Report on the New Jersey Holy Boldness/Shalom Convocation

On March 28, 1999—the Saturday before Palm Sunday—the uniting Northern and Southern New Jersey Annual Conferences held their first combined statewide event, a Holy Boldness/Shalom Convocation entitled "Reclaiming Jerusalem" at First United Methodist Church of Asbury Park. This all-day, 10-hour meeting drew 500 people from around the state and some from other parts of the nation. The Rev. Kinmoth (Kim) Jefferson, a consultant to the General Board of Global Ministries, was a key planner of the convocation, and Dr. Randolph Nugent, General Secretary of the GBGM, was the keynote speaker..

Presiding Bishop Alfred Johnson of the New Jersey Area welcomed the overflowing congregation by observing, "God started life in a garden. But God sees the end of life in a city. Let's see where God will take us boldly where none of us has ever gone before."

"The United Methodist Church is giving us an unprecedented opportunity to come together under two related initiatives: Shalom and Holy Boldness," Dr. Nugent said. The Shalom Initiative began at General Conference in 1992. Reacting to the uprisings in Los Angeles after the videotaped police beating of a black motorist, Rodney King, the Reverend Joseph Sprague (now Bishop Sprague) proposed that the church set up a Shalom Zone in Los Angeles to rebuild one city block, provide jobs, and create a place of healing, wholeness, and multicultural witness. There are now 261 Shalom sites in the United States..

In his keynote address, Dr. Nugent noted that "ethnic cleansing on a global scale has its parallels in our local urban communities with racial profiling." Pointing out that the only profile to which we should conform is the profile of Jesus, he promised: "We are going to stay in those urban communities and we will work for their transformation. We're going to establish churches in all our neighborhoods and see our churches as resources for the entire community. Our boldness is based on the assets we have, not the problems we face."

Topics covered in workshops ranged from becoming a Holy Boldness Covenant Congregation or a Shalom Community to Biblical foundations for urban ministries. They included leadership development; multicultural relationships; economic development; mentoring; community education, policing, and health ministries; ministries for children; and violence prevention with youth. Ms. Graham reported that she attended a workshop conducted by Dorsey Walker of Upper Sand Mountain on "Linking Suburban, Rural, and Urban Ministries around Holy Boldness and Shalom." She learned that rural communities and inner cities have many characteristics in common: absentee landlords, substandard schools, limited access to employment and health care, lack of trained leaders..

Christie House attended the workshop on "Developing Creative Ministries for the Community's Children." Ms. House reported that, like many Holy Boldness workshops, this one led by Renola Washington, Executive Director of New Visions Community Center, Trenton, New Jersey, was not designed to spark theoretical ideas but to be an action-oriented and practical movement with a spiritual base. Said Ms. House, "I think one of the reasons Holy Boldness is very exciting for people working in urban ministries is that they come to these workshops and get an action plan to take with them."

Ms. House reported that the workshop leader, Ms. Washington, began her ministries as a welfare mother who witnessed three children beating each other with baseball bats on her front lawn. Her questions were: "Why are these children here? Why don't they have some other way to use their energy? And why isn't the church involved?" These questions led Ms. Washington to begin a ministry with a few of the neighborhood children. The ministry grew so rapidly that she asked for space in the local church. She now has two buildings in Trenton where she runs a daycare program, an after-school program, and other services for the neighborhood children. She has also trained and hired mothers who are moving from welfare to work..

For Ms. Graham, a highlight of the daylong meeting was the Panel of Community and Church Leaders. The panelists, including a mayor, a deputy chief of police, a public library director, a bank vice president for community development, a legal services representative, state education and commerce officials, and two United Methodist pastors, discussed the problems of a hypothetical city, East Eden. As Dr. Nugent had urged, they focused on the community's assets. They concluded by asking how they could empower the laity to take on the ministry of the church and send people from the church into the community. "To me this was the message of the whole day," said Ms. Graham. "Getting out of the church walls. Getting out of preaching to the choir. Getting into the street and finding out what the community needs, not what you want to bring in."

Ms. Fernandez began her remarks by pointing out that when people think of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), they often think of disaster relief, but the plight of refugees was the primary reason for establishing UMCOR in 1940..

Ms. Fernandez's topic was the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996, which she called "the most drastic revision of immigration law in the history of the U.S. and certainly since the turn of the century." Some of the fundamental features of the law follow..

Expedited Removal. This process provides for streamlined removal of any person who tries to enter the U.S. without valid documents, unless that person is able to convince an immigration officer that asylum is warranted. If the person's story is convincing, an interview is held within 48 hours, followed by either immediate deportation or the right to apply for asylum. An immigrant awaiting a hearing is detained until the hearing takes place..

"I want you to think now of what is happening in Kosovo," said Ms. Fernandez. "Suppose one of the refugees is given the wrong documents and comes to this country to flee for his or her life, not knowing any English. Such refugees have to explain in 48 hours, with no support from any lawyers or translators, why their lives are in danger. If they cannot convince the immigration officer, they are returned. If the officer believes them, they are in detention."

Elimination of Judicial Review. Ms. Fernandez deemed this feature of the law "the most dangerous." The new law seriously restricts the authority of the courts to review decisions by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or check abuses of power. This places the INS outside of the law and leaves immigrants with no protection from sadistic immigration officers..

Cancellation of Removal (Suspension of Deportation). Under the old law, a person who had been living peaceably in the United States for seven years could apply for permanent residency. Under the current law, the person must have been in the United States for 10 years and must prove that deportation would cause "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a spouse, parent, or child who is either a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident." An annual limit of 4,000 is placed on the number of people who may change their status..

According to Ms. Fernandez, when the law was passed, many Haitians and Central Americans were just becoming eligible to adjust their status. Communities in Florida and Texas objected to a switching of the rules that jeopardized a long-term immigrant population. The U.S. Congress responded to public outrage by enacting in 1997 the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), which made Nicaraguans and Cubans who had been in the U.S. before December 31, 1995, eligible for permanent residence. The Act, however, discriminated against Haitians, and it took another year before civic and religious groups could convince Congress to pass the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998..

Aggravated Felony. Under IIRARA, "every misdemeanor becomes an aggravated felony," said Ms. Fernandez. Legal permanent residents and other noncitizens who have received a one-year sentence for an aggravated felony are deported and barred permanently from reentry to the U.S. Originally the "aggravated felony" list included crimes of violence and drug trafficking, but now any offense earning a sentence of at least one year is called an aggravated felony, even if the sentence is suspended..

Bars to Admissibility. People who are unlawfully in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year and depart voluntarily are barred from reentering for three years. People unlawfully present for one year or more are barred from reentry for 10 years..

One-Year Time Limit for Filing Asylum Claims. For the first time, a deadline of one year from date of entry has been imposed for asylum applications to be filed. Ms. Fernandez pointed out that this feature of the law is burdensome for applicants who may have trouble finishing piles of paperwork in English and finding a pro bono lawyer to help them with their case..

According to Ms. Fernandez, the IIRARA law has created much pain and confusion. In response, the General Board of Global Ministries has created "Justice for Our Neighbors," a program to provide information and assistance to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. It seeks to facilitate the establishment of church-based legal clinics for immigrants. This program will provide extensive on-site training, assistance with mission education, updates on immigration laws and procedures, and legal consultation through volunteer attorneys or trained lay volunteers..