Please read this important message from First UCC Northfield and The Immigrant Welcoming Team:
As many of you know, we have a strong tradition in our congregation of supporting immigrant people. You may remember our leadership in 2017 taking a stand as one of the first churches in Minnesota willing to serve as a Sanctuary Church. We built an apartment in our own church to create a safe haven if it were to be needed. As the issues changed and we better learned the needs of people in our community, the Sanctuary Team evolved into The Immigrant Welcoming Team. The Team wrote a statement which was adopted by the congregation as a way for all of us to live into this ministry. Our Immigrant Welcoming Covenant reads:
Our scriptures, our experiences, and our hearts all tell us that, as people of faith, we must commit ourselves to a just world for all. Therefore: We covenant with God and each other to seek out, welcome, and deepen relationships with our immigrant neighbors and to work together with them to see that immigrant justice is done.
Now we have an opportunity in front of us: to encircle an asylum-seeking family from Peru with our support. You may have worshiped, once or many times, with Ademir, Eileen, and their two-year-old son Kendrick, or visited with them at coffee hour. Or, you may have been one of the First UCC supporters who have given them a home, provided gift cards, stood with them in court, or driven them to appointments, or to the park so Kendrick could play. We are blessed by their presence among us.
This is a crucial moment for Ademir, Eileen, and Kendrick. In the coming weeks, they need to submit an asylum application which requires legal counsel and there is a cost for representation. They need to raise an additional $7,000 for these legal fees. Council, in cooperation with Pastors Cindy and Lauren, is in support of matching (from the Discretionary Fund) the first $1,500 raised.
This is a start, but we need your support. Right now, First UCC has an opportunity to live out our Immigrant Welcoming Covenant with the family in front of us who needs support. A Special Offering will be taken for Ademir, Eileen, and Kendrick’s legal fees on July 9th, but we are accepting donations immediately. Anything raised above the $7,000 will go toward their living expenses for the remainder of the year, which of course are significant since they cannot currently work.
You may give online to this Special Offering at any time through July 9th by choosing “Peruvian Family” from the drop-down list under “GIVE” on the top bar of the website’s homepage. Or, you may write a check to the church, making sure to include “Peruvian Family” on your memo line so funds can be correctly allocated.
Thank you for your generosity!
