Photo by Judy Minnich Stout
| Welcoming heart ministry By Judy Minnich Stout, member of San Diego (Calif.) First Church of the Brethren and the Welcoming HEART (Hope, Empathy, Admiration, Respect, Transparency) ministry Who are our neighbors? Where do they live? Where do they go? Some have come from as far away as Mali, like a young cowherder speaking only Fulani with no literacy skills to speak of. Some have walked for months (even years) to reach the international border near our city—just a 20 minute drive from our Peace Campus and the San Diego First Church of the Brethren. What do they need and what can we provide? Our leadership, made up of church members, has changed many times over the years but our ministry remains the same: provide shelter, guidance, a cup of cold water, a listening ear. Their stories are each unique. Some have lost family members along the route. Others have grown their families along the way. But the impulse never varies: they are seeking safety and a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. Our old buildings may have cracks and the occasional termite, but we are constantly thinking of how we can strengthen our outreach to the community in whatever form it takes. We have partnered with various refugee settlement agencies, and we have also taught our newly arrived neighbors how to get around by public transit and find the local food banks. We have accompanied asylum seekers to their appointed case dates in federal court and even visited them in detention. Recently we saw one taken by ICE agents right from under our noses as she exited the courtroom. Soon thereafter we were able to visit her in detention, and this took great courage not only on our part but for her. Before seeing visitors, she was strip-searched, which was so unbearable that she didn’t want to have another in-person visit. Shortly thereafter she was released to us. Some observed that it was precisely because a church was visiting and monitoring that she was released (as so many others were not). This is not always a pretty picture, but it shows that we care about them and their futures. We are currently upgrading our facility to better shelter asylum seekers and their families. We have found the nearby medical clinics that will care for their children. We assist families to get immunizations for their children and enroll them in local schools. And finally, when they are ready to move on to other lodgings, we help them pack up and get settled as best we can. How are you serving your neighbors? In the Church of the Brethren, we celebrate the work of congregations who serve their neighbors. Find more stories of churches being Jesus in the neighborhood at www.brethren.org/church. Learn more about the faith-building, life-changing work we do together at www.brethren.org/greatthings. (Read this issue of eBrethren.) |