Black Forest Community Church
A message from Vicki Witte
Sanctuary: Sept. 6, 2020
Good morning. I’m happy to be here today, with a church that has decided to welcome immigrants in such a tangible way as to provide safe, decent housing. What Black Forest Community Church is doing is phenomenal. You are providing an extremely important service. Thank you.
Your welcoming and housing immigrants here is amazing, I want you to know that. I also want you to understand the differences between what you are doing and becoming a Sanctuary church, or joining the Sanctuary Coalition. I hope that in time, your congregation will also consider joining the Accompaniment and Sanctuary Coalition.
I want to open today by reading a portion of a blog post I wrote three years ago, when the Colorado Springs Sanctuary Coalition welcomed our first guest, Elmer.
This is what Sanctuary looks like
Sanctuary looks like a man who fled his home country because of death threats from the gangs—both the MS-13 and the Calle 18.
Sanctuary looks like a man who has lived and worked in this country for more than a decade, a man who has married and built a family and a home here.
Sanctuary looks like a man who loves his family, who owns a home, pays his bills, pays taxes, and contributes to America's economy.
Sanctuary looks like a man in his prime being denied the opportunity to work and provide for his family.
Sanctuary looks like a father who wants to learn English, but is too preoccupied with his legal case, his finances, and missing his family to concentrate on learning.
Sanctuary looks like a man bored with television and children's games, longing for adult company and conversation.
Sanctuary looks like a man who cuts his own hair because he can't leave the church.
Sanctuary looks like a man who jokes about these things, because the only alternative is to cry.
Sanctuary looks like humanity, being treated inhumanely by an unjust system.
Sanctuary looks like the best of humanity coming together to challenge the worst of humanity.
Churches have a long history of offering Sanctuary. Did you know that God actually established the idea of Sanctuary thousands of years ago? In Numbers 35 in the Bible, God commands Moses to establish six cities of refuge throughout the land of Israel—cities to which people can flee for safety until they are given a fair trial. "These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens, and any other people living among them.” The instruction for cities of refuge is repeated in Deuteronomy, and in Joshua 20. Although it’s not a perfect parallel for the modern Sanctuary movement, we still see here that God established the idea of Sanctuary in the Old Testament.
Historically, Sanctuary has been offered in ancient Australia, Africa, Egypt, Rome, and Greece, as well as in medieval Europe and Britain. In the U.S., churches offered Sanctuary to escaped slaves along the Underground Railroad, as well as to organizers during the Civil Rights Movement. U.S. churches offered Sanctuary in the 1980s to Central Americans who were fleeing U.S.-backed wars in their own countries.
So, what does Sanctuary mean today? “Sanctuary church” is a self-proclaimed designation. Sanctuary churches or coalitions are distinct from Sanctuary cities.
In 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put out a memo saying they would not pursue enforcement actions in certain sensitive locations, including churches, hospitals, and schools. While that’s not officially a law, it is a policy that the officers are told to follow. ICE’s website states that the Sensitive Locations Memo is still in effect today.
Sanctuary is offered by a church or a group of churches to an undocumented immigrant with a final order of deportation. In our local coalition, that immigrant must have some legal pathway to stay in the United States, but they just need more time to pursue their legal case. Sanctuary allows the immigrant to live inside a church, to buy them enough time to pursue their legal case and potentially avoid deportation. One important consideration of Sanctuary is to keep families together, rather than having one or both parents be deported.
It is imperative for a church or a coalition of churches to go public to law enforcement when declaring Sanctuary, in order to avoid charges of harboring a fugitive. Providing Sanctuary in this way is completely legal.
The Accompaniment and Sanctuary Coalition of Colorado Springs has a strict vetting process, and we only accept into Sanctuary guests who have no criminal record. Most immigration violations are civil, not criminal, in nature.
Today, most undocumented immigrants are not even given an opportunity to seek Sanctuary; most are deported immediately. Most of the people living in Sanctuary across the United States have been in Sanctuary for more than a year already.
As of December 2018, there were four women in Colorado living in Sanctuary, and 42 people living in Sanctuary in 28 U.S. cities.
Typically Unitarian Universalists, United Churches of Christ, United Methodists, Mennonites, and Quakers offer the physical Sanctuary space, and a coalition of churches helps support the person living in Sanctuary.
How can you get involved, individually or as a congregation?
The Accompaniment and Sanctuary Coalition of Colorado Springs helps support immigrants by connecting them with local resources. In today’s political climate, immigrants are afraid, and they appreciate having a friend who speaks good English to help them navigate. We provide training for anyone who wants to get involved.
Your congregation might also consider joining the Sanctuary Coalition. Though we often only hear one side of it, the church in the U.S. does still have some moral authority. Joining the coalition would help to amplify a voice for justice within the local faith community.
I am personally a member of the Sanctuary Coalition because of God's repeated invitations and commands throughout the Bible to love my neighbor and welcome the stranger. I hope you consider joining me.