Fauntleroy Church has been named an Immigrant Welcoming Church by the national United Church of Christ. Alki UCC, which has been working with us, is working towards this designation also. Together, we will be celebrating that honor beginning with a film “Which Way Home” Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Alki. What does it take to become an Immigrant Welcoming Church? Here is how Fauntleroy Church became an Immigrant Welcoming Church. It likely involved you.
It begins with our church services. How many times has a prayer, a song, a mission moment, or a sermon raised the issue of immigration? It may have been about the three asylum seeking families we have been aiding, the recent mission trip to Guatemala or the wider challenges of immigration. Michael Ramos of the Church Council of Greater Seattle gave the sermon one Sunday in a program organized by the Worship Ministry that was dedicated to immigration.
The news of our immigration work continues in both newsletters and after church service programs.
Perhaps you attended the trivia night last January or the burgers and bingo event in the spring. Both were fundraisers to aid our immigrant programs. We have two funds to assist our asylees with housing and legal expenses and many of you have contributed.
The Second Time Sale has offered donations to the asylee families. The Advent Giving Tree program has made donations annually. Many church members bought Peruvian food Sundays through the Rico Peru program established by one of our asylees. The Christmas Tree Festival last year featured a Peruvian Christmas Tree.
Church governance has been significantly involved including Church Council, Finance Ministry. Parish Life, Worship, Facilities and Christian Education. So has the Homelessness Task Force.
Eighteen months ago the Outreach Mission was closed by church members with the goal of incorporating missional threads into the entire fabric of Fauntleroy Church. Immigration is one of those designated threads.
In the next six months the Immigration Task Force, working at times with Alki Church, hopes to sponsor programs that celebrate our role as an Immigrant Welcoming Church. One of our goals is to celebrate that all our families at one time were immigrants, that this is a nation of refugees, and we proudly are continuing that tradition. Ultimately both Fauntleroy and Alki plan to develop covenants expressing our commitments to immigration issues.
The Immigration Task Force is always open to anyone interested in helping. Please contact Bob Wyss or Dianne Sprague.
