On starting a refugee resettlement center in Northwest Arkansas

I thought this might be a good time to offer an update on Canopy NWA and GSLC. Fair warning, it's kind of long. But I'm in favor of transparency, and information, so here you go!

One year ago February 2016, Canopy was mostly a glimmer in our imaginations. Donna Davis and I had a couple of conversations with Frank Head of Catholic Charities about refugee resettlement, and we'd hosted a couple of preliminary, high energy meetings about next steps.

Then God got in the fray, and the story got busy.

By late February-March, we were filling out the paperwork to register Canopy NWA as a non-profit. We had a growing group of ecumenical and community leaders interested in developing Northwest Arkansas as a refugee resettlement center. And although at first they were surprised by the call, we finally convinced Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service that we weren't just calling them because we wanted to host a refugee family--we wanted to establish a new center for refugee resettlement in the state of Arkansas!

Over the next months, my role as pastor and my role as a founder, then acting director of Canopy, took a variety of twists and turns. It is a LOT of work hosting representatives from a national organization like LIRS and setting up meetings with community leaders (all the way up to and including the governor of Arkansas). But it was worth it, and actually benefits pastoral ministry greatly. One of the ministries of pastors is to read the community as if it were a sacred text, to know the needs of the parish. Conversations with educators, mayors, representatives, ESL instructors, business leaders, medical professionals, human services, non-profit representatives, all of this opened my eyes as a pastor to the tremendous vitality of our region, and gave me greater awareness of some of our most pressing needs.

During the summer, we submitted the application to LIRS and the State Department to become a refugee resettlement center, and in August that application was approved. We were assigned the resettlement of 100 refugees for the fiscal year beginning October 1st, 2016. This is when things really got serious. We received some significant grants, laid out a funding plan based on resources from LIRS, our community, and individual donors.We hired Emily Crane Linn, our resettlement director, plus a case worker, an employment specialist, and a community relations manager. 

I shifted to the role of board chair and we officially appointed a board of Canopy NWA.

Small update to my congregation: It's probably worth all of you knowing that although you see me on television from time to time, and I'm definitely a spokesperson and lead organizer in Canopy NWA, I'm not compensated by them. It's a labor of love. The benefits are manifold, but they're not monetary.

In September, GSLC made space for Canopy to office in our building. They currently use two office spaces just down and across the hall from Heather Pratt and myself. If you're here at church during the week, it's very likely you'll meet one of their amazing staff people, or one of a host of volunteers coming and going daily, or even one of the refugee families who have already arrived.

Canopy rents the space from us, and also uses the church van. You're likely to see the van driving around town taking new families to doctor's appointments and such. It's unlikely Canopy will stay housed in GSLC permanently, as they may at some point need to move into their own space. But in the meantime, it's a joy to share space and ministry with them.

None of us could have imagined the energy that has gathered around Canopy through the fall and now into 2017. The photo at the top of this letter was from last Thursday, a town hall meeting hosted by Canopy NWA at Grace Church. Hundreds and hundreds of people attended. The church was so full people had to walk considerable distances because the parking lot was full.

There's a reason Canopy NWA has become more than just an organization that welcomes new Arkansans. It's become a movement because a) the people of Northwest Arkansas have big hearts, and b) things in our nation have become difficult and complicated for immigrants and refugees. 

This should really not be a surprise to Lutherans in North America. We are a faith tradition of immigrants. And frankly, this country hasn't always treated Lutherans that well when they've arrived.

As a result, Lutherans have developed hands and hearts that work hard to welcome the stranger in our midst. We know it's a biblical mandate to do so, but Lutherans are peculiar in their focus on providing a voice for immigrants, and a new home for sojourners. LIRS is the second largest refugee resettlement organization in our country. Given that Lutherans are a relatively small religious group in the United States, this is remarkable.

But Lutherans play well with others. We work ecumenically. So Canopy, though affiliated with LIRS, is not a Lutheran organization. It's a ministry of refugee resettlement. Our leadership includes representation from Roman Catholicism, Presbyterianism, evangelicalism, Lutheranism, unaffiliated, and more. 

The other way GSLC currently intersects the work of Canopy NWA is via our co-sponsorship team. We have a large team of GSLC members who have directly sponsored a family of new Arkansans. They helped set up their apartment, care for their children while the parents are in ESL classes, take them to the Islamic Center for prayer, and serve as first friends for this amazing family. The co-sponsor team welcomes new members. You need to go to the Canopy web site and use their tools to do a background check, etc. Take a look and see if it interests you. It's an incredibly rewarding form of volunteering.

Some of you may be surprised that we've invested so much energy and time (I as a pastor, we as a congregation) developing an ecumenical non-profit focused on refugee resettlement. Or maybe not, I'm not sure, but I've had lots of people ask. So let me offer some insight into why we do this, and why I think it's from God.

First, historically this is just what Lutherans do. Many of the hospitals in the United States were founded by Lutherans. Lutherans have started nursing homes, schools, colleges, social services agencies of all kinds. In fact the largest social service agency in the country is called Lutheran Services in America!

We do this because we believe that faith is lived out in daily life, and part of the work of the church is to stand in the gap and provide the resources for the needs of communities that might otherwise be overlooked or neglected. So, we saw there wasn't direct refugee resettlement happening in Arkansas, we know there is a global refugee crisis, so we listened to the Holy Spirit and said, "Maybe we can and should do this."

The second reason we do this is because it's a fundamentally Christian and biblical thing to do. One of the most repeated refrains in all of Scripture is, "Welcome the sojourner in your midst, because you were once slaves in Egypt." This is not a side project of the church, one small ministry among other larger ones. It's a core practice. And sometimes to do such core practices well, you need to step way beyond small measures, and venture out into actually building and creating new structures. 

If you live in a community as amazing as Northwest Arkansas, you have an even greater responsibility to step into this role offering sanctuary for sojourners, if you can, because you can offer a safe and welcoming place for those seeking sanctuary and a new home. And since Arkansas is also the second fastest growing Latino population in the country, we have a calling from God to be good neighbors to new Americans, new Arkansans among us. We are called to offer sanctuary in the literal sense of that term. It's part of our commitment to welcome.

Finally, we do this because we know it's not about us patronizing and helping those needy people over there. It's about mutuality. We gain as much as we give, if not more. We welcome new friends. In the process of developing Canopy NWA, we have deepened our relationship with the local Islamic Center, Temple Shalom, and many other interfaith communities. We are building bridges and breaking down the walls that divide us.

God gets into the mix in this work. I happen to think most of the time, to be the church, you have to welcome an imagination capacious enough for the grandeur of God. It's too small of thing to be a club or community. We are a light to the nations. Through our partnership with Canopy, our community knows who we are, and knows we are committed, as one of our neighbors recently characterized us: "the message of GSLC to me-- be too busy with ever-better love to bother with hate."

Thank you to everyone who has been partnering in this ministry. Thank you to all those who have been praying for refugees and immigrants. We're in this together. To learn more about Canopy NWA, visit: http://www.canopynwa.org/120

For the presiding bishop's statement on the travel ban, visit: https://www.elca.org/News-and-Events/7873 This letter includes links to some of the social statements of the ELCA on immigration and refugee resettlement.

To learn more about LIRS: www.lirs.org

See you in worship. 9 a.m. contemporary, 11 a.m. traditional. 10:15 lecture on the pastor of the Reformation, Johannes Bugenhagen.

How to be a Christian in the middle of this crisis

During a crisis, by necessity, time is allocated differently. You stay home from work and care for your ailing parent. You stop writing the novel to muck out a flooded basement. You stay up all night putting out a house fire.

There's no doubt in my mind that we are living through a national crisis, created by a strange confluence of the rise of global nationalist populism, the celebrity of a narcissist, and a long-waged ideological class war waged by plutocrats.

So in that moment, a Christian rightly asks, "What is my responsibility during this crisis?" And also rightly asks, "If it is a crisis, am I sure, and what should I do meantime to care for myself and guard against exhaustion?"

Many of us have thrown ourselves into the fight of alleviating or averting the crisis. It's why senate offices are getting 1.5 million phone calls a day, mass marches are happening all over the country, and smart lawyers are bringing lawsuits daily to courtrooms all across the United States. We all know something's up.

Unfortunately, humans are nefarious enough that they find various kinds of uses for crisis. If you'd like to read a bit of the history of that, I recommend two books, Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, on the rise of "disaster capitalism, and Dave Egger's Zeitoun, a harrowing and worrying story of Hurricane Katrina. Guaranteed, some entities and individuals are going to use crisis for their own purposes. Certainly, it is the case that in this instance, Donald Trump the walking disaster is either being used or is using the wake of the crises he creates for his own interests and purposes; and those around him are also, like circling vultures.



Meanwhile, many Christians, especially liberal ones not used to a daily struggle, find themselves over-whelmed by discovering they have to do what they did yesterday yet again. And they're right to wonder about that. Democracy is work, but it shouldn't be a battle. Right?

On this point, C.S. Lewis got it right:

"A sick society must think much about politics, as a sick man must think much about his digestion: to ignore the subject may be fatal cowardice for the one as for the other. But if either comes to regard it as the natural food of the mind—if either forgets that we think of such things only in order to be able to think of something else—then what was undertaken for the sake of health has become itself a new and deadly disease." (The Weight of Glory)

Politics should not be our natural food. Facebook should be equal parts photos of dinner, gifs of cats, political posts, and poetry. That it's all about politics right now gives indication of how sick our society has gotten. If we do get around to removing that which ails us (hopefully via the resignation of Donald Trump and full recognition--then reversal--of the white supremacist take-over of our executive branch via the Bannon--Pence--Sessions triumvirate), perhaps we can return our attention to the natural foods of the mind. That would be fantastic.

On the flip side, anyone with long experience in other kinds of struggles (global warming, civil rights, #blacklivesmatter, nuclear disarmament, women's rights) might remind those new to the fight, "You know, we've been in our fight for decades. I know it seems hard, but really, welcome to the club. It's just like this. If you weren't in this fight for a long time, that's an indication of the level of your privilege."

"The struggle is forever. We are forever in the struggle."

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.

During a crisis, the voice of clergy changes as well. Whereas on a typical Sunday the sermons might make the circuit of a wider array of spiritual issues, during the crisis the sermons hone in on the needs of the moment, lest the proclamation ring flat-footed and detached from real need.

In a crisis like this one, the spiritual dangers are manifold. Pastors may choose to avoid the crisis, out of false desire to remain apolitical. Perhaps they've confused partisan politics with the theo-political, and so find themselves in dereliction of their duties as proclaimers of the kingdom of God.

Alternatively, they may wed themselves too much to one particular partisan position (or even a politician), becoming blind to the corruption that ensues in their reading of Scripture and their proclamation as a result.

How can Christian leaders speak to the political? Here I offer a long quote from Martin Luther's To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Improvement of the Christian Estate (which should be one book everyone is reading this 500th anniversary of the Reformation):

The time for silence is past, and the time speak has come, as Eccles. [3.7] says. I am carrying out our intention to put together a few points on the matter of the improvement of the state of Christendom, to be laid before the Christian nobility of the German nation, in the hope that God may help his church through the laity, since the clergy, to whom this task more properly belongs, have grown quite irresponsible. I am sending the whole thing to you, reverend sir, that you may give an opinion on it and, where necessary, improve it. 

I know full well that I shall not escape the charge of presumption, because I, a despised, cloistered person, venture to address such high and great estates on such weighty matters, as if there were nobody else in the world except Doctor Luther to take up the cause of Christendom and give advice to such highly competent people. I make no apologies no matter who demands them. Perhaps I owe my God and the world another work of folly. I intend to pay my debt honestly. And if I succeed, I shall for the time being become a court jester. And if I fail, I still have the one advantage that no one need buy me a cowl or provide me with a cockscomb. It is a question of who will put the bells on whom. I must fulfill the proverb, "Whatever the world does, a monk must be in the picture, even if he has to be painted in."

Luther then proceeds to offer point by point advice to the Christian nobility on their policies as heads of the German nation.

What Lutherans have learned from this, and continued to practice, is the right ordering of the spiritual and the secular estates. They are not divided, as if there were a higher spiritual estate to which clergy attend, while the politicians and the lawyers attend to the lower secular estate. Instead, all those baptized into Christ are all called to the spiritual estate, and everything is spiritual, with each of us simply fulfilling different offices.

Then, from the office of the pastor (or monk) sometimes we play the part of fools and speak to the other estates and offices. And in point of fact, it is a crucial responsibility of clergy, precisely in and from their office, to lay before the government a reminder of its proper responsibility and role.

Other offices ought to listen to the clergy (and in our modern context, we might add non-profit leaders) more. Certainly that is the case with immigration and refugee resettlement. There would be far less confusion this week if some of those in the highest offices of our nation (I'm looking at you, Tom Cotton and Donald Trump) would have taken time first to learn about refugee resettlement from some of us who work in that arena.

And those of us in the church need to be going back to our social statements over and over, and bringing a word from them of clarification to those in elected office, so that they pursue legislation that comports better with the social ethics of our faith traditions.

Allow me to end with this insight into proper behavior in a crisis. Let's say, for example, that you are currently responsible for rescuing people from a sinking ship. You were just handed the job. Even though you are inexperience, even though it's all new to you, you should not in that moment say, "Can we all take a pause? I need to figure out what is going, to get caught up? Let's resume this boat rescue in a couple of days after I read all the manuals on boat rescue and make sure they're written properly."

This would be inhumane and cruel, ludicrous and wrong. Your responsibility is to jump into the fray and trust the work of those already engaged in the rescue. In a crisis, you get dirty. You participate. While participating, you review your options and make improvements as you go.

I have a feeling that one mark of the dangerous narcissism of our current president is his inability to actually pause. He thinks a pause is everybody else waiting for him, rather than he pausing himself.

I love this line from Thomas Friedman in his new book Thank You For Being Late:

When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start... you start to reflect, you start to rethink your assumptions you start to reimagine what is possible and, most importantly, you start to reconnect with your most deeply held beliefs. Once you've done that, you can begin to reimagine a better path.

There is one thing spirituality might offer for a crisis that we can take into account, and that is, once the immediate threats have been assessed and neutralized, there will come a time when one can pause, and then start to reflect. Reimagine what is possible. Reconnect with your most deeply held beliefs. Reimagine a better path.

That is, you can pray.

All great social movements, all great forms of resistance to the principalities and powers that have bent the arc of this life toward justice, have been grounded in prayer. Luther famously remarked that when he had much work to do, he got up and prayed for two hours.

Social justice groups like the Catholic Workers, or the New Monastics, grounded themselves in the Daily Prayer Offices.

From the Berlin Wall

Christians in the middle of a crisis sing songs (think of Paul in prison, Acts 16:25).

Those resisting empire often paint art on the very walls they are tearing down.

Christians find the resources both for reframing, resistance, and renewal, in the classic Christian disciplines: prayer, fasting, Scripture, shared meals. And they discover that in the middle of a crisis, those shared disciples take on greater poignancy. They become, in a sense, more real than real.

Because what we really find in a crisis is new vitality precisely in the midst of exhaustion. Just when you thought you could no longer, by your own effort or strength, get it done. When you thought all things were lost, everything was impossible... there God makes a way where there wasn't a way.

For what is impossible for mortals, is possible for all. For God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

How can we be Christian in a crisis? Love our neighbors to the absolute limits, and discover beyond our own endurance the possibility and strength of God.

The pernicious way Ronnie Floyd is wrong on refugees

I invite you to read two public statements on refugee resettlement published in the last couple of days by prominent faith leaders. 

The first is from Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church here in Northwest Arkansas. Floyd served a term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2016.

The second is from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, current bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Compare one paragraph from each:

In this spirit, earlier last week I communicated with the Trump administration asking that it not stop the U.S. refugee admissions program or stop resettlement from any country for any period of time. The Bible calls us to welcome the stranger and treat the sojourner as we would our own citizens. I agree with the importance of keeping our country secure as the administration stated in its executive order last Friday, but I am convinced that temporarily banning vulnerable refugees will not enhance our safety nor does it reflect our values as Christians. Instead, it will cause immediate harm by separating families, disrupting lives, and denying safety and hope to brothers and sisters who are already suffering. (Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton)

-- 

While the Church prays for our president and political leaders to resolve these complex issues, our church and many others will continue our extensive efforts to serve the vulnerable here and abroad whatever the policy of the government. We do not advise the government regarding issues of national security and they do not advise us on who and how we serve. (Pastor Ronnie Floyd)

Each of these leaders articulates an understanding of the relationship between government as an institution and the church as an institution. Bishop Eaton calls on the Trump administration to take specific action (that is, reverse their current executive order). She does so out of deep familiarity with refugee resettlement, because, as Lutherans perhaps know better than Ronnie Floyd, refugee resettlement in the United States is completely handled by nine agencies (like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service). The United States conducts, in cooperation with the UNHCR, the incredibly extensive vetting process for refugees coming into the United States, but it is communities of faith and non-profits who do the direct work of resettlement.

Furthermore, Bishop Eaton offers insight grounded out of her own civic responsibility and her spiritual commitments, and acknowledges the immediate harm caused to refugees if we stop admissions.

Floyd, on the other hand, strangely spiritualizes a separation between the church and government that simply doesn't exist in practice, and implies in his statement that refugee resettlement is primarily a national security issue.

In so doing, Floyd perpetuates the scapegoating of refugees. Refugees must be dangerous, so we have to vet them extremely. Floyd seems to be unaware that refugees are already vetted over a long period of time, and are perhaps the safest group of people coming into our country (he doesn't even mention this in his post). He also confuses systems, indicating early in the blog that our immigration system is broken, then shifting back to refugee admissions, in the process simply not acknowledging that immigration and refugee resettlement are not the same thing.

On his recommendation, I went and read the Southern Baptist statement On Refugee Ministry. Here's where things get really twisted in Floyd's statement, so please bear with me.

Floyd says that, and I quote, "We do not advise the government regarding issues of national security." 

And yet, the statement On Refugee Ministry, reads "we call on the governing authorities to implement the strictest security measures possible in the refugee screening and selection process, guarding against anyone intent on doing harm."

So which is it, does the SBC advise the government on national security, or not?

And why is it only national security that Floyd mentions in his blog, when in fact the more significant portions of the SBC statement on refugee ministry include the following statements:

WHEREAS, Scripture calls for and expects God’s people to minister to the sojourner (Exodus 22:21–24; Exodus 23:9–12; Leviticus 19:33–34; Deuteronomy 10:17–22; Deuteronomy 24:17–22; Deuteronomy 26:5–13; Psalm 146:8–9; Matthew 25:35–40); 

RESOLVED, That we affirm that refugees are people loved by God, made in His image, and that Christian love should be extended to them as special objects of God’s mercy in a world that has displaced them from their homelands.

So, if we take the SBC at their own word, the highest priority in their statement is to remind the church of its commitment to care of sojourners and refugees, and remain resolved to recognize their dignity and see them as "special objects of God's mercy in a world that has displaced them from their homelands."


Ronnie Floyd, please tell me, how is scapegoating refugees as a "dangerous population" that needs extreme vetting a form of recognizing them as "special objects of God's mercy?"

Floyd seems super focused on security. He even mis-interprets the oath the president takes when he or she enters office, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Floyd interprets this to mean, "Our government’s first responsibility is to protect the American people." But in fact, our president's first oath is to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution." The fact that Floyd shifts the meaning of this to national security, especially as regards refugees, really displays what he thinks about refugees.

Compare this to Bishop Eaton's statement. She writes:

People of faith helped start and still sustain the refugee resettlement program in the United States following World War II. As Lutherans, many of our ancestors faced the pain of having to flee their homes and the joy of being welcomed in new communities across the United States. As we have done throughout history, millions of Lutherans across the country honor our shared biblical values as well as the best of our nation’s traditions by offering refuge to those most in need. 

We are committed to continuing ministries of welcome that support and build communities around the country and stand firmly against any policies that result in scaling back the refugee resettlement program. 

We must offer safety to people fleeing religious persecution regardless of their faith tradition. Christians and other religious minorities suffer persecution and rightly deserve protection, but including additional criteria based on religion could have discriminatory effects that would go against our nation’s fundamental values related to freedom of religion.

I would contend that Bishop Eaton knows her Bible far better than Ronnie Floyd. She knows, as Lutherans know based on long experience and deep reading of Scripture, that the fundamental insight of much of Scripture is, "Care for the refugee and sojourner in your midst, because you were once strangers in Egypt."

I think Floyd has gotten far too comfortable, too cozy with this president, and has failed to heed Scripture, which reminds us we were once strangers and sojourners, and our Christian responsibility, or spiritual role, is to call the nation in which we reside to care for the sojourner and partner with it in such resettlement.

 I call on Ronnie Floyd to repent and do better. Challenge our administration to reverse its refugee admissions reductions. If Floyd would like to publish a statement aligned with Christian faith, from a more biblical perspective, I encourage him to consider signing on to Bishop Eaton's statement. 

--
I should add one more thing. Ronnie Floyd appears to believe Christians should resettle refugees in order to introduce them to Christ. "Furthermore, the Church should always stand ready nationally and globally to love all refugees, meeting their needs, the greatest of which is ultimately the same as ours: A personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

Thing is, you can't get there from Scripture itself. All those Old Testament references included in the SBC statement encourage Israel to welcome the sojourner and refugee simply because they are in need--love your neighbor. And the inspiration for such welcome and care is the historical fact that Israel was once a sojourning community itself.

There's no need to instrumentalize refugee resettlement as a tool for converting people to Christianity. That would be to repeat many of the same patterns that created religious refugees in the first place. Rather, as Bishop Eaton states:

We must offer safety to people fleeing religious persecution regardless of their faith tradition. Christians and other religious minorities suffer persecution and rightly deserve protection, but including additional criteria based on religion could have discriminatory effects that would go against our nation’s fundamental values related to freedom of religion.

Christian witness is witness through neighbor love, not neighbor love in order to convert. In a nation like ours, as followers of Christ, we do the right thing because it is the right thing. We can trust the Spirit to work in such neighbor love as the Spirit wills.

Stand with immigrants and refugees

As you are likely aware, President Trump announced executive orders related to immigration today and we expect to see additional orders in the coming days. We anticipate that some of these orders will severely limit refugee resettlement. This may mean a pause on all refugee resettlement for 120 days, ending resettlement of Syrians and other nationalities, prioritizing persecuted Christians for future resettlement, and reducing the Presidential Determination for refugee admissions for this fiscal year from 110,000 to 50,000. As these executive orders continue to garner media attention, we are calling on you to help us lift up faith voices DIRECTLY TO PRESIDENT TRUMP expressing opposition, in an effort to hopefully change these plans. PLEASE DO THESE THINGS IMMEDIATELY: 1. Join LIRS national conference call to learn more about the impact of the President’s Executive Orders on migrants and refugees and what you and your community can do to stand up for welcome. Linda Hartke, LIRS President & CEO will be leading the call. Please join one of two scheduled conference calls Thursday, January 26th at 2pm (EST), and Friday, January 27that 3-4pm (EST) by calling: 800-326-0013 and entering 1476139 when prompted for a pass code. 2. Sign this petition stating opposition to any plans to stop refugee resettlement. Remember to confirm your sign-on via your email, otherwise it won’t be counted. 3. Tweet @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS – Samples below (please personalize): @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Don't stop welcoming refugees. Resettlement demonstrates the best of our American and Christian values #RefugeesWelcome @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Keep America welcoming. Refugee resettlement is a proud American legacy with bipartisan support #RefugeesWelcome @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS People of faith OPPOSE refusing protection to refugees and a religious litmus test for refugees bit.ly/FaithLeaders4ALLRefugeeshias.org/1500rabbis #RefugeesWelcome @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS More than 800 faith leaders stand for welcoming refugees and are opposed to any policy that would keep Muslim refugees from seeking safety: bit.ly/FaithLeaders4ALLRefugees @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Christians oppose policies that would deny Muslims refuge and preference Christians bit.ly/FaithLeaders4ALLRefugees  4. Send the White House a message at whitehouse.gov/contact – Samples below (please personalize): President Trump, We are hearing that you will stop refugee resettlement and single out some refugees based on their nationality or religion. As a faith community, we are STRONGLY opposed to any policy based on unfounded fears that would endanger refugees and deny access to refugees based on their religion or nationality.  As Lutherans, we work with hundreds of thousands of members in our churches across the country to welcome refugees every day, we oppose any plan to reduce refugee admissions and to prevent Muslim refugees from being resettled in the United States. We urge you to allow the U.S. refugee program to continue to resettle refugees that need our protection regardless of where they come from or how they pray. Thank you for your leadership in ensuring the U.S. remains a beacon of hope for all those who are persecuted that seek peace, safety and freedom. bit.ly/FaithLeaders4ALLRefugees More than 800 faith leaders: "The U.S. Refugee Resettlement program has been and should remain open to those of any religious tradition who face persecution on account of the reasons enumerated under U.S. law. We oppose any proposal that would prevent Syrian refugees or individuals who practice Islam and other faiths from accessing the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Proposals that would have the U.S. State Department disqualify refugees from protection based on their nationality or religion fly in the face of the very principles this nation was built upon, contradict the legacy of leadership our country has historically demonstrated, and dishonor our shared humanity." bit.ly/FaithLeaders4ALLRefugees   5. Offer a special prayer for refugees this Sunday or the following one. The legacy of Lutherans is to be courageous and compassionate in word and service. Please use the prayer linked to this URL in your Sunday worship service http://www.lirs.org/downloads/LIRS_PrayersforRefugees_Jan2017.pdf This is no time to stand idly by or be complacent about defending our cherished legacy of welcoming refugees fleeing war, violence and persecutions and seeking refuge in our country. This is the time to stand firm and fight for the rights of migrants and refugees and our shared American values. Every action counts. Thanks so much for all you do. In faith and solidarity, Folabi Director for Outreach Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service