Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

Children are so important to us here at St. C's. We cherish our kids, work hard to provide nourishing Christian formation for them, and as a community we do our best to listen to them, honor them, and include their voices in how we do all that we do here. 

We love our children for who they are, and for what they represent to us: humans who are vulnerable to the world around them in ways that adults can pretend we are not. We strive to create community here that is markedly different from the way most of the world treats children. Across the globe when economies crash, when governments oppress, and when disaster strikes it is the children who suffer the most. It is children who cannot defend themselves, who do not have the opportunity to make decisions about their own futures, and it is in the way children are treated that, I believe, a society can be measured and judged.

Right now, in our country, children who have arrived at our borders are suffering. They are suffering in big ways. If you have access to news media at all, then you are likely aware of the conditions these children are being housed in, without access to basic hygiene items, the clothing needed to keep warm, or adequate adults to comfort or care for them. This is not a red or blue issue. It is not even, at its core, an issue of human dignity - although the dignity of these human beings is being radically and horribly disregarded.

This is an issue of justice. It is unjust for any nation to treat children this way. 

In the face of such things, it can be hard to know what to do, so here are some ideas. 

Click here to read the statement put out by The Episcopal Church and our Presiding Bishop about this situation. 

Click here for a list of resources from Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Several of our Dioceses on the southern border are mobilizing to take concrete action on behalf of children and adults held in camps and centers there without access to the resources they need to survive. 

As we celebrate our nation's independence this week, I invite you to join me in prayer for the soul of our country, and for all the human suffering at our borders. And then, I invite you to also join me in doing something about it - to call your congressperson, make a donation, get educated through the links above or another resource to let our government know that we cannot be free when we are subjugating innocent children to imprisonment and deprivation. 

In our gospel for this coming Sunday (Luke 10:1-11,16-20), Jesus sends out his friends to witness to the gospel, "like lambs among wolves." This is a reminder to us that we are all vulnerable to change, to evil, and to harm in this world. It is also a reminder that Jesus sends his own to us like lambs, in the strangers who come to us with nothing. We get to decide how we meet them. Let's not be wolves. 

with care and gratitude,

Alissa