Ecumenical Day draws Sen. Brownback, inter-denominational

By David Myers

Southwest Kansas Register

Episcopal Bishop James M. Adams Jr. of the Diocese of Western Kansas used the above quote in his address to more than 220 people who attended the Ecumenical Day spearheaded by the Diocese of Dodge City two days after Easter.

"Our population is changing," Bishop Adams said, "and the greatest change is the influx of people from Mexico and parts of Central America and also from the East."

Some Kansas cities have a population of 60 percent Spanish speaking people, "and that has changed those whom we serve," Bishop Adams added. "The population, language and culture has changed rapidly in central Kansas. This change is calling us to minister to those we have been given."

Many people see change as a negative, the bishop added, "and somehow it’s a threat to their very existence. But God doesn’t make junk. He only creates the good and the sacred. We are the ones who see things as less than they are.

"We are a nation of immigrants, and when we forget that, we become a nation of prejudice and bigotry. The church in my diocese is attempting to see whom God is calling them to serve. Traditions are hard to change, but Christ will change us to do his will."

Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore welcomed the guests to the day of discussion of immigration reform, saying, "We are grateful to have all of you with us today to consider these complex issues ... so we can have a united voice in speaking out for those who have no voice."

The several bishops and other representatives of different denominations were united in their opposition to any bill that would declare undocumented immigrants to be felons or would punish anyone who gives assistance to an undocumented immigrant.

"We must give immigrants willing to contribute to our life and society a path to citizenship, and we must fight and speak against any effort to criminalize the role of the church, the humanitarian efforts of the church," said Rev. John Kreidler of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

"Immigration reform must support the unity of families and must protect human rights and workers’ rights, and it must end the marginalization of the undocumented, making it possible for them to live openly in our society," Rev. Kreidler insisted.

"To do otherwise is to condemn immigrants to be victims, lied to and treated as a commodity. For us, our failure is in our silence."

The Rev. Dr. Donald F. Owens, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Southern Kansas and its 67 churches, spoke after Kreidler, saying, "What you have heard gives you the sense that we are on the same page, and we need to do a better job helping people in our communities understand that.

"Some of my relatives were Scotch-Irish, and they came to this country without any authorization before they got on the boat -- and with no documentation when they arrived. I think a lot of us, if we searched our personal history, would find the same thing."

Dr. Owens admitted he also is disturbed by a U.S. House bill, HR 4437, that passed in December and proposes to criminalize any assistance given to illegal immigrants.

"One of the things that also concerns me is that legislation that makes what you and I do illegal," he said. "I fear there will be attempts to make offering a drink to an immigrant a crime. I must fight against that with every ounce of my being.

"There are complicated issues that face us as a society," Dr. Owens added. "These are issues we must struggle with. There are things we need to do that will seem unfair to some. We need to become the answer to our own prayer, our prayer for those who are homeless and fight injustice."

Bishop Scott J. Jones of the United Methodist Kansas West Conference said he is "convinced that in the political life of Kansas and our country, our voices need to be heard; our voices must not be muted and unheard.

"I want to talk about the sins that give rise to this whole debate," Bishop Jones said. "The first is selfishness. We were all immigrants; my family came to this country 250 years ago. But there is the attitude, ‘I got mine; let’s close the door.’

"The second sin is fear. There are economic changes going on, and sometimes the reaction is, ‘Am I going to be okay?’

"The third sin is racism," Bishop Jones added. "I lived 27 years in Texas, and we understand racism is wrong. Skin color may be different, language may be different, but we have to continue to teach against racism. We as a church have to teach diversity as a value of God. It goes back to the Tower of Babel, where the sin was that they wanted everybody to speak the same language."

Bishop Jones engaged in a dialog with U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, and the senator said he saw three options for the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be living in the United States.

"We can do nothing," the Catholic senator said. "Or we can throw everybody out, or we can try to create a system so that people can come out of the shadows. Migration is a huge problem in many parts of the world, but I don’t think it is practical to throw everyone out.

"I think we have one of the highest levels of foreign born (12 percent of the U.S. population is foreign born), and you have to go back to the 1920s to find those kind of numbers," Brownback pointed out. "I hope that we can look at these people fairly. God loves the poor.

"The number one thing I would ask you to do is pray," he said. "Pray specifically that there will be a coming together on this topic. There has to be a national push of your organizations on this, so that congress will hear where your hearts are."

A number of immigrants contributed their stories to the discussion, among them Juana "Janie" Perkins, former mayor and present city commissioner of Garden City.