Join Disciples RIM Events at GA

RIM “SPOTLIGHT” at DHM Exhibit Area: 10:30-11 a.m. on Saturday

Come join RIM’s Director, Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, to hear refugee, farmworker, & immigrant rights updates, and to learn more on how YOU can engage!! Also, join in an “Immigrant Journey Stations of the Cross,” and come share what YOU are doing in your area to support immigrants!!

Sunday, Session 1: 1:30-2:50 PM: “Refugee Simulation,” in Hyvee Hall A

You are huddled in a holding area. Nothing is familiar except the faces of your immediate families. It’s noisy and uncomfortable. You will get a glimpse of refugee camp life.

Get a small taste of the refugee experience in this simulation, similar to that of refugees who are now living in the upper Midwest. See what it is like to be hustled from one office to another in a confusing legal process. Vignettes will include “Day in our Shoes”: access to water, food, medical, basic language skills for shopping, school, job application and other components.  Facilitators: Linda Wolf, retired PhD in international and global education, and Vinh Nguyen of Center for New Americans, and others.

Sunday, Session 2: 3:00-4:30 PM: “Refugee Q and A,” in Hyvee Hall A

Vinh Nguyen will field questions about what it is like to be a refugee entering the United States. As a boat person coming to America in the fall of 1982 from Vietnam, he will also share his own experiences on the integration and acculturation into the new settings. Nguyen is a story teller in Vietnamese folktales and cultures, he has also been advocating for the refugee and immigrant population community. Disciples Home Missions Refugee & Immigration Ministries Director, Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea will also be present to share urgent refugee needs currently, and how Disciples throughout our churches can get engaged now!  Facilitators: Vinh Nguyen, ELL Accountability & Support, Center for New Americans, and Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries.

Sunday, DHM “After-Session,” 8:45-10:00 p.m., IEC Grand Ballroom B

Join Disciples Home Missions and Disciples Women for an after-session on Sunday, July 21, at 8:45 – 10 pm. Be present as the 2019 Distinguished Leadership Award will be presented, join along in fellowship, refreshments, fun, meet the staff and more.

Sunday, “After the After-Sessions”, 10:00 p.m.: “Candlelight Vigil for Children Detained and Who Died in Custody,” to be held in the Governor Robert D. Ray Asian Garden, 700 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines–just across the street and bridge from the Convention Center.  Join together as Disciples to remember and pray for families grieving the loss of their migrant children who were seeking protection in the U.S. Light candles and pray together for grace-filled solutions to the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by migrant children and families.

Monday, Session 1, 1:30-2:50 PM and Session 2, 3:00-4:30 PM, Room 316, Becoming Immigrant Welcoming Congregations (continues in next session)

Session 1: This workshop helps your congregation bring to flesh and life “On Becoming Immigrant Welcoming Congregations,” the GA-1723 Resolution passed at our last Disciples General Assembly. Part 1 will provide a context of historical exclusionary laws and current challenges such as cuts to DACA, Temporary Protected Status, family separation policies, border practices, enforcement increases, legal immigration limits, and refugee changes that frame the immigrant rights and advocacy landscape today. Those challenges will “gain a face” through the voices and stories of directly impacted communities from multiple backgrounds of Hispanic/Latinx, AAPI, and undocumented Black populations. Participants in this workshop will then review the Disciples “Immigrant Welcoming Congregation” movement, hear a testimony from an initial “IWC,” and learn how their congregation can start the process of becoming a Disciples “IWC,” too! Presenters: Lori Tapia, Sharon Stanley-Rea, Tana Liu-Beers, Chung Seong Kim, directly impacted immigrant leaders, representative from an IWC congregation, NBA Mental Health representatives.

Monday, Session 2, 3:00-4:30 PM, Room 316:

This workshop will build upon Part 1 and answer the question, “What can I and my congregation DO?” by offering key models of immigrant community protections, healing, and relationship building needed in today’s context of racism and anti-immigrant policies and pushback. Participants will hear from leaders about meaningful practices such as centering leadership among directly impacted partners, mental health trauma care, family emergency planning, accompaniment and rapid response, networks for solidarity, and advocacy campaigns to support refugees and immigrants in this time. Participation in both workshops will help move churches towards “Immigrant Welcoming Congregation” identity. Presenters: Lori Tapia, Sharon Stanley-Rea, Tana Liu-Beers, Chung Seong Kim, directly impacted immigrant leaders, rep from an IWC congregation, NBA’s Hector Hernandez, and more!

RIM “SPOTLIGHT” at DHM Exhibit Area: 1:30-2 p.m. on Tuesday

Come join RIM’s Director, Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, to hear refugee, farmworker, & immigrant rights updates, and to learn more how YOU can engage!! Also, join in an “Immigrant Journey Stations of the Cross,” and come share what YOU are doing in your area to support immigrants!!