On Sunday, April 27, more than 400 members and supporters of Strangers No Longer (SNL) gathered at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, Michigan for the organization’s 4th Annual Banquet to express their strong support for immigrants and refugee rights. This year’s theme for the event was “Somos un Solo Cuerpo” (We are all one body).
Strangers No Longer is comprised primarily of Catholic parishes and schools across the state of Michigan organized to advocate for and protect our immigrant and refugee neighbors. Under the direction of the Trump Administration, the often indiscriminate and unconstitutional actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have fostered widespread feelings of fear in the immigrant community, even among documented and legal residents in the country. As a result, Strangers No Longer has stepped up its efforts to inform and educate immigrants and refugees about threats to their freedoms, health and safety.
Attendees were entertained prior to the luncheon and program by the St. Clement Youth Choir of Romeo and treated with the opportunity to win more than twenty valuable raffle prizes contributed by member parishes and donors.
The keynote speaker was Ms. Poppy Sias-Hernandez, Executive Director of the Office of Global Michigan who also serves at the Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer in the Executive Office of the Governor of the State of Michigan.
Sias-Hernandez addressed the Strangers No Longer audience which she acknowledged is organized around mobilizing Catholic parishes to address the needs of refugees and immigrants in our community. She spoke about her own education in Catholic school and recognized that “parishes are the driving force behind the changes that Global Michigan is advancing. In Catholic school, you learn that ‘service’ requires seeing the humanity in one another.”
“Being resilient means we are open to the hardship of today’s world”, Sias-Hernandez continued. “We must face the difficult with an open heart. The way America is talking about the difficulties (in our society) is heartbreaking. We must face the difficulties together.“ She concluded with the charge that Governor Gretchen Whitmer has given her: “We’re in a difficult moment. Our values have not changed, nor have our priorities. Get to work, Poppy!”
Strangers No Longer takes its name and its mission from Matthew 25: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” The members and supporters of Strangers No Longer left this year’s event ready to “get to work,” more committed than ever to create a community of hope for everyone in our society.
