A time to wait with holy expectation while loving relentlessly

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LOUISVILLE — More than 800 people registered for Wednesday’s “Protecting Immigrant Rights Near and Far” webinar, which had a capacity of 300 participants. Organizers promised additional online gatherings as Presbyterians and others determine effective and faithful strategies for accompanying migrants during the second Trump administration.

Susan Krehbiel, Associate for Migration Accompaniment Ministries in Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, moderated the panel, which featured Amanda Craft, Advocacy Manager in the Office of Immigration Issues; the Rev. Christina Cosby, Domestic Policy Representative in the Office of Public Witness; and Omar Salinas Chacón, Mission Specialist for Migration Accompaniment Ministries in PDA.

Krehbiel asked the 300 people tuned in, “Where are you in this landscape of U.S. immigration policy that’s about to change drastically? Are members of your congregation at risk? What risk are you willing to take for the sake of others?”

Noting that Advent is a time of waiting, Krehbiel said that like the magi, “there will be times we will be asked to go a different way.”

“God sent Jesus into a messy and sinful world,” she said. “Do we dare to make space for God to speak to us in the midst of darkness?”

Cosby said the time to act “is not yet here.” But “we are called to embody solidarity, bearing witness to the humanity of all people, listening deeply to immigrant communities and resisting the temptation to let fear and anxiety paralyze us.”

It’s about more than offering statements of support, she said. “It’s also about opening our spaces and building relationships. It’s about committing to the hard work of transformation. This is a time for preparation, a moment to trust in God’s ability to work through us as we actively wait with holy expectation … and, most importantly, love relentlessly.”

Chacón lifted up the importance of working with coalition partners, including the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a group that includes more than 50 faith traditions. Much of the work around migrant accompaniment gets done “in partnership with mid councils and congregations across the country,” Chacón said.

That work is “guided and shaped by immigrants” and by “coalitions in local and regional contexts,” Craft said. “The more voices we can get at the table” makes for “a much stronger movement” because it joins faith-based and secular voices.

Craft and others offered up online resources to share, including the Family Care Plan which she said “helps people make decisions out of their own agency” and “understand the value of community support.”

“It’s important for us to be in touch with the migrant community and ask what is and what isn’t useful to them,” Chacón said. “At the end of the day, they run the most risk.”

“I can’t emphasize enough being in contact with immigrant-led organizations,” Cosby said. The Office of Public Witness is part of the Washington Interfaith Staff Community, comprised of 70 faith-based partners working on federal legislation concerns. “When we speak and stand together with immigrant-led organizations and people of multiple faith backgrounds, our voice and our impact is stronger,” Cosby said.

The Washington office also relies on news sources including the Congressional Quarterly and the Federal Register.

“We can expect new rules around immigration,” Cosby said. “How are we preparing ourselves and our churches to help those who are caught in the middle?” New administrative rules can be released quickly, Cosby said. “A lot of times they are messy and unclear,” she said. “There is strength in preparing.”

Craft gave thanks for the PC(USA)’s history, particularly around the Sanctuary movement during the 1980s. The incoming Trump administration announced Thursday it will no longer allow churches to provide sanctuary to migrants.

“There is physical sanctuary, but we might be asked to accompany people in different ways,” Craft said. The eight-page “Welcome and the Law” document is not legal advice, but is designed “to make sure that the people of God know what could be viewed as disobedience and the serious responsibility and legal consequences that comes with those acts as mid councils, congregations and members discern how to be the church to all God’s children,” the document states.

“The U.S. government has a history of diminishing the ability to maintain family unity” among migrant families, Craft said. “The guide [including the Family Care Plan] encourages you to talk to attorneys who specialize in family law.”

Churches can provide “a great opportunity to talk about that with a legal professional,” Craft said. “It can make such a difference for families at risk.”

Cosby said it’s “encouraging to see such a large number of Presbyterians committed to accompanying people. We know the time ahead of us will be chaotic.”

“Be vigilant. Be mindful and be watchful,” Cosby encouraged viewers. “Live into the Advent season of expectant and active waiting and be in prayer. That’s the tool we have to lean on. Stay in communication with immigrants in your midst, and with us.”

The Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, PDA director, closed the webinar with prayer. “From the beginning, Jesus shared stories of displacement and the search for safety. We see in his life your deep care for the marginalized,” González-Castillo told the Almighty. “As policies are debated and decisions are made, we pray for wisdom, compassion and justice” and for “decisions that reflect your kingdom values.”

“May the hope of Advent encourage us to do this work with perseverance and courage,” he said. “We pray this in the name of Jesus, who knew both exile and welcome. Amen.”