2022 Lenten Devotional-Week 4

By Pastor Miguel Estrada

During the 2018 season of Lent, the Alliance for Fair Food (AFF), the ally organization of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), recruited pastors and other Christian leaders who are in solidarity with the CIW to offer short Lenten reflections that intersect lent, a time of discipline and self-determination with the ongoing struggle for Fair Food. These reflections were released to our Interfaith Network as part of our lenten reflection series. 

At the same time that we at AFF were working on gathering these reflections, a team of 7, farmworkers and organizers were in NYC for 3 months with the goal of mobilizing solidarity for CIW’s Freedom Fast, a 5-day fast outside of the offices of Wendy’s majority owner and Board Chairman, Nelson Peltz. The Fast was demanding that Wendy’s join the rest of the fast-food industry in supporting CIW’s Fair Food Program (FFP), a program with groundbreaking worker protections, including protections against sexual violence, while at the same time protesting the ongoing human rights abuses faced by workers in Mexico’s produce industry where Wendy’s was buying its tomatoes. 

It’s important to know that this action was being organized in the context of the #MeToo movement. At that time, many women, inspired by the unprecedented power of this movement, were looking for long-term, proven solutions to sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. An answer to this national scourge had emerged from one of the most unlikely corners of society: the farmworker community of Immokalee, Florida.

For generations, farmworker women have endured some of the most hostile working conditions this country has to offer. Farmworker women have referred to the constant barrage of catcalls, groping, and sexual assault as “our daily bread” in the fields, and in one study, four out of every five farmworker women reported experiencing sexual harassment or violence at work.

But in 2011, after nearly two decades of hard-fought organizing with consumers across the country, farmworker women and men with the CIW launched the FFP and, within a few short years, put an end to sexual assault and other human rights violations in the $650 million Florida tomato industry. By harnessing public awareness and the purchasing power of more than a dozen of the world’s largest retail food companies, the FFP has radically transformed working conditions for tens of thousands of farmworkers and has been recognized for its unique success by human rights observers from the White House to the United Nations. Today, the FFP extends to seven states and several crops, and all the major fast-food companies – McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell, KFC, and Chipotle – are on board. All except for Wendy’s. Something that, unfortunately, remains true to this day. 

With the goal of bringing Wendy’s to the table, a busload of farmworkers and community members left the warm comfort of Immokalee and traveled to chilly New York City to fast for farmworker justice. Among those on the bus was Rev. Miguel Estrada, the pastor at Peace River Presbytery's Mision Peniel in Immokalee and longtime supporter of CIW. Pastor Miguel was slated to write our final reflection which would mean that his reflection was due after having gone through the experience of fasting alongside CIW for 5 days. The following is his reflection: 

Sigue la versión en español

Like Nicodemus, looking for Jesus at night, I approached the experience of fasting for five days with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in front of the offices of Nelson Peltz in Manhattan with more doubts than answers. I fasted with the intention of continuing the call to Wendy's to join the Fair Food Program, which among other things promotes the cessation of sexual abuse experienced by women in the agricultural fields.

Now, I can say that my secret visit to the Redeemer, like the visit of Nicodemus, has opened my eyes to the light; to the desire to move next to those who do not fear to be where justice shines in all its splendor. I wish to be with those who do not fear being in the light, with those who do not hide "because they know that their works have been done in God" (John 3.21).

My awakening to light, I describe it as follows:

I thought I knew ...

what it is to work hard, until I saw the people who do it in the fields.

what it is to be abused, until I witnessed the exploitation that befalls agricultural workers.

what it is to be poor, until I measured how little farmworkers receive for their hard work.

what it is to sacrifice for others, until I saw the commitment of a farmworker to his family and community.

what it is to suffer, until I knew the physical and emotional pain of agricultural workers.

what it is to endure hunger, until I sat down at the table with people returning from work in the fields.

what is to feel pain, until I heard the stories of resilience of the peasants.

So, I also thought I knew ...

what is fair, until I realized that through my lifestyle I am complicit by action and omission in a system that enslaves, abuses, exploits, and sacrifices many for the well-being of a few.

what it is to be happy, until I saw the smiling face of an agricultural worker after a long day's work.

what it is to enjoy the simple things in life, until I heard the frank and spontaneous laughter of the children of the farmworkers.

what it is to be brave, until I witnessed how the peasants put a stop to the abuser.

what it is to be in solidarity, until the one who had little shared her bread with me when I was hungry.

what it is to have faith and hope, until I accompanied the farmworkers on the road in the fight for justice even in the face of opposition.

Lent is not over yet; the time of reflection continues. Surely, I will continue to find that there are many other things that I think I already know, but that in the light of my encounter with the Redeemer I will have to relearn.

- Rev. Miguel Estrada (Penned in front of the offices of Trian Partners, 280 Park Avenue in New York, NY)

We at AFF hope that Pastor Miguel’s reflection inspires you, as it did us, to commit to the cause of farmworker justice. Today, 4 years after this fast in NYC, CIW farmworkers continue in their search for self-determination and continue to pressure Wendy’s to ensure protections against sexual violence and forced labor by joining the FFP. You can stand with these farmworkers by marching alongside them on April 2nd, in Palm Beach, Florida. For more information, visit our website: https://ciw-online.org/.

You make our collective work possible by your witness for justice every day in your church, community, and Annual Conference. MFSA does not receive any financial support from the United Methodist Church's giving channels. 100% of our budget is funded through your membership dues and your generosity in giving.

Pastor Miguel Estrada is Presbyterian Minister originally from Guatemala who has served for 29 years, starting in Guatemala and now based in Immokalee, Fl. In Immokalee, Pastor Miguel is the Founder and Director of Misión Peniel, a Farmworker Ministry of Peace River Presbytery of Florida. Beginning in 2013 Misión Peniel became a covenant ministry of Peace River Presbytery while continuing to be a vehicle for people of faith to respond to a call for compassionate service to complement the focus on social justice provided so aptly through the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. As a spiritual and social advocate, Misión Peniel brings together people of faith and compassion to act with farmworkers to achieve fundamental change in their living and working conditions while increasing public awareness of the need for reconciliation and bridge-building between sectors. Misión Peniel achieves this mission of change by being a destination for mission outreach of local churches and a learning community for the coastal faith community to communicate regularly with the farmworker community a unifying message that human dignity is not a bargaining chip for change.