faith

Preparing for Immigration Raids: A Faithful Guide for Congregations

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Originally posted at blogs.elca.org/ammparo/what-can-congregations-do-to-prepare-for-immigration-raids

As immigration enforcement activity increases in many of our communities, Lutheran congregations across the Grand Canyon and Sierra Pacific Synods are asking a faithful and urgent question: How can we prepare to offer care, accompaniment, and sanctuary to our neighbors?

A new guide from AMMPARO (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities), a ministry of the ELCA, outlines practical steps congregations can take to prepare for encounters with immigration officials, rooted in our Gospel call to love the stranger and seek justice.

Key Steps Congregations Can Take:

  • Connect locally: Reach out to migrant organizations and Rapid Response Networks in your area to understand needs and how your congregation can be part of the response.
  • Offer Know Your Rights sessions: Host events with local attorneys or organizations to share critical legal information with members and community neighbors.
  • Distribute Red Cards: Provide Red Cards that outline legal rights to carry in the event of an ICE encounter.
  • Prepare ministries: If your church hosts ESL classes, meal programs, or other outreach ministries, ensure you have a written response policy, clear signage about private/public areas, and trained staff who know how to respond to enforcement encounters.
  • Avoid offering legal advice: Instead, connect individuals to licensed immigration attorneys and share trusted resources like the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Grounding Our Response in Lutheran Theology

This is a time to embody our Lutheran commitments: to serve our neighbors, to welcome the stranger, and to speak out with love and clarity. As Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton recently stated, “This church is committed to upholding the humanity of everyone, regardless of who we are or where we come from.”

Participating in this work is not only about crisis response—it’s also about long-term accompaniment. Congregations can join the AMMPARO U.S. Network as Welcoming Congregations, staying connected to advocacy alerts, training, and mutual support.

Additional Resources and Actions:

  • Visit ELCA.org/AMMPARO for multilingual “Know Your Rights” flyers, prayers, and webinar recordings.
  • Sign up for the ELCA Advocacy Network to support state and federal efforts for compassionate immigration reform.
  • Learn how to responsibly share post-raid stories by reviewing guidance on trauma-informed storytelling and media engagement.

In this season, we remember our calling as Christians to be people of refuge, justice, and peace. May we prepare not in fear, but in faith—knowing that God walks with us as we walk with one another.

📖 Read the full guide and access resources: https://blogs.elca.org/ammparo/what-can-congregations-do-to-prepare-for-immigration-raids

Lutheran Nevadans Lobby For ‘The Least of These’

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Carson City Event Includes Legislator Meetings

On Monday, February 10, Lutherans from across Nevada gathered at St. Paul’s Lutheran Family in Carson City for Lutheran Lobby Day, a day of learning, advocacy, and action.

The morning started with worship, grounding us in “Who is our neighbor?” We learned about Nights off the Street, a crucial program in Carson City that provides overnight shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Participants explored what it truly means to love and advocate for our neighbors, grounding their work in faith and justice. 

The afternoon buzzed with energy as attendees met with key state leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, Assemblymembers Selena La Rue Hatch, Richard DeLong, PK O’Neill, Erica Roth, and Speaker of the Assembly Steve Yeager. They raised their voices on Voter Engagement, Creation Care, and Affordable Housing issues.

Lutheran Lobby Day attendees
Nevadans gathered at St. Paul’s Lutheran Family in Carson City for Lutheran Lobby Day on Monday, Feb. 10.

Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada is committed to keeping this momentum going—empowering Lutherans across the state to advocate, organize, and hold elected officials accountable. The work doesn’t stop here. Join the movement and be part of the change! Democracy begins with you, so tag you’re it. — Pastor Paul Larson, LEAN Director/Advocate

ELCA Response to False Social Media Accusations

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Statement from Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, February 2, 2025

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seeks to be a witness to Christ by feeding people who are hungry, caring for those who are sick, and advocating for justice, peace, and the dignity of all people. This has been the calling of the church for over 2, 000 years. 

Today, false accusations were made on X, formerly Twitter, regarding government funding to Lutheran organizations. The claims were those of money laundering and illegal payments. Yet these organizations have done the same work for 85 years in serving legally admitted refugees and immigrants. 

As church, we follow the eighth commandment of the scriptures which states: you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Despite misinformation and baseless doubt cast today on funding that supports Lutheran organizations across our country, the ELCA remains steadfast in our commitment and work with our many Lutheran partners and expressions of our church. The ELCA is also concerned for other faith based communities and organizations who have similarly come under attack.

We strongly urge political leaders at all levels of government to use their offices and platforms responsibly. They should consider the impact of misleading statements and conjecture without regard for the impact those statements have on the communities targeted by these messages. 

Our call to love our neighbors as ourselves remains steadfast: Seek the truth and share the good news of Jesus Christ as we continue to follow his teachings. 

Let me tell you a story. In the year 258, the Roman Empire, during one of its many persecutions of the Church, ordered that the Church turn over its treasure. The task fell to a young deacon named Lawrence, who was given three days to complete it. Immediately, Lawrence sold all the liquid assets and gave that to the sick and to the widows. He liquidated also all of the property and divided that up amongst the poor. On the third day, he appeared before the emperor who demanded to see the treasures of the church. Lawrence gestured behind him, and there were standing those who were sick and hungry, the poor, the naked, the stranger in the land, the most vulnerable, and Lawrence said, “these are the treasures of the church.” He was martyred for that. 

Be of good courage, church, and let us persevere.

More: Read Global Refuge Statement on “Misinformation Around Our Humanitarian Work.”

Revisiting Human Sexuality: ELCA Seeks Input on Social Statement Edits

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ELCA social statements are documents that help people think through social issues and that guide the church’s teaching and policies on those issues. However, their language can become outdated over time as laws and language change.   

The 2022 ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to have our church reconsider certain passages from the ELCA social statement Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust in light of changes in U.S. laws regarding marriage since 2009 and in acknowledgment of the church’s understanding of the diversity of family configurations.  

A task force, with people of diverse perspectives from across the ELCA, has been appointed by the ELCA Church Council to shepherd this process.  

In early November, the task force released a set of draft edits for public comment. These are potential editorial changes only — small word changes that update the text without changing its meaning.   

The task force invites you to review these and to share your feedback. This feedback is critical for our discernment as church together, and the task force will prayerfully consider all comments before proposing changes to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly for their action. The deadline for your response is Jan. 31, 2025.     

You can share your feedback by taking an online survey or by emailing the task force directly at Reconsiderations@elca.org.   To help your discernment, several resources are posted at www.elca.org/reconsiderations, including an explanation of each.

Sacred Crossroads: The Intersection of Faith and Immigration

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Though the 2024 election is over, there is much work to do here in the West when it comes to protecting our brothers and sisters seeking asylum and, ultimately, legal residence in the United States. This resource raises the importance of centering our values as well as the perspectives of others, includes guidance from ELCA social teaching, facts and statistics about immigration, offers prayer, questions for personal reflection, and questions for Nevada’s elected office, and more! As Christians living in a state with a large immigrant population, we are called to be disciples and advocates for all.

Use this nonpartisan resource to explore key immigration facts from ELCA Ammparo and reflect on how Christian values compel us to pursue justice, help the oppressed, promote human dignity and human flourishing, and pray for a government that serves all neighbors. It’s a quick resource at only 8 pages.

The guide includes:

  • Learning from history
  • Leading with faith values
  • ELCA social teaching on immigration
  • Prayers for discernment
  • Facts about immigrant neighbors
  • Questions for reflection

DOWNLOAD ‘SACRED CROSSROADS’ GUIDE