{"id":31598,"date":"2017-01-30T10:23:27","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T15:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=31598"},"modified":"2017-02-03T15:25:03","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T20:25:03","slug":"welcome-neighbor-sign-continues-spread-around-nation-delight-creators-immanuel-mennonite-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2017\/welcome-neighbor-sign-continues-spread-around-nation-delight-creators-immanuel-mennonite-church\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Welcome Your Neighbor’ sign continues to spread around the nation, to the delight of its creators at Immanuel Mennonite Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Washington D.C. to Colorado, demand for Immanuel Mennonite Church\u2019s \u201cWelcome Your Neighbor\u201d sign has skyrocketed. The sign, with a distinctive tri-color banding, reads in three languages: No matter where you\u2019re from, we\u2019re glad you\u2019re our neighbor.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since first posted in front of the Harrisonburg, Virginia, church in September 2015, a flood of attention from supportive citizens to interested media outlets, spurred on by social media posts, has created a new demand for Pastor Matthew Bucher<\/strong> and his congregation. [Bucher is a 2015 graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary<\/a> and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

From the beginning, Bucher says it\u2019s been a team effort\u2014from the sign\u2019s conception to the first printing, early dissemination and now, handling queries from people across the country. And they\u2019ve been aided by a growing network of fans, some Mennonite and many others not, who believe strongly in the equity and hospitality embodied in the sign\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

\"unnamed\"<\/a>
Ready-made protest signs: “We just took our sign out of our yard on the way to the rally,” said one participant at a Jan. 28 rally for immigrants and refugees in Harrisonburg, Virginia. (Photo by Lauren Jefferson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still blooming,\u201d Bucher said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, philosophically, we don\u2019t see the need to own stuff,\u201d says sign designer Jerry Holsopple<\/strong>, a professor in the Visual and Communication Arts Department<\/a> at EMU. \u201cWe definitely don\u2019t own God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working together<\/h3>\n

Lost in some of the media re-tellings has been the spirit of collaboration, not just between individuals but also between organizations.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s set the story straight:<\/p>\n

In 2015, the sign idea was born: English, Spanish and Arabic representing the most common languages in the Immanuel neighborhood. Bucher, fluent in Arabic after spending four years in Egypt with Mennonite Central Committee, asked Melissa Howard<\/strong> to paint the original sign in front of the church, located in a historically black, now multicultural neighborhood in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

Bucher then brought the idea to the Mission Advisory Commission \u2013 Jennifer Davis Sensenig<\/strong>, Ben Risser ’85<\/strong> and Nick Meyer \u201808<\/strong> \u2013 a small group of the Harrisonburg District Mennonite Pastors organization. This group wanted to produce a yard sign, and Meyer, pastor of Early Church, and his friend Alex Gore<\/strong> created the first digital version, turning to Holsopple for help formatting the Arabic.<\/p>\n

Holsopple then took over the design and printed an initial order to sell, alongside the church\u2019s tamales, at the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale in Harrisonburg, an event which draws hundreds of people from the region and out of state.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly on, we thought we had to get it done and out before the election, because then it would be over,\u201d says congregant Betsy Dintaman<\/strong>. \u201cAnd the opposite happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relief sale really helped it get out of Harrisonburg,\u201d says Holsopple.<\/p>\n

As demand grew, the congregation formed a \u201csign team,\u201d which includes Bucher, Howard, Holsopple, and the trio of Dintaman, with Greta Bucher<\/strong> and Janet Stutzman<\/strong>, handling Facebook questions, comments and requests.<\/p>\n

Some of those requests have included substitutions of the Spanish language text with German, Armenian, French and Somali. However, in a political climate in which many are concerned about anti-Muslim harassment, Holsopple says nobody has asked him to swap out the Arabic text, which \u201csays something beyond just their neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff members and volunteers with The Roberta Webb Child Care Center\u00a0, a ministry housed in the church\u2019s lower level, have taken over printing and shipping for the Harrisonburg area. After costs are covered, the remaining proceeds benefit the daycare, as well as Mennonite Central Committee and New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center.<\/p>\n

Notably, like the sign, the daycare (started 22 years ago) was an outgrowth of the church\u2019s community-centered values. \u201cIt was part of the conversation of how the church was started with the community,\u201d explains Bucher. \u201cThere\u2019s a need. How do we respond as new neighbors in the community? That\u2019s been an integral part of the congregation\u2019s identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign pops up in new places daily<\/h3>\n

In the same spirit, rather than try to control dissemination, the team has provided a free PDF file, which can be found on Immanuel\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If mass printings happen, Bucher and his team ask that any proceeds go to an immigrant-focused organization in that community. A dozen organizations across the country have participated in this way, contributing greatly the spread of the sign.<\/p>\n

Each day brings some new notice of growth and attention. Recently, it was an editor of \u201cO\u201d magazine, which plans to feature the sign in March.<\/p>\n

Still, their goals are simple, says Melissa Howard. \u201cI hope it tones down violence, and just brings out true humane character.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Bucher wants the phenomenon of the signs \u201cto remind our congregation to note ways in which we are cared for by our neighbors, and to continue showing God\u2019s love in small ways, as a congregation and as individuals in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read, watch and listen to media coverage of the \u201cWelcome\u201d sign<\/strong><\/h3>\n