December 202512/17/2025 Year in Review I was giving a presentation to a group of clergy and lay leaders in Texas over Zoom one Saturday morning earlier this year. I was explaining what changes at the federal level meant for ministry with immigrants and refugees, and this year that meant telling people pretty much exclusively bad news. One of the leaders commented during the Q and A that they wondered why I’m not horribly depressed, and to me that answer is pretty simple. While I am tuned in to the absolute worst our country has to offer for immigrants and refugees simply trying to live their lives in safety and freedom, I am also tuned in to the myriad ways Disciples of Christ are working to bring love and justice to people encountering a chaotic and cruel system.  In February and March, I was visiting with partners in Arizona and Southern California, learning about how the Arizona Disciples Border Initiative and Border Dignity Project were working to continue to meet the needs of immigrants as the world shifted under their feet. Both ministries are finding ways to accompany people with dignity and respect as they discern what next steps to take in seemingly impossible circumstances. In a time where the news continues to look bleak and the U.S. government continues to attack immigrant communities, I come to share that in 2025, Disciples were part of responding to this pain and grief with the good news that God welcomes all. Right off the bat, Disciples Justice Ministries convened a two day meeting in January to talk about how we as a church can have a coordinated response to attacks on immigrants, which led to a Know Your Rights training hosted by Disciples immigration attorney Jonelle Ocloo, helping churches to prepare for what was coming.  Through the rest of spring and summer, attention shifted to building relationships and creatingresources to meet the moment. We now have guides for immigration court watching; resources for safety planning should ICE come to your church building; and Operation Cacti, a partnership between Obra Hispana and Week of Compassion to support the emotional and spiritual care of children who are most impacted by our current immigration realities, along with resources for churches who seek to be in solidarity with them. We held clergy and lay leader gatherings in Chicago and Los Angeles, working to build the relationships we need to withstand a marathon of attacks on our communities. Throughout the year, we’ve met monthly to share the grief and joy of being in this work together. At General Assembly I met so many Disciples for the first time and learn about their ministries. At the Week of Compassion teach-in tent, we learned together about what happened to the refugee program and the economics of deportation, all while thinking together about how we continue to respond. Looking to 2026, there is no reason to believe that the situation will get any better for immigrants and refugees in the U.S. ... and yet I have hope. I have the kind of hope that is rooted in the way we can all continue to show up every day as though the kind of world God calls us to is actually possible. I have the kind of hope that is sustained through the discipline of continuing to show up, and seeing the way you all have showed up in 2025 inspires me. Thank you.
FORTY YEARS OF STORIES - CELEBRATING SOUTHWEST GOOD SAMARITAN MINISTRIES On the occasion of a fortieth anniversary of any kind, there are many stories to be told. At the Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries 40th anniversary celebration, I got to hear a small sliver of those stories in a time of joyous remembrance.   Some stories came through formal speeches at dinner, like when I learned that before the SWGSM campus was established, their founder and executive director Feliberto Pereira had nineteen refugees sheltering in his living room. Other stories spun out more informally, like the story of decades-long friendship between Feliberto and David Vargas, former Latin America and Caribbean Executive for Disciples Overseas Missions, told through familiarity and laughter over lunch. Other stories broke my heart. I met asylum seekers living in precarity, not knowing what will happen with their immigration cases in the weeks and months ahead – men and women made in the image of God and afraid for their futures and the futures of their children. A gentleman caring for his grandchildren while their parents are detained at two different facilities in the area. A couple in a mixed status family. A man who just lost his young wife due to complications with Lupus. Still other stories buoyed my spirit, like learning about the young man who meticulously hung every globe in the auditorium, transforming the space into a banquet hall with his care and attention. I heard about the ways Southwest Good Samaritan has accompanied thousands of people, continuing to work miracles even now by simply saying yes to God’s call to be in relationship with others and to accompany each other down the road of God’s love and justice.  I have one more story to share about the day after the celebration was over. One might expect that Feliberto would take off the Saturday after this party was over, perhaps to rest and prepare for worship at the church he pastors the next day, but this 87 year old man had more to do. He took me down to the border and showed me the places he has done ministry overthe years, pointing out the local ICE field office, the bus counters where he’s gotten tickets to help people find their way, and the border wall where they brought rice and beans to be served at migrant encampments when the US border was open for asylum seekers. While we were outside the bus station, Feliberto noticed a woman in need and struck up conversation with her, learning that she had been robbed and had no way to return to her work in Florida. Feliberto took decisive action, getting her the ticket she needed while I looked up the closest Disciples of Christ church to where she would be heading, giving her the contact information should she need a friendly place to land at the end of her journey. Feliberto prayed a blessing over her journey, and then we all parted ways, no longer strangers. When I first started at Week of Compassion in January of this year, I kept thinking to myself, How will we keep saying “Yes” to God’s call to welcome the sojourner while everything about current US policy says “No.”? Feliberto, who has seen eight presidents come and go while ministering to people on the move, embodies what it means to continue to say “Yes” to God’s call in spite of the circumstances. I give thanks to God for his ministry and the way he models to the church what it means to accompany each other closer to God’s realm on earth as it is in heaven. Comments are closed.
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Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee and development mission fund
of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. |
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mailing address:
P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis IN 46206 |
building address:
1099 N. Meridian, Ste 700, Indianapolis IN 46204 |