Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Supports Refugee Resettlement

The Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board responded to the recent community information meetings held by Church World Services to discuss resettlement of war refugees in the Poughkeepsie area with heartfelt editorial support.  Read it here:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/opinion/2015/11/25/thanksgiving-reminds-us-another-time-refugees/76317242/

Church World Services (CWS) Community Information Meeting in Poughkeepsie - Refugee Resettlement There Begins in the New Year

Church World Service (CWS) held a community information meeting in Poughkeepsie this Thursday to discuss the upcoming resettlement of refugees in that city. A HUGE turnout -- about 300 people, mostly supportive. Interestingly, some of the people opposed, who had been pretty vociferous and threatening at an earlier meeting at Vassar, voiced their concerns in a much more civil manner. Maybe we can have a community dialogue.

At the end of the meeting, CWS invited people to have their pictures taken welcoming refugees. Here's just a few:

Signers of the Call to Action as of December 27, 2015

For further information or to add your organization to this call, please contact Andrew Courtney at 914 271-8633 or email at courtney6@optonline.net with your organization’s name, the contact person, email and phone number.

Andalusia School, Yonkers, NY

Bart Worden, Leader, The Ethical Culture Society of Westchester. White Plains, NY

Blauvelt Quaker Meeting, Blauvelt, NY

The Catholic community of Holy Name of Mary Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice, Stony Point, NY

Christ Church & San Marcos, Tarrytown, NY

Creative Response to Conflict, Rockland County, NY

Concerned Families of Westchester, Hastings/Dobbs Ferry, NY

Connie Hogarth Center For Social Action, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY

Croton Valley Friends Meeting (Quakers), Mt. Kisco, NY

Daryl Ehsan Islamic Center, Suffern, NY

The Dialogue Project, Westchester, Brooklyn, Manhattan, NY

Dominican Sisters of Amityville, Long Island, NY

Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, Rockland County, NY,

Dominican Sisters of Hope, Ossining, NY

Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, Sparkill, NY

Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) Nyack, NY

First Presbyterian Church, Katonah, NY

Grace Episcopal Church, White Plains, NY

Hearts and Homes for Refugees, Pelham, NY

Hudson Valley Islamic Community Center, Mohegan Lake, NY

Interfaith Connection, White Plains, NY

International Center for Ethno-Religious Mediation, Mt. Vernon, NY

Islamic Center of Rockland County, Nyack, NY

J-Teen Leadership, White Plains, NY

Jean Fallon for Maryknoll Sisters, Ossining, NY

Jerrahi Mosque, Chestnut Ridge, NY 

Jewish Voice for Peace - Westchester

Hudson Valley Community Coalition, Cross River, NY

Rev. Karen Eiler for the Memorial United Methodist Church, White Plains, NY

Katonah United Methodist Church, Katonah, NY

Loretto Community, 777 UN Plaza, NY

MADE Transitional Services, Spring Valley, NY

Mental Health Association of Westchester County, Tarrytown, NY

Middle East Crisis Response, Dutchess/Ulster Counties, NY

Muslim Peace Fellowship, Stony Point, NY

New Rochelle High School Human Rights Coalition, New Rochelle, NY

Pace Community Law Practice, White Plains, NY

PAPA (Peekskill Area Pastors Association), Peekskill, NY

Rabbi Billy Dreskin, Woodlands Community Temple, Greenburgh, NY

Rabbi Jennifer Jaech and Rabbi Emerita Helene Ferris, of Temple Israel of Northern Westchester,

Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Rabbi Jonathan Blake, Westchester Reform Temple, Scarsdale, NY

Rabbi Scott Weiner, Senior Rabbi, Temple Israel, New Rochelle, NY

Rabbi Tom Weiner, Congregation Kol Ami, White Plains, NY

Rev. Anthony Stephens, PhD, Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Rev. Melissa Hinnen, Asbury United Methodist Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Rockland for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel, Nyack, NY

Rockland Friends Meeting (Quakers), Rockland County, NY

Scarsdale Friends Meeting (Quakers), Scarsdale. NY

School Sisters of Notre Dame AM Province, Wilton, Ct.

Sisters of Charity of New York, Bronx, NY

Sisters of St. Ursula, US Region, Rhinebeck, NY

Spring Valley Mosque, Spring Valley, NY

St. Augustines Episcopal Church, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY

The Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center, Stony Point, NY

The Church in the Highlands, White Plains, NY

The Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY

The Immigration Justice Clinic of John Jay Legal Services Inc. at Pace University School of Law,

White Plains, NY

Upper Westchester Muslim Society (UWMS). Thornwood, NY

Walkabout Clearwater, Hudson Valley Region, NY

Westchester Coalition Against Islamophobia.

WESPAC Foundation, White Plains, NY

Westchester For Change, Susan Van Dolsen Co-Founder, Rye, NY

Westchester Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Nonviolence, White Plains, NY

REFUGEES: A Call to Action by the Westchester,

Rockland and Hudson Valley Community

As the tides of refugees from war in the Middle East literally wash ashore in Europe, we are witness to human tragedy of unfathomable proportions. In a world where governments wage wars that result in the displacement of tens of millions of people, we as human beings face a responsibility and a real opportunity to do the right thing. We welcome the tired, the poor the hungry and endangered to our country and community. We cannot be witnessand not take action. All around the country, municipalities and local communities are calling for the UnitedStates of America to open wide the doors to the refugees, and are ready to welcome refugee families into their communities. We in the Westchester, Rockland and Hudson Valley Community join in the call for action to

welcome refugees as follows:

• Ask our Senators and Congresspeople to advocate for the prompt resettlement in the US of a substantial

number of refugees;

• Ask our county legislators to endorse the effort and provide the community support needed;

• Ask our local municipalities to endorse the effort and coordinate to assist in the hosting, housing and

absorption of families;

• Bring together both community and faith-based groups to provide community support and participate

in resettlement efforts;

We make this call based on the firm conviction that all people -- regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or legal status -- deserve to live in freedom and safety.

We, the undersigned organizations, commit to advocate energetically for opening our doors to 

refugees to share the message above broadly. We will invite our constituents and our partners to join us in taking direct action to support refugees who arrive in the lower Hudson Valley.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free" 

Emma Lazarus