When Bethel staff began planning the 2026 Justice Symposium, they knew “immigration” pushed a hot button, but not the ways in which it would by now have virtually caught fire.
The second of these symposia, which began in 2024, will take place on and near campus Feb. 25-27, and center several aspects of immigration justice in the United States.
It will also include the annual KIPCOR Peace Lecture, with Karen González, Washington, D.C., a speaker, writer, storyteller and immigrant advocate.
González’s lecture, “Grace and Compassion in the Immigration Conversation,” will take place Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. in Kidron Hall at Kidron Bethel Village (3001 Ivy Drive, North Newton), and is free and open to the public. Simultaneous translation in Spanish will be available.
This is González’s second visit to Bethel – she visited campus in 2022 to speak about her first book, The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong, which was one of the common texts that school year for the senior capstone course Basic Issues of Faith and Life.
The God Who Sees tells González’s story of immigrating from Guatemala as a child alongside immigration stories from the Bible.
González has published a second book since then, Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in Our Christian Response to Immigration.
A former public school teacher who also studied theology and missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary, González has been a nonprofit professional in organizations that serve immigrant communities for the past 17 years.
She will also speak in chapel at Bethel earlier in the day Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. in the Ad Building chapel, and will be available at a come-and-go reception from 4-6 p.m. at Kauffman Museum.
The museum’s current special exhibit, “Voices of Conscience: Peace Witness in the Great War,” will be open for viewing during the reception.
Other parts of the Justice Symposium on Immigration that are open to the public are two events organized by the Kansas Immigration Coalition: a legal panel discussion Feb. 26 and a “know your rights” training Feb. 26.
The legal panel event is at Bethel College Mennonite Church (2600 College Ave., North Newton) and begins with a soup supper at 6 p.m., followed by a presentation and audience Q&A with three Wichita attorneys at 7 p.m., both in the church’s fellowship hall in the basement.
Sarah Balderas works alongside her cousin, Angel Balderas, at Balderas Legal Group in Wichita, which specializes in immigration law. She is a Wichita native and a graduate of the Washburn University School of Law.
Don Berner, a partner at Foulston, Wichita, has more than 25 years of experience in employment and labor law, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. He has expertise in resolving various work authorization issues.
Beatriz Valdez of Valdez Law, Wichita, came to Kansas from the Chicago area where, as a child welfare worker, she first saw some of the injustices Spanish-speaking parents faced due to the language barrier. This led her to the Northern Illinois University College of Law, followed by two years working with an immigration lawyer, and now her own firm.
The final symposium event will be Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the 1887 Café in Schultz Student Center, a know your rights training for those who want to support and ally with people facing issues related to immigration and citizenship.
The trainers will be Esmeralda Tovar-Mora and Yeni Silva of the Kansas Immigration Coalition.
Also during the symposium, Bethel students, faculty and staff will be invited to participate in Circles of Belonging and volunteer projects at Mennonite Central Committee-Central States in North Newton.
For a full schedule, see https://kipcor.org/event/2026-justice-symposium/
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
