Dear friends,
Thank you for your considered engagement during this fall's sermon series. I've loved hearing your thoughts - both agreement and disagreement - and am so thankful to serve in a place where we can consider hard topics in thoughtful fashion. Someone commented to me that it has all been a bit serious and I might want to throw in an extra joke or two this week. I promised them I'd do my best.
As we approach our final week of Facing Issues That Divide, I'll confess that I saved the easiest for last. Before preparing for this week, I thought I knew a bit about immigration. I've had dinner with the lawyer for the UN High Commission on Refugees and learned much, especially regarding refugees within the African continent. I've long been friends with textile executives who built factories in Mexico and across the world. They speak of the pain of displacing much loved labor forces here in the U.S.
I've taken more than thirty house-building trips to the border of Mexico, talked with border patrol, ministry leaders, and the director of a Mexican prison who asked that I come visit his American prisoners. I've even hunted on border land and seen groups of people sneaking across the desert, scared to death as we approached armed and loaded.
But the further I research this topic, the more I realize how very little I know. Even experts say it's nearly impossible to understand in a comprehensive fashion. So a word of caution is certainly in order. As a good friend recently said, "It's best not to be wrong at the top of your lungs." There is more to the topic of immigration than meets the eye.
However, biblical teaching about how to treat the immigrant is not only plentiful, it's quite uniform. Much of the Old Testament is based on the notion that the people of Israel were once immigrants. Their collective memory of dislocation was to inform their justice system, agricultural practice, commerce and a host of other public practices.
We'll explore that teaching this week. In addition, we'll hear from a local immigration attorney, enjoy great music, and offer special prayers for those facing the ravages of the hurricane.
I look forward to seeing you,
