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[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s long-standing history of helping refugees resettle in the United States will begin to wind down next month, an early casualty of the new Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, in a Jan. 31 letter to church leaders and staff, announced that Episcopal Migration Ministries will begin winding down its core operations by Feb. 14, and 22 EMM employees will be laid off. EMM was one of 10 agencies with federal contracts to resettle refugees on behalf of the State Department, but that work ground to a halt last week when President Donald Trump suspended the refugee program as one of his first acts after taking office Jan. 20. Planning for the end of EMM’s federally funded work, one of the church’s most prominent and respected ministries, was a “painful decision,” Rowe said, but not unexpected, given the change in presidential administrations. By the end of Trump’s first term in January 2021, resettlement agencies said the president had decimated their capacity to welcome individuals and families fleeing persecution and violence in their home countries. The executive order that Trump signed at the start of his second term went even further, all but ending the 45-year-old federal program, and his administration also has ordered a halt in funding to assist refugees who already have resettled in the country. “EMM will retain a small team to manage the wind down of EMM’s federal grant-sponsored programs. They have been selected based on program responsibilities and knowledge, performance, ability to communicate with affiliate and federal partners, and some consideration for seniority,” Rowe said. Departing employees will be offered severance packages. Rowe added that he hopes church-provided outplacement services “will help them find a new way to use the gifts, skills and passion that they have shared with EMM.” “These departing employees have every reason to be angry, frustrated and frightened at this end of the work to which they have devoted their energy in recent years,” Rowe said. “I am also grieving the loss of this refugee resettlement ministry and the end of this season of our ministry. “Please know, however, that an end of federal funding for Episcopal Migration Ministries does not mean an end to The Episcopal Church’s commitment to stand with migrants and with our congregations who serve vulnerable immigrants and refugees. As Christians, our faith is shaped by the biblical story of people whom God led into foreign countries to escape oppression, and no change in political fortunes can dissuade us from answering God’s call to welcome the stranger.” The Rev. Sarah Shipman, EMM’s director, issued a statement thanking the agency’s staff “for their commitment to our mission and their dedicated professionalism – both in serving vulnerable refugee communities directly and in mobilizing churches to welcome new neighbors among us.” “While we do not know exactly how this ministry will evolve in our church’s future, we remain steadfast in our commitment to stand with migrants and with our congregations who serve them,” Shipman said.   Trump’s executive order was one of a series of first-day measures by the Trump administration targeting both legal and illegal immigration. The order did not go as far as ending the refugee resettlement program outright, though it suspended those operations indefinitely, “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.” Several of the 10 agencies that have been responsible for resettling refugees are affiliated with religious denominations, and like EMM, some have been forced to reconsider their own operations while lamenting the Trump administration’s abrupt policy shift. “Some provisions contained in the executive orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a Jan. 22 statement. Then on Jan. 24, the resettlement agencies reported receiving letters from the Trump administration ordering a halt in federal funding intended to help refugees for their first three months, covering costs such as food and rent, as they begin to establish new lives and contribute to their adopted communities. “It is particularly shameful to leave newly arrived Afghan allies to fend for themselves after the tremendous sacrifices they’ve made in support of American interests,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, said in a written statement. “This is the antithesis of what it means for the United States to keep its promise of protection to the allies of America’s longest war.” EMM’s work was historically rooted in the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief, which began assisting people from Europe fleeing the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s. After World War II, The Episcopal Church partnered with 16 other Protestant denominations to create Church World Service to provide overseas aid and resettlement assistance for displaced people. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, thousands of Southeast Asian refugees were resettled in U.S. communities with The Episcopal Church’s help. The current federal refugee resettlement program was enacted by Congress in 1980, and The Episcopal Church participated from the start, through the Presiding Bishop’s Fund. EMM was established in 1988 as a separate agency to coordinate The Episcopal Church’s resettlement work. The federal program has long had bipartisan support. EMM and the other contracted agencies have provided a range of federally funded services for the first months after the refugees’ arrivals, including English language and cultural orientation classes, employment services, school enrollment, and initial assistance with housing and transportation. Refugees were thoroughly screened and vetted by the federal government in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, and they often waited years for their opportunity to start new lives in the United States. Because of Trump’s order, more than 10,000 refugees reportedly […]

In the wake of the House of Representatives drafting legislation condemning the message of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Prayer Service, where she spoke directly to newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, the United Church of Christ General Minister and…

The post Faith expressed freely: Statement on congressional response to Bishop Budde’s sermon appeared first on United Church of Christ.

With its budget cut by more than half, United Methodist Communications has restructured with plans to serve the denomination’s needs into the future.

Join us as we explore insights from the Talking Jesus research, discuss practical strategies to strengthen mission, and equip our churches for meaningful faith conversations.

In response to President Trump’s series of executive orders targeting the transgender community, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, released the following statement.

Aija Duelm

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Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Plano, Texas, created banners from the messages of love and support sent from other UUs.

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (ABNS 1/30/25)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) announces an important Justice Dialogue—an information and action virtual event on Wednesday, February 5, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EST to address urgent matters surrounding immigration enforcement. Titled “Care for One Another During Current Immigration Enforcement: Know Your Rights for Yourself and Your Community,” […]

The post ABHMS to Host Vital Immigration Forum February 5 appeared first on ABCUSA.

  REMEMBER HOPE                                                                    It can be difficult to believe in rebuilding When you’re forced to stand and watch Everything you worked so hard to build Be destroyed right in front of you. You might be asking yourself: “How will I manage?” “Where do I start again?” You might even start to think That you’ll never find enough strength to rise ... Read More

26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.     1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV) Dear American Baptist Family, We are living in turbulent times, and in moments such as these, we are reminded of the power of prayer to strengthen our faith, guide our actions, […]

The post An Invitation to Prayer and Reflection appeared first on ABCUSA.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Chicago has pledged support for immigrants as a “sanctuary diocese” since 2019. Now, with the Trump administration pursuing a new crackdown on immigration, Episcopalians in northern Illinois are living out that spirit of “sanctuary” in ways as diverse as their diocese. Some congregations in the diocese’s namesake city are considering whether to offer physical sanctuary in their buildings to undocumented immigrants under threat of deportation. The Rev. Sandra Castillo, the Diocese of Chicago’s canon for migration ministries, also is working with community leaders to establish a network of volunteers who can respond as immigrant allies where immigration agents are reported to be making arrests. Episcopalians also are mobilizing to help about three hours away from Chicago in rural northwest Illinois. In Galena, a small city that is known as an enclave of arts and tourism, Grace Episcopal Church invited Castillo to lead a “know your rights” training last month for about 50 people, many of them immigrants working in local service industries. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise of mass deportations, sent immigration officials to Chicago last week to draw attention to enforcement efforts in the nation’s third-largest city. “It is causing a tremendous amount of anxiety,” Castillo told Episcopal News Service, but Episcopalians across the diocese are eager to support some of their most vulnerable neighbors. “We have the strength we need to protect our immigrant community if we all stand together,” Castillo said. Many Episcopalians across the church are expressing a similar eagerness to respond to the Christian call to “welcome the stranger” while upholding their baptismal vow to respect the dignity of every human being, as federal authorities indicate some immigrants who haven’t been accused of crimes still could be at risk of arrest. On Jan. 28, more than 800 people joined an informational Episcopal Church webinar, during which churchwide leaders discussed the impact and possible responses to Trump administration policies. Several dioceses, like Chicago, already have adopted “sanctuary” policies, while other dioceses and congregations are considering how best to support immigrants in their communities. “The care of migrants is deeply rooted in the biblical mandate to love and serve others, particularly the vulnerable and marginalized,” the Diocese of San Diego said in a Jan. 28 message. The Southern California diocese, which adopted its sanctuary resolution in 2017, provided a summary of information and resources related to the church’s engagement with immigration issues. “The diocese encourages congregations – who are willing – to partner with immigrant rights groups, legal aid providers and national coalitions to defend vulnerable populations,” the message said. “In addition to legal responses, religious communities can mobilize to raise public awareness and lobby for stronger protections.” Other sanctuary dioceses include California, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York and Washington. New York Bishop Matthew Heyd, in an article for the local publication The Spirit, invited all New Yorkers to join The Episcopal Church in responding “with hope, justice and love” to neighbors who feel threatened. “We join with communities of all backgrounds to affirm human dignity as foundational to our shared civic tradition,” Heyd said. “We believe our care reflects God’s unconditional love. As Christians, we are called to build communities of deep belonging, connection and care.” His diocese is organizing a “Call to Courage” interfaith vigil Feb. 12 at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York to “bring together people of all faiths to stand in solidarity and support for those seeking sanctuary.” Los Angeles has been a sanctuary diocese since 2016. Its Sacred Resistance network is promoting training on immigrant rights while also offering guidance to other dioceses and congregations interested in offering sanctuary and other assistance to immigrants. “We’re calling this Sacred Resistance 2.0, in the wake of this election, and we’re building it as we fly, re-engaging partnerships and collaborations and building new ones,” the Rev. Susan Russell, the Los Angeles canon for engagement, said in a diocesan article about ways Episcopalians are responding to the new Trump policies. “We’re one week into this new administration, so we’re still building and trying to understand how much of what was threatened is actually going to happen, how much of what is now being promulgated in the media is actually happening and not just a bluster.” On the campaign trail, Trump regularly amplified racist and xenophobic sentiments to present a dark vision of a broken America. He largely placed the blame on immigrants, including by falsely accusing them of fueling a surge in crime. (Violent crime and property crime rates are far below their 1990s highs, and studies have shown that documented and undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans.) “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America,” Trump said while campaigning. On Jan. 20, in the hours after his inauguration, Trump proceeded to sign a flurry of executive orders that included measures upending Biden administration policies on both legal and illegal immigration. He declared a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. He sought to rewrite the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. He suspended the country’s 45-year-old program of refugee resettlement. And his administration ended policies that had protected churches and other “sensitive” areas from immigration raids. The Department of Homeland Security under Trump also said it was stepping up enforcement operations in Chicago and other cities across the country. More than 900 undocumented immigrants a day reportedly have been detained starting Jan. 25, compared to an average of about 300 daily arrests in Biden’s final year. Separately, the administration boasted of a large number of deportations. “In the first week of the Trump Administration, we have fulfilled President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport violent criminals illegally in the country,” Homeland Security announced Jan. 27, saying it had “removed and returned” 7,300 people. By comparison, the Biden administration reported about 270,00 removals in fiscal […]