Situation: Recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy continue in Haiti and Cuba, two countries severely hit by the late October hurricane. Dozens were killed in the Caribbean by the storm, which crippled a number of affected areas. In Cuba, for example, more than 188,000 homes were damaged and the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba was particularly devastated. In Haiti, Sandy …
Churches Donate 500 Emergency Cleanup Buckets in Wake of Sandy
December 11, 2012
New England area churches quickly answered the call for CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets for Hurricane Sandy response, donating approximately 500 buckets in November. The buckets were collected at three points throughout the region and delivered to the CWS warehouse. “I’m deeply grateful for everyone’s work and generosity, and for the hours of effort and work and cost that were invested …
Faith leaders speak out against possible program cuts
November 30, 2012
WASHINGTON — Church World Service Board Chair the Rev. Dr. Earl D. Trent, Jr., joined senior religious officials from 16 states and the heads of some of the nation’s most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations yesterday to tell the Obama Administration and Congress, “Don’t push the poor and most vulnerable off the ‘fiscal cliff.’” “Our concern,” said Rev. Trent, …
CWS Webinar Focuses on Long-term Recovery Basics
NEW YORK — As part of humanitarian agency Church World Service’s Hurricane Sandy response, CWS Emergency Response Specialists will present a webinar focused on long-term recovery basics, Dec. 4-5. The webinar, which begins at 2 p.m. EST each day, will cover best practices and important steps to remember as communities start to form long-term recovery groups. A special focus of …
“Don’t Push the Poor and Vulnerable off the ‘Fiscal Cliff'”
November 28, 2012
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, November 29 at 10:30 a.m. EST at the Bread for the World office building (425 Third Street SW), Church World Service Board Chair the Rev. Dr. Earl Trent, will join senior religious officials from 16 states and the heads of some of the nation’s most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations to tell the Obama Administration …
Tony Hernandez: ‘The immigrant is absolutely crucial to our country’s future.’
Recipient of a 2012 CWS John Backer Award, Tony Hernandez is Co-Founder & CEO of Latino Broadcasting Company, Miami, Fla., and leads the company’s Immigrant Archive Project, which already has captured the first-person story of hundreds of immigrants. Question: What is your immigrant story? Answer: I was five years old in the fall of 1967 when my parents and I …
The “biblical case” for caring for migrants
Joan Maruskin |
From the opening chapter of Genesis, “migration” is a continuous thread in the biblical narrative. So is the importance of caring for “the stranger and sojourner” – migrants, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The Bible opens with God’s Spirit migrating over the face of the waters. Soon God creates humankind, male and female, in God’s image, bringing us to life …
On Long Island, spring shipments help after storms
Chris Herlinger |
Freeport, New York – To outsiders, New York’s Long Island may evoke images of summer homes and beach living. But economic hard times have not been kind to working-class communities like Freeport. And the damage brought by Hurricane Sandy has only worsened — and deeply so — what have already been tough years. “For some of the most vulnerable on …
Myrna Orozco: ‘I want you to become a safe space for people like me.’
Recipient of a 2012 CWS John Backer Award, Myrna Orozco is National Field Director for the United We Dream Network, based in Kansas City, Mo. Question: What is your immigrant story? Answer: I am originally from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. I came to the United States when I was four years old, in December 1994. Now I live near Kansas …
Become an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation!
Rev. Noel Andersen |
Congregations across the United States are embarking on the journey of becoming “Immigrant Welcoming Congregations” (IWC). Participation in this journey equips churches to travel from mercy to justice, from service to incarnational friendship, from activism to organizing, from “ministering to” immigrants to being transformed alongside of immigrant communities. Kristin Kumpf, a United Methodist working with the Midwest Academy, Chicago, Ill., …