Church of the Incarnation is the spiritual home to many Latino families in the Charlottesville area, and, as such, our parish is well aware of many of the obstacles they face, regardless of their documentation status, as they continually become more integrated into the mosaic of people who comprise the United States. While this is the group of immigrants with whom we are most familiar, we also recognize that there are individuals and families from many other areas of the world who are as in need of just, humane immigration policies and reform.
With this in mind, Incarnation has numerous efforts pertaining to the promotion of immigration reform and services for immigrants. Comprehensive immigration reform and defense of immigrant rights continues to be a priority for the leaders of the Catholic Church, and we draw from their leadership, knowledge, and guidance as we respond to the needs in our local and state community. (For more on the Catholic campaign for comprehensive immigration reform, including bishops’ letters and statements, go to www.justiceforimmigrants.org, or see the links on the “Resources” page to the left.)
Click on the link above for details on our current letter writing campaign. There are many anti-immigrant bills currently being considered in the Virginia General Assembly session that would have severe negative effects on our Hispanic brothers and sisters at Incarnation and on all immigrants around the state of Virginia. TAKE ACTION NOW BY WRITING YOUR SENATOR AND DELEGATE…USE YOUR VOICE TO SPEAK FOR JUSTICE!
Past events include hosting town hall meetings (planned by the Legal Aid Justice Center) with local law enforcement leaders; a “Sharing Our Stories” potluck and presentation at which four parish families talked about their journeys to the US and the circumstances surrounding them; availability of consultations with the Mexican and Salvadoran consulates several times throughout the year; hosting and helping to fund the Creciendo Juntos Help Fair; the showing of several immigration movies/documentaries; and other events and education opportunities. The Charlottesville Catholic Coalition for Legislative Advocacy has also been very active on this issue, meeting with elected officials and key players to voice the stances of the Catholic Church and participating in the efforts of existing statewide and national organizations and coalitions.
