In these moments when we’re bombarded by images of suffering and death at the southern US border, it’s hard to have any hope or know what to do or how to respond. Sojourners, a national faith-based organization whose mission is to ‘seek to inspire hope and build a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world’, recently published an article by Michael Hunn, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Bishop Hunn states, “What we need is a completely different approach that treats refugees and asylum seekers as trauma survivors in need of care, not as prisoners”. We are called to welcome the stranger and care for the ‘least of these’.
Bishop Hunn describes a network of people of faith in the Southwest who have stockpiled resources like food, clothing, toiletries and backpacks for distribution to families seeking asylum; provided showers, temporary shelter, and even rides to bus and train stations to those pursuing reunification with family members here; and who advocate regularly with their public officials for a “system equipped to appropriately care for refugees and asylum seekers, and with all appropriate speed, to process their asylum claims”.
Vista Hermosa Foundation has long partnered with Sojourners to advocate for the God-given dignity of every person, the protection of family unity, and the promotion of thriving communities. Check the immigration page of the Sojourners website for accurate information and ideas for reflection and action.