Immigration is a thorny issue. Christians are torn between the desire to uphold the laws and the call to minister to the vulnerable. Citing history, personal stories, and statistics, world relief activists Soerens and Hwang confront us with the current system's inadequacies, suggesting a number of concrete ways to overcome them. 192 pages, softcover. InterVarsity.
Author: Matthew Soerens
Located in: Wheaton, Illinois
Submitted: December 21, 2008
Tell us a little about yourself. I work as an immigration counselor at World Relief DuPage in Wheaton, Illinois. I'm a graduate of Wheaton College and a member at Church of the Resurrection in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Prior to my current work, I worked with World Relief's local affiliate in Nicaragua. I'm originally from Neenah, Wisconsin.
What was your motivation behind this project? In my work as an immigration counselor, I spend most of my days explaining to immigrants and refugees what their options are under immigration law. I also spend a good number of Sundays in front of Sunday School classes, trying to integrate my Christian faith with the immigration 'problem' and to help others do so as well. In the process, I've found that there is a lot of confusion, misinformation, and frustration with the immigration issue. This book, written in collaboration with my colleague Jenny Hwang, aims to help Christians integrate their faith with this pressing issue.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I hope that folks will combine a biblical worldview with an accurate understanding of the current immigration situation in our country, and then respond, prayerfully and in obedience to God's call as revealed in the Scriptures, with justice, compassion, and Christ-like love for our immigrant neighbors.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? This book was really the fruit of our own personal questions of how, as Christians, we should engage with our immigrant neighbors and with the larger, structural questions of immigration policy.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I lived in Central America for an extended period of time a few years back, and while there I was welcomed into two different families and their respective churches. They have taught me much about authentic Christian hospitality; much of the inspiration for this book has come out of wondering how my own culture and society could emulate this hospitality.
Catalog Shopping
Membership
