Immigration Sunday Minnesota

Background

Since 2009, the Catholic bishops of Minnesota have designated the Feast of Our Lord’s Epiphany to mark Immigration Sunday MN.

This year’s theme is “It is not just about migrants, it is about all of us.” (A continuation of Pope Francis’ message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees.) When families are torn apart and people are forced to live in fear it is an attack on their human dignity and a wound to all of us – the body of Christ. As the lack of resolution lingers into yet another decade, the severity of these wounds continues to grow. We must begin to heal our communities now.

To learn more about what the Catholic Church teaches with regard to immigration visit this post and read through the statement, “Unlocking the Gate in Our Hearts,” from the Catholic Bishops on Minnesota on the need for federal immigration reform.

This Year’s Celebration

Immigration Sunday, on January 5th, 2020, is an important moment for Minnesota Catholics to show their commitment to welcoming migrants and refugees in our communities through our prayers, education, and actions. By accompanying them in person and in prayer, we can not only help them integrate into our communities but show that we welcome Christ in them.

You can also participate in National Migration Week from January 5-11. For nearly a half-century, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week, which is an opportunity for us to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The theme for National Migration Week 2020 is “Promoting a Church and a World for All.” Click here to download a resource tool kit for National Migration Week.

Resources for Taking Action

Immigration Sunday will be held on January 5th, 2020. Use the guides below to plan the ways in which you, your parish, and your community can welcome the migrants and refugees on your community. Make use of the prayers to guide your planning and incorporate them into your celebrations.

You can find further resources regarding immigration by visiting the USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants. Individuals can also encourage their US Senators to support the Dream Act of 2019, S. 874, to provide DACA recipients with a path to citizenship. Click here to send a message to your US Senator.

Welcoming and Integrating Migrants:

A TASK FOR ALL OF US

Download (PDF): Welcoming and Integrating Migrants
Purpose:

To provide a model for diocesan and parish leaders as to how they can help the process of welcome and integration of migrant communities. This model can be institutionalized on a large or small scale as needed.

Target Audience:

Diocesan and Parish Leadership

Welcoming Christ in the Migrant

Download (PDF): Welcoming Christ in the Migrant
Purpose:

To give Catholics an opportunity to reflect on the issue of migration through Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching Tradition. This resource also provides suggestions for practical ways that individuals can assist migrants.

Target Audience:

Individuals or small group sessions.

Host a Welcome Meal

Download (PDF): Host a Welcome Meal
Purpose:

To provide direction on how to host a Welcome Meal and point to how such events can help you to live out the call to welcome the stranger.

Target Audience:

Individuals or Small Groups

An Evening in Solidarity
Download (PDF): An Evening in Solidarity
Purpose:

This is a multicultural and adaptable guide with models specific to adolescents, college-age young people, and young adults. We encourage ministry leaders to use this as a model, and to adapt it as necessary to your local needs and circumstances. Event durations range from 50 minutes to 1.5 hours, and include detailed instructions on materials needed, questions for reflection, and key information to educate young people on the migration and refugee crisis in the context of their Catholic faith.

Target Audience:

Youth and Young Adult Catholics

Accompaniment and the Catholic Faith:

WHY WE ARE CALLED TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY
Download (PDF): Accompaniment and the Catholic Faith
Purpose:

To highlight the importance of accompaniment in Catholic Teaching on migration, demonstrate ways in which you can accompany migrants, and provide a model that can institutionalize this process.

Target Audience:

Individuals, small groups, parishes

Unity in Diversity:

A  SCRIPTURAL ROSARY
Download (PDF): Unity in Diversity A Scriptural Rosary

The Catholic bishops of the United States, in their pastoral letter Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, invite us to enter into the mystery of the Mystical Body of Christ. As St. Paul teaches in his first letter to the Corinthians, the mystery is that we are made part of that Body through our Baptism. By learning to celebrate our individual differences while embracing our union with others, we grow not only in our understanding of Jesus but in the knowledge of our own true selves.

Such knowledge flies in the face of a culture that promotes distrust of immigrants and that excludes or imprisons refugees and asylum seekers. In their pastoral letter, the bishops challenge us to embrace our sisters and brothers through a series of four calls: conversion, communion, solidarity, and evangelization.

There is no better guide to help us enter into this mystery and answer these calls than our Mother Mary. In her miraculous apparitions throughout the world, she has embodied the diversity of every race and nation. As our loving Mother, she draws us into union with each other through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Praying the Rosary—particularly with the recent inclusion of the Luminous Mysteries, which celebrate the active ministry of Jesus Christ—is one way in which we can respond to the four calls of Welcoming the Stranger. As we reflect on the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, we are invited to consider how even today, we, as Christ’s Mystical Body, continue to share these joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious experiences with one another.

Prayers of the Faithful

Download (PDF): Prayers of the Faithful
Past Immigration Sunday Materials