Dear Siblings in Christ of the PC(USA),
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk and Executive Director PCUSA
In recent days, we have seen the disruption of so many norms in our life together as a civil society within the U.S. Among those disruptions are the negation of those places we have thought of as protected spaces, those “sensitive locations,” where children can learn and play and people have their needs met, including needs for food and shelter, and where all can worship God and practice their faith and find community. Many of you have been wondering whether the denomination is doing anything.
The denomination is doing something. Each time you, your committees, your faith communities and congregation, and mid councils do something, the denomination is showing up with and for those who are at risk of harm. And also, the Interim Unified Agency, as an agency of the General Assembly, is working in a variety of ways both domestically and globally.
The Office of Public Witness (OPW) has sent out several Action Alerts asking Presbyterians to engage with the administration and members of Congress in accordance with our policy. Sign-on letters with coalition partners are being sent out, quite literally, on a daily basis as well as strategic planning meetings. OPW’s advocacy guide, Holy Discontentment, is being updated and will soon be available in a digital format. A monthly advocacy conversation will begin in February for an opportunity to gather, share, and learn ways we can promote the justice of Jesus as a part of the body of Christ.
The Office of Immigration Issues (OII) is responding to this situation in a way that considers the sensitive information we are receiving and the fear of those reaching out. We are conferring with individuals, worshiping communities, and mid councils as they imagine ministry through this new lens. OII continues to direct people to the Family Care Plan page of our website so that communities can come together in support of one another and create plans for the worst-case scenarios. Invitations to Know Your Rights training events for individuals at risk and religious communities are being shared through Facebook. The office is engaging in conversations with community partners about what a sanctuary response looks like in these times. We continue to engage in efforts and events with our ecumenical and interfaith partners.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is in contact with communities that have been hit with recent ICE raids and continues to be involved in multiple initiatives that contribute to offering a safe and stable environment for refugees and asylum seekers, including funding the development of temporary housing and providing direct assistance for food, rent support, and legal services. In Chicago, PDA supported a coalition of faith communities that housed, on church property, migrants who have disabilities, are LGBTQIA+, or have other reasons why a shelter setting would be difficult for them. PDA is also investing in sustainable infrastructure projects that directly impact migrant communities both domestically and globally, and is collaborating with local Presbyterian churches to mobilize congregations, raise awareness, and provide direct assistance and trauma-informed pastoral care for migrants, who face more legal and logistical barriers than ever before due in part to government support of anti-immigrant legislation and executive actions. The work of PDA is done in partnership with mid councils and congregations and Presbyterians around the country are helping to fund this work.
In addition to these efforts, we are prayerfully and carefully exploring a variety of options that will help us live into the many policies and statements of the General Assembly. These policies and statements that are relevant to what is happening in our country at this time are guiding the ministry of staff as we work with partners and other collaborators in seeking avenues of action that range from statements all the way to legal strategies, up to and including initiating legal action. These efforts continue as new information is received and considered. While we do so, we are working to ensure the protection of all partners involved, but most importantly those who are most vulnerable to harm in this time.
For all those whose ministries, including worship and communal life, are being impacted by these policies and procedures that no longer recognize sensitive and sacred locations, I pray that you will know God’s deep and abiding presence with you and the presence of your denomination, your faith community with you. May God bless you and keep you.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.... (Hebrews 12:1-2a)
In faith and perseverance,
Rev. Jihyun Oh
Stated Clerk and Executive Director
Interim Unified Agency
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)