Peacemaking on the Southern Border (guidebook + videos)

Immigration is a ubiquitous, politicized phenomenon, sometimes resulting in the migrant becoming invisible, lost in a tug-of-war between the political left and right. We wish to pause to see migrants and refugees. Christians from the Texas borderland and heartland offer insightful and current perspectives that lead to new thoughts about immigration and shalom. They share current realities and ways to engage.

PATHWAY GUIDES

Daniel Garcia, Monty Lynn, Kenny Jones, and Robert Green

GUIDEBOOK

Click below to flip through a digital guidebook, watch recordings of each session, and engage with interactive material. Additionally, three of the session videos are accessible on YouTube: Immigration Policy and Response, Rethinking Migrants, and Immigration Myths.

SESSIONS

IMMIGRATION POLICY AND RESPONSE

Dylan Corbett

Dylan provides a recent retrospective of United States immigration policy and how churches and faith-based organizations have responded on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

RETHINKING MIGRANTS

Jenifer Wolf-Williams and Sr. Norma Pimentel

Migrants often experience journeys they never imagined – journeys that deeply mark their lives. Jenifer and Sr. Norma relay stories of migrants and asylees, the realities of their pilgrimages, and what they have learned that may be relevant to us all.

IMMIGRATION MYTHS

Elizabeth Alvarez-Bingham

Navigating the legal and policy maze can be difficult for migrants and would-be advocates. As an immigration attorney, Elizabeth details common immigration myths along the journey.

BONUS SESSION: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON IMMIGRATION

Mark Hamilton

What does the Bible say about immigration? In an ACU Center for the Study of Ancient Religious Texts (CSART) presentation, Mark Hamilton explores biblical perspectives on immigrants and immigration. Watch the video here. See also Mark's book Jesus, King of Strangers: What the Bible Really Says about Immigration.

ART EXHIBIT: El Sueño Americano – The American Dream

Tom Kiefer

On exhibit at the Margaret and Herman Brown Library at Abilene Christian University from September 20 - October 20, 2020. This project features the personal effects and belongings of people apprehended in the desert by U.S. Border Patrol agents that were confiscated and subsequently discarded as they were processed at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in southern Arizona. See the virtual exhibit here.

FILM: The Stranger

The Evangelical Immigration Table’s website describes this film as “a 40-minute documentary film commissioned by the Evangelical Immigration Table and produced by Emmy-award winning producer Linda Midgett. The Stranger profiles three immigrant stories and includes interviews with local and national Christian leaders.”

INTERNSHIPS, VOLUNTEERING, AND PARTNERSHIP

Want to contribute to peacemaking on the southern border? Opportunities abound to continue learning, engage in advocacy, have an immersion experience on the border, invest a year with children and immigrants, volunteer, give, or partner. Here are just a few resources to explore:

• Christian Community Development Association

• Abara

• Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

• Ciudad Nueva Community Outreach

• Hope Border Institute

• International Rescue Committee

• National Immigration Forum

• Evangelical Immigration Table

Speakers

ELIZABETH ALVAREZ-BINGHAM

Elizabeth Alvarez-Bingham graduated from ACU with a B.A. in political science. She then attended Pepperdine School of Law, where she graduated with her Juris Doctor degree in 2008. A passionate defender of those victimized by society, Elizabeth works 1,000 pro bono hours per year, usually focused on children or asylum, including representing the unaccompanied immigrant minors from Central America during the 2014 American immigration crisis.

DYLAN CORBETT

Dylan Corbett is the founding director of HOPE. Dylan formerly worked as a staffer to the bishops at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development. He also worked with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, USCCB’s national anti-poverty and social justice program. He has worked in the international development and nonprofit sectors in Central America, South Asia, and Washington, D.C.

MARK HAMILTON

After ministering several years in congregations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, Mark Hamilton moved to ACU, where he teaches courses in biblical Hebrew and Old Testament. He has also held teaching roles at institutions such as Harvard and Pepperdine and has taught in several countries. Mark also is an elder of the University Church of Christ in Abilene. He is a prolific writer, and his most recent book is Jesus, King of Strangers (Eerdmans, 2019). He and his wife, Samjung, have two adult children they dearly love.

TOM KIEFER

Tom Kiefer’s current project, El Sueño Americano – The American Dream (2007-present), features the personal effects and belongings of people apprehended in the desert by U.S. Border Patrol agents that were confiscated and subsequently discarded as they were processed at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility in southern Arizona. Kiefer lives and works in Ajo, Arizona, about 40 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

NORMA PIMENTEL, MJ

Norma Pimentel is a sister with the Missionaries of Jesus and a licensed professional counselor. As executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, she oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of the different ministries and programs in the areas of emergency assistance, housing assistance, counseling, and pregnancy care to all four counties in the Rio Grande Valley.

JENIFER WOLF-WILLIAMS

Jenifer Wolf-Williams (Ed.D., LPC-S) is an immigration trauma therapist who provides counseling and forensic evaluations for asylum seekers. This role takes her beyond the counseling office into immigration court rooms, border ports of entry, and detention centers. Jenifer and her husband, Peter, met at ACU and immediately began their family life in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They now reside in Dallas and have three grown daughters and four grandchildren.

Pathway Guides

DANIEL GARCIA

Daniel Garcia grew up in Cancun, Mexico. He is married to Yukari from Japan, and together they have two confused Texan girls and a new baby boy. After working in multicultural and international enrollment for 14 years, Daniel is now a full-time instructor of marketing and international business at ACU.

ROBERT GREEN

Robert Green is an artist known for richly layered abstract paintings in which the language of maps plays a central role. His artworks have been presented in 85 invitational exhibitions and 84 competitive exhibitions across the U.S. Recent highlights include Flux, a solo exhibition of drawings at Abilene’s Center for Contemporary Art in 2020, and Mapping: Motion and Memory in Contemporary Art at the Katonah Museum of Art.

KENNY JONES

Kenny Jones’s art and teaching career has spanned over 30 years. In that time, Kenny has received grants and awards for work as diverse as a time-based installation, concrete sculptures, and abstract paintings. Kenny was chosen for publication in New American Paintings, issue #108. He has taught at ACU for 15 years.

MONTY LYNN

Monty Lynn is professor of management at ACU, where he teaches business and international development in the College of Business Administration. Monty attends Highland Church of Christ with his wife, Libby.