Opportunities to
Missions Education Resource How to use this page
The suggestions below will be helpful for using the stories on pages 13-15 and 28-29 of this issue in the life of your church. Small Group interaction, Study Group and Reading Group options are given, as well as suggestions for other congregational or family settings. Go online to www.thefellowship.info/affectonline for more suggestions.
Immigration & Advocacy
February 2014
In Small Groups: The following is an outline for adult mission groups, Bible study classes or other small groups. Share copies of fellowship! with group members prior to the meeting and have extra copies available. These suggestions are for a 45-minute time frame.
1. This session centers on immigration reform advocacy across the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Gather copies of this issue of fellowship! for participants and read the article titled, “The gospel ministry of advocacy: CBF field personnel and leaders work for immigration reform” on pp. 13-15 to prepare for the discussion. 2. Ask if anyone recognizes this quotation: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (a poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty). Invite participants to discuss the power of this poem to immigrants entering the United States. 3. Observe that while immigration issues have become more complicated today, the call to help the “alien among us” has not changed. Ask someone to read Exodus 22:21, another Leviticus 19:34 and one more to read Hebrews 13:2. 4. Say, “These verses ask us to reach out to the foreigner and the stranger. While CBF folks may differ about the best approaches to immigration reform, Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter says, ‘We are committed to work on areas of consensus — and there are many of them.’” 5. Explain that one way some in the Fellowship live this out is through advocacy on behalf of immigrants. CBF field personnel Greg and Sue Smith formed LUCHA (Spanish for
“struggle”), a nonprofit organization in Fredericksburg, Va., designed to help new immigrants adjust to American culture and legal systems. 6. Share that “LUCHA represents the presence of Christ by providing Hispanics with English classes, school tutoring and guidance through the American legal, educational and medical systems.” The goal is that these “aliens among us” not be “mistreated” or “oppressed” (Exodus 22:21, NIV) or discriminated against.
fellowship!
CBF
COOPERATIVE BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP | WWW.THEFELLOWSHIP.INFO
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
#endhunger
Join CBF as we pray and serve 7. Note that for believers, immigration and immigration to end hunger around the world reform have moral and spiritual dimensions, as well as legal and economic ones. Ministries like LUCHA help immigrants adjust to life in America. Spurred by scripture, numerous CBF field personnel and affiliates work with immigrants and refugees. Hunger ministries supported by the CBF Offering for Global Missions
8. End with a prayer for our leaders, both spiritual and political, who deal with immigration, immigration reform and immigrants. Pray that God’s will be done so that the “alien” and “stranger” are treated justly and fairly.
At Home: With the Kids 1. In preparation, read the article about Diann Whisnand, one of CBF’s field personnel who serves in McAllen, Texas, on pp. 28-29. This conversation centers on Whisnand’s work with Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley. 2. Ask, “Does anyone know what river divides Mexico and the United States?” Explain that the Rio Grande river is the boundary between the countries. 3. Then ask what language people speak in Mexico (Spanish). Explain that English is the most common language of the United States, but when many people first come to America, they don’t yet know English. 4. Say, “Think of all the things you would have trouble doing if you didn’t speak English.” Invite them to brainstorm: you wouldn’t understand the TV news or read directions or fill out school or medical forms or talk with your doctor or even know how to ask for help. 5. Explain that Whisnand lives right near the Rio Grande and helps teach many newcomers to America how to speak English. If they learn English, they can get a job more easily, talk with their children’s teachers and their coworkers and ask for the help they need. 6. Ask, “Do you know anyone at school who is learning English? How could we help someone who is new to America?” (Invite them over, help them at school, ask them to sit with you at lunch — answer any questions they have). 7. Invite the children to join you in a prayer for all the newcomers to America as they learn English. Pray for Diann Whisnand and all field personnel who help teach English to immigrants.
30
|
fellowship!
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission
In Reading Groups Risky Marriage: Reflections from Tanzania on HIV and Intimate Relationships by Melissa Browning Browning looks at data that shows that for many women in East Africa, marriage has become a risk factor for HIV rather than a means to protect them from the disease. Through a year of fieldwork in Tanzania, Browning listens to the stories of women and offers some solutions to HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.