CRCNA Statement and Prayer on Immigration

Nearly 170 years ago, the CRCNA was born from immigrants. Today, approximately one quarter of our CRCNA congregations are predominantly made up of diverse ethnic groups, many of which include recent immigrants. These men and women are our pastors, prayer champions, elders, deacons, and teachers. Unfortunately many of them and their congregations in the United States are facing new pressures and fears that are disrupting the gospel ministry to which they've been called.

We know this from first-hand experience as CRC congregations with many immigrant members have shared the effects that harsh immigration enforcement actions have had on them, including the following:

• Members, both with and without legal status, being questioned and detained—sometimes even before or after church programs and worship services.
• Visas for students and others being canceled or significantly delayed.
• Families being separated. 
• Pastors being deported or leaving out of fear of deportation. 
• The inability of people to gather for worship and Bible study because churches and their parking lots are being monitored.
• Increasing violent, or even deadly, clashes between immigration agents and protestors—such as those in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we grieve this pain together. When some of our members hurt, we hurt together. So we lament the ways that various members of our church body and community have been treated. We, though we may  not be specifically targeted, stand in solidarity with those members who are most vulnerable. We, if we are experiencing mistreatment, refuse to give into despair. We all actively build relationships with each other, refuse to quietly accept injustices, and offer each other mutual support. 

We look around and see that other Christians are joining us in this effort. The National Association of Evangelicals, of which the CRCNA is a member, for example, “grieves all acts of violence against imagebearers of God,” is “concerned about the moral injury experienced by immigration agents who seek to serve honorably but face pressure to meet unrealistic arrest quotas,” and “calls for a bipartisan solution on immigration that respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent.”

As people of the CRCNA, we remember our denomination’s historical and ongoing positions on immigration and migration.

Recognizing that we have all been grafted into God’s elect people by his unmerited grace (Romans 9:6-29; 11:17-21), we believe that God calls us to show the same love and welcome to migrants, refugees, and immigrants in our countries and communities. The Lord our God loves and defends the cause of orphans, widows, and immigrants (Deuteronomy 10:17-20).

We know that the church of Jesus Christ is made up of all races (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 54) and is “not confined, bound, or limited to a certain place or certain people. But it is spread and dispersed throughout the entire world . . .” (Belgic Confession, Art. 27). Together we look forward to the day when God’s holy people from every nation, people, and language will worship before Christ’s throne (Rev. 7:9). 

Therefore Christian Reformed congregations are encouraged to welcome, love, and enfold immigrants, refugees, and migrants in our churches, and to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, increased opportunities for immigrants to gain legal status, and dignified treatment of those detained because of their lack of status (see Acts of Synod 2010, pp. 875-79).* 

The CRCNA also recognizes the right and duty of civil governments to regulate and manage national borders and immigration processes, and to do so in a way that promotes dignity and treats all people as God’s imagebearers. We grieve when this has not happened, and when people have instead been treated with indignity and disrespect. As churches, we commit to respect, pray for, and encourage the civil leaders of our nations, states, provinces, and other municipalities even as we advocate for change (Acts of Synod 2010, pp. 878-79).

Please join in this prayer:

Father God,

You are the God who calls people from every nation, tribe, people, and language into one holy, catholic church in all places and throughout all generations. Help us to truly embody this vision of your church in our relationships with one another. 

God, you have called us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you. Forgive us when we fail to heed this call. Forgive the injustice in our laws, our communities, and our interactions. Forgive us when we fail to see injustice or to respond with mercy. And help us walk with humility, recognizing that the answers lie with you, not our own ideas or solutions. 

Lord, we lift up our brothers and sisters to you. Save those who are hurting and displaced, those who live in fear, and those who are persecuted. Surround them with your peace and protection, and help them to know that you will sustain them. 

Lord, we long for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to share your peace with those who fear, your love with those who are hurting, and your gospel with those who are broken.

Bring healing to our communities and countries through your church. Give our civil leaders wisdom, and give us words to support and advocate for and with your imagebearers who are most affected. 

Give us hope as we look forward to the return of your Son and the coming of your heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, where you will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Amen.

*Note: Thrive, World Renew, and the Canadian Centre for Public Dialogue have resources to assist congregations in this area.