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              As we recall recent holidays with family, and the New Year begins for us all, I invite you to hold in heart and mind the over 195,000 Salvadorans who will learn by NEXT MONDAY, January 8th, from the Department of Homeland Security whether they will receive an extension for Temporary Protected Status.  Without an extension, families of TPS recipients--including their nearly 200,000 U.S. citizen children--will face cruel separation, and returns to dire conditions of gang violence and acute food, housing, and water shortages.

WHAT CAN WE DO NOW TO SUPPORT SALVADORAN TPS RECIPIENTS? 

1)  From TOMORROW THRU JANUARY 6TH, read, reflect and ACT through this 3-part set of
Epiphany Devotions that connect Epiphany scriptures and themes with TPS population concerns. See here to download a copy: https://www.discipleshomemissions.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Disciples-Epiphany-Living-the-Light-Devotions-for-2018v3.pdf, and please share it with your friends to "spread the Light" of hope offered to the world this Epiphany!  

2) Join a National Faith Community Call In Day TOMORROW, Thursday, January 4th, to urge Congress and the administration to extend TPS for Salvadorans for at least 18 months!  Go here for info.: https://greateras1.org/take-action-today-urge-congress-dhs-extend-tps-el-salvador-least-18-months/

3) Participate in a TPS Virtual Prayer Chain NOW and share messages on #Faith4TPS to link prayers with TPS holders and give witness to your support for their families.  Go here to view instructions, and see sample posts and graphics for use: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PV_-eUBSkptDK77ilKD83jtebbpw4bHImjU7IiEIPu0/edit?usp=sharing

4) Raise your faith voice to write an op-ed  or Letter to the Editor BEFORE NEXT MONDAY.  
For  help, please reach out to communications specialists Wardah and Bilal at  media@cwsglobal.org . See here for samples, and much more information:
5)  Hold a Prayer Vigil or Press Conference for TPS recipients ASAP in your area, and demonstrate your support for your neighbors!  Call attention to the increasing removals of protections being faced by Haitian, Honduran, Salvadoran, and other TPS recipients in recent months!  Talk about the need for a legislative solution to permanently protect TPS recipients, and see sample talking points and key contributions of TPS recipients here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fIF6so2SXTQFVvimggUmEWLSAGNKFQtNfZhVXksj1go/edit?usp=sharing

FOR MORE BACKGROUND AND HELP:
     *Go here : https://www.discipleshomemissions.org/missions-advocacy/refugee-immigration-ministries/refugees/background-resources/haitian-tps/ to read the story of just one of our Haitian church members with TPS in New York.
     *If you or others in your community are TPS recipients, and have legal questions about how to maintain their status, contact our Disciples Legal Immigration Counsel, Tana Liu-Beers, at: tana@dhm.disciples.org or  https://www.disciplesimmigration.org .
     *For advocacy questions, contact: R ev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, sstanley@dhm.disciples.org,  202-957-7826.

Thanks for raising your voice and values of faith to support immigrants and refugees, and for answering the call to  "open your mouths to defend the rights...of the needy." (Proverbs 31:8)

Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea,
Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries (RIM)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. & Canada
202-957-7826 (cell),  sstanley@dhm.disciples.org
5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC  20005
(2nd floor, National City Christian Church)

RIM is a ministry of Disciples Home Missions