Where are the Brownwood Clergy on this one ? Their silence is deafening and telling !

First They Came for the Jews

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemöller
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Posted on Sat, Apr. 15, 2006

It's time for ministers to start asking 'WWJD ?'
By BUD KENNEDY
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

What does your preacher say about Christian compassion and immigration reform?
The former president of Texas Baptists has an Easter message in mind:
"Jesus told us that he came to bring good news to the poor and liberty to the oppressed," said the Rev. Albert Reyes, president of a San Antonio seminary and a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.
"What does that 'good news' mean for the 12 million immigrants who have come to this country without papers? Where is the freedom from dysfunctional immigration laws?"
Reyes is a third-generation Texan and Southern Baptist. He is a lifelong political conservative who supports President Bush.
He calls immigration reform the "civil rights issue of the 21st century."
He supports both stronger borders and a plan that would allow minor immigration violators to "earn their citizenship with dignity and respect." It's unethical, he said, for Christians to call border crossers "illegal," but then eat the restaurant meals they cook, stroll in the gardens they tend and trust them as family caregivers, often at unfair wages.
And he wonders why more Christian leaders don't speak up.
"I'm a little perplexed that there hasn't been more of a statement," said Reyes, president of the Baptist University for the Américas. He was speaking by cellphone on his way to a Baptist Hispanic youth conference in Houston.
Evangelical political groups have been split on the issue, and mostly silent.
The Mississippi-based American Family Association has published a harshly worded poll about securing the borders and a column criticizing the Roman Catholic church's advocacy for illegal immigrants. Colorado-based Focus on the Family has been notably quiet, although the U.S. representative from nearby suburban Denver, Republican Tom Tancredo, leads anti-immigrant hardliners.
I hear from so-called "pro-family" conservatives who say America must punish illegal immigrants -- they never mention all the employers who have gone unpunished -- and how we are a "nation of laws."
"I agree that we are ordered to obey the laws," Reyes said. "We must also pass just laws.
"Our current immigration laws have not worked, either for those who want to come here or those employers who want to hire them.
"To say we should reject the teachings of Jesus because that's the current law seems myopic.
"Jesus himself was an international refugee. His family was fleeing infanticide. I see no reference in my Bible about them having official documents when they crossed the [Egyptian] border."
Reyes is the grandson of immigrant workers in the cotton fields of the South Plains. He watched with interest as a new generation of young Tejanos marched this month, protesting a House bill that might imprison their parents and grandparents as "aggravated" criminal felons simply for overstaying a visa or crossing the border.
"This is a watershed time in the history of our state and our nation," he said.
"When Dr. King led the civil rights marches, there was a lot of opposition. But the speeches and demonstrations helped the issue bubble up to the point where our nation was willing to change our laws and make a positive step forward. This movement is just starting to bubble up."
He is not ashamed to compare the crusade for racial equality to the current campaign for legitimizing 12 million immigrants, either as guest workers or eventually as American citizens.
"It is all about justice and decency," he said.
"Where is our sense of decency for human beings who just want to survive and want their families to eat? Yes, they came without permission. But there were a lot of Americans who needed them here and wanted them here."
He spent last week in Washington and joined about 50 evangelical leaders to sign a letter supporting immigration reform that includes stronger border law enforcement and the opportunity for selected current illegal immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship.
His message is on his seminary's Web site at www.bua.edu: "Does Jesus Still Have a Mission to the Poor, the Prisoner, the Blind and the Oppressed?"
Why don't you ask your preacher the same question ?

Bud Kennedy's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. (817) 390-7538 bud @budkennedy.com
source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists/bud_kennedy/14350708.htm