We are living in a time when followers of Christ are asking questions about how to engage in conversations about social issues. An ever-growing number are asking, “how can we think ‘Christianly’ about these issues?” Many do not want to get pulled into the strong-willed political perspectives but also do not want to sit on the sidelines. Even when the issue may not affect them personally, they do not want to be indifferent. What we have endeavored to do in response to this is create settings in which we can explore topics on race, ethnicity, history, immigration, etc. and have conversations that will enlighten us. I have had to explore areas that I have not questioned in times past but now realize I can’t just be passive. This is one of the good challenges about faith – how to connect my faith to social issues; how to connect my faith to people that I meet or who I know who are the focus of a particular social issue.
With this in mind, we are planning to hold a book discussion group about immigration. The name of the book is Dear America:Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. It is the personal story of a Filipino man who was sent to America, by his mother, at the age of 12 to live with his legal-status grandparents. The problem that unfolds comes years later, when he finds out that he did not have legal status. The author goes on to become an award-winning journalist on a national scale; and from this, he tells his story of not having a legal pathway to pursue.
One person said to me after she reviewed the book, “I have never given much thought as to the complexity of illegal immigrants. I had mostly thought in terms of America’s southern border but not about the many others who have come from other countries or whose visas expired or who have lived in America most of their life and cannot call another country their home.” To be sure the issue is quite messy. So as Christians is there a perspective we can take that will reflect ‘the mind of Christ’?
If you are interested in exploring this topic, I invite you to join us on November 20 as we discuss and wrestle with a topic that more than likely affects someone you know. We are not trying to get it ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It is much more complicated than that; but if we can begin to see the matter more broadly and deeply, it may help us as we may perhaps find ourselves someday ministering to those who fall into being ‘the least of these’.
Click here to learn more about the book and purchase it through Amazon.
