A letter and an opportunity following, to stand up and oppose the injustice, from the Rev. Richard Witt, Rural and Migrant Ministry
Dear friends,
The staff of RMM will soon gather for our annual retreat. Our focus this year centers around living deeply into RMM’s motto: Hope, Justice and Empowerment. In the midst of the current turbulence of our society, it is a difficult task to find the wherewithal to live into this dictum.
We are shocked and dismayed at how our country has devolved so quickly into a battleground where sisters and brothers are brutally removed from their families, and children find themselves gasping to survive without them. The fear grows exponentially each day. We watch white people joining people of color, being easily and senselessly murdered — spurred by power and greed, in the name of nationalism.
We at RMM have found ourselves submerged in this changed, oppressive world. We have come to know, appreciate, and honor immigrants. They are loving parents, hard-working laborers, hopeful and wonderfully childish children. We deeply feel their fear, and we lament the callousness of many who deny their plight, or even celebrate it. We have also gotten to know countless, passionate allies: determined to love their neighbor (and everyone is considered their neighbor), committed to the ideals and principles of the Constitution. And all the people of RMM believe in laws and mores that are just — for all of us.
In the loud and inflammatory language and actions of the government, there is a failure to see and to explore other avenues — avenues that do not depend upon cruelty, avenues that do not deny due process, avenues that honor the Constitution, avenues that build up our communities, rather than destroy them — avenues that honor the greatness of the American dream.
Most of us yearn for a society, a world that is at peace — a realm that is not rooted in fear, a world that is just, and, dare I say it, hopeful. It is clear that will not happen until we deliberately stand up, shed (escape) our apathy and our false consciousness, and oppose this tsunami of injustice.
There is no escaping the creeping realization that the world has changed and continues to change. If we are to live in a peaceful, joyful world, then we must respond to those who seek instead to create a world that denies the humanity of others, built upon pillars of racism, sexism, and classism, covered in a shroud of fear. We have no choice but to respond, for as the adage goes: To not respond is to respond in support of the status quo. Or, in other words: Silence is complicity.
The foundation of our response is rooted in love. The pathway is action and the vision is the faith, the belief, that our love is powerful — and even more powerful when we join together. Lila Watson, a wonderful educator, has said: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then stay and we can work together.” We cannot allow our steadfast quest for justice and liberty for all to be sabotaged by division.
Our African American brothers and sisters have lived under this oppression for generations, and they remind us that they have been a part of the quest for liberty and justice, time and time again. History is filled with many moments of injustice; indeed, so is Scripture. A binding catalyst throughout, however, has been the faith that people working together in the name of love are a powerful force that ultimately cannot be denied. The journey may be overwhelming and long, but it is a journey of hope, and that hope will enable us to overcome these forces of evil.
With an eye toward those who have gone before us, inspired by their witness, the staff of Rural & Migrant Ministry will gather in determination and hope at our retreat. While we may not have clarity in understanding what is happening and how to proceed, we will go forward, hand in hand. We will stand with our brothers and sisters, and we will pray for the courage and steadfastness to be powerful beacons of love. We invite you to join us on this journey — in body and prayer.
In peace,
Richard
TAKE ACTION!
The House of Representatives’ DHS spending bill passed last week and is now set to go back to the Senate. The bill increases the funding lines for ICE’s detention and enforcement budget lines and includes no meaningful guardrails on agency action. However, in the wake of the tragic killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by DHS agents in Minneapolis, key Democrats are now vowing to block the bill.
Here is a link to the legislation; for an analysis of the bill, click here.
Finally, there is a sample Say No letter on the National Immigration Center’s website. Stand up against injustice and make your voice heard!
