YOU WELCOMED ME
On Sunday, Laurie Anderson spoke of how every policy decision we make politically affects real people with real stories. Below are some resources she shared for folks who would like to get more involved in immigrant justice initiatives, as well as a beautiful prayer we spoke together as our benediction.
THE IMMIGRANTS CREED
I believe in Almighty God, who guided the people in exile and in exodus,
the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon,
the god of foreigners and immigrants.
I believe in Jesus Christ, a displaced Galilean,
who was born away from his people and his home,
who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger,
and returning to his own country suffered the oppression of the tyrant Pontius Pilate,
the servant of a foreign power, who then was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured,
accused and condemned to death unjustly.
But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead,
not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us,
who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.
I believe that the church is the secure home for the foreigner and for all believers who constitute it,
who speak the same language and have the same purpose.
I believe that the Communion of the Saints begins when we accept the diversity of the saints.
I believe in the forgiveness, which makes us all equal,
and in the reconciliation, which identifies us more than does race, language or nationality.
I believe that in the Resurrection God will unite us as one people
in which all are distinct and all are alike at the same time.
Beyond this world, I believe in Life Eternal in which no one will be an immigrant,
but all will be citizens of God’s kingdom, which will never end.
Amen.
IMMIGRANT JUSTICE RESOURCES
Alternatives to Family Detention
Get Involved with The Sanctuary Movement
The Sanctuary Movement works to accompany our community members, congregants and neighbors facing deportation. By offering sanctuary, we can fight individual cases, advocate to stop deportations, and win deferred action on a case-by-case level to keep families together.
Additionally, we want to amplify the moral imperative to stop deportations by lifting up the stories of sanctuary cases and ensuring the prophetic witness of the immigrant taking sanctuary is heard at the national level.
