New Advent Reflection from Saint Francis Parish and Outreach

This week’s Scriptures call us to prepare the way of the Lord by walking with the stranger, defending the vulnerable, and welcoming those who seek refuge. Isaiah, Paul, and John the Baptist remind us that real faith produces real action and real hospitality.

In our reflection we also look honestly at how immigrants are treated in our nation today and why this conflicts with the Gospel and the long Christian tradition of welcoming the stranger. The early Church taught very clearly that the foreigner belongs to God and that loving the stranger is a command, not an option.

Read the full reflection on our website and join us as we walk with immigrants, neighbors experiencing homelessness, and all who come to our doors seeking hope.

https://oursaintfrancis.org/walking-with-the-stranger/

#Advent #Catholic #AugustaGA #Justice #SaintFrancisParish #WelcomeTheStranger #FaithInAction #WalkWithImmigrants

Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran Church body in America, issued a letter yesterday reiterating the biblical commitment to welcome and protect the marginalized and the oppressed and explicitly condemning Christian Nationalism.

"Christian Nationalism confuses the Gospel with political power, turns God into a mascot for the state, and privileges some people over others based on race, religion, or birthplace."

https://www.ecsw.org/news/a-letter-from-bishops-of-the-elca-to-the-church

#elca #WelcomeTheStranger #lutheran

On Sunday, the pope said the global Church was experiencing "a new missionary age" tasked with offering "hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity" to migrants fleeing violence or searching for a safe place to live.

It was a tradition in ancient eastern Mediterranean to welcome strangers: you never knew whether Zeus would show up. It’s charming to think a later practice included carpenters.
#PopeLeo #migrants #hospitality #welcomethestranger #IDF #flotilla

https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-after-trump-critique-urges-catholics-help-immigrants-2025-10-05/

To all the MAGA Christians you might want to read Matthew 25:31–46 and try to figure out if you’re the sheep or the goat.

#LoveThyNeighbor #ClotheTheNaked #CareForTheSick #FeedTheHungry
#GiveDrinkToTheThirsty #WelcomeTheStranger #VisitThePrisoner

As usual, the devil here is in the details.

The Red Don administration closed all funding for #refugees through the ORR. So how are they bringing over these Afrikaner so-called "refugees"?

They're relying on a smaller, still-funded (so far) program known as PCP, the "Preferred Communities Program". Many (but not all) refugee relocation agencies participate in PCP.

Notably, the Episcopalian Church does not participate in PCP. They therefore wouldn't have been able to settle the Afrikaners anyway.

So what they're doing is refusing to participate in a program in which they already have no part, and in addition they're closing up shop so they'll be unable to serve any actual refugees going forward.

Sounds a lot less heroic now, don't it?

#immigration #resist #Ω #DoNotComply #WelcomeTheStranger

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/g-s1-65988/episcopal-church-white-afrikaners-ends-partnership-u-s-government

Presidio’s Immigrant Point Overlook, Washington Boulevard in the Presidio. “We opened the gates to all the world and said: ‘Let all men who want to be free come to us and they will be welcome.'” –Woodrow Wilson Address at Independence Hall: "The Meaning of Liberty, July 04, 1914.

#sanfrancisco #presidio #goldengate #immigration #immigrants #welcome #welcomethestranger #freedom #nps #sfparks #nationalpark #woodrowwilson #stonemason #california #usa #landofimmigrants

Friends: #Refugees have been quite literally left out in the cold by the administration's cruel 1/24 order stopping any work on their behalf. These are people who were forced to leave their home country, then wait in another country while the US fully vetted them and processed their application, a process that could take two years or more.

Suddenly (in many cases, only days after their arrival) leaving families without food, shelter, language assistance, job counseling, or other support is an abomination and a betrayal of the highest order.

But you can help. Please consider a donation to the Refugee Program of the #Jewish Family & Children Service, or to the refugee #resettlement agency of your choice (such as #HIAS). Thank you!

Please boost this message so that others are given the opportunity to show our new neighbors that Americans can be welcoming and generous.

#immigration #homeless #poverty #WelcomeTheStranger #asylum #hope #sanctuary

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/refugeeassistanceprogram?blm_aid=11944435

Know your #rights! Interactions with ICE

Full text in the alt text. Please share!

#ICE #CBP #policeState #immigration #fascism #FirstTheyCameFor #WelcomeTheStranger #asylum #sanctuary #border #refugees #displacedpersons #Orwellian #Kafkaesque