By Pastor Darrel Peterson, Assistant to the Bishop
It must have been at Thanksgiving that I heard this story on NPR. A man told about arriving in the United States as an immigrant just before Thanksgiving. He arrived in New York and had never heard of Thanksgiving. A friend took him to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. He was amazed and astonished to see the beautiful floats and the huge character balloons. He was also impressed that America had a special holiday devoted to being thankful.
In the days following, he noted that when he said “thank you”, people would say, “you are welcome”. He thought they must be hearing his accent, and then, graciously welcoming him to America! He was so impressed with his new country! Now, years later as he was telling the story he laughingly recalled how he eventually came to realize that folks were merely responding with a rote cultural response. Thank you. You’re welcome.
There is much tension around the welcoming of neighbors in our country and in our churches these days. Many political candidates have run and are running on promises to toughen immigration laws. In Georgia, our new governor has promised to imitate legislation enacted by Arizona. Immigration is a popular and volatile topic for talk shows and articles. Conversations in church fellowship halls often parrot the anti-immigrant rants of media pundits. Pastors are often cautious in being advocates for immigrants. Fear abounds.
Immigrants and those thought to look like immigrants move with fear and apprehension in our communities. Some immigrants are moving to states less unfriendly. Many immigrants are “legal” in every way, but are likely to experience being stopped and harassed just the same. Many are fearful.
Our Christian scriptures and cultural traditions are filled with messages about welcoming the stranger. Organizations such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) and our ELCA advocacy offices in many states and Washington, DC are beacons of hope for immigrant ministry. Our Lutheran Services in America (LSA) network and social service agencies (e.g. LSG) have resources for welcoming the neighbor. Our worship materials regularly address welcoming the stranger and reaching out in love and action. An ELCA supported Glocal (Global + Local) event focused on immigration and migration is planned for Atlanta August 4-6.
We are a nation of immigrants. It took my Swedish ancestors 40 years before they worshiped completely in English in this country. We all have a “coming to America” story. In these difficult and tension-filled times, we must take a stand to cut through the fear and distrust that exists in our midst and in the lives of our immigrants.
It is time to confront the fearful talk! It is time to preach and teach the love of neighbor. It is time to utilize the resources of our church in educating ourselves and our congregations. It is time to stand with our immigrants and neighbors!
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Thank you Pastor Peterson. I too get frustrated by listening to the constantly shouted fears and accusations of the "immigrant" in every aspect of our society. Those who rant on the negatives of immigration seem to forget that ALL EXCEPT the native American have migrated here. Your summary paragraph is a clarion call!
ReplyDeleteDennis Connelly
thank you for the comment Dennis, and thank you for signing your name. I'm not sure why blogger listed you as "anonymous" (I'm sure the problem is on our end) but since you signed your name, I felt free to publish your comment. Just so everyone knows, we are happy and eager to publish comments on the blog but in service to transparency and good communication in community, we don't do anonymous replies.
ReplyDeleteDelmer Chilton
I agree, but then I'm not a pure Swede, I've got German and Danish blood in me too. I think most people are concerned about "Illegal Immigrants". I think there are some who need to be recognized because they have been here a very long time, and have served our country well, and others who should be sent back to where they came from: I am not just referring to those from Latin America. I am just not sure where we should draw lines. I do not believe most to the politicians have the right idea who are in the negative mode. However, I do not believe the liberal politicians have it right either. Ron Johnson
ReplyDeleteToday, I was talking with a local African-American man who told me he has a girlfriend from Germany. I mentioned that my 18th century ancestors were from Germany, and he said, "Sprechen sie deutsch?" I responded (drawing, hopefully, from my freshman year of German in college), "Nein, leider nicht." It brought to mind a story my dad told me about one of his parishioners in Rowan County, NC, in the '70s. The fellow had asked, "Why doesn't anybody talk about those of us who have been around here forever?" You probably know already, he was not a native American.
ReplyDeleteMichael Lippard
One of the greatest challenges in our country right now is how we handle the issue of "Illegal Aliens". How do we handle this issue? There are so many sides to it. BUT, God gives us the attitude that we should adopt. Ex 22:21 "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." God must have been serious. In the next chapter, Ex 23:9 "Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt". If it were possible, I wonder what immigrants from European Countries would have to say if their children could go back in time and ask them. How were they treated? How were they welcomed? I don't know. I wasn't there. The courts and congress will deal with this issue. How? The lawmakers will hopefully listen to us, those who put them there. Then how should we advise them? We as Christians might think it well to make decisions that would be pleasing to God. I hope that I am not taking this passage out of context. I do believe that it has an application how I do God's bidding and how I would ask my Government to do mine as I am voter. People are being reminded of just what God expects of us. It is very simple. It is recorded in Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act Justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." If this requirement is real, and if we remember that this country is made up of centuries of alien migration that has set a precedence with many ancestors from many different places, then justice and mercy should be a guiding factor. If are not a just and merciful people, how can we walk "humbly with our God".
ReplyDeleteHenry C. Harris,