Congregations To Expand Ministry

Trapped in a constant state of childhood. That’s how some young adults living in Northwest Arkansas describe their situation.

They are not allowed to vote, attain a driver’s license or open a bank account.

They are illegal immigrants.

“A lot of documented parents have undocumented children,” said Taylor Kidd, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas and a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. “The papers were never fi led correctly.”

He said these children go through their lives thinking they are in the country legally, only to find out otherwise when they turn 18.

Kidd wants to help change situations like this and others for the region’s immigrant population.

Doug Cummins, also a member of St. Paul’s, and Kidd attended a workshop at First United Methodist Church in Little Rock on Jan. 7 to learn how a church can become an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation. Cummins is organizing a workshop for Northwest Arkansas. Members of all faith groups are invited to participate, he said.

Immigrant Welcoming Congregation is a designation a church or synagogue can attain by taking steps to improve its ministry with immigrants.

Representatives of Northwest Arkansas’ faith-based organizations that choose to be involved will meet every other month to share experiences, introduce ideas for further ministry, pray for guidance and continue the sense of community that makes a God-fi lled ministry, Cummins said.

The goal is to provide whatever support immigrants need so they can do more than justsurvive, he said.

“The question is how do we make life more livable for these families? That’s the role of the church,” Cummins said. “The focus is on the redemptive act of Christianity in our community.”

An Immigrant Welcoming Congregation could help immigrants with finding a job, signing a lease or telling those who are undocumented what to do if they are arrested, Kidd said.

“It’s just the right thing to do to help out these people that are powerless, voiceless. They have nothing at all to make change for themselves, have no one speaking for them of their own background. It’s up to the rest of us to be their voice, their advocate until they can do so,” Kidd said.

Catholic Charities Immigration Services in Springdale offers similar services for immigrants, as well as legal aid. Director Frank Head Jr. said he didn’t know enough about the Immigrant Welcoming Congregation program to comment.

The Rev. Melissa Thomas, one of the statewide leaders in the United Methodist Church for Immigrant Welcoming Congregations and principle trainer at the Little Rock workshop, will assist with the formation of the group in Northwest Arkansas.