intersections

LAPD Officers are not immigration agents

LA Voice today released this press advisory on International Migration Day.

Newly-Appointed Chief Charlie Beck To Send Clear Message to Los Angeles Community: LAPD Officers Are Not Immigration Agents

Los Angeles-On International Migration Day, Friday, December 18, at 6pm, newly-appointed Police Chief Charlie Beck will address LA Voice leaders from Dolores Mission Church to announce that the Los Angeles Police Department will continue Special Order 40, which prohibits LAPD officers from initiating contact with someone solely to determine whether they are in the country legally.

The Chief's remarks will take place in the context of the Posadas, a traditional Latino celebration involving the reenactment of Mary and Joseph seeking room at the inn to give birth to Jesus.  The location, Dolores Mission, a parish of largely immigrant community by day and homeless shelter by night, is a significant location for this pronouncement.  Chief Beck will hear testimonies from immigrants as well as address their concerns.  Chief Beck brings his designated spokesperson to the Latino community, Captain Rigo Romero. 

"That Chief Beck is continuing Special Order 40 is wonderful news for our community, as we are always encouraging people to work with the police to improve safety of the community, and yet undocumented people live with the real fear that if they report a crime they could be deported," says Pastor of Dolores Mission, Fr. Scott Santarosa, S.J.  "Our people are not alone on this-other immigrant communities throughout the city will rejoice at this message.  People just want safety-immigrants reporting crimes make our city safer." 

Dolores Mission is affiliated with LA Voice, a federation of 25 churches and synagogues in Los Angeles working to improve the quality of life for all Angelenos.  LA Voice is a member of the PICO National Network, which has over 1000 member congregations in 17 states and 150 cities.

Adventism I can believe in

(Crossposted at the Spectrum Blog)

Seventh-day Adventists are perennially concerned about identity. Who are we? What do we believe? Who gets to decide? Our anti-creedal position stands over against our ever-expanding list of Fundamental Beliefs; our belief in 'progressive revelation' over against our claim to have the truth.

I am one that believes this dialectic tension is good for the church and that our determination to live in that tension is generative and healthy. But there are many voices who wish to collapse all such tensions into a single pole, declaring once and for all what the "truth" of a certain issue is. This is usually accompanied by a corresponding move to define out those who do not believe in this more narrow interpretation of what counts as a "real" Adventist.

Video: Prayer Rally for Healthcare Reform

This is a video of our health care rally, held on Tuesday, August 11, in Hollywood. Congresswoman Diane Watson and Congressman Xavier Becerra were in attendance and spoke eloquently and powerfully of their support for comprehensive reform that would put health care within reach for our families.

This rally was led by LA Voice clergy, Father Mike Mandala, Father Jaime Edwards-Acton, Rev. Liz Munoz, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Rev. Byron Smith, Sr. and myself.

LA Voice on the cover of the LA Times

Prayer Rally for Health Care Reform tomorrow!

Tomorrow I have the privilege to speak at a prayer rally in Hollywood in support of health care reform. This event is being put on by LA Voice and our 25 member congregations. I and a few other clergy will pray and speak to the issue from a moral/faith perspective.

Members of our congregations will tell their personal health care stories and then two of our elected officials will speak: Congressman Xavier Becerra and Congresswoman Diane Watson. Ms. Watson represents the area when I live and where the Hollywood Adventist Church is located.

If you live in the area and are available at 10:00 am, please come to:

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
6657 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028

If you want to learn more about PICO's work on behalf of health care reform visit: www.coverallfamilies.org

Also check out this short piece at NPR's news blog.

A Guide to the Health Care Reform Debate

Below is the context of an email that went out to over 1,200 clergy today, from the PICO National Network, signed by me and my friend, Rev. Rayfield Burns. I encourage you to download both the clergy guide and the congregational handout.

With Congress moving full speed ahead on one of the most crucial civil rights and social justice issues of our time - making health care affordable and accessible - it is important that people of faith take the time to understand how health reform will impact the quality, stability, and affordability of health care for all Americans.
PICO and Sojourners have teamed up to produce "A Guide to the Health Care Reform Debate," an 8-page booklet aimed at helping clergy and lay leaders participate in the health care debate in a constructive way, based on their values.  View the guide here.
We've also produced a 2-page congregational handout that can be shared with members of your faith community. Click here to view the 2-page handout.
Please note that these guides have been produced for Christian faith communities.  To find additional resources for other faith traditions, visit www.coverallfamilies.org
 Both pieces begin by examining the biblical basis for the need for quality health care.  They then look at the current health care reality for many of our nation's families, as well as the different proposals being considered in D.C.  Finally, they lay out some principles for a values-based, commonsense approach to reform, as well as ideas for how people of faith can influence the debate.
Many pastors and faith leaders have endorsed the guide.  Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS, calls the guides "a helpful starting point in coming to understand the issues in the current debate."
Dr. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed in Orlando, FL, says, "I found this guide to the health-care discussion very helpful. It not only reminded me of our biblical mandate to be involved, but it informed me of some of the important points and principles to keep in mind as I communicate with my congregation."
View the 8-page guide for clergy, or the 2-page congregational handout.
Together, people of faith can have a tremendous impact on the decisions of our elected leaders in D.C. and be a decisive factor in moving our country towards ensuring quality, stable, affordable health care for all Americans.

Sincerely,
Rev. Rayfield Burns
Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
Kansas City, MO

Rev. Ryan J. Bell
Hollywood Adventist Church
Hollywood, CA

My take on The Good News

My friend, JR Woodward, who is the pastor of Kairos Los Angeles and lives just down the road from me in Hollywood, has an incredible blog called Dream Awakener, which if you haven't seen it, you really need to check out. During the season of Easter he's asked 50 different writer to contribute a 300-500 word piece about the "good news" written for their local newspaper.

Here's how I start my piece off. You can see the list of all the contributors here (some pretty prestigious people) with links to their pieces.

My friends John and Aileen serve breakfast to about 150 hungry people on a relatively quiet sidewalk in Hollywood. They do this every weekday. They naturally have help from friends in the neighborhood. The only way you can distinguish the volunteers from those being “helped” is by the rubber gloves worn by the volunteers. I, too, look like I’ve just rolled out of bed. Some of those in line look more prepared for a job interview than I do. That’s probably where a couple of them are headed next after they finished their turkey sandwich, fresh strawberries and yogurt.

To me, John and Aileen embody the good news.

Read the whole thing here.

PICO: Economic Recovery Summit in Washington, D.C.

Last week I participated in the Faith and Families Economic Recovery Summit along with nearly 300 other leaders from PICO affiliates around the country. I traveled to Washington, DC with our executive director, one organizer and two other leaders from LA Voice.

The PICO National Network is made up of 53 affiliate organizations in 17 states around the country, representing over 1 million American families. Our national work achieved a major victory when, on February 4, President Obama signed the expanded S-CHIP legislation into law, effectly opening the way to provide heath care coverage to 4.1 million additional children (read more).

Now the PICO Network is turning their attention to two primary issues at the national level: universal health coverage and an end to unnecessary home foreclosures. Below are several videos that will give you a little taste of what our week was like.

Click here to read a report of this most recent PICO event in Washington, DC.

Join the fight for affordable housing in LA

Los Angeles Families Phone City Council Urging Passage of a Mixed-Income Housing Ordinance By June!

Housing Advocates establish a hotline this week to urge city council to take decisive action on the Los Angeles Housing Crisis and pass a mixed-income housing ordinance by June. This ordinance would ensure that in every new development in the city would include units affordable to working families.

To learn more and download a Press Release, click here.

Pray for Baha'i Prisoners of Conscience

On Wednesday night I had the privilege of representing the Southern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Interreligious Council (IRC), along with 4 other IRC members at a special prayer gathering at the Los Angeles Baha'i Center. The purpose of this gathering was to raise awareness about and pray for the seven leaders of the Baha'i Faith in Iran (pictured above). These individuals have been held in prison for 9 months without being charged and without access to legal council. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Laureate, is serving as legal council for the accused but she has not been allow access to her clients.

Just last week they were finally charged with "espionage for Israel, insulting sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic." The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stated in their February 13 report, "The accusation of "spying" against these five men and two women is contrived, and has been used as a pretext to persecute Baha'is for more than three quarters of a century."

In my brief comments to the large crowd that assembled at the Los Angeles Baha'i Center I read an excerpt from an Official Statement of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists entitled, "Religious Minorities and Religious Freedom: A Statement of Commitment and Concern"

Throughout history religious minorities have often been subject to discrimination and outright persecution. Today religious intolerance and prejudice are again on the rise. Notwithstanding the affirmation of the freedom of everyone to hold and disseminate religious views and to change one's religion--an affirmation sustained in the United Nations instruments and documents comprising an "International Bill of Rights"--many countries deny this right to their citizens....

In support of Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments, and in harmony with its beliefs and its history, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is fully committed to promote, defend, and protect religious freedom for everyone, everywhere. To that end, we will continue to cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Commission and other international agencies and religious organizations to encourage every nation to implement the fundamental right of religious freedom. In addition, we will continue to promote dialogue and better understanding between governmental authorities and people who belong to religious minorities.

I was proud to stand with my colleague, Randy Dobbs, in support of his community at this time of crisis and to know that my religious community, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has a rich tradition of religious liberty. After the jump you can read an incredible Baha'i prayer that was read at the service.

Please consider taking some action on behalf of these Baha'i in Iran who are being held unjustly and face execution if convicted.

Click here to learn how you can help and please spread the word!