Stephen K. Reeves

If you're a music fan, you've been mourning the passing last weekend of Kris Kristofferson. The singer, songwriter and actor lived a life so remarkable it reads like fiction. In addition to his well known accomplishments in the arts, he was also a Rhodes scholar who studied at Oxford, an Army Ranger, a helicopter pilot, a college football player, and as a young man had such a promising future as a boxer he was in Sports Illustrated.

A few weeks ago my wife, Deborah and I took our daughter on her first trip to New York City to celebrate her tenth birthday. Though I’d been to the city many times before, almost every other trip was short and tied to work or another occasion. With more free time and my daughter in tow, I was determined to take a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I’m so very glad we did.

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.

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.

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.

I’ve written before about the wide gulf between what I hear, see, and experience at the border and the tenor of our political debate. Never has the contrast been as stark as what I experienced last week.

Migrants from Latin and South America are frequently the victims of exploitation and extortion in their home countries or along their journeys north. Unfortunately it doesn’t get much better for some once they get here. Instead of cartels, they face unjust corporations. Nowhere is there a better microcosm of multifaceted immigrant exploitation than in Colony Ridge.

I remember when I heard the news that migrants were being pushed into the Rio Grande and getting trapped in razor wire. I’ve never felt such horror and shame, and I know you felt that too.

The conversation in Austin seems so very far from the realities of those making their way to our southern border.

Last week, as elected officials at the Capitol were debating further militarizing the border and passing punitive policies hoping to deter migrants, Fellowship Southwest was coordinating teams of volunteers to offer those same neighbors a warm welcome, and to work alongside our partners who do so every day.

Imagine que tratar de cruzar hileras de alambre de púas fuera más seguro que quedarse en casa.
Imagine que el sumergirse en un río embravecido con su bebé les ofreciera una mejor oportunidad de sobrevivir que el regresar a su país.

Ahora imagine que aquellos que toman tales decisiones fueran blancos y hablaran inglés. ¿Podría usted imaginar que se pusieran en efecto las actuales políticas y tácticas del Gobernador Abbott que resultan en más muertes innecesarias?

Imagine that trying to cross rows of razor wire was safer than staying at home. 

Imagine that plunging into a raging river with your toddler offered them better odds of survival than going back to your country. 

Now imagine if those making such choices were white and spoke English. Could you imagine Governor Abbott continuing policies and tactics that result in more unnecessary deaths?

Fellowship Southwest is active at the Capitol in Austin during this legislative session. This week we have registered support or opposition to bills related to public education, immigration, and predatory lending. We most often do our work in coalition with others. For a list of coalitions and organizations we pay attention to, see last week’s newsletter.

Fellowship Southwest is committed to pursuing justice and equipping others to do the same. We feel called to use our voice, influence and privilege to advocate alongside, and on behalf of, those who are too often ignored or disempowered. We’re not out to advance a narrow agenda but to promote the common good. It is one way we love our neighbors.

When our family moved to Dripping Springs, Texas, a little over a year ago, the reputation of the local public schools was a big factor. Though we mourn the lack of diversity as compared to our school in Georgia, so far we’ve had a mostly excellent experience.

Imagine my surprise then when I clicked on the Texas Monthly cover article from March, “The Campaign to Sabotage Texas’s Public Schools,” and the first photo of a school was my kid’s elementary school.

As the year ends it is appropriate to reflect on where Fellowship Southwest has been and what we’ve accomplished thanks to your support and our numerous partners. I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity to lead this organization, proud of the work we’ve done, and believe our best is yet to come.

Fellowship Southwest supporting congregation Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, is doing impactful, courageous, and faithful advocacy we think you should know about. Take a few moments to read this in-depth article from Baptist News Global about Broadway’s Justice Committee and their local advocacy work. The church has been a leader in the city calling for improved conditions and procedures at the Tarrant County Jail and for an independent investigation into why 39 inmates have died since 2019.

Ten days before the massacre in our own region, there was Buffalo. Friend and partner to FSW, Starlette Thomas, offers this reflection in Good Faith Media of what transpired at her mom’s local grocery store and the racist conspiracy theory behind the attack.

Keen observers of our weekly newsletter might have noticed something a little different last week. The four descriptive words displayed prominently at the top of each addition had changed. For a while now Fellowship Southwest has described ourselves as faithful, agile, ecumenical and kind. We still hope these all describe our ministry. But two of these words seem to describe more of how we want to do our work, rather than the characteristics we hope to embody.

Do you have a book you can say changed your life? I do. I was a freshman in college when I read “Dead Man Walking” by Sister Helen Prejean. It had a profound impact on what I thought, believed, and ultimately upon the trajectory of my life and career.

Since reading that book over 25 years ago I have been adamantly opposed to the death penalty. I recall this conviction as the first time I came to my own conclusion about an issue apart from what I gleaned from my community, culture, and family. It certainly influenced my decision to pursue law school and once there take an advanced criminal law course on the death penalty in Texas.

The images from Ukraine are horrific. The widespread destruction unseen in decades except for that caused by hurricanes or earthquakes. Many folks alive today have never witnessed war at quite this scale. The fact that it seems so unprovoked and unjust makes it even more shocking. The whim of an isolated madman.

The millions of people now fleeing the attacks is also a rare phenomenon …for Europeans.