Remarks delivered by Executive Director Jennifer Copeland at a March 17 press conference in Chapel Hill on the Sanctuary Movement. At the North Carolina Council of Churches, we don’t pretend to be objective; we don’t pretend to represent a variety of opinions. We refract the issues of the day through the lens of faith, the faith as heard through the prophetic voice of the Old Testament and the gospel proclamation of the New Testament. As one baptized and confirmed into the Christian faith, my allegiance is first and foremost to…
Council hires new Program Coordinator for Immigration Advocacy
The North Carolina Council of Churches must replace our veteran Immigration Program Director, Jennie Belle, who will become the Faith Community Organizer for the national organization, Church World Service. Over the past year and a half, Belle has become a leading voice for the burgeoning Sanctuary Movement, offering webinars, workshops, and guidance to local congregations exploring this avenue for offering hospitality to the sojourner among us. When CWS decided to expand their own Sanctuary efforts across the country, they looked to the work emanating from the Council. Fortunately, for the…
Statement Affirming the Ministry of Sanctuary by Congregations
Statement Affirming the Ministry of Sanctuary by Congregations Approved March 6, 2018 by the Governing Board of the North Carolina Council of Churches The North Carolina Council of Churches: Reaffirms the NC Council of Churches Statement on Immigration, “Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform” (Dec 5, 2006), a portion of which states: As people of faith and conscience, we recognize that while the issue of immigration is complex, our calling is to welcome the stranger and offer hospitality and justice to the migrant and refugee, regardless of legal status. We remember…
Looking for Help?
The Federal Government of the United States of America shut down at midnight on Friday. It reopened yesterday, but may shut down again in February. Uncertainty and disorientation abound. I lift my eyes up to the mountains. At stake are protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients which are set to expire in March, the already expired Children’s Health Insurance Program, and funding for a wall to be built along the US border with Mexico. Where does…
Jesus, Martin, and Gilles
A reflection on Jesus of Nazareth (out of which nothing good comes)¹, the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr., and the detention of Gilles Bikindou. Jesus. Martin. Gilles. These men have been with me in recent days – days in which immigration reform has been at the forefront of our national conversation; days in which folks spew all sorts of misunderstandings about refugees, immigrants, detention, and who has the right to be and thrive in this country; days in which our nation (ostensibly) turned our attention to honoring…
Defending Temporary Protected Status
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced the decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. This temporary immigration status allows people from certain countries to live and work in the United States during a humanitarian crisis in their home countries. With the decision by the current administration, over 250,000 Salvadorians – the largest group of people protected under TPS – will lose their protection and be forced to return to El Salvador, which could result in grave danger to their lives. Those under this…
Council Offers Updated Sanctuary E-course
A growing movement of immigrant and faith communities have committed to doing what Congress and the Administration refuse to do: protect and stand with immigrants facing deportation. However, many congregations have questions. Who is seeking sanctuary? Who leads sanctuary? How do faith communities declare sanctuary? To answer these questions, the NC Religious Coalition for Justice for Immigrants has created a brand new six-week E-course. Each week, you will receive a different course in your inbox. This course has been updated from the previous course to include new videos, podcasts, and…
People’s Plaza (CCB Plaza)
Hope for the Holidays: 2017 Advent Calendar to Defend Immigrants and Refugees
Last year, we created an Advent Calendar to Support Immigrants and Refugees. This year, as the futures of tens of thousands of refugees, DACA recipients, and immigrants who are at risk for deportation remain in question, we have created an “Advent Calendar to Defend Immigrants and Refugees.” As we enter into a season of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ, the immigrant and refugee, we encourage you to take one action every day to protect, serve, and love our neighbors from other countries. We have especially included a week…
Support the Council on Giving Tuesday
Dear Friends, Last year when we sent out our fall appeal requesting financial support for the work of the North Carolina Council of Churches we were only days past the presidential election and could only hypothesize about what lay ahead. In that letter I predicted “constrictions on health care coverage and access to affordable health care, increased discrimination against LGBTQ citizens, restrictions on reproductive rights, antagonism towards immigrants, and on-going wage depreciation that will most severely impact the working poor.” Too bad, I can’t pick lottery numbers with the same…
Protect Dreamers This Thanksgiving
For many of us living in the United States, Thanksgiving is a time when we get together with family and friends. We share food, fellowship, and the things that we are grateful for. When I think about the past year when so many of my neighbors have been under attack and living in fear, I give thanks for the many organizations that are working to make our communities safe and welcoming for all. I give thanks for the four churches in North Carolina who have been willing to open their doors…
Sanctuary Matters: Testimony and Best Practices
In light of recent events involving the deportation and fears of our immigrant brothers and sisters throughout the state, the NC Council of Churches’ annual Faith & Immigration Summit will focus on the topic of sanctuary this year. Our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers are terrified about being detained and deported; profiled because of their religion, race or political beliefs; losing their health coverage; and facing hate and discrimination. Learn why congregations across the region and country are choosing to support and provide sanctuary, what it means in practice, and how…
Sanctuary Matters: Testimony and Best Practices
Sanctuary Matters: Testimony and Best Practices: A Weekend of Reflection & Training September 16, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 17 United Church of Chapel Hill 1321 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Chapel Hill In light of recent events involving the deportation and fears of our immigrant brothers and sisters throughout the state, the NC Council of Churches’ annual Faith & Immigration Summit will focus on the topic of sanctuary this year. Our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers are terrified about being detained and deported; profiled because of their religion, race or…
Blessed Are the Dreamers
This week, the Trump administration announced it will end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama initiative protecting hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants from deportation. This protection allows them to work, study, get a driver’s license, and more easily afford college. Unless Congress acts in the next six months to save the program, the individuals protected will lose their current legal status. This announcement immediately impacts nearly 800,000 young DREAMers whose futures are now uncertain. The Bible tells us a lot about dreamers and God’s care for…
Opposing the RAISE Act
Two weeks ago, the President endorsed a new bill in the Senate designed to cut legal immigration levels in half over a decade, a potentially extreme change to policies that have been in place for more than half a century in our country. The RAISE (Reforming Immigration for Strong Employment) Act would reduce the annual distribution of green cards awarding permanent legal residence to just over 500,000, a decrease of more than 1 million. These cuts would include reductions to family-based immigration programs, eliminating the ability of United States citizens…