Rev. Michael Stephens and immigration attorney Suzanne Gladney invite you to a Zoom meeting February 25, 7-8:30 PM Central, on “Threats to Refugees & Immigrants“. You can register at “https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1qesJFByT-2e13bxDHd1PQ#/registration“.
Stephens is the pastor at Southwood United Church of Christ in Raytown and is a leader with the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. Gladney is a local immigration attorney and founder of the Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund.
Ms. Gladney noted that farmworkers in Missouri are making a living wage working sunup to sundown 6 and 7 days a week when the fruit is ripe and needs to be picked, filling jobs that few if any US citizens want, because of the long hours. In the current political climate, her organization is helping parents sign documents so her organization, the Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund, can care for their children in case they are caught and imprisoned or deported.
Rev. Stephens’ church welcomes all. He is appalled at how immigrants are treated by so many in the US. It is particularly galling that the major media report without comment claims that immigrants are responsible for substantially more crime and are otherwise a drain on the economy for US citizens, when those claims are contradicted by available research: Studies comparing sanctuary cities to less-immigrant friendly locations find either no difference or less crime and higher median incomes in sanctuary cities.
This event is being sponsored and organized by the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. Co-sponsors include Southwood United Church of Christ, the Cross Border Network for Justice and Solidarity, the Interfaith Center at Miami University (in Oxford, Ohio), Peaceworks KC, and Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund.
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p.s. Matthew 25:31-45
King James Version
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
See also Wikipedia, “The Sheep and the Goats“, accessed 2025-02-12.
Copyright text 2025 Spencer Graves, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 international license.
Copyright image 2016 Lorie Shaull Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (CC BY-SA) 2.0 Generic license.
