Interview with Zach Anderson

Ross Janovec and Kathryn Cunningham had a chance to sit down with Zach Anderson, Assistant Director of Peace with Justice Ministries, and talk to him about his thoughts on justice in the church and society today as well as what his personal views of justice are.

Interns and local churches

One of the goals of the Micah Corps is to enjoy connecting with local churches. Kathryn Cunningham and Ross Janovec share at Southminster UMC in Lincoln and Sabrina Miller talks with pastors and thanks churches for making the internships possible through Mission Share dollars.

Along with many personal visits to churches in all six districts, a goal for the five interns is making contact with each church in our conference to find out what types of exciting risk-taking mission and justice work are being done at the local level.

"Welcoming the Stranger"

The last part of the Micah Corps program is action-based, including visits to local churches to discuss meaningful immigration reform and learn from Nebraska United Methodists and others about their own experiences with the issue. In the video interns Rachel and Brian facillitated a forum in Hooper, NE on immigration from a biblical perspective, and how Jesus taught us to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25). Furthermore, the interns visited Olive Crest UMC in North Omaha to discussion immigration and our immigrant history, as we were once strangers in the land of Egpt (Leviticus 19:33-34). Other captions in the video include a section from our attendance at a worker justice breakfast, put on by Interfaith Worker Justice, which stressed recognizing the humanity and dignity in all persons. It was a wonderful experience traveling to different churches, bible studies, and community events. The interns thank all who participated and encourage all to advocate for justice for the immigrant. If you feel motivated to get involved, one of the things you can do is visit www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org, and sign up for text updates on reform or simply navigate the site to learn more...or if you feel like it we encourage you to call your local representatives and ask for meaningful immigration reform that is just and humane. Thanks! And remember to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!!!!!!

Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation

The video above includes Darcy Tromanhauser, talking about the Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation program at Nebraska Appleseed. It also includes Vanessa Martinez, state-wide coordinator for "Nebraska Is Home," speaking with Micah Corps intern Rachel Boellstorff about aspects of the immigration board game. The interns did a presentation, including the game, for 10 or 12 Appleseed staff. In the video an intern talks about the difficulty of the "undocumented limbo loop" section of the game, referring to the many difficulties and struggles undocumented immigrants encounter when attempting to work through our immigration system. The interns finished one of their final days at Appleseed and soon will began a two week term of visits to local churches, where the board game and other created materials will be used to engage local UMC congregations in discussion about the issue. We look forward to these two weeks and in the mean time encourage all to get involved by visiting www.neappleseed.org, or more specifically visiting the www.NebraskaIsHome.org website.

Playing the Immigration Board Game at Aldersgate UMC Adult Sunday School Class

On July 12 I traveled to Aldersgate UMC in Lincoln to talk in worship and visit an adult Sunday school class. The topic of the class discussion was a "Culture of Hate," and I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss immigration issues. The video above was taken while the group played an immigration board game, a game created from interviews with hundreds of immigrants in the Northwestern United States, and specifically the board game details the complexity, difficulty, and brokenness of our immigration system. Beyond the board game, the class had a discussion about the facts of immigration, United Methodist policies toward immigration, and lastly the group discussed different stories (or outlooks) on immigration.These different stories served to facillitate discussion about the issues at play, and helped us understand our many preconceived notions of immigration in our culture. In conclusion we discussed ways for the class to get involved in advocating for meaningful immigration reform that is just and humane, and in the mean time got to share some cookies, coffee, and light-hearted conversation. It was a great experience, and I thank Aldersgate for the time and place to have such an important discussion about such an important issue. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!

Presentation Practice

In this video you will here a small snippet of Kathryn and Ross' presentation that they will be taking out to UMC in NE towards the end of this month.

In this video Kathryn Cunningham and Ross Janovec, Micah Corps interns, have been spending time at Voices for Children in Nebraska and had some time to sit down with the Executive Director: Kathy Bigsby Moore to hear her perspective on Voice's mission and current activities.

Health Care Reform Now!

Sabrina Miller calls Senator Ben Nelson's office from the Center for Rural Affairs to express concern about health care reform. If you're interested in learning more about rural health care issues, visit www.cfra.org, or email smiller@hastings.edu. I apologize for the sideways video, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.

Jon Bailey on Rural Health Care

Jon Bailey, Director of the Rural Research and Analysis Program at the Center for Rural Affairs, is currently working on Health Care issues in Rural America. He talks about the specific challenges rural areas face.

Virginia Wolking on Health Care

Virginia Wolking is a Rural Policy Organizer at The Center for Rural Affairs. Here she speaks about why she is passion about the issue of health care, and the work that she does at the Center. Virginia travels around to rural communities, educating, listening, and moving people to action on the issue of health care.

Nebraska Appleseed and Immigration Reform

This week Rachel and I continue our work at Nebraska Appleseed. I had a chance to sit down with Darcy Tromanhauser, Director of the Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation Program at Nebraska Appleseed, and she explained to me the mission of Appleseed and their efforts for comprehensive immigration reform. Rachel and I are involved in a variety of activities while at Appleseed, including making brochures and curriculums for United Methodists across Nebraska, practicing different presentations, being involved with the "Nebraska is Home" campaign (mentioned in previous post), and learning from the policy experts at Appleseed. It has been an eye-opening and educational experience for both of us and we look forward to spreading the word about how we all can take concrete steps toward truly "welcoming the stranger." Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God!

Sabrina Miller at the Center for Rural Affairs

Sabrina Miller gives a glimpse into her fast-paced stay at the Center for Rural Affairs. The Center was established in 1973, their mission is to "establish strong rural communities, social and economic justice, environmental stewardship, and genuine opportunity for all while engaging people in decisions that affect the quality of their lives and the future of their communities." Sabrina is learning about the challenges rural Americans face in receiving adequate affordable health care.

Brian and Rachel at Nebraska Appleseed and "Nebraska is Home"

Micah Corps interns, Brian and Rachel, are learning about immigration reform at the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest. Appleseed is a public interest law firm that fights for equal justice for all Nebraskans. Specifically, Brian and Rachel are learning about the Nebraska is Home campaign. In the video Vanessa Martinez, state-wide coordinator for Nebraska is Home, explains the strategies and goals of community conversations. In the coming weeks both interns will be traveling to Nebraska United Methodist churches to talk about comprehensive immigration reform and Jesus' call to "Welcome the Stranger" (Matthew 25). To learn more visit www.neappleseed.org/immigrants or www.nebraskaishome.org

The Great Awakening II