picking our crops in the fields, or on the campus of UCLA as students excelling in their studies.”

“Lord, let our hearts be broken for what breaks yours because these issues that continually hurt YOUR people … break your heart.”

“Those of us who are old enough to remember the civil rights movement of the 1960’s know that much of the white evangelical church was on the wrong side of the issue then. We pray that we think more openly in this decade about justice for the immigrants and people who labor here.”

“I grew up in a church where everyone looked the same and thought the same. I had to learn and then experienced that God loves many kinds of people. People with light skin and dark skin; people who speak English and those who do not; people born in my country and those who came here of their own choice, with or without authorization.”

Together we sang the words of this song, and we danced upon injustice.
“Did you feel the darkness tremble, when the saints join in one song?
And the streams flow as one river, to wash away our brokenness.
And we can see that God you’re moving, A time of jubilee is coming
And young and old will turn to Jesus, fling wide you heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring Your hope, songs that bring Your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice”

~Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble, Martin Smith & Matt Redman

Do you speak American?

Liberty 9500

I have a copy of this film (DVD) and will be showing it with time for discussion. Do you want to be a part of this? Let me know here.

Tomorrow, 11/16: National Day of Fasting and Prayer for Immigration Reform

November 16^th, 2010

I will be praying with a group in Whittier at noon time. Let me know if you'd like to join us. 

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