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May 31 Caravans of Solidarity and Dignity - Statement from the People of Rural & Migrant Ministry

5/30/2020

 
A Refusal to Participate
 
For close to forty years, the people of Rural & Migrant Ministry, Inc. have fought to dismantle the racist structures and systems that oppress those who are Black and Brown. These systems degrade all of us, telling us that ultimately, no lives matter.
 
The ongoing violence against people of color yet again appears before us, as we watch the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. The foundation of these deaths was built at the beginning of our Country, and the ensuing years have built upon this foundation a structure that divides, denies and destroys our humanity.
 
Rural & Migrant Ministry’s efforts to seek the equality of farmworkers, the backbone of our economy, under the New York State Labor laws, was a response to a four hundred-year racist exploitation of slave labor. For a brief moment in history, with the passage of the Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act, we in New York State were able to stand up against history and affirm one another as we brought about systemic change.

Now, as the Pandemic wreaks havoc across so much of the land, it also exposes the legacy of this long history and reminds us how much more needs to change. We witness farmworkers and workers in food processing plants deemed “essential workers” but not essential human beings. We need the food, and we have gone to great lengths to get it, but we have not gone to great lengths to protect those who feed us. The systemic racism, their poverty, their vulnerability, their working conditions and their legal status – are all exacerbated by the virus and our response, or lack of one, to it.
 
Our choice in the face of racism is the same as it has been throughout our history. We can ignore racism, and take advantage of it, or we can say that Black Lives do Matter and refuse to participate in this oppressive system.
 
On Sunday, May 31st Rural & Migrant Ministry, joined by a coalition of farmworker organizations, unions, faith groups and community organizations will sponsor Caravans of Solidarity and Dignity for Farmworkers and Food Chain Workers.   

https://bit.ly/CelebrationCaravans  


Tomorrow is also the Day of Pentecost in the Christian tradition – where Christians celebrate the power of the Spirit that is shared by a diversity of people, all equally considered Children of God.
 
The Caravan is a simple but powerful gesture. It is a statement of affirmation of a righteous way of living.

Join us. 

Fr. R.C. Witt

rcyrilwitt@aol.com



Bishop Provenzano Issues Statement on Sin of White Supremacy

5/30/2020

 
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May 30, 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we all are witnessing the painful events involving police departments and communities of color, we must once again, and urgently, face squarely the sin of white supremacy. This sin was central to our nation’s founding and is enshrined in — and is at the root of — so much of the rhetoric of the day. It lives itself out in the violence inflicted on communities of color, often at the hands and knees of the police. 

It is also evident that white supremacy promotes a second set of standards on how the population is treated differently in so many instances by the police, at the direction of policy makers. A group of armed white men can surround a state capitol and threaten citizens with almost no negative consequences. But black and brown unarmed people protesting the murder of an unarmed black man by police are met with tear gas and the violence of police in riot gear.

White supremacy continues to break the soul of our nation. Hate has torn apart our better selves and we are witnessing the actions of arrogant bigotry in our streets, our parks, in supermarkets and everyday life. 

The sin of white supremacy has stolen away any claim that we are a great nation. A great nation is built upon the character of great people—faithful, loving people. Echoing our sacred scripture, a great nation is one that liberates and unburdens the historical oppressed and protects us when we are most vulnerable.

The character of our nation is being stained by the hatred of white supremacy, which, because of a history of slavery and worker exploitation, is now baked into all of our systems.

Of course, we are not alone. This history of sin has created a spiritual illness in other nations. But we are responsible for this young nation, and its unique origins often make our work difficult.

Most Americans believe that some sort of law enforcement system, as well as an armed military, is necessary for an ordered society. So if we are going to have these systems, we need to ensure that the individuals in them are willing to free themselves from the bondage of sin.

We cannot project all of our sins onto the police or the State. In one way or another, we all have ingested the poison of white supremacy. However, state-sanctioned violence is very different than individual violence. We cannot permit armed agents of the State to take advantage of their privilege and power and allow them to go unchecked within a racialized system that never really questions—or thinks to question—the choices that keep others oppressed and disadvantaged. That is not the basis for a democracy.

Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd all have paid the ultimate price of that system’s broken and sinful compliance with hate. And every person of color, every black man and woman lives on the edge of becoming a victim to our national crime, our willful ignorance of this sin that stains our nation and keeps us from being great. As a father of three adult children and a grandfather, it breaks my heart to imagine the fear experienced by black families every time a loved one leaves the house.
 
I believe, as a person of faith, that we can overcome this sin. I believe we can choose to live in a nation that corrects the past, redeems the past, and creates a world in which each person is honored and treated as a child of God. The power to initiate this change is present in every living person.

We are endowed by our creator with a capacity to love. We are only later taught to hate, to discriminate, to segregate. We must put aside the lessons that divide and create enmity between people and nations, and we must work to unite people everywhere.  

I call upon you each to live in love, to act in peace, and to be inquisitive and curious of the other and not fearful and rejecting.

Embrace difference as a way to discover more about yourself and your neighbor.
Reject hate and hateful, ignorant speech.

Reject the evil, hate-filled actions and motivations of those who seek to divide people. 
And work—literally work—to build a better world. Begin by praying for the victims of hate, their families and loved ones. Put yourself in their place and repent of the hate, discrimination and bigotry we have been taught.

“Your love must be sincere. Detest what is evil, cling to what is good. Love one another with the affection of brothers and sisters. Anticipate each other in showing respect. Look on the need of the saints as your own; be generous in offering hospitality. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.”
The Letter to the Romans 12: 9 - 10, 13 & 21

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The Right Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano
Bishop of Long Island

2020 Pride: Online Conversation with the Rev. Deon K. Johnson, Bishop-Elect of the Diocese of Missouri, Sunday June 7, 2020, 5:30 p.m.

5/27/2020

 

Pride Online Forum: The Polity and Politics of Belonging

Dear friends and colleagues,

The LGBTQ+  Working Group of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island is pleased to invite you to an online conversation with the Rev. Deon K. Johnson on June 7th at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).

When consecrated, Bishop-Elect Deon will not only be our youngest bishop, but also will be the first openly gay and Caribbean-born bishop in the Episcopal Church. 

Born in Barbados, Bishop-Elect Deon has deep social and family ties to our Diocese, which is largely comprised of parishioners who hail from the Caribbean.

The Q&A style conversation will be moderated by our own Mthr. Cecily P. Broderick y Guerra, a long-time member of our clericus, and by Darren J. Glenn, the Programs Director of the Caribbean Equality Project, which serves LGBTQ people of Caribbean descent here in NYC and beyond.  

The event is being co-sponsored by the Transgender Resource Center of Long Island, the Caribbean Equality Project, and is being hosted and co-sponsored by our Pro-Cathedral (St. Ann & the Holy Trinity) in Brooklyn Heights.

We are honored to host our brother-in-Christ, Bishop-Elect Deon, for what we know will be a meaningful and spirit-filled conversation!

Please register at this link to get details for logging into the online forum:
http://www.dioceseli.org/Pride2020


The diocesan LGBTQ+  Working Group is looking forward to your participation and (virtual) presence on June 7th.

Peace,
​
Mthr. Marie Tatro
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​Attorney General James Provides Direction for Law Enforcement on Unlawful Evictions During COVID-19 Pandemic

5/11/2020

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  
May 11, 2020
Attorney General’s Press Office/212-416-8060 nyag.pressoffice@ag.ny.gov

​Attorney General James Provides Direction for Law Enforcement
on Unlawful Evictions During COVID-19 Pandemic
​

Law Enforcement Handling of Illegal Evictions Established by
New York’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019  
  
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James provided direction to law enforcement departments throughout New York state so they have clear guidance on how to protect the public from unlawful evictions both during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis and into the future. 
There is a rising concern that some landlords might begin to take matters into their own hands and attempt to evict tenants themselves in the absence of a court order. New York’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 created new protections for tenants, including a new provision that makes it a crime (a Class A misdemeanor) for a person to either evict an occupant from their home without a court order, or to fail to restore an occupant who was evicted without court order. This new law empowers law enforcement to intervene when encountering unlawful evictions, which provides a welcomed and timely additional layer of protection for tenants as they grapple with the economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 public health crisis. 
“As the coronavirus rages on, many individuals are experiencing unprecedented financial instability, and it is important for everyone to understand the protections in place to guard against unlawful evictions at such a vulnerable time,” said Attorney General James. “I will continue to work with law enforcement to ensure that no New Yorker is illegally removed from their home during this pandemic.”  
Attorney General James highlights the following directions for law enforcement responding to unlawful evictions across New York state:   
  • It is an unlawful eviction if a person evicts or attempts to evict a person by:
    • Using or threatening the use of force;
    • Interrupting or discontinuing essential services (i.e. heat, water, electricity);
    • Removing the occupant’s possessions from the dwelling unit;
    • Removing the door at the entrance to the dwelling unit;
    • Removing, plugging, or otherwise rendering the lock on the entrance door inoperable;
    • Changing the lock on an entrance door without supplying the occupant with a key; and
    • Any other action which prevents or is intended to prevent the occupant from the lawful occupancy of the dwelling unit, which interferes or intends to interfere with the occupant’s use and occupancy of the dwelling unit, or induces the occupant to vacate.
  • The law protects any person who occupies a dwelling unit (which can be an apartment, a room, or a bed) through a written or oral lease, or who has occupied the unit for at least 30 days from the unlawful eviction, including tenants whose leases have expired, family members who have been in the dwelling unit for at least 30 days, and roommates or other licensees of tenants and occupants who have been in the dwelling unit for at least 30 days.  
  • Furthermore, the law also requires an owner of the dwelling unit to take all reasonable and necessary actions to restore an occupant who has been unlawfully evicted to their unit. Alternatively, the owner can provide the occupant another habitable unit within the dwelling.     
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) continues to actively monitor housing practices throughout the state to ensure that unlawful evictions do not occur. OAG has sent cease and desist letters to landlords throughout the state who unlawfully threaten tenants with eviction amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Attorney General James recently issued guidance to New Yorkers highlighting how to navigate tenant issues related to COVID-19. New York courts are not accepting any new eviction or foreclosure cases. Threats of eviction are not only illegal, but also damaging to the well-being of New Yorkers.  
In addition to the new protections afforded to tenants in the 2019 Act, additional measures have been implemented via executive orders issued by the governor. All COVID-19 guidance on tenant protections, among other important updates for the public and businesses, can be found on the OAG website.  
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           CJM
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