Church of the Brethren Newsline
\nFebruary\u00a025,\u00a02017<\/b><\/p>\n
A letter from the Church of the Brethren Intercultural Ministry, signed by director Gimbiya Kettering, is part of a new effort to connect with congregations located in areas considered to be \u201csanctuary\u201d jurisdictions across the country.<\/p>\n
Opening with verses from Matthew 25: 34-35–\u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in\u2026.\u2019\u201d–<\/em>the letter invited prayerful discernment of \u201chow we are called to witness, as members of the Church of the Brethren, how we feel called to stand with those who come to our communities seeking refuge.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter invited congregations to join a denominational conversation about what it means to be a congregation in a sanctuary jurisdiction, to consider how congregations can articulate and act upon their convictions, and to share resources, stories, and experiences with one another.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are part of a community that has declared itself to be a sanctuary,\u201d the letter said, in part. \u201cWhile there is no official definition of a sanctuary city, town, county, or state, it is a continuation of our Judeo-Christian culture, national history, and our denominational witness in the wider world.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter noted ways the Brethren have connected to the biblical vision of sanctuary and safety for those who are endangered, including the post-World War II effort to encourage each congregation to welcome and care for a refugee family, as early as the 1980s recognizing the injustice in efforts to deport and deny refugees from conflicts in Haiti and South and Central America, and more recently bringing Chibok girls from Nigeria to the US for healing and new opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, too, sought sanctuary when the Brethren of the 1700s fled religious persecution in Germany,\u201d the letter noted.<\/p>\n Among other foundational statements, the letter referenced the Annual Conference statement of 1969, \u201cObedience to God and Civil Disobedience.\u201d Kettering also urged readers, as individuals and congregations, to study and prayerfully consider the following Annual Conference resolutions and statements: \u201cMaking the Connection,\u201d 1986; \u201cProviding Sanctuary for Latin American and Haitian Refugees,\u201d 1983; \u201cUndocumented Persons and Refugees in the United States,\u201d 1982; and \u201cAction in the Refugee Crisis of Southeast Asia,\u201d 1979. Find Annual Conference statements online at\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac\/statements<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n To talk directly with Gimbiya Kettering in the Intercultural Ministry office of the Church of the Brethren, call\u00a0800-323-8039 ext. 387\u00a0or e-mail\u00a0gkettering@brethren.org<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n