A Statement of Commitment to Our Religious Mission

We are called and committed to living out the radical welcome of our God. As part of living out this call, St. Paul & St. Andrew has a long history of being a “Sanctuary Church,” advocating and educating for the justice, equity, and inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers. Recent executive orders have targeted our immigrant siblings, making their journeys and lives even more difficult. We mourn this added burden and recommit to following Jesus, who was a refugee himself, dependent on the welcome and love of others to provide refuge.

Repealing the sensitive site status of houses of worship not only goes against federal law and the protections of our religious freedom and mission, it goes against centuries of tradition. Our church, like all houses of worship, should be a place of belonging, safety, and peace. We intend to work to keep it as such.

One valued partner, Immigration Law & Justice New York, a United Methodist Immigration Ministry, is a faith-based ministry, and very intentionally partners with us and other houses of worship to provide legal support and clinics. Executive Director, Rev. Paul Fleck, explains, “The Christian spirit of welcoming immigrants is a part of our DNA and in the DNA of the congregations with which we work."

Our beloved mutual aid partners at Venezuelans & Immigrants Aid embody the ethic of radical welcome. Executive co-director and co-founder, Niurka Melendez states, “We at VIA reaffirm our commitment to advocate, protect, and defend the people we serve, most of them survivors who fled dire situations in their home countries. We want to prevent fear from keeping migrant communities, both recently arrived and those in the country for a long time, away from the support that our partnership offers to them.”

We, at St. Paul & St. Andrew, stand unwaveringly in love and solidarity with our newest neighbors. We will continue to put our love and faith into action, responding to the needs of our neighbors, welcoming the stranger, and advocating for the equity and inclusion of our immigrant siblings. Together, with our interfaith, legal, non-profit, and mutual aid partners, we will continue to work to lift up the dignity and sacred worth of all people, oriented to the most vulnerable among us.

In love and solidarity,
Pastors Lea, K, and Andrea

For more information, please contact Rev. Lea Matthews at Lea@stpaulandstandrew.org or Rev. K Karpen at K@stpaulandstandrew.org.