In the spirit of the Matthew 25 invitation — choosing welcome and standing with people in need — the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and World Mission are collaborating to co-lead upcoming travel study seminars on the complex, interconnected issues of migration and human trafficking.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is taking a strong stand against a reported proposal by the administration of President Donald J. Trump to slash the number of refugee admissions to the United States to zero in 2020, and the church is urging members to make their voices heard.
As reports of inhumane conditions in child detention facilities near the United States-Mexico border surfaced over the weekend, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) staff working on immigration and asylum issues, like many observers, were shocked and saddened.
Angela Nichols of Columbia, Maryland stood in the sanctuary of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church shortly before dinnertime Friday and marveled at the amount of information she had received.
You probably wouldn’t expect to see people throwing mulch in a modern dance performance any more than you’d expect to see a modern dance performance at a migration conference.
Rather than trusting media or government versions of what’s going on along the U.S.-Mexico border, Presbyterians are better off engaging with people and partners in the trenches of the immigration issue.
On Thursday, President Trump travels to the southern border of the U.S. to make his case for a $5 billion border wall to protect the country from an invasion of migrants. Mission co-worker Mark Adams has lived on the border since 1998. He believes that Christians are called to see the migrant issue very differently.
Central American migrants start as early as 4 a.m. on their trek northward. Many begin with prayer, asking God to keep them safe and provide them peace and comfort in this frightening journey. Mothers and fathers carry sleeping children on their backs or in strollers, hoping to cover as much distance as they can in a day. If they are lucky, they may catch a ride in a passing truck or receive something to eat from good Samaritans in a local village.
It’s been a long four months for Marleny and her family. Since Aug. 28, she, her daughter, son-in-law and nine-year-old grandson have been on the road from El Salvador to the U.S. border. They’ve been at the Mexico-U.S. border for two weeks and are still waiting to talk with border officials.
As people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador continue to make their way to the Mexico-U.S. border, a delegation of Presbyterian ministers and leaders headed to McAllen, Texas this weekend as part of the Interfaith Caravan of Hope.
