A Word from Robin .

June 2007

THE NEW SANCTUARY MOVEMENT

When I mentioned from the pulpit on Mother's Day that illegal immigrants were the new scapegoat in American politics, and wondered aloud whether Mayflower should become a Sanctuary church, the response was both immediate, and to some, worrisome. What would we be getting ourselves into, and would we be jeopardizing the church we love?

The Sanctuary Movement of the 1980's was born when a flood of refugees from Central America sought to escape violent governments supported by the U.S., and many congregations elected to house families in defiance of the effort of the INS. Many churches declared themselves to be Sanctuary Churches, including Riverside church in NYC, which found INS agents in the congregation one Sunday morning attempting to arrest a family being giving sanctuary in the church.

The concept of "sanctuary" is not about breaking the law in order to get publicity or seem radical. It is, like previous movements (to hide slaves escaping on the underground railroad for example), a response to the church's higher obligation to those in need. Recently, an act of Congress makes it a felony to harbor or shield from detection an illegal alien in any place, including any building or means of transportation. Most troubling to the church, however, is how broadly the law can be applied to those who simply provide humanitarian assistance, including medical care, housing, counseling, victim services and food, or transportation to a location where such assistance can be rendered.

This change, from the consequences of hiding an illegal alien, to merely giving humanitarian assistance, was condemned by a broad alliance of religious organizations as making it illegal for churches to do what they are commanded to do: be compassionate and respond to suffering.

The New Sanctuary Movement www.newsanctuarymovement.org enables congregations to publicly provide hospitality and protection to a limited number of immigrant families whose legal cases clearly reveal the contradictions and moral injustice of our current immigration system while working to support legislation that would change their situation.

These families will be in the deportation process, include citizen children, have adults with good work records and have a potential case under current law. The Center for Constitutional Rights is working with a broad network of lawyers across the country to provide expert legal counsel and support to each family. Participating congregations will offer a family hospitality for a limited period; the family will rotate from one congregation to another as needed until their case is resolved. Because the family's identity will be public, the congregations will not be violating federal law.

This is an interfaith movement, with significant participation from the Catholic church, and provides a chance to help families without breaking the law. Churches can participate by agreeing to host an immigrant family that meets the criteria, elect to allow a family to use the church as a mailing address, or provide shelter in a congregation member's home or vacant apartment, and coordinate the work of immigration lawyers working on the family's behalf.

To learn more about the New Sanctuary Movement, go the web site listed above and take the time to read about what is involved. Then consider whether this is something Mayflower can, or should, do. The decision is not mine to make, but belongs to the congregation. I will look forward to this discussion, and to the possibility that we can find a way to help even one family. "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." (Matthew 25).

RM

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