From The Half-Red House

Hear Rev. Liana Rowe’s talk given at the Union Congregational Church in Peterborough NH on March 7, 2011 (podcast included at bottom of post).

Rev. Liana Rowe

NEWS RELEASE
Union Congregational Church
March 7, 2011
uccpboro@myfairpoint.net

United Church of Christ NH Conference and the American Friends Service Committee NH Program presented a talk by Rev. Liana Rowe, a minister in the
Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ who is active in the movement for humane immigration
policies The talk was intended to help New Hampshire residents understand what is at stake in the immigration debate.

Rev. Liana Rowe, a minister in the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ, will give a presentation
at Union Congregational Church, UCC, 33 Concord St. in Peterborough on Monday March 7 at 7:00 pm.

Rev. Rowe, a resident of N. Phoenix, has been working for humane immigration policies for more than ten years.
She sits on the Board of Directors for Humane Borders, a humanitarian organization that maintains water stations in remote desert regions of Southern Arizona.  She has also been active with the Somos America/We Are America
Coalition in advocating for human and civil rights in Arizona.  Rev. Rowe was 2011 recipient of the City of Phoenix
Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream Award.

Rev. Rowe was accompanied by Eva Castillo Turgeon, who leads the NH Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees,
and Arnie Alpert of AFSC-NH.

“We were profoundly disturbed by the passage last year of SB1070, the harshest anti-immigrant legislation in the
country, by the Arizona Legislature,” said the Rev. Mary Westfall, chair of the UCC NH Conference’s Commission
on Witness and Action.  “This legislation, which codifies racial profiling and creates an atmosphere of suspicion,
hatred, and scapegoating of immigrants and U.S citizens, was opposed by the UCC’s Southwest Conference,” Rev.
Westfall added.

At its 2010 annual meeting, the NH Conference of the United Church of Christ adopted a resolution calling for
solidarity with immigrants and with the Southwest Conference of the UCC.  The resolution called on church
members “to consider prayer, study, protest, and other possible actions for immigrant rights, and that the NHCUCC
will mobilize our congregations for just and fair Federal Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”

“Rev. Rowe’s tour will be an excellent opportunity for us to act in the spirit of the resolution we adopted in
October,” said Rev. Westfall, who serves as pastor of the Durham Community Church.

“With the legislature considering several bills dealing with immigration, Rev. Rowe’s visit is especially timely,” said
Arnie Alpert of the American Friends Service Committee, which is co-sponsoring Rev. Rowe’s tour.

The United Church of Christ is New Hampshire’s largest Protestant group, with 139 churches and 23,000 members across the state.

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization whose work for social justice includes a commitment to humane immigration reform.

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For more information about Rev. Rowe’s presentation, please contact Union Congregational Church, UCC, at 603-924-3272 or uccpboro@myfairpoint.net.

Arizona Pastor Speaks on Immigrants' Rights 2011-03-07, Peterborough NH [ 1:11:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download