{"id":27589,"date":"2026-08-20T22:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=27589"},"modified":"2026-08-20T22:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:28:55","slug":"elizabethtown-hosts-rise-up-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/elizabethtown-hosts-rise-up-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteers rise up: New CWS outreach campaign draws refugee advocates to Elizabethtown Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Michelle Hines, a community organizer with Solidarity Lancaster, was one of the presenters at the Rise Up conference at Elizabethtown (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. Photo by Sherri Kimmel<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Sherri Kimmel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Lancaster County, Pa., where the Amish still plow fields with teams of horses three abreast, a paved bike path unfurls tranquilly along the wide Susquehanna River. Look to your right, and you\u2019ll see the notorious Three Mile Island nuclear reactor perched mid river. A few miles ahead, you\u2019ll pedal straight through verdant green cornstalks, their spiky tassels backlit by the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2022, bikers and walkers have enjoyed this 14.2-mile wooded thoroughfare, but a new sign alongside the official trailhead marker creates a jarring start to a ride that had been so calming. \u201cLancaster is not a sanctuary county\u201d the blue-and-white sign declares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mention this to Matt Johnson, a community organizer at Church World Service<\/a> (CWS) Lancaster, and he knowingly nods and says, \u201cConoy Township.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Lancaster city was dubbed America\u2019s refugee capital in a 2017 BBC News report<\/a> that noted it welcomed 20 times more refugees per capita than the rest of the US. Nine years later, the bike path marker is a sign of the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite cuts in federal funding and immigration restrictions imposed during the second Trump administration, CWS Lancaster<\/a> and its central Pennsylvania partner office, CWS Harrisburg<\/a>, still offer refugee support, even though their focus has shifted from resettlement to legal support and integration services for people admitted before the early 2025 restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Rise Up for Refuge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Due to budget-driven staff reductions, volunteer advocacy is even more critical than ever. To mobilize and strengthen faith and community involvement, CWS launched Rise Up for Refuge<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of this national campaign, the Harrisburg and Lancaster offices sponsored a daylong Rise Up conference at Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren<\/a>. The church\u2019s central location was just one factor in its selection, according to Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken at this church many times, and I\u2019m always amazed at how well informed and committed this congregation is. I never have to start at square one when explaining the refugee situation,\u201d he said. Church of the Brethren traditionally are among the strongest faith community advocates due to their biblically based stance of welcoming the stranger, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A resolution adopted at Annual Conference in July strengthens that commitment. \u201cWalking Together: Immigration, Peacemaking, Conscience, and Supporting our Neighbors\u201d<\/a> reiterates that \u201ccare for immigrants and refugees is an essential part of the Christian and Church of the Brethren ethic of service and peacemaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Rise Up conference in June, local volunteers heard updates on increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement and detentions, re-vetting and re-interviewing of legal immigrants, suspension of green card processing, threats to temporary protective status (TPS), work authorization and birthright citizenship, and restrictions on public benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 70 participants chose breakout sessions on a variety of topics. Naomi Kraenberg, pastor of the Elizabethtown Church, co-led a session exploring how faith can ground and inspire effective immigration advocacy. Other sessions covered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n