Immigration Reform

We are all migrants on the face of this earth. Take a minute to think of your own personal migration. Where were you born? Where have you lived? Why? How many times have you moved? Many of us move by choice, others move by necessity and some move by force. We all are (or have been) migrants, immigrants, refugees or asylum seekers. Bishop Mike Rinehart expresses his thoughts on immigration and immigration reform:

 

 

Biblically the idea of traveling the earth is as old as Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. As punishment for killing his brother, Cain was made to wander the earth. But before sending him away, God put a mark of protection on Cain. As a criminal migrant, he was protected by God. In fact the Bible is a handbook for migrants. From Noah migrating by ark, to Abram, Sari and Lot living as nomads, to Jacob and finally Joseph being foreigners, it is one immigration story after another.

 

Even fast-forwarding to Jesus we see that the son of God was born on the road with his parents, who were first migrating to be counted for legal status. Then they were asylum seekers in Egypt without documents as they crossed the border looking for safety for their newborn baby. Finally, after the death of Herod, they were able to return, but not to their home. These asylum seekers became immigrants in the district of Galilee, in a town called Nazareth. And that wasn’t Jesus’ last move!

 

We cannot separate our faith from the discussion about immigration. This is an imperative conversation for our congregations, families and legislators as we make critical decisions about caring for humanity as it continues to be on the move.

Resources to assist you in a conversation about Immigration (pdf):