Faith leaders and homeowners will express their gratitude to the immigrant workers who helped rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast 20 years ago, and they will pray for an end to mass deportation policies, at a Prayer Service for Katrina Immigrant Workers: Looking Back in Gratitude and Moving Forward in Faith and Solidarity, on Thursday evening, August 28, at 5PM at Our Lady of Fatima Church Parish Hall, 2090 Pass Road in Biloxi. At the Prayer Service immigrant workers who contributed to the reconstruction effort will also share their memories of their Katrina reconstruction work and the challenges they face now.
This event is being organized by El Pueblo, a small but impactful non-profit that has provided legal, social, health, educational, and advocacy services to immigrants living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 2008. El Pueblo was formed in response to the great influx of immigrant workers after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Notes Roberta Avila, long-time Board Member of El Pueblo, “Immigrants that came to the coast to help us rebuild were critical for our recovery and were received with gratitude and open arms. They are members of our beloved community.” Adds Michael Ann Oropezo, El Pueblo’s Executive Director, “Now the same folks who helped us recover from Katrina are being persecuted by a punitive, enforcement-only policy of mass deportation that fails to recognize their humanity, the sanctity of families, and the contributions that immigrants make to our faith communities, society, and economy.”
The following faith leaders will speak at the event:
- Rev. Henry B. McInerny, Pastor, Our Lady of Fatima Church
- Pastor Eddie Hartwell, Pastor, St. James Baptist Church in Gulfport, who welcomed immigrant workers to his church after Katrina
- Rev. Bruno Schroeder, a retired Episcopal priest, who helped facilitate many needs groups after Katrina. Rev. Schroeder now provides pastoral care at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs.
- Rev. Daniel Martinez, representing the Most Reverand Louis F. Kihneman, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Biloxi
Jackie Castro Cooper, long-time volunteer at Our Lady of Fatima Church notes, “For people of faith, what is happening to our immigrant parishioners, neighbors, and friends is painful to see and experience. We must come together to remember; to thank Katrina immigrant workers; and, to advocate for a just and humane immigration system that keeps families together and helps our country to prosper.”
For more information about Prayer Service for Katrina Immigrant Workers: Looking Back in Gratitude and Moving Forward in Faith and Solidarity, contact Roberta Avila and Jackie Castro Cooper, contact info above. A flier describing this event is attached.