February 20262/26/2026 A Larger Crowd We have just celebrated the Week of Compassion Special Offering, taking time to think together about A New Way of being in ministry at this time. I’ve always enjoyed the passage that anchored our reflections for this offering. The image of four friends doing whatever it took to get their friend access to healing is a powerful one, but this year there was a new element that captured my attention in Mark 2:1-5. The passage says, “Then some people, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.” In the past, when I’ve pictured this scene, I’ve only imagined the four people and the paralyzed man. I didn’t ever think that they were a subset of a larger group as is so clearly implied in the passage. It’s easy, with our eyes and hearts trained in a highly individualistic culture, to valorize the four people carrying their friend, but as I now picture them surrounded by a larger crowd, it changes the way I see the story. We don’t know for sure how many more people were there, but even another four or five would have changed things in this situation. I think about how much easier it would be to carry someone a great distance to healing if I knew that someone could step in to carry my load, that the four who carried the mat did not have to be the strongest if they had people to take turns with. I think about if I was the one laying on the mat and the mixed emotions I would carry with me, perhaps joy at knowing how cared for I was by so many, perhaps an element of embarrassment about being out in the open in my community being so obviously vulnerable. I wonder if it would make me feel less embarrassed to have friends outside of those carrying the mat who might be able to block my body from view of voyeuristic onlookers. When the four go up to the roof to commit property damage, I wonder if the larger group was on the ground doing crowd control, getting the four enough time to cut through the layers of roofing materials to get their friend closer to healing. I think about them going through plan A of the front door to B or C or D in their minds, never giving up on their pursuit of healing. Right now when it comes to immigrant and refugee response it feels like there are not enough letters in the alphabet to count which version of a plan we are on to keep our immigrant and refugee siblings as secure as we can, but I am continually amazed at how Disciples are willing to show up in solidarity and love, whether that is bearing witness in immigration court, getting food delivered to neighbors who can’t leave their homes, patrolling elementary schools to send up the alarm if ICE shows up, or collecting more comfort items for Operation Cacti to let our kids know they are loved and prayed for by their church. If you’re ready to figure out where you fit in the crowd, email me to set up a time to talk.
Operation PARRIS and Refugee Arrest and DetentionIn mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security announced in this court filing that any refugee who does not have a green card (even if they have a green card application pending) after one year in the United States is subject to arrest and detention for the purpose of re-examining their application. It is important to understand that all refugees who are granted refugee status and are admitted as refugees – in the Biden administration and in all other administrations across this program’s multi-decade history – go through extensive biographic and biometric screening, an interagency vetting procedure, and multiple in-person interviews. The reason most refugees are unable to adjust to a green card after one year is due to years-long USCIS delays, not because of any failure on their part. Furthermore, USCIS has currently suspended adjustments of status for recently arrived refugees – exacerbating the barriers to access permanent status the memo focuses on. If allowed to move forward, this policy will rip tens of thousands of refugees from their homes and send them to indefinite detention and possible removal. Families who have been through years of vetting and been promised permanence and safety by the United States government will be torn apart. If your church is accompanying refugee families who fall in the category of people who could be arrested and detained, please contact Grace Kozak so that we can talk through your best options to support these families. Additionally, IRAP (The International Refugee Assistance Project) has developed guides for refugees and service providers to request a copy of their refugee application to help prepare for the re-interview process. Faithful Response Immigration Gathering
Join Our Monthly Callconversation to support and equip churches and individuals for immigrant and refugee response 4th Thursday monthly - register for either or both times 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 |