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FORUM ON FAITH
ARC to host immigration forum.
by Elizabeth Putnam
Published: Sunday, Julyl 13, 2006
Danbury News Times
DANBURY - People of various religious faiths, business owners, community leaders and other professionals will gather Monday to discuss education, housing and outreach needs facing Danbury's immigrant communities.
The Association of Religious Communities , which is made up of 80 faith-based organizations, is hosting the second annual "New Immigrants as Assets to Danbury" forum at Ethan Allen Hotel. Last year, ARC held its first forum to better understand the challenges facing immigrants in Danbury. As a result, the organization created the Blue Ribbon Commission to further evaluate the needs of immigrants.
The commission determined that education, housing and outreach are the top three challenges, and on Monday about 150 people will brainstorm solutions to these issues and discuss possible roadblocks. The Rev. Phyllis Leopold , ARC executive director, said the attention put on immigration by Congress and the news media this year has sparked more interest in their issues.
"We hope to have bridge-building among the various people," Leopold said. Dr. William Glass, interim superintendent of Danbury schools; Carolyn Sistrunk, executive director of the Danbury Housing Authority and Emanuela Lima , executive director of Tribuna, a Brazilian newspaper published in Danbury, will give presentations at Monday's forum. Myra Oliver, director of the International Institute of Connecticut , a non-profit organization that helps communities deal with immigration issues, is the guest speaker.
The event is not open to the public. ARC sent out invitations earlier this year, and advance registration is required. Leopold said this was to discourage attendance by people "who want to sow discord." Immigration remains a contentious issue in Danbury, where city and law enforcement officials estimate Danbury's undocumented immigrant population at between 15,000 and 20,000. There has been widespread concern that the thousands of immigrants who have come to the region in the past decade or so are overwhelming local services and schools.
There have also been complaints about day laborers gathering in city parks and large numbers of immigrants packing into single-family homes and creating fire hazards.
Contact Elizabeth Putnam at eputnam@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3411.
Rev. Diane Monti Cantania
FORUM ON FAITH
Community is one of the greatest gifts of Christian faith.
by Rev. Diane Monti Cantania
Published: Saturday, June 3, 2006
Danbury News Times
We are such a busy society. We run from one place to the next, scheduled for something almost every minute of the day.
We travel alone in our cars, we move with purpose down the street with our heads down and our iTunes on, we communicate with e-mail and often we don't even know our neighbors. We have grown isolated from one another. Each one of us is carrying our own burdens, often reluctant to ask for help when we could use it and rarely available to help others in need. In building this isolated existence, we are missing out on one of the greatest gifts of the Christian faith - community.
One of the final prayers that Jesus addressed to God was that his beloved disciples would "all be one" (John 17:21). He wanted them to be of one heart and one mind, understanding that they were each part of a larger whole. Jesus knew that it was all of humankind that reflected the image of God, not just one particular individual. He understood that God had created human beings to be in relationship and he wanted his followers to build those relationships on love and kindness. This is the founding principle of the United Church of Christ.
This important message often gets lost in the business of our everyday lives. Countless people think that they alone have to be responsible for everything. Individual quests for power and control taint our relationships. We seem to have a goal of perfection in all things. We are barraged with media images of perfect bodies, perfect homes, perfect children and perfect lives. However, it is impossible to be perfect alone. It is only in unity, as one, that we can truly strive to reflect the perfection that is God. When we accept the idea that we are part of a community, every person becomes a part of who we are. The theologian Henri Nouwen characterizes it as each of us being "one glittering stone in a beautiful mosaic."
Each person who touches our life, anyone with whom we come into contact, contributes to our wholeness. When we choose to carry each other's burdens and share each other's joys, we testify to God's presence in our world. The apostle Paul reminded the early Christian community that one member's suffering affected everyone, just as one member's joy was cause for all to rejoice. Collectively, in relationship with one another, the early community was characterized as the "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:26). The challenge of building a united community confronts us on several levels. The recent debates on immigration policies confront us with the dilemma of defining who belongs to our national community.
The ongoing debate around civil rights for gays and lesbians forces us to articulate who belongs to our social community, and the increased isolation in our lives begs the question of who belongs to our personal community. I would contend that faith communities should be the place where all of God's children can come together with the common bond of reverence for God, regardless of class, race or ethnicity.
It is in our houses of worship that people should be nourished and strengthened to meet the challenges of today's world. In sharing each other's joys and burdens, our own lives are enriched. In his letters to the early churches, Paul encouraged Christians to embrace all people of their community as children of God. He said, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus " (Galatians 3:26). This message of unity resounds throughout the United Church of Christ as we offer an "extravagant welcome."
The modern version of Paul's declaration is the UCC's invitation, "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." As you go about your business this week, take a moment to look your neighbor in the eye. Ask the check-out person in the store how he or she is doing. Call the bus driver by name.
Take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. Remember that you do not have to do everything yourself; you cannot control the world. Repeat to yourself Christ's words to his beloved disciples, "Peace be with you."
Diane Monti-Catania is a recent graduate of Yale Divinity School and a candidate for ordination in the United Church of Christ. In September she will begin as an associate minister at the Roxbury Congregational Church.
FORUM ON FAITH
Faith groups reach out to immigrants.
by Mark Langlois
Published: Sunday, April 30, 2006
Danbury News Times
DANBURY - The Association of Religious Communities set goals for helping immigrants in a process that took the last 10 months.
ARC, which is made up of 80 faith-based organizations, said one of ARC's goals is to help immigrants be successful in daily life.
"What we want to do is meet with various immigrant communities and find out what their needs are," said the Rev. Angelo Arrando , ARC president and pastor of St. Gregory the Great church . "When we hear what they need, we will provide that."
Arrando said ARC could provide speakers on specific topics, such as credit cards or banking.
ARC brought together people of various religious faiths, business people, professionals, people from social service agencies and people from immigrant communities to help set the goals.
A second goal is to build bridges between cultural communities.
"Before Sept. 11, we had a program called Caravan of Faith, and for over two years we were getting together with Muslims, Jews, Protestants and Catholics," Arrando said. "When the attacks happened, we already knew one another. We were able to come together.
"That's the kind of thing we're talking about."
The third goal is to promote adequate and affordable housing. Arrando said ARC is already doing this through its Key Rings program, which helps people find money for a security deposit.
ARC is also working with the city of Danbury and with the Housing Authority of Danbury to create a one-stop place for people who need housing to go for help. This proposal is now being considered by the city, and the city may fund it or partially fund it in the city budget that will be revealed Tuesday.
Mark Langlois
