Earlier this month, the Rev. Pilar Pérez, a United Methodist minister in the denomination’s Western North Carolina Conference, called up a parishioner who hadn’t been to worship in a while. The pastor encouraged the congregant to attend Christmas services, even…
Trump administration targets Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande
The Trump administration has suspended federal funding to Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande pending the outcome of an investigation into alleged “incomplete and inaccurate” record keeping by the faith-based agency. The ongoing review also could result in a period…
Travel ban expansion will do more harm, advocates warn
The expansion of President Donald Trump’s travel ban will subject more refugees and immigrants to grave danger and diminish opportunities for foreign professionals and students to work and study in the U.S., immigration and education advocates warn. “With the U.S….
Are all undocumented immigrants criminals?
In the debate over U.S. immigration policy, MAGA conservatives begin with the premise that anyone who crosses the border into the U.S. without advance permission is breaking the law. Therefore, the very act of entering the country is a crime….
Advent messages urge United Methodists to defend immigrants
As President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued immigration enforcement aggressively this year, The United Methodist Church has intensified multiple avenues of immigrant support. Now United Methodist leaders are using their Advent messages to urge pastors and church members to protect…
Let’s change how we talk about immigrants
Conversations about immigration, especially on social media, reveal hard lines in the sand, a closed binary line of thinking, along with disgust, anger and outrage. Bring up immigration at the family Thanksgiving gathering, and the turkey may burn in the…
How The Son Of Jewish Immigrants Became The King Of American Comedy
“The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “All in the Family,” the riffs and routines of Johnny Carson and Larry David. His writers included Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon and Woody Allen.
A conversation with Michael Woolf about ICE and Chicago
On Halloween, ICE agents carried out a number of raids in and around Chicagoland — including in Evanston, home of Lake Street Church, an Alliance of Baptist congregation. In response, Lake Street’s senior pastor, Michael Woolf, joined protests at the…
All are welcome — except those we don’t like
While white evangelicals like to brand their churches to their neighbors as cool and kind, their behavior toward their neighbors often is cruel. I recently came across a perfect example of this through the social media posts of Nate Schlomann,…
JD Vance has an odd way with words
In a video podcast with a crucifix-wearing host, Vice President JD Vance discusses his faith and views on immigration policy. Along the way, this happens: VANCE: “So, I would talk to constituents in Springfield, Ohio. This was when I was…
In Chicago, Black and brown people are disappearing
The president of the United States has ordered an assault on Chicago. That assault is being carried out by a combination of groups — including uniformed Customs and Border Patrol officers, uniformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and plainclothes men…
I was a stranger … and you took away my food and put me in prison
In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches about the final judgment of nations with words that should pierce our hearts today: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a…