Welcoming Week: Making Immigrant Inclusion a Reality

NCF Office – October 15, 2024 3 Comments

This week we hear from Carolyn Vance on her involvement in the New American Welcome Center’s Welcoming Week and their goal to make immigrant inclusion a reality. –Melissa Logsdon, NCF Associate Pastor 

The third weekend of September was a busy one in Champaign-Urbana. There was Pride Fest, Pygmalion, the CU Black & African Arts Festival, Faith In Place’s annual Environment & Spirituality Summit online and the New American Welcome Center’s Welcoming Week, part of a national effort to make immigrant inclusion a reality.

 “Welcoming Week celebrates the growing movement of inclusive communities that fully embrace immigrants and their contributions to the social fabric of our country.”

https://welcomingamerica.org/news/topic/welcoming-week

“When immigrants live in your land with you, you must not cheat them. Any immigrant who lives with you must be treated as if they were one of your citizens. You must love them as yourself, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 19: 33-34 CEB

Welcoming Week was 10 days with 30+ events, both large and smaller, meant to be fun and family-centered. This year it happened over the week of September 13-22. I went to nearly a third of the events, tabling for CU Immigration Forum at two of the larger events, the Kickoff and El Grito. Lots of organizations from immigrant service organizations, to community services like CCCHC, to libraries to churches table at the Kickoff event.

The event that I contributed to, the 2024 Immigrant Welcome Awards was on the last day of Welcoming Week. I’ve helped with it the last 4 years, taking on more responsibility each year. It’s incredibly rewarding work for me. Each year we have 6 categories of awards which we give. Nominations from the general public are collected over a couple-month period after which a panel of judges vote for one person or organization per category (Immigrant Student Leader, Immigrant Business Leadership, Immigrant Emergent Leader, Immigrant Leadership (overall), Community Impact (usually an organization) and the Claire Szoke Distinguished Service Award.) Then we begin the celebration planning for the Immigrant Welcome Awards. It’s one of the best kept secrets in C-U. Though it’s my 4th year working with the awards, this year was the 11th year of giving out these awards locally. There is no shortage of worthy nominations, year after year after year! We have both amazing immigrants in our community and amazing people and organizations working with immigrants.

Those of us planning the celebration have wonderful partners in both the City of Champaign and The Urbana Free Library. Both participate in a number of Welcoming Week events. The CU Immigration Forum is indebted to both for their support. We’re also extremely fortunate to be in both a state and a local community that is supportive of immigrants. That is not the reality in so many places. Often it’s quite the opposite.

At the awards our MCs introduce each awardee and give them an opportunity to make any remarks they wish. Very moving! This year the awards were interspersed with traditional dance from parts of India. The dancers really wowed the audience! After the awards were given, we had a reception with food (this year Middle Eastern food from Shawarma Joint) for all who could come. The awards make a lovely afternoon of celebration and a finale to the entire Welcoming Week. If interested, you can watch this year’s awards celebration at:

Vimeo:

Or on the City of Champaign VOD Site:

https://champaign-cablecast.cablecast.tv/show/5745

“He enacts justice for orphans and widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing. That means you must also love immigrants because you were immigrants in Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:18-19

As we hear so much anti-immigrant talk in the public sphere, how are we as followers of Jesus to reflect his heart and begin to make incremental changes in that conversation? How do we move the conversation from disparaging to celebrating? That’s a tall order, given the rhetoric, but I believe that is the call of scripture. I believe it’s my personal call, but I also believe it’s the church’s call as well. – Carolyn Vance