This past Sunday, J2J (Journey to Justice) hosted a panel discussion on immigration justice with Hannah Hafter (Episcopal City Mission), Andrins Renaudin (International Institute of New England), and Nancy Giesel (PAIR Project). This was part two of a three-part series around immigration justice that had been planned as a focus area in the winter/spring. The panelists brought valuable insights from their work as a community organizer, shelter services director, and asylum lawyer. The way the conversation was framed was around resilience and learning about the “why” behind each of our panelists choosing to do the work that they do.
Turns out that each panelist is doing the work they are currently doing because of the relationships they have formed over the years. Nancy even talked about growing up in her home church in Indiana and visiting their sister parish in Mexico where she learned to speak Spanish, which then led to opportunities to form relationships that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. Andrins, an immigrant from Haiti herself, now gets to welcome newly arrived Haitian immigrants in her work as a shelter director. And Hannah, having spent time on the US/Mexico border, was surprised to find that, after moving to Boston, immigration justice became a focus in her work with ECM.
Throughout Scripture, we are reminded of the call of the Christian as one to “welcome the stranger.” This is understood in the context of immigrants and migrants and those who have been pushed out of their homes. Intrinsic within the call to ‘welcome the stranger’ is a call to relationship. We can be quick to want to solve problems and alleviate suffering. But what this panel reminded us is the slow and steady nature of justice work and how it is always in the context of relationship. Relationships take time to develop and cultivate. We had three panelists who are deep in immigration justice work who did not shy away from the realities of what is hard or overwhelming, but also had a deep sense of vocation and calling which led to joy and gratitude for the work they get to do.
One of the questions asked by our moderator, Nelia Newell, was, “How do you keep doing this work?” One of the things that Hannah offered is that, once you find the lane you are supposed to be in, it’s a lot easier to maintain the work.
When it comes to works of justice, mercy, and compassion, we are not expected to fix everything, but find our God-given lane and do that well. I believe each Christian is called to something that helps, in a small way, to make this world a better place and it is the work of the church to help discern that ‘something’, together.
With gratitude,
Rev. Janelle
