BorderLinks Pilgrimage

by | Nov 14, 2019

Members of the EDOW BorderLinks delegation

The U.S/Mexico border wall 

 

 

This week 13 people from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington have been on pilgrimage at the Arizona/Mexico border, learning more about the challenges facing immigrants seeking a better life crossing into the United States. The trip was arranged through BorderLinks, a residential program dedicated to teaching participants through various experiences, the plight of US immigrants.

The group hiked through the desert to simulate the experiences of those crossing the Mexican border into Arizona; visited the border wall in Nogales, Arizona/Mexico; visited a shelter sponsored by Cruzando Fronteras, a ministry of Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Nogales, AZ, for persons trying to immigrate into the US in Nogales, Mexico; and the group sat in on Operation Streamline proceedings, criminal court hearings where 61 persons arrested by the US Border Patrol were adjudicated with federal detention facility sentences in 59 minutes!

The pilgrims will be returning to the Diocese of Washington with experiences to share and insights into how we can cross borders to support and empower the people of God. 

 

The Rev. Canon Paula Clark says of her time among the men, women, and children whose communities are inextricably affected by what happens along the border, “This was a life-changing, meaningful experience.”

Families and communities affected by U.S immigration policy

EDOW delegation members, including the Rev. Canon Paula Clark, with two of the youth they met on their pilgrimage to the border

The EDOW delegation stands beside the border wall