The UUA’s Washington Office for Advocacy in Washington, D.C. and First UU Church of Columbus in Ohio have been working with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, (an interfaith team of national faith advocacy groups based in D.C.), and Midwestern faith groups to plan the Midwest Interfaith Immigration Summit.

The two-day Summit will take place Sept. 10 – 11, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio. Its goal is to bring faith-based leaders and advocates in the Midwest together to work towards educating and mobilizing their communities in support of fair and humane immigration reform. Workshops will cover a variety of topics, including state and federal legislation, Lobbying 101, Raids, Detention, and Worker Justice, and much more.

I will be attending to represent the UUA, and I encourage Midwestern UUs who are interested in immigrant rights & immigration reform to attend. The UUA is offering a few scholarship to cover tuition ($95 before August 15th). If you are interested in attending and/or applying for a scholarship, or have any questions about the Summit, please contact me at lswanson@uua.org.

Register online at: http://hias.org/midwest-interfaith-immigration-summit

If you would like to post a flier in your congregation’s place of meeting, a printable PDF is available here: http://www.hias.org/files/immigration/SummitSavetheDateFinalUpdated_2.pdf

Principal Coordinator: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

Sponsored By: American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Church World Service, Franciscan Action Network, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Mennonite Central Committee, NETWORK, Ohio Council of Churches, Ohio Hispanic Coalition, Peace and Justice Support Network of Mennonite Church USA, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Sojourners, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations,Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, United Jewish Communities, & World Relief.

Endorsed By: Friends Committee on National Legislation, Interfaith Worker Justice, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).

Made possible in part by a grant from the Open Society Institute & The Carnegie Corporation of New York.