Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Last week, I was tasked with writing an article for my local paper that would help people take a “deep breath” from initial reactions after the election. And honestly, I think Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to brush up our skills that keep us out of the pits of despair. In this column, I tried to offer my perspective on a common theological quip (God is in control) that, when reframed, is able to help us through dark times.

Since Indigenous Peoples’ Day is next week, I asked Mariah Humphries, our Native Justice Consultant, for advice about what we should do or say to mark the occasion. She sent me what she wrote last year (which I’ll share with you), and then said something to the effect of, “If it’s important to you, why don’t you write something about it.” The subtext being, we keep asking people from the marginalized communities to do the work for us, and it’s time that the rest of us speak up. So here’s what I have to say about the upcoming holiday.

This week our country observes and celebrates Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday for the third time. Of course, many in our country have been celebrating Juneteenth for over 150 years. 

On June 19, 1865, news of Emancipation finally reached Galveston, Texas. The legal status of enslaved people across the American South was officially changed from “enslaved” to “free” two and a half years prior with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. But enforcement of the executive order took that long to reach Texas. 

Fellowship Southwest is committed to compassion and justice around four priorities: immigration, racial justice, hunger and Native American topics. To help us navigate our work with Native compassion and justice, we are currently working with Mariah Humphries, a Mvskoke citizen. She is guiding us in a process of discernment toward our place in this conversation.

A commentary by Cameron Vickrey for San Antonio Express-News, Feb. 9, 2024

The deadline looms. Every public school district in Texas has been given until March 1 to choose between what seems to be two options for the role of chaplains in their  schools. 

But many are finding their way forward with a third way. This third way might at first seem like a people-pleasing, nondecision that avoids conflict and ignores the issue, but there’s wisdom in it.

In nearly every moment of the Christmas story, characters heed promptings from angels. An angel announces to Mary she is chosen to be the mother of God, and she accepts. An angel encourages Joseph to support Mary in this calling, and he does. The magi return home from Bethlehem by another road, and the new family flees to another country in order to protect their child, all thanks to divine messengers.

It was a normal Monday night in a middle class neighborhood full of busy families driving kids to and fro activities, cooking dinner and doing homework. A fellow mom, Nancy, texted 22 of our neighbors, including me, with this:

Last week, I engaged in four different types of advocacy. I have experience in advocacy, but this was a rare week for me. One thing I did wasn’t more important than another. And one kind of advocacy isn’t more impactful than the others. All are needed. And all of us can do one of these things.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is already celebrating the gains for what he calls religious freedom in the state's 88th Legislature. The Texas Tribune quoted him as saying, “I believe that you cannot change the culture of the country until you change the culture of mankind. Bringing the Ten Commandments and prayer back to our public schools will enable our students to become better Texans.” 

Our new friend Alma Ruth says, “You can’t unsee what you have seen at the border. What you see makes you a witness to the humanitarian crisis. And then you have the moral authority to advocate.” Let me tell you what we saw last weekend on a border trip touching base with our ministry partners.

Have you seen the headlines that Biden is making DACA more permanent? This is something to celebrate! But it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Here’s the download, which I got from Elket Rodriguez, our immigration legal specialist.

CAMERON:

Five years ago this summer I had just started a job working for a public affairs group with some dear friends. We had an exciting new client which they hired me to help out with. It was a network of churches and organizations brought together by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship all focused on mission and ministries in the Southwest. They were calling it “Fellowship Southwest.” My friends sought me out because of my experience with churches and my personal connections inside these networks. I was part of the team who would help strategize and assist with communications for this budding new organization.

There seems to be an assumption that fewer people will choose to emigrate from their homes in the wake of tragic migrant deaths they hear about along with us in the news. But these tragedies should not be used by politicians as a deterrence method. First of all, it doesn’t work. Secondly, it’s callous and inhumane.