Prayer vigil focuses on immigration reform

Humanity and compassion must be the twin components of any immigration reform if it is to succeed, according to leaders at an interfaith prayer vigil held yesterday at Community United Methodist Church in Massapequa.

Clergy members from the Massapequa Interfaith Clergy Council and the faithful from other churches and temples attended the vigil, which was part of a nationwide event designed to highlight the work done by religious groups in the ongoing immigration debate.

"Today and over the past 10 days, prayers like this are going on across the country," said the Rev. Jeffry Wells, who hosted the event at the Massapequa church. "We come together from a variety of faiths to create a more just and humane immigration reform."

The November killing in Patchogue of Marcelo Lucero of Ecuador, in what authorities say was a hate crime, served to highlight the ever-present danger for immigrants as they try to make a life on Long Island, many at the conference said. Yet, in many ways, things have not changed since prior generations came to the United States, said the Rev. Steven Giordano, of the Massapequa Reformed Church.

"Immigrants today are facing challenges that our foremothers and forefathers faced on their journeys to this country," Giordano said.

Members of the interfaith council told stories about their immigration experiences. The Rev. Msgr. Daniel Hurley, of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa, discussed the hardships of his Irish grandparents, who came to this country with nothing.

"Neither had a college education," he said, "but they worked very hard and treated other people with such respect. ... They turned out successful."

Rabbi Michael Kramer, of Temple B'nai Torah in Wantagh, examined the fear of foreigners in the United States, which he described as one of the great sins in this country, if not the world.

"It's a shame people don't make the effort to get to know people better," he said. "The Torah emphasizes to be friends with those who are not like us, those who are strangers."

Wells said discussing the immigration issue is key to coming up with a just solution.

"It's important that we are educating ourselves and teaching other people about this day," he said. "We must do what we can to honor all people of different color and backgrounds."