OSJ Suggests House Party
The Office of Social Justice for the Christian Reformed Church is helping to provide materials to church members interested in hosting a house party this summer to discuss, meditate upon, and learn how to do work that advocates for immigration reform in the United States.
"Shake up your summer and host a house party for immigration reform. CCIR’s new house party toolkit provides everything you need to take action on humane immigration reform. People of faith have a unique message, based on biblical values of compassion and justice, to share with our elected officials," says the OSJ web site.
Put together by Sojourners, an activist, faith-based community and publisher of a popular magazine, the tool kit says that "now is the time for change. Unlike a few years ago, Americans from across the political spectrum are voicing support for laws that provide pathways for legalization and citizenship in addition to support comprehensive immigration reform."
Immigration reform advocates are hopeful that President Obama will push the agenda of reform. Just this week at a summit in Mexico, Obama said that immigration reform remains high on his to-do list, according to news accounts.
Obama predicted legislation would be drafted near the end of this year but real work on changing the system wouldn't begin until 2010. Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Guadalajara, Mexico. The leaders spoke about trade, organized crime, climate change and swine flu, among other topics.
Besides giving tips and resources on how to plan and host a house party, the toolkit suggests ways to invite the community to get involved. There also is information on how to contact elected officials.
The kit defines a house party as a two-hour gathering held in a home or another comfortable setting "for the purpose of worship, discussion, and advocacy … While our immigration reform house parties can be formal or casual, depending on your tastes, the party should primarily focus on engaging people in prayerful advocacy over the issue of immigration Conversation and dialogue are central to the event, but house parties are not political debates."
The toolkit goes so far as to provide a sample invitations as well as sets out a full-fledged, detailed timeline of how to best organize a house party. Often there is a speaker who outlines the issue as well as a worship leader involved in a hour party. The toolkit also offers a list of ideas for how a person can get more deeply involved in helping to bring about reform.
