Last week, the ELCA Churchwide assembly declared the ELCA a sanctuary church body. Below, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shares a message on what this means for our church.

Dear siblings in Christ,

As many of you know, last week the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a resolution that, among other things, declared the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) a sanctuary denomination. Many of you are asking, “What does this mean?”

Our call to love our neighbor is central to our faith. In our baptismal covenant we promise to strive for peace and justice in all the world. One of the ways we live out this vow is through our commitment to welcoming the stranger. With this declaration, we publicly state that walking alongside refugees and immigrants is a matter of faith.

We have prepared talking points to provide a better understanding and further clarification on what sanctuary means for you and your congregations. We acknowledge this will look different in different contexts across the ELCA.

We also hope this resource will help guide conversations with your parishioners and your community about what our faith says about immigration.

“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you,
for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).

In Christ,

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop

Be a part of the response:

In a key action, the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to approve a memorial that declares the ELCA a sanctuary church. This is the first North American denomination to declare itself a sanctuary church body. As a sanctuary church, the ELCA is committed to serving and supporting migrant children and families in communities across the country.

Earlier in the day, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, joined more than 700 assembly members and others in a march and prayer vigil to the Milwaukee Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. The march addressed concerns about the human rights of migrant children and families entering the U.S. along the southern border. Through the ELCA’s initiative, Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO), this church is committed to working toward just and humane policies affecting migrants in and outside the U.S.

Lutheran Disaster Response supports the AMMPARO mission through work with partners in New York, countries from Central America’s Northern Triangle and Mexico. To learn more about our work, read Juan’s story.

Be a part of the response:

Be a part of the response:

Pray

Continue to pray for all those impacted by this earthquake

Give

Thanks to generous, undesignated donations, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters, in the U.S. and around the world. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response will be used where there is the greatest need.

Connect

To learn more about global migration and what Lutheran Disaster Response is doing:

• Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook.
• Follow us on Twitter.
• Visit our website at LDR.org
• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts
• Click here to download a PDF version of this situation report.

Be a part of the response:

Pray

Please pray for all those affected by the refugee crisis. Remember those who have lost everything and all those who are working to respond. You can use these prayers and resources in your worship services.

Give

Your gifts are needed now to help with immediate relief. Gifts designated for the Middle East and Europe Refugee Crisis will be used in full (100 percent) to assist those directly impacted and have fled for safety.

Connect

To learn more about this situation and other LDR response:

• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
• Subscribe to the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
• Like our Facebook page.

Be a part of the response:

In 2016, shortly after I started with Lutheran Disaster Response, I visited the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. Among those I met was Louie*(pictured), 19, and his family. While visiting him his barbershop, we talked about his hopes for the future. “I think it’d be very difficult to go back to Syria,” Louie says. “I just want to go somewhere that is safe, where I can make a life for myself.” Three years later, having learned of several long-standing and new migration crises, Louie’s words ring true for forcibly displaced people across the globe.

UNHCR shared updated numbers showing that over 70 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes by violence, poverty, war, discrimination and marginalization, natural disasters and the effects of climate change. This equates to one person fleeing their home every two seconds.

On this World Refugee Day, we acknowledge those who make the hard decision to leave home, often leaving everything behind, to seek safety and a new life for themselves and their families.

In 2018, Lutheran Disaster Response supported over  1.1 million dollars in work with refugees, migrants, and internally displaced persons – people from Venezuela, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, and elsewhere. With the continued partnership of companion churches, partner organizations, and ELCA synods and congregations we will continue to bring hope in the face of suffering to people on the move.

If you haven’t already, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to explore what is happening both in the U.S. and the globe relating to global migration and how our church, through Lutheran Disaster Response, other ELCA ministries, and partners, are walking with our neighbors on the move.