CWS honors immigrants’ struggles, achievements

CWS President and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough greets 2012 CWS John Backer Award recipients Myrna Orozco and Tony Hernandez, and Tony’s parents Mabel and Guillermo Hernandez. Photo: Chris Herlinger/CWS

On Oct. 25, CWS conferred its First Annual John Backer Award on two immigrants’ rights advocates. Myrna Orozco is an “undocumented and unafraid” advocate for the DREAM Act. Tony Hernandez is a media entrepreneur whom CWS had resettled with his parents to the United States from Cuba in 1967. The award honors the late Mr. Backer’s 61 years of service to CWS as a staff member and volunteer.  Story

Q&A with Tony Hernandez
Q&A with Myrna Orozco

Fix broken U.S. immigration system now!
Election 2012 is over, and the results show that Americans want our broken immigration system to be fixed – and promptly. CWS’s Erol Kekic articulates the moral and economic reasons for enacting reform without further delay.  >>


Become an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation!
Congregations across the U.S. are embarking on the journey of becoming "Immigrant Welcoming Congregations." In so doing, they are shifting from ministering to immigrants to being transformed alongside immigrant communities.  >>


Maruskin: The “biblical case” for caring for migrants
From the opening chapter of Genesis, “migration” is a continuous thread in the biblical narrative. So is the importance of caring for migrants, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. CWS’s Joan Maruskin traces these themes from Genesis on forward.  >>

Welcome
is a publication of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program, Erol Kekic, Director.
 

Host your own 'Visionaries' viewing party
Call your local PBS-TV station to urge it to broadcast two "Visionaries" documentaries about CWS in December. Then plan your viewing party.
 
 

Photo: Erika Iverson

Church-hosted refugee gardens prove drought-resistant
Harvest time found refugee gardeners in Grand Rapids, Mich., satisfied with a generous yield despite this year’s hot, dry summer. Read about them and the growing number of refugee community gardens in the U.S.
 
 

Photo courtesy Andrew Fuys

CWS resettles 5,871 refugees in FY 2012
In 2013, expect larger numbers overall, including an anticipated 2,000 people from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Learn more.
 
 

You can help right now!
Text REFUGEE to 50555 to give $10 in support of our work with immigrants and refugees. (Terms: mgive.org/t)