Looking ahead: church groups seek new models of solidarity

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 26, 2004 by Barbara Fraser, Paul Jeffrey

Migration is another area in which people can see connections more easily because of their own experiences with immigrants in their communities and parishes.

During a recent visit to El Paso, Texas, EPICA's Wright ran into people who had been active in the sanctuary movement, which sheltered political refugees fleeing repressive Central American regimes.

"Now there are economic refugees fleeing Central America and Mexico, and the same constellation of churches and interfaith [groups] are trying to respond," Wright said.

Because of crackdowns at urban border areas, more and more migrants are making the dangerous crossing in the desert, where an unknown number--there are estimates of more than 2,000 over the past decade--have died.

"People are responding by setting up water stations in the desert and opening up churches, making them centers for refugees and migrants and calling attention to why people are crossing the border, what's driving the immigration and how we should respond," Wright said.

Economics underlies immigration and a host of other social problems that have drawn the attention of hemispheric solidarity groups. From the Jubilee campaign to cancel developing countries' external debt, to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, activists are speaking out, lobbying governments and calling for fundamental changes in the economic system.

And while the issues are complex, that does not frighten off the parish groups that choose to tackle them.

"The human face of economic injustice is just as visible as the human face of displacement from war," Dennis said. "People are doing the homework that helps them dig deeper and get closer to root causes. Congregations, parishes, students and people across the United States made the most amazing effort to understand what the debt debate was all about--and they got it. Very subtle issues became comfortable language for parish groups that had no expertise and really weren't all that interested a few years ago."

Religious congregations are also targeting companies that do business in developing nations, sometimes buying small amounts of stock so that they-can introduce shareholder resolutions to change corporate practices. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has been promoting that kind of activity for three decades. Its 275 institutional members currently have 185 socially motivated shareholder resolutions filed with 130 U.S. and Canadian companies.

Changing the rules of trade

Across the United States, church groups have been at the forefront of a movement that is trying to change the way companies do business. The concept of fair trade--paying farmers a just price for their products--began with handcrafts and has since spread to food products, especially coffee.

Early efforts were sponsored by the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonites. Fair trade proponents say church involvement not only helps growers get a fair deal, but also spreads the word in the United States. From serving fair trade coffee at church meetings to touring cooperatives in Guatemala, more and more congregations are getting into the act.