*NEW DOWNLOAD* "Faithful Perspectives: A Conversation on Immigration and Your Congregation," the June 2010 national teleconference, with Jim Wallis, Rev. Gabe Salguero, Rev. Rich Nathan, and Angela Kelley.

5 WAYS TO ENGAGE YOUR CONGREGATION

1. PRAY for immigration reform by including immigrants in your prayer concerns during worship.

2. EDUCATE church members through small group studies on the causes and realities of immigration issues. Through education you can help dispel fear-inducing myths perpetuated by secular society, such as exaggerating the threat of crime and violence from immigrants or blaming immigrants for taking American jobs.

• Download a fact sheet on faith and immigration.
• Explore the legal issues of immigration using this chart.
• Order a copy of Strangers in the Land: A Six-Week Devotional Guide on Immigration, the Church, and the Bible. (More details below.)

3. PREACH PROPHETICALLY about the Christian responsibility to speak up for these vulnerable families being torn apart and suffering human indignity because of their status in our country. Give your congregation a strong theological foundation for why immigration reform is a spiritual issue.

• Download sermon resources on immigration.

4. WELCOME immigrants, refugees, and displaced persons in your community into the life and worship of your church. Set up a mechanism within your church structure to reach out to these persons and connect them with organizations in your community who can provide assistance.

• Join Rev. Dr. David Vasquez of Luther College for an in-depth conversation on migration, faith and advocacy in August (details to come). Explore how biblical stories inform the lives of people on the move today and how their experiences open up the Scriptures in new ways. Hear stories from Rev. Vasquez’s year-long sabbatical studying scripture with migrant communities and learn how you can deepen your ministry with people on the move.
  To register for this interactive web event hosted by LIRS (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service), contact outreach@lirs.org.

5. ADVOCATE for immigrants by contacting your elected officials so they know that communities of faith in your area encourage them to push for immigration reform.

• Take action: Tell President Obama and your senators that you are a Christian for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

STRANGERS IN THE LAND: A SIX-WEEK DEVOTIONAL GUIDE ON IMMIGRATION, THE CHURCH, AND THE BIBLE

Get your congregations talking about faith and immigration by using this short, accessible devotional guide in your Sunday school classes and small groups.

The devotional explores how every Christian is an "undocumented foreigner"—in the world, but not of it.

Based on Old Testament scholar M. Daniel Carroll R.’s transformative 2008 book Christians at the Border, this guide provides the reader a daily excerpt from that book, a scripture on the same theme, a provocative question, and a prayer. Every seventh day is arranged for use with a small group, including a story-based group organizing model, worship suggestion, and stimulating discussion questions. The guide provides instructions for small group leaders on how to publicize, prepare, lead, discuss, and act on the material found in the devotional. Additional resources are also available online, including web extras on debunking myths about immigrants, the historical U.S. approach to immigration, and ideas on how to get your group motivated for action on immigration issues.

The discussion questions at the end of each chapter encourage participants to think both about their personal reflection on the issue, as well as how they can act on what they learned. This is a great tool for encouraging your small groups to not only study and pray with one another, but also to take action in the church and community together.

• Order a copy of Strangers in the Land from the Sojo Store.

CCIR is a coalition of Christian organizations, churches, and leaders from across the theological and political spectrum, united in support of comprehensive U.S. immigration reform. We are working together to see fair and humane immigration reform enacted in Congress this year because we share a set of common moral and theological principles that compel us to love, care for, and seek justice for the stranger among us. (More about CCIR.)

• Stay connected with what CCIR is doing and get up-to-date immigration news by signing up for the CCIR e-newsletter. Just fill out your info in the box in the top-right corner of the page.