ELCA Churchwide Assembly declares Church Sanctuary for Central American Refugees

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MILWAUKEE, Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), today at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly declared itself a Sanctuary Denomination, dedicated to serving and supporting the protection of migrants in communities nationwide. The ELCA is the first mainstream church body in America to declare itself a sanctuary denomination. The movement was spearheaded by the Metropolitan New York Synod (MNYS), one of the 65 synods of the ELCA.

"Christians have offered sanctuary for two thousand years, continuing an ancient biblical practice in which cities and houses of worship provided refuge and asylum for people fleeing injustice," stated Christopher Vergara, who serves as chairperson of MNYS's AMMPARO/Sanctuary Ministry. "Beginning in the 1980s, the Sanctuary Movement was a faith-based initiative to protect Central American refugees fleeing civil war and seeking safety in the United States. Today, the New Sanctuary Movement is a revived effort to protect undocumented migrants from needless jailing procedures and deportation, and to address the dire situation within the Department of Health and Human Services that has resulted in the stripping of services to refugees and unaccompanied children."

By its vote, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly deemed that sanctuary means not only provision of shelter but also:

  • A response to raids, detentions, deportations, and the criminalization of immigrants and refugees;
  • A strategy to fight individual cases of deportation, to advocate for an end of mass detention, and to amplify immigrant voices;
  • A vision for what communities and the world can be; and
  • A moral imperative to take prophetic action of radical hospitality rooted in the ancient traditions of our faith communities.
Evangelical Lutheran Church Declares Itself a Sanctuary Denomination

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A local NPR News report (I heard a different NPR station, down in Illinois, reporting it this morning):

"On Wednesday, hundreds of members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) became the latest religious group to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies. They marched to the offices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown Milwaukee.

"The ELCA is holding its annual Churchwide Assembly at the Wisconsin Center this week.

"The Lutheran group borrowed from religious reformer Martin Luther. In 1517, he attached 95 theses containing his religious questions and proposals to the door of a German church.

"At Wednesday's protest, ELCA members read nine pro-immigration theses outside the ICE office. Retired Milwaukee Rev. Dennis Jacobsen read the first thesis. ..."
Lutheran Activists Borrow From Martin Luther, Protest Immigration Policies In Milwaukee
 
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section9+1

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I can see this in a way. If a church feels called to take on this responsibility I won't argue. But that means take care of them. None of this get them into the system so they become the government's problem. They remain in your system forever. If they get a job OK but any help they need above and beyond their paycheck is the church's responsibility. If they need a heart bypass down the road and cannot pay for it out of their grass cutting money, send the bill to the church. If government is to stay out of church business then church best do its business on its own.
 
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MILWAUKEE, Aug. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), today at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly declared itself a Sanctuary Denomination, dedicated to serving and supporting the protection of migrants in communities nationwide. The ELCA is the first mainstream church body in America to declare itself a sanctuary denomination. The movement was spearheaded by the Metropolitan New York Synod (MNYS), one of the 65 synods of the ELCA.

"Christians have offered sanctuary for two thousand years, continuing an ancient biblical practice in which cities and houses of worship provided refuge and asylum for people fleeing injustice," stated Christopher Vergara, who serves as chairperson of MNYS's AMMPARO/Sanctuary Ministry. "Beginning in the 1980s, the Sanctuary Movement was a faith-based initiative to protect Central American refugees fleeing civil war and seeking safety in the United States. Today, the New Sanctuary Movement is a revived effort to protect undocumented migrants from needless jailing procedures and deportation, and to address the dire situation within the Department of Health and Human Services that has resulted in the stripping of services to refugees and unaccompanied children."

By its vote, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly deemed that sanctuary means not only provision of shelter but also:

  • A response to raids, detentions, deportations, and the criminalization of immigrants and refugees;
  • A strategy to fight individual cases of deportation, to advocate for an end of mass detention, and to amplify immigrant voices;
  • A vision for what communities and the world can be; and
  • A moral imperative to take prophetic action of radical hospitality rooted in the ancient traditions of our faith communities.
Evangelical Lutheran Church Declares Itself a Sanctuary Denomination

-----

A local NPR News report (I heard a different NPR station, down in Illinois, reporting it this morning):

"On Wednesday, hundreds of members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) became the latest religious group to protest the Trump administration’s immigration policies. They marched to the offices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown Milwaukee.

"The ELCA is holding its annual Churchwide Assembly at the Wisconsin Center this week.

"The Lutheran group borrowed from religious reformer Martin Luther. In 1517, he attached 95 theses containing his religious questions and proposals to the door of a German church.

"At Wednesday's protest, ELCA members read nine pro-immigration theses outside the ICE office. Retired Milwaukee Rev. Dennis Jacobsen read the first thesis. ..."
Lutheran Activists Borrow From Martin Luther, Protest Immigration Policies In Milwaukee

if they jumped the border, and entered the country illegally then they should should be taken into custody, receive a trial and punished if found guilty. After that they should be deported as soon as they leave the lockup. No one should be involved in harboring them, or, covering for them and everyone should be motivated to follow our laws. This is what God's law says:

"You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor" -Lev 19:15 (ESV)

I'm there announcement they said nothing about God, his son, or the work of the holy spirit. The ELCA has lost 25% of it's members because the gospel has taken a back seat to social activism.

The church should help the disadvantaged, but should primarily be concerned with spreading the good news, teaching God's word, and bringing people to salvation...everything that comes after that, comes after that.
 
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section9+1

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if they jumped the border, and entered the country illegally then they should should be taken into custody, receive a trial and punished if found guilty. After that they should be deported as soon as they leave the lockup. No one should be involved in harboring them, or, covering for them and everyone should be motivated to follow our laws. This is what God's law says:

"You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor" -Lev 19:15 (ESV)

I'm there announcement they said nothing about God, his son, or the work of the holy spirit. The ELCA has lost 25% of it's members because the gospel has taken a back seat to social activism.

The church should help the disadvantaged, but should primarily be concerned with spreading the good news, teaching God's word, and bringing people to salvation...everything that comes after that, comes after that.
good points
 
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Halbhh

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if they jumped the border, and entered the country illegally then they should should be taken into custody, receive a trial and punished if found guilty. After that they should be deported as soon as they leave the lockup. No one should be involved in harboring them, or, covering for them and everyone should be motivated to follow our laws. This is what God's law says:

"You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor" -Lev 19:15 (ESV)

I'm there announcement they said nothing about God, his son, or the work of the holy spirit. The ELCA has lost 25% of it's members because the gospel has taken a back seat to social activism.

The church should help the disadvantaged, but should primarily be concerned with spreading the good news, teaching God's word, and bringing people to salvation...everything that comes after that, comes after that.
Hi friend, since we are quoting from the Levitical Law --

Leviticus 19:34 You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

In the New Covenant, we are under this in a more broad perfect form:

Matthew 7:12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
 
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While what you say is true, when citizens deliberately break the law are they not subject to arrest, trial, and punishment? I think we are. When a citizen goes to the lockup, we don't get to take our kids with us, and although we are not deported, we get a public criminal record that follows the offender for the rest of his life. To me, that are being treated just like a citizen would if they broke the law.

I am not implying they should be treated badly, or, oppressed, everyone has a right to seek asylum, they don't have the right to take off after filing there application and live off grid protected by churches, and cities who "pervert" justice.

If equality is the goal, if justice is the goal, the people who break into the country should face justice.
 
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Halbhh

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While what you say is true, when citizens deliberately break the law are they not subject to arrest, trial, and punishment? I think we are. When a citizen goes to the lockup, we don't get to take our kids with us, and although we are not deported, we get a public criminal record that follows the offender for the rest of his life. To me, that are being treated just like a citizen would if they broke the law.

I am not implying they should be treated badly, or, oppressed, everyone has a right to seek asylum, they don't have the right to take off after filing there application and live off grid protected by churches, and cities who "pervert" justice.

If equality is the goal, if justice is the goal, the people who break into the country should face justice.

If only it was simply as the administration represents it.....

But it is not.

Example of the real genuine need:

She crossed legally, seeking asylum, since family members (several!) had been killed by gangs, which same gangs are able to reach into Mexico....

See?

This is representative of why we are compelled to protest, help the refugees, and thus obey Christ's commands to us when we see people in need, which by the way, many are Christians, thus explicitly our brothers and sisters also.
 
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Halbhh

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"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the United States plans to bring no more than 30,000 refugees to live in the US in fiscal year 2019, which starts October 1.

"30,000 is by far the lowest “ceiling” for refugee admissions in the nearly 40 years of the current refugee law. The only year that comes close is fiscal year 2018, when the Trump administration proposed a ceiling of 45,000. Both Trump years are a fraction of the pre-Trump standard for refugee admissions, which averaged 96,000.

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/17/17871874/refugee-news-record-history-asylum
 
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Halbhh

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Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year
The Trump administration is considering a virtual shutdown of refugee admissions next year — cutting the number to nearly zero — according to three people familiar with the plan.

During a key meeting of security officials on refugee admissions last week, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services representative who is closely aligned with White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller suggested setting a cap at zero, the people said. Homeland Security Department officials at the meeting later floated making the level anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000, according to one of the people.

The proposal for a near-shutdown of the refugee program is alarming officials at the Department of Defense, who don’t want to see a halt in admissions of Iraqis who risked their lives assisting U.S. forces in that country. The possible move comes after the Trump administration cut refugee admissions by a third this year (2019), to 30,000." ...
Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year
 
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If only it was simply as the administration represents it.....

But it is not.

Example of the real genuine need:

She crossed legally, seeking asylum, since family members (several!) had been killed by gangs, which same gangs are able to reach into Mexico....

See?

This is representative of why we are compelled to protest, help the refugees, and thus obey Christ's commands to us when we see people in need, which by the way, many are Christians, thus explicitly our brothers and sisters also.

No where in scripture are law breakers given a pass, they always face justice, divine, or otherwise (the adultress is an exception)

I am not unsympathetic, I think we could do a better job than we are, but no country has an open border. I have an answer about the gang violence, and corruption. Perhaps we could help in that regard:

Why not train the adults in the use of firearms, give everyone an M4 (M-16) and 1,000 bullets, and offer them a ride home, with some advisers, and other support, and let them fight for a better life, just like we did.

If you think we are unreasonable, wash up on on the beach in Australia, and you are sent to a refugee camp on an Island, and you stay there until your asylum application is reviewed, and the approval rate is almost nil.
 
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Halbhh

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No where in scripture are law breakers given a pass, they always have justice, divine, or otherwise.

I am not unsympathetic, I think we could do a better job than we are, but no country has an open border. I don't have an answer about the gang violence, and corruption. Perhaps we could help in that regard.

Actually, I do have a solution, it's immoral, brutal, and would be a hard sell, but it would work as long as the press, and need media were kept out...enough on that, and Idea.

Come here, but follow the law.
Why I'm protesting: post #8 and #9 -- that the U.S. would stop allowing legal asylum seekers, people following all our laws. It's wrong to block these fully legal refugees.
 
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Why I'm protesting: post #8 and #9 -- that the U.S. would stop allowing legal asylum seekers, people following all our laws. It's wrong to block these fully legal refugees.

But most do not continue to follow the law, they file there application, then take off and are never seen again. You cannot be following the law 99%, 99% is 100% wrong.
 
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Halbhh

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But most do not continue to follow the law, they file there application, then take off and are never seen again. You cannot be following the law 99%, 99% is 100% wrong.
It's concerning it seems as if you are saying...what? That if some break the law, all should be punished?
I'm not sure if I know what you are saying, but it seems as if that's the suggestion?

Or are you only saying merely that the individuals that break the law, only, should then be subject to the penalties of the law? That would make more sense. I bet that's what you mean.

How does that address post #8 and #9? I don't see any connection.
 
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It's concerning it seems as if you are saying...what? That if some break the law, all should be punished?
I'm not sure if I know what you are saying, but it seems as if that's the suggestion?

Or are you only saying merely that the individuals that break the law, only, should then be subject to the penalties of the law? That would make more sense. I bet that's what you mean.

How does that address post #8 and #9? I don't see any connection.

The policy of filling a request for assylum, then allowed into the country is wrong. They need to be securely housed until there request is acted upon. If they are granted assylum...welcome to your new home, if denied then deported.

Those that jump the border, if caught should be arrested, tried, and If found guilty punished in accordance with the law, then deported.

Simple just policy.
 
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Halbhh

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Altogether, I'm impressed with our ELCA actions. This was the first Lutheran church I'd been in, when we joined 8 years ago. This has been a moment where suddenly I feel good about not only our church, but the denomination too, even though I'm emphatically ecumenical, meaning catholic, small c.
 
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I'm married to an ELCA pastor in a fairly small town area. While I understand the Biblical roots of the "radical hospitality" to the alien and reserve judgment on specifics until there is actually policy (no earlier than 2022, apparently), it is increasingly obvious that ELCA churchwide is leaving rural congregations and their pastors out to dry, and they don't seem to care if they become nothing but an urban, liberal church. For one thing, churchwide actions are increasingly felt as hostile to the values of more rural and sometimes more conservative congregations. For another, the churchwide actions do not have any "what does this mean for your congregation" resources. So when this stuff hits the news and everyone asks the pastor "what does this mean" and make rumblings about leaving the congregation over it, it would be nice to have something from churchwide to help pastors talk their flocks off the ledge, so to speak. We have already heard talk of people potentially leaving, and we're not a church that gets 300 people every Sunday with a $500,000 annual budget.

With anything like this, the ELCA should almost immediately have resources available as talking points for pastors, at least before the next Sunday morning. It does no one any good when congregants have serious concerns and the pastor can't give any answers or even any real comfort based in fact.

In short, the large, urban congregations don't seem to have any consideration for the impact of their votes on smaller, rural and generally less liberal congregations. Many of the latter have already left the ELCA, and that marginalizes the remaining smaller and more rural congregations even more, making them feel even more voiceless and as if they don't matter. That is seen in churchwide's focus on four issues -- race, gender, sexuality and immigration -- with almost NO work (at the higher levels) on any other matters of mission or ministry. It's not that I sharply disagree with that ministry -- but it feels like congregations are being bludgeoned with these issues, and only these. Instead of talking about feeding the hungry in our communities, clothing and housing the homeless in our communities, visiting and caring for the sick in our communities -- also core Christian values -- all we hear are the Big Four -- identity issues and immigration (which is also largely an identity issue in practical terms). Yes, identity-based social justice IS a Christian issue, but not the only one. Yet it is all we hear from churchwide and from many synod offices.

That said, if it is like most ELCA policies like this, implementation will be left to the synods and to the congregations themselves. If nothing else the ELCA doesn't generally impose requirements on congregations on matters of conscience-bound theological difference. But if that is the case, it would be nice for churchwide to be able to report this is the case to congregations and pastors.
 
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So, where in the Bible does it say a nation doesn't have the right to determine who immigrates to their country, and who doesn't?

Does China not have the right to turn away people who might desire to live in that country?

Does Mexico?

Does any country have the right to protect their border and determine how immigration, if any, will be handled in an orderly and legal manner?

Where is this clearly stated in the Bible?

We can't just break any law we might not personally like or agree with.. we can only ignore a law if it's a law forcing our participation in sin, such as a law being made making it illegal to pray to our God, for instance.
 
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So, where in the Bible does it say a nation doesn't have the right to determine who immigrates to their country, and who doesn't?

...

We can't just break any law we might not personally like or agree with.. we can only ignore a law if it's a law forcing our participation in sin, such as a law being made making it illegal to pray to our God, for instance.
True. The Bible says what the Christian (and Jewish) response should be, not what the state should or should not do. But as best as I can tell, this isn't breaking any laws. A church is not a government entity and has no legal duty to turn over or report anyone who is undocumented/illegal (choose your term) unless compelled to do so by authorities. The state has a right to enforce its borders and entry requirements, but that doesn't mean everyone is compelled to become enforcement agents. I think that's the nuance here.

There is no law requiring churches to become ICE agents in effect, so what the church is doing is not illegal. One may disagree with it, but it's not illegal. If the law *forced* churches to become informants and turn in the alien among us instead of acting according to Leviticus 19:33, *then* the law would essentially be an affront to the laws of God and to religious freedom in general. But because the law doesn't require it, there is no infringement on religious freedom.
 
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