A personal challenge

I am dedicating this letter to Jose, although he will probably never read it. I met Jose at work. He was employed by a company that contracted to provide janitorial services. Generally, we ignore people like Jose. They pick our vegetables, process our meat, serve us at restaurants, clean our hotel rooms, build our houses, and scrub our toilets. To many people they seem faceless and indistinguishable.

I have been uncomfortable with that for awhile. In my Christian faith tradition, all people are precious and unique in God’s sight. I decided to make a simple change–greeting the men and women who clean our building–just as I would greet my colleagues. That is how I met Jose. We started a conversation and chatted about our families. I practiced Spanish with him, and he tried to speak English with me. We laughed about the difficulty of learning a new language, especially when I tried to explain the homophones, “to, too, and two.” Jose proudly showed me a picture of his niece and I introduced my father when he was visiting.

Now Jose is gone. I do not know where, nor why. I will probably never know. I have learned something, though. It is time to stand up and let my voice be heard. For the past three years I have listened while the tone of the conversation about immigration turned angrier, uglier, and louder. The voices of peacemakers and moderates have been drowned amidst the din.

The immigration problem has no simple answer. Building fences, both physical and virtual, may be a deterrent but will not hold back the human tide. We learned that lesson in Berlin. Any solution must address the economic factors of globalization, population decline in the United States, and the human desire to improve one’s standard of living.

Our solutions must be compassionate. In the Judeo‑Christian tradition we are admonished to treat strangers as guests. Jesus Christ tells us to treat all people with love and compassion. If we listen to His voice, we can no longer watch idly as hundreds die, trying to cross the desert. We can no longer ignore  inhumane working conditions. We can no longer watch the families who are ripped apart by raids and deportations. It is time for Christians to speak out for those who are weak and oppressed.

As a representative of the Social Justice and Peacemaking Committee of the Presbyterian Church, I urge fellow Christians to support immigration reform. The current bill is not perfect, but it is a big step in the right direction. Contact your elected representatives to express your views.

As Christians and members of the Social Justice and Peacemaking Committee, we respect that others, sometimes with the best intentions, will disagree with us. Still, at this time we feel that we must honor the humanity of both the immigrants and the immigrant. We applaud the work of the many churches and charitable organizations who provide water, food, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities. We support the efforts of our brothers and sisters at Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church in Cave Creek. They have taken a courageous stand to help immigrants find work in a safe and humane manner.

I urge all Christians to accept a personal challenge–to extend hospitality and kindness to those undocumented people who enter our country.

Together, we can influence social policy. Individually, we can impact lives.

Teri W. Conrad
Desert Hills