Bishop Shares Ministry Experience Along the Border

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Friends in Christ:

I write as your bishop, to share my thoughts on the issue of our national immigration policy and the individuals, families, and communities it impacts. I have been in prayer about sharing my experience with you and do so now in a spirit of openness, hoping to make space for conversation that moves beyond rhetoric and toward genuine encounter. I realize there are United Methodists who hold a variety of understandings and opinions. I also know that there are churches and families who are suffering greatly during this time. I share this testimony with you in the midst of that diversity.

As you may know, various chapters of my ministry as both a layperson and clergy have unfolded along our nation’s border with Mexico. In the early '90s, I served as a young adult mission intern in Tucson, Arizona. That was a time when migrants were fleeing civil wars in Central American countries, some of which were funded in part by our country. They sought asylum under US law or in other places beyond the US. 

Ten years later, as a local church pastor, I served just north of Brownsville, Texas, where the border culture was fluid and vibrant. The secretary of my church was very wise and spoke a quirky mix of English and Spanish, and her husband was both undocumented and locally renowned as a stone mason. Their daughter babysat my daughter, and their family was dear to my family.

Six years after that, I was appointed as DS to a good-sized chunk of South Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley, again along the Mexican border. I witnessed more than one wave of families and children fleeing horrible violence in their home countries, with parents understandably desperate to ensure their kids’ survival. I visited terrified children who had either traveled alone or had been separated by border agents from the adults they traveled with, by order of the government. I saw them in a variety of holding facilities over the years, including one with chain link fenced enclosures inside a large warehouse. Many of the detention facilities were owned by for-profit entities that competed for taxpayer-funded contracts. Some border agents did their job with kindness and compassion, and it also became clear that the immigration system at that time was designed to keep these people out as a default, no matter what their backstory was. The people of our region learned the story of Gilberto Francisco Ramos Juarez, an 11-year old boy whose body was found in the desert within my district, identified only through a relative’s phone number written on the inside of his belt. And I have known many United Methodists over the years who have served immigrants at bus stations and clinics, schools and churches, in brave and generous ways. I am grateful for their ministry. 

In 2018, I was serving as assistant to the bishop in San Antonio. A large tent encampment had been built outside El Paso to hold children aged 12-17 who had been separated from their corresponding adults, and I was invited to be part of a team leading them in worship. Somebody knew somebody, and we had been granted special permission to be present with them for spiritual care. Afterwards, I wrote my reflections here. I was blessed by my time in worship and prayer with these young people and deeply moved by their plight. 

I do not pretend to have all the solutions to the complexity of immigration policy. The immensity of the crises and legitimate need that face us feels overwhelming, and we are tempted to think no good can be accomplished. Yet there must be ground between a completely open border and cruel policies that disregard the worth of people who live and work among us, helping our nation function. Standing on that ground, what I claim is a testimony of the preciousness and value of immigrant people I have known over the years, from many parts of the world. They’ve received me with warmth and generosity at their humble tables; they’ve taught me how to dance and cook and how to cling to a living faith in a powerful God, in the face of terrible circumstances; they’ve shown grit and ingenuity as they started businesses from nothing but hard work, earned their citizenship, earned master’s degrees, and were even ordained United Methodist clergy. 

What I know is that we cannot, as Christian people of the Wesleyan way, disparage or disregard the humanity and the image of God in people who feel foreign to us. The current attempt to dehumanize immigrants is not new; it has happened throughout our nation’s history. But it does not align with lives of faith in Jesus Christ. As this day’s political rhetoric and dramatic new immigration policies unfold in our communities, the basics of our faith call us to:

  • Pray for displaced persons, who have been forced to leave home and are often afraid and vulnerable to exploitation
  • Study scripture to find the wise and loving will of God
  • Pray and reflect on the Social Principles of our church, as we seek to put faith into action in real-life settings
  • Support ministries of care and connection with immigrant persons in our churches and communities
  • Always seek the welfare of the children, especially when they are faced with family separation

I pray that we will be people who can hold respectful, empathetic conversations about public policy, even when we disagree, bringing curiosity to situations that are unfamiliar. And I pray that we will be willing to show courageous compassion for immigrant people. Since becoming bishop, I have seen churches and ministries in all sorts of Oklahoma and Arkansas communities that serve immigrants with generosity and warmth. I commend you for extending this hospitality, especially in this time of uncertainty. 

In the days to come, as we seek the way of justice and kindness, may we receive the privilege of meeting Christ himself in the neighbors we serve. 

Grace and peace, 

Laura Merrill

Bishop

Resources:

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 

Hebrews 13:1 Let mutual affection continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them, those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.

Matthew 25:35 Jesus said, “When you welcome the stranger, you welcome me….” 

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For churches engaged in ministry with migrant people – 

  • These “Know Your Rights” flyers can be reproduced and distributed widely in our communities, beyond just individuals we think might need them (Spanish employee, English employee, English public).
  • This factsheet gives information on warrants needed and used by law enforcement and the difference between “public” and “private” space.
  • Further general guidelines for church and their ministries are being developed by our conference chancellors and will be shared next week (early February).

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Human Relations Sunday – Celebrated officially on January 19, 2025, but can be observed on another Sunday as convenient

https://www.umc.org/en/content/human-relations-day-sunday-ministry-article

Application for Mustard Seed Migration Grant – The United Methodist Committee on Relief’s (UMCOR) Mustard Seed Migration Grant program, now in its fifth year, provides congregations with up to $2,000 for a one-time, community-based project in service with immigrants, migrants and refugees living in their local communities. 

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Social Principles: The Political Community

The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church – 2020/2024

https://www.umc.org/en/content/social-principles-the-political-community

G. Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees

We affirm the dignity, worth and rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees, including displaced and stateless people. In so doing, we acknowledge that the world today is facing an unprecedented crisis related to the displacement of vast numbers of people due to such factors as ongoing wars and other hostilities, foreign interventions, widespread famine and hunger, global warming and climate change, and the failure of nation-states to adequately protect and care for their people.

We recognize that displaced people are particularly vulnerable as their in-between status often provides them with few protections and benefits, leaving them open to exploitation, violence, and abuse. We urge United Methodists to welcome migrants, refugees, and immigrants into their congregations and to commit themselves to providing concrete support, including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment and other kinds of support.

We oppose all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants or refugees. Additionally, we decry attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions. We challenge policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children, and we oppose the existence of for-profit detention centers for such purposes.