New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center Archives - 91��Ƶ News

Student-organized vigil shows solidarity with deported pastor Max Villatoro and his family

Chris Yoder and Lauren Jefferson — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 20:06:38 +0000

91��Ƶ a hundred people gathered at a candlelight vigil this week on the 91��Ƶ (91��Ƶ) campus to show their support for Mennonite pastor Max Villatoro.

In the center of Thomas Plaza, burning candles were placed on a pile of ice. A nearby sign proclaimed the vigil’s theme: “Melt ICE,” a reference to the unrelenting, and some would say, disturbing policies of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have recently separated Villatoro from his family.

A Honduran native who has lived without citizenship in the United States since the early 1990s, Villatoro was detained on March 3 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported last week [March 27].

Despite a past criminal record of two misdemeanor charges, supporters say Villatoro had changed his life, becoming a Christian and devoting himself to his family and his congregation. According to supporters, he would be an appropriate candidate for the reprieve offered by President Barack Obama’s deportation policy if an immigrant does not jeopardize national security or public safety.

‘Pastor Max’ known among 91��Ƶ students

Two student organizers of the vigil, senior Aliese Gingerich and junior Rachel Schrock, are among many in the 91��Ƶ community who have a strong connection to Villatoro. He is a co-pastor, with his wife, Gloria, of Iglesia Menonita Torre Fuerte, a small Hispanic congregation based at in Iowa City, Iowa. Gingerich and Schrock attend First Mennonite Church.

The vigil for Pastor Max Villatoro drew approximately 100 people for speeches, prayer and singing. (Photo by Jonathan Bush)

Villatoro “was someone who cared about the space and the people in it,” said Schrock. “He would ask you how you’re doing, and he would really listen. He cared about people, and he was a strong presence in the church.”

Gingerich, who spent this last summer working with Villatoro, mentioned the anxiety she felt for him during that time. Villatoro made no secret of his lack of citizenship, even in which he recounted his story of moving to the United States for a better life, meeting his wife, and starting a family. He and Gloria have four children, all U.S. citizens. Gloria, who is from Mexico, is living legally in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Schrock’s fear was realized when she was on a in Georgia, learning about issues that immigrants face in the United States. Ironically, she, along with sophomore Diego Barahona, were visiting a detention center when they learned the news.

Barahona, also a Honduran native, spoke at the vigil in English, with his remarks translated into Spanish. He expressed appreciation for the Mennonite community and their strong support of Villatoro.

Several protests and vigils have taken place over the past several weeks. Congregations in the Central Plains Mennonite Conference – the conference in which Villatoro’s church belongs – have actively showed their support for Villatoro and his family. The conference collected more than 40,000 signatures, including 8,000 from clergy members, from around the United States. Those documents were delivered to the ICE office in Omaha, Nebraska, just one week after Villatoro’s detention. The conference has also started a .

Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined the grounds for Villatoro’s deportation by citing his criminal record – a drunk-driving conviction in 1998 and record tampering, after purchasing a Social Security number in order to get a driver’s license, in 1999. Villatoro has since had a clean record and according to media sources, was unsuccessful in appealing a past deportation order.

Common ground with vigil supporters

In his speech, Barahona also addressed the plight of child immigrants, recalling his arrival in the United States at age 4 and a childhood visit to Walt Disney World, seemingly a paradise at the time.

“In contrast,” Barahona told the assembled crowd, “tens of thousands of child immigrants were not received by a magical kingdom. They were received by a kingdom that supposedly stands for the liberty of the oppressed, but hesitates to take in the youngest victims of the conflict they help create.”

Hannah Mack-Boll, a junior, who works at in Harrisonburg, said she appreciated the “poignance” of Barahona’s speech. She hears many stories similar to Villatoro’s, and remarked on how helpful it is that “we can now gather together to understand the importance of Villatoro’s story in the context of a broader issue.”

“It was encouraging to see such a strong turnout of students, faculty and staff to express our solidarity with Pastor Max and others who have been separated from their families,” said 91��Ƶ president Loren Swartzendruber, one of at least two university administrators to attend the vigil. “The stories shared by several immigrants were important for all of us to hear.”

Getting the word out about that story and rallying support has been one of Gingerich’s recent concerns. She spent two days before the vigil passing out 380 Spanish-language flyers to local organizations, businesses, clinics, grocery stores, and even taco trucks. She wanted to the community to be involved, and to provide a space for healing and reflection.

“Max’s story is a platform for all the other stories like his that don’t get coverage,” Schrock said.

It will be extremely difficult and complicated for Villatoro to regain entry to the United States, according to his attorney.

Professor honored for forty years of dedication to social work education

Randi B. Hagi — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:14:06 +0000

looks back over a lifetime of dedication to social work and recognizes the early influence of her family in creating an awareness of the needs of others. In the 1950s, her uncle pastored an interracial church where blacks and whites worshipped together and respected each other, her mother reached out to neighbors experiencing difficulties, and her dad valued learning about different people and places.

In the 1960s, Jane and the rest of the Wenger family joined a national grape boycott in support of farm workers’ demands for fair pay and better working conditions. Early on, these experiences created a passion for social justice that instilled in her the desire “to do what I could do for the betterment of all people,” she said.

Clemens’ desire has led to a 40-year career in , including 17 years as an associate professor at 91��Ƶ (91��Ƶ). Her dedication was recently recognized by the Virginia Social Work Educators’ Consortium. At their annual “Rally in the Valley” this fall, Clemens was awarded the Ann Meyers’ Lifetime Contribution to Social Work Education Award.

“I feel surprised and humbled to be chosen to receive this award by my colleagues,” Clemens said. “It is a tremendous honor and I am very grateful. I value the opportunity to teach emerging social work professionals about ways to work toward social and economic justice in our world, and to receive this honor for my contribution is very rewarding.”

Besides expertise and teaching skills, Clemens also brings personal investment to her students – a quality recognized by her colleagues in the at 91��Ƶ.

“She helps students understand that self-care is a cornerstone of the ability to care in a sustainable professional life over the long term,” wrote professors and and professor emeritus Elroy Miller in their nomination of Clemens.

Former students of Clemens shared their appreciation of her shaping influence upon hearing of the recognition.

“She was one of those professors who considered the personal development of students to be just as important as the professional development,” said Chaska Yoder’ 14, who is serving Habitat for Humanity with the service learning organization . “Jane often talked about the importance of seeing the gifts and skills that clients bring to the helping process. This strength-based approach goes hand in hand with the asset-based approach to community development that I’m currently working with in Pittsburgh.”

Clemens was also a social worker in Pennsylvania – notably, working in a prenatal clinic years ago as part of a team dedicated to reducing the infant mortality rate. In Philadelphia, certain areas had a disproportionate infant mortality rate, and Clemens’ team spread awareness about prenatal resources and worked to break down barriers between families and health care.

Clemens has also worked in retirement communities and a school for children with disabilities in Pennsylvania, participated in Mennonite voluntary service on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, and promoted continued education for adolescents in Ohio. During her 2012 sabbatical, Clemens lived and worked with low-income families in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

A lifetime of hands-on work and anecdotes has enriched Clemens’ teaching style for students such as Litza Laboriel ’14. “Her experience and passion for helping others motivated me throughout my time at 91��Ƶ,” said Laboriel.

Alicia Horst ’01, MDiv ’06, executive director of , also remembers Clemens fondly. “Jane taught a caring way of being that calmly listens and lowers potential anxiety in the room,” says Horst. “She brings a gentle curiosity and laid-back conversation.”

Seeing her former students in leadership positions and advocacy roles in the field of social work is “extremely rewarding,” Clemens says. People go from being students to colleagues, and some, like Horst, now supervise current practicum students. Clemens sees this stage of her life’s work – contributing to students’ education – as the planting of seeds. Her students go on to sow and cultivate exponentially more social work ‘fruit’ than even Clemens did in her proliferous career.

Clemens’ personal values of social justice and peace led her both to a profession and to teaching at 91��Ƶ. “We work at social justice as a community,” she said. “To empower students to go out and work for social change” is the capstone of a vocation spanning decades.

Couple to facilitate women’s healing workshops in Harrisonburg

Caleb Soptelean — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 19:19:04 +0000

Helping others find peace. That’s the shared goal of Cristian Quezada and Anita Fonseca-Quezada, Chilean immigrants who were drawn to 91��Ƶ because of its emphasis on conflict resolution.

Before coming to the U.S., the married couple called Santiago, Chile, home. The two were living on the 20th of a 21-floor apartment building when the capital city was hit by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in 2010.

“It was awful,” Fonseca-Quezada said of the 2-minute, 30-second-long temblor. “I thought the world was coming to an end. And then when it stopped, you heard all these people yelling, ‘Help! Help!’ It took both of us 10 minutes to realize what happened.”

But the pair came away from the traumatic experience inspired.

Fonseca-Quezada said she has found healing through meditation and spiritual practices, and wants to share what she has learned with others.

The 32-year-old, whose father was a seminary professor and taught in eight nations across North, Central and South America, moved a lot when she was younger.

“Being ‘present’ is something I struggle with,” she said, explaining that, as a child, she struggled to feel like she fit in. “Through silent meditation, I have been able to feel like I am present where I am. If your mind is somewhere [else], you can’t really engage.”

Practicum offers hope

Fonseca-Quezada — currently pursuing a master’s degree in theology at 91��Ƶ — and her husband, who in April earned a master’s in conflict transformation with emphasis in restorative justice and trauma healing, will facilitate women’s healing workshops starting this month.

The couple hopes to help Hispanic women who have come to the U.S. illegally to cope with traumas they’ve experienced, such as the pressures of a new country and ostracization from society, for example.

Quezada’s graduate school practicum, titled “Our History: Identity, Resilience and Hope,” focuses on helping women through art and dialogue.

Beginning this month, the workshops will be held Sundays at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg, though a start date is yet to be fixed. Each will consist of six dialogues combined with art, for a session lasting about two hours, explained Quezada.

The art — based on mandalas characteristic of the Buddhist tradition — includes media such as painting, drawing, photography and poetry.

He explained that both the left and right sides of the brain are engaged while doing artwork and engaging in dialogue.

“You’re painting and drawing, and, in the process, reflect on your life, and when doing this, you can see things that you can’t see when you are [just] talking,” he said.

Quezada — who worked as a human rights attorney in Chile — volunteers with New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center, housed in the basement of Community Mennonite Church, 70 S. High St., Harrisonburg.

Many of the women with whom Quezada works struggle with identity and dignity, he said.

“It’s not about us giving them lectures; it’s about them talking. You have to create a safe space,” he said. “It’s therapeutic because they are speaking about their situation. We want to create the kind of circle they lost. … With dialogue, we can open doors for more in-depth conversations.”

Faith journey
It was through the Mennonite faith tradition that the couple became inspired to share with others.

“Before we got married, we weren’t going to church because it was lacking the aspect,” Anita said of their former faith traditions.

“We came … [to 91��Ƶ] because of the peacebuilding emphasis.”

Before relocating to Harrisonburg in 2011, the couple began attending a Mennonite church in Indiana, where they had moved in 2010 while Fonseca-Quezada pursued a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Goshen College.

“It took us one Sunday to realize this was where we should be,” Fonseca-Quezada recalled.

The couple is also hoping to offer the workshop at any Spanish-speaking congregation in the central Valley.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, June 7, 2014