Are you or your church interested in sponsoring refugees but need financial assistance? Now is the perfect time to act.

The administration invited a group of faith leaders, including Elket Rodriguez (CBF Global Migration Advocate) and Jennifer Hawks (CBF Director of Advocacy) to a meeting in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House. On August 1, they gathered to mobilize the faith-based community to boost participation in the Welcome Corps in the coming months.

We should all unequivocally denounce political violence. In doing so, it is tempting to claim that killing political leaders is un-American, to believe we are beyond such atrocities more common in developing nations and young democracies. History teaches this is not the case.

On Monday, July 1st, Fellowship Southwest joined the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas for its 2024 Annual Gathering and sponsored the Young Latino Track of its program.

Last weekend, the Church Without Walls in Houston, TX, hosted Pastor Edrei Rodriguez of Mercy without Borders, one of FSW’s newest partners working with Migrants in Reynosa.

I'm in the last week of a five-week internship service at Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville’s migrant ministry, Ministerio Golan. This ministry assists Latin American asylum seekers and refugees by providing free transportation to the Brownsville and Harlingen airports, clothing, food, and basic hygiene care. They also offer a respite home for pregnant women, families with children with disabilities, and Southwest Keys 'age-outs' to stay overnight while they await their flights. The church uses these points of intersection to share the gospel with them and provide emotional and spiritual support.

We have come to know one family at the migrant center fairly well. Before they arrived, they had an appointment to enter the United States. However, by the time they had the money to travel to northern Mexico, they had arrived too late. They have been patiently waiting for another appointment ever since. It has been three and a half months. One day, the youngest daughter in the family came to us, asking to be interviewed. Only eight years old, but she had a story and wanted to share it. We sat down and Christina eventually asked, “Why did you leave Honduras?”.

My teammate and I prepared an adult Bible study for the following day at the kitchen table. After some discussion, we settled on Acts 2: 1-13 where the Holy Spirit came down on a group of followers gathered to worship in what will become known as Pentecost. The story of Pentecost is dear to me for many reasons; I announced the pregnancy of both my children on this special Sunday, it normally falls on or around my birthday, and frankly, I think the Holy Spirit is not given enough credit, so I appreciate the stories that feature Her!

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. 

Let me first admit that I hate that I don’t have all the answers to share with you about the people that we are interacting with and about these families who have been staying here with us. I work as a Chaplain at a major hospital, so I hear many stories all the time. I like to think that my strength is listening. But here, limited by my language skills, I have so many unanswered questions. I’ve learned to adapt and rely on other life skills and the Spirit to get me through. I’m here to see and each day, I pick up on something new about the system, the effects of the law on the people, the inner workings (and difficulties) of this work of ongoing care for the people who migrate through here, and the mini connections with these families from various countries, and the people in this church and ministry who support them.

No word is more offensive in the U.S. immigration debate than "illegal." It can refer to someone undocumented or without legal authorization. However, this term is often used more broadly, even encompassing asylum seekers and legal permanent residents—those authorized to be in the country. It is frequently used as a slur against anyone crossing the border or any foreign born who is Brown or Black, regardless of their manner of entry.

100 years ago, June 2, The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted dual citizenship for Native Americans.

Over Memorial Day weekend, First Baptist Austin made a second annual trip to work alongside Primera Iglesia Bautista Piedras Negras and their ministry to migrants waiting to cross the border. We provided a day of fun for the almost 40 children staying in their two shelters, and worked to rehab and improve the main shelter downtown by installing fans, doing some light plumbing projects, and a fresh coat of paint. On Sunday First Austin members cooked lunch for the 250+ worshipers at First Piedras Negras to thank them for their incredible ministry of hospitality. Of the many memorable moments, these two will stick with me.

We are excited to announce a formal collaboration with Elket Rodriguez. Elket has been an integral part of our program for many years, and now we are pleased to make him an official part of Fellowship Southwest. He will continue serving as field personnel in the Rio Grande Valley for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, while also serving with Fellowship Southwest as our immigration policy specialist. 

Hesci (Hello)!

Native existence has been through so much removal from land, culture and language over the centuries and we are still working for justice to be served to Native communities. One area, here at Fellowship Southwest, we have been staying updated on the process with San Carlos Apache Tribe’s Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, "the place where the Emory oak grows” — today known as Oak Flat.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott exercised his power for popularity, and by doing so, made racially motivated political violence not just acceptable under the law, but not even answerable to it. The governor interfered with the justice system by influencing the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to issue a pardon to Daniel Perry, who was tried and convicted by a jury and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of Garrett Foster.

Yesterday, in a 7-2 decision the Supreme Court told payday lenders to take a hike.

Ok, maybe not exactly, but that’s what it felt like. After working for reform for almost 15 years such clear victories have been few and far between and yesterday, for me, was a day for celebration.

A solid majority of the court ruled that the way Congress chose to fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not unconstitutional. That means the CFPB can continue their mission of looking out for American consumers and regulating folks like predatory lenders.

Fellowship Southwest is proud to welcome Zion Williams to the staff. Zion will be FSW’s Media Manager, a new position for the organization. Zion will be responsible for many communications tasks, like creating and sending email newsletters, social media, videos and graphics. She will be the main point of contact for news media as well, and help us get our messages out to new audiences.

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.

The Healing From Oppression and Racism Conference on Friday, April 27, was an event put together in partnership with several ecumenical organizations, such as FSW, Faith Commons, SMU Perkins, Baylor Scott and White Health, and ACPE, to hear the redemptive story of Father Michael Lapsley (see profile below), who fought against South African apartheid. He was persecuted by the apartheid that mailed him a bomb that changed his life completely. While he lost both hands, sight in one eye, and critically burned, it was through the process of healing that led Father Lapsley to a movement of healing and liberation. Father Lapsley focused on the healing value of acknowledging trauma, but it must first come with the knowledge of what happened. In the healing of trauma, one is holistically liberated.  

This is a re-publication of the letter that Pastor Ryon Price sent to the congregation of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, during his trip with Fellowship Southwest to the border.