You may have heard that the ELCA in its assembly in August declared itself a sanctuary denomination. The following pieces are from our national presiding bishop, Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and our presiding synodical bishop, Bishop Samuel Zeiser. I have put these in our newsletter so that you may have a better understanding of this topic. It is rather lengthy, but I wanted you to be informed as much as is possible in a newsletter format.
Pastor Miller
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
SANCTUARY TALKING POINTS
What does becoming a sanctuary denomination mean for the ELCA?
- In its simplest form, becoming a sanctuary denomination means that the ELCA is publicly declaring that walking alongside immigrants and refugees is a matter of faith. The ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the highest legislative authority of the ELCA, declared that when we preach on Sunday that Jesus told us to welcome, we will use our hands and voices on Monday to make sure it happens.
- Being a sanctuary denomination does not call for any person, congregation or synod to engage in any illegal actions.
- We have a broken system regarding immigration, refugees and asylum-seekers. To declare ourselves a sanctuary church body is to say that we seek to provide concrete resources to assist the most vulnerable who are feeling the sharp edges of this broken system.
- Being a sanctuary denomination is about loving our neighbors. While we may have different ideas about how to fix this broken system and may have different ways of loving our neighbors, our call to love our neighbor is central to our faith.
- Being a sanctuary denomination will look different in different contexts. It may mean providing space for people to live; providing financial and legal support to those who are working through the immigration system; or supporting other congregations and service providers. We cannot mandate or direct our congregations and ministries to respond in specific ways. Each must work out what this means for them in their context.
- While we don’t yet know the full scope of the work that this declaration will open for the church, we do know that our faith communities are already doing sanctuary work. Sanctuary for a congregation may mean hosting English as a second language (ESL) classes; marching as people of faith against the detention of children and families; providing housing for a community member facing deportation; or, in some of our congregations, having thoughtful conversations about what our faith says about immigration. All of these are a step closer to sanctuary in our faith communities and sanctuary in our world for people who must leave their homes.
- Except for our members whose ancestors were here before European settlement or others who were forced to come to the
U.S. against their will, the ELCA is an immigrant church. Our decades long work with immigrants and refugees is how we practice our faith in the world. Lutherans started Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the nine refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S.
- At our last churchwide assembly, we also committed to walking alongside Central American children and families fleeing their communities by passing the AMMPARO strategy (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities).
- Through the AMMPARO strategy, we are also working through our global partners in Central America to alleviate the conditions that cause people to migrate. We support organizations and faith communities that work with deported migrants in Central America and advocate for the humane treatment of immigrants in Mexico. In the U.S., we have a network of 151 welcoming and sanctuary congregations that are committed to working on migration issues and a welcome for immigrant communities. The church also has five sanctuary synods (our regional structures), all of which do work with immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.
- In baptism, we are brought into a covenantal relationship with Jesus Christ that commits us to strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Following the example of Martin Luther, we believe that advocacy is a crucial expression of baptismal identity. As a church, we have advocated for stopping the detention of children and families for decades. We have spoken out against family separation, sought a pathway to citizenship for community members who have lived in the U.S. for many years, and have taken steps to address the root causes of migration in a way that honors the humanity in people who must flee.
- Being a sanctuary denomination means that we, as church together, want to be public and vocal about this work. At the same time, we will have conversations about what sanctuary means with many of our members and discern future action and direction. Welcoming people is not a political issue for us, it is a matter of faith.
FROM BISHOP ZEISER
On Wednesday, August 7, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee, WI adopted a resolution declaring the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to be a sanctuary church body.
There were 26 Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod voting members at the assembly, which was composed of approximately 950 voting members. It was clear during discussion of the then-proposed resolution that adoption would be significant in the life of this church.
Voting members from synods directly impacted by the presence of immigrants on their territories, as well as others, spoke about ways congregations already assist immigrant families. That assistance takes many forms: provision of food, clothing, and other essentials; ESL classes; support through Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and (a relatively new ELCA ministry) Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO*). I believe that these testimonies had a strong impact upon voting members.
It seems to me that voting members were also influenced by those who reminded the assembly that the Lutheran witness in the U.S. was begun by immigrants, namely Germans, Swedes, Africans, Norwegians, Slovaks, and many others. Many among those diverse groups were persecuted, oppressed, and marginalized in the course of their daily lives.
So, the declaration grows out of our self-understanding as an immigrant church, and it affirms ELCA ministries to migrants and refugees already taking place in border states. It is about Jesus’ call to serve strangers in our midst who are in need (think: parable of the Prodigal Son). This declaration does not direct congregations to break the law. Some would say it this way: the declaration is descriptive, not prescriptive.
With gratitude for your faithful ministry, Bishop Samuel Zeiser