“In this time of giving thanks for what we have, we also lean into the words of Matthew and Mark,” said Katie Adams, Policy Advocate for Domestic Issues with the United Church of Christ and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. “‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’ ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” These are powerful calls to action for us all, this week and every day.”
Faith in action is the subject of a recent article in Christianity Today, which describes how The Embassy Church in Denver, Colorado is partnering with Casa de Paz to visit detainees at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility.
What started as a way for their missional community to serve—with seven or eight members visiting detainees weekly—quickly grew into something much bigger… [Today] more than 200 people have volunteered, 60 of whom are regular monthly participants. Every Sunday, between 15 and 20 people visit the detention center over the course of four one-hour shifts. The group currently has a waitlist of detainees requesting visitors—67 people without friends or family in Colorado asking to spend time with someone on the outside.
This program has had a profound transformation on both the asylum-seekers and those visiting them in jail. The “foreign” became “family.”
The same happened in Maine, where United Church of Christ congregations have been welcoming asylum-seekers from Africa and helping them begin new lives. Rev. Amelia Edson of Falmouth Congregational Church, UCC said:
We are a congregation that serves. We serve each other. Folks in our congregation give each other rides, take each other meals, visit each other in the hospital. It turns out that that bread-and-butter church-ness, that ability to care for one another, that ability to step up and answer a call is what is needed in the process of welcoming these new neighbors.
Other Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) members, like HIAS, CLINIC and CWS, provide pro and low bono legal assistance to asylum-seekers and other migrants. IIC members Faith in Action and Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries assist asylum seekers through the Congregation Action Network in the DC, Virginia, and Maryland region. The IIC has also prepared devotions for the coming Advent and Epiphany seasons to educate congregations about ways to understand and support the needs of asylum-seekers.
Back in Denver, Mr. Akwa, an asylum-seeker from Cameroon, was released to live with members of The Embassy Church and then inexplicably detained again. Greg Mortimer, who started the visitation group, met with him in jail. Christianity Today narrates:
Akwa began to weep as Mortimer sat behind the glass. After about 10 minutes Mortimer spoke. “I can’t sit here and pretend like I understand what you’re going through at all,” he said. “But Jesus was a brown-skinned, undocumented refugee. Jesus understands you, because he was you.”
Akwa sat up straighter; he had never thought about that part of Jesus’ story — how Mary and Joseph escaped into Egypt to avoid King Herod’s wrath — in that way. He put his hand up to the glass, and Mortimer reached out to do the same. Then Akwa began to pray.
On October 22, Akwa won his asylum case. He no longer lives in fear of deportation.
Christian Community Development’s Advocacy & Strategic Engagement Director Michelle Ferrigno Warren, also an IIC partner, supported Mortimer’s group with policy and advocacy training. She said: “Christians are called to share the love of Christ by generously pouring that love out with those who are in need. Being aware of immigrants in detention and moving toward becoming the hands and feet of Christ in service & solidarity alongside them is to be a natural part of Christian discipleship. Small groups like Mortimer’s working alongside organizations like Casa de Paz provides us with practical inspiration to better lean into actively living out our faith.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 54 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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