Matthew 25

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

This month it was very difficult to narrow down which verses to use for my article because in the Bible, God constantly calls us throughout all generations to practice love and hospitality toward immigrants. We follow a savior that began his life as an undocumented immigrant as the Christmas story ends with Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt to protect Jesus. The command to care for the immigrant is one of most written about topics in the Bible, so I had literally pages of Bible verses to choose from.

Many member and non-member families come to Ascension for help. They know that Ascension is a faith community that welcomes, supports, walks with, and identifies in many ways with immigrants. One of those identifications was experienced last month when we celebrated Pupusa Fest. The cold weather and wind were no obstacle. Many visitors came to buy pupusas and see the facilities. Many were surprised to see that we have two sanctuaries and were impressed to learn that worship is held at the same time.

Sadly, three days after the festival, just as I was waking up, I received a call that ICE was arresting a member of our ministry who is of Salvadoran origin. I immediately went to his home to accompany the family and, above all, prevent intimidation. When I arrived, the officers had already entered the apartment without a warrant and were preparing to take our member away. Ultimately, our member had the luck that many immigrants don’t have. He was temporarily freed and released under surveillance. You can imagine the pain felt by many in our community. In a three day period, Salvadoran food was celebrated by the same city that cheered the suffering inflicted on a Salvadoran father who just wanted to keep his family safe.

Many immigrants do not believe those who say they welcome immigrants who come here as long as they do so legally. We see that the people who pledge to support only legal immigrants are the same people who also oppose immigration reform that would allow us to be here fully documented. We watch immigrants that are going through the process to be here legally getting deported when they show up for their appointments at immigration offices. A person can not truthfully say they support legal immigrants if they also prevent the possibility of legal migration.

I have the advantage that other immigrant pastors don’t have in this journey of persecution and intimidation. I am very grateful that Pastor Tony and Pastor Chris are walking hand in hand with me, supporting and spiritually assisting immigrant families as we fulfill Jesus’s calling. I know that there are some of you reading this article that are unhappy with me. I want to remind you of what Jesus tells us in Matthew 25.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

If Matthew 25 is not enough, Jesus also tells us in John 13, “A new command I give you: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” If my words bother you, I can not say sorry, because that would be rejecting Jesus’s message. As a pastor and a Christian, I will never apologize for doing what Jesus commands us to do, even if God’s word makes some church members unhappy. What I will do is pray for you. I humbly ask you all to pray for all immigrant families and for your pastors as we continue walking in this journey.

May the peace of Christ be with you all,

Pastor Edwin

Life’s Moments

After having celebrated Thanksgiving Day with family and friends, now is the time to begin preparing for our end-of-year celebrations with families. As a church, leaders are also preparing so that in this Advent season of 2024, you, your family, and those you invite to visit Ascension can experience and meditate upon God becoming human in a variety of traditions.

As a multicultural congregation, we have the gift of offering an Advent season in which we can see, know, and experience God’s human revelation in various ways but with the same purpose. Activities such as the Advent Concert Worship, the Sunday school program, the annunciation of the angel, live nativity, the posadas, Christmas Eve, the visit of the three wise men in January, and Family Day in February. All of these revive us and remind us of the origin of our history as a Christian community.

On Thursday, Dec. 12, at 6 a.m., you are invited to join us in the Spanish Sanctuary where we will have the celebration of the Annunciation, the day in which we remember when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and revealed God’s will that she would become the means by which the Word would become flesh and dwell among us. This celebration will be accompanied by mariachi music, and a shared breakfast after worship.

On Saturday, Dec. 21, we hope that you will join us, accompany us and experience how the Holy Family arrives in Bethlehem as strangers looking for a refuge that was not found. As Luke 2:7 says, “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” The Christmas story is a reminder for us that the first years of Jesus’s life was spent as a migrant, searching for housing and safety. The Holy Family’s journey as foreigners began on their way to Bethlehem and continued on their trip to Egypt in search of refuge due to persecution by King Herod. For this reason, it is our tradition to begin Las Posadas with the Immigrant’s Creed, a creed that professes the Christian faith through the lens of an immigrant.

I believe in Almighty God, who guided the people in exile and in exodus, the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon, the God of foreigners and immigrants.

I believe in Jesus Christ, a displaced Galilean, who was born away from his people and his home, who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger, and returning to his own country suffered the oppression of the tyrant Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power, who then was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured, accused and condemned to death unjustly. But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead, not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the eternal immigrant from God’s kingdom among us, who speaks all languages, lives in all countries, and reunites all races.

I believe that the church is the secure home for the foreigner and for all believers who constitute it, who speak the same language and have the same purpose. I believe that the communion of the saints begins when we accept the diversity of the saints.

I believe in the forgiveness of sin, which makes us all equal, and in reconciliation, which identifies us more than does race, language, or nationality.

I believe that in the resurrection God will unite us as one people in which all are distinct and all are alike at the same time. Beyond this world, I believe in life eternal in which no one will be an immigrant but all will be citizens of God’s kingdom, which will never end. Amen.

Feliz Navidad!

Pastor Edwin

Who Is My Neighbor?

The Greater Milwaukee Synod Immigration and Refugee Committee is hosting an informational gathering here at Ascension to help people understand the realities of immigration and refugee resettlement. This special event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Topics to be covered will give you a better understanding of terms like migrants, asylum seekers, refugee resettlement. There will also be a chance to hear myths and factual information so you can better answer questions and more fully act on Jesus’ answer to the question Who Is My Neighbor? Learn how we can live with a better understanding of people who don’t look like us or have the same background as we do.

The hope is to show how we can show Christ’s love in this hostile world. Mary Campbell from ELCA Amparo and our GMS Bishop Paul Erickson, who is on the board for Global Refugees, will be two of the speakers.

Please sign-up to help with hosting duties.

Get to Know the ELCA

Because God has been good to us, we can share that goodness with others, and our church is an excellent vehicle to use. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a four million member church that draws on our rich and vibrant faith that connects us to Lutherans all over the world. Our ministries throughout the nation and the world are extremely efficient and solidly ethical. The ELCA and 300 health and human service organizations participate in an alliance known as Lutheran Services in America, which serves more than six million people each year in the United States and the Caribbean. That’s 1 in 50 Americans every year. That’s HUGE! We Lutherans serve 1 in 50 Americans! As part of this alliance, we support more than 285 social ministry organizations affiliated with the ELCA. Chances are, if you want to start a ministry, the ELCA is already doing it!

The ELCA has so many ministries that there is no way I can list all that we do nationally and globally. So, let’s begin with our home congregation. Through Ascension’s Mission Outreach wing, we embrace our Companion Synods: Tanzania and El Salvador. Companion Synods are a concrete expression of our communion and fellowship with the 140 Lutheran churches of The Lutheran World Federation. There are 65 synods in the ELCA. Each synod has at least one international church companion. We are part of the Greater Milwaukee Synod; therefore, we embrace the relationships that the ELCA has prayerfully assigned to us. Ascension and Cross Lutheran have enjoyed a long history with El Salvador. In fact, churches in our area were instrumental in providing asylum for Salvadorans during their civil war. We also enjoy a deep and abiding relationship with Cross Lutheran in Milwaukee. Ascension focuses on our three partnerships and builds relationships that are mutually uplifting.

We belong to an amazing church that is active in the world. When people are facing a crisis or are at their most vulnerable, we respond with care and compassion, ready to serve and love our neighbor. Here are several examples of how we, the ELCA, serve God and the people of God (descriptions taken from elca.org).

ELCA MALARIA CAMPAIGN

A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds. But we are changing that grim statistic. Since the ELCA Malaria Campaign joined the global movement to fight malaria, we have seen a reduction in the number of deaths from this disease. But we’re not done yet. We are committed to raising $15 million by 2015 to support work in 13 of our companion churches in Africa. We are going to make malaria history!

ELCA WORLD HUNGER

More than 800 million people – that’s 1 in 8 people in our world today – are chronically hungry and cannot lead active daily lives. Did you know that 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 per day? Or that in the United States, more than 50 million people do not know where their next meal will come from? Or that 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty. As members of the ELCA, we are called to respond. In 2012, our support of ELCA World Hunger totaled $18.6 million. ELCA World Hunger supports projects and programs in 43 U.S. states; 56 countries (including the U.S.); 388 food pantries, homeless shelters and other projects in the U.S.; 239 sustainable development, health and other projects around the world; and 15 education and networking programs in the ELCA.

HIV AND AIDS MINISTRY

AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide. The ELCA, along with the international community, has pledged both resources and action.

LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE

Lutheran Disaster Response brings God’s hope, healing, and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world. When the dust settles and the headlines change, we stay to provide ongoing assistance to those in need. The ELCA is currently responding to U.S. flooding and fires; Middle East and Europe refugee crisis; the Nepal area earthquake; the Ebola outbreak; unaccompanied and migrant children, and the South Sudan conflict.

LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE (LIRS)

We are a church that does God’s work in the world and in local communities pursuing justice, peace, and human dignity for and with all people. In partnership with Lutheran congregations and Lutheran social ministry organizations, LIRS has welcomed more than 379,000 refugees to the United States since 1939. This ongoing partnership and work is driven by God’s love for all people and a vision
for congregations to be welcoming and generous centers for mission and ministry. Now, we are working to resettle immigrants from Syria.

GLOBAL CHURCH

We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world, together. 70 million Lutherans do make a difference! As a member of The Lutheran World Federation, the ELCA is one of 142 member churches in 79 countries all over the world. Walking and working together, we seek to accompany our companions. Accompaniment is defined as walking together in a solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality. The ELCA lives out accompaniment in relationships with global companions in the following ways: Mutually: All of us have gifts to support God’s mission. There is no mission to, only mission with and among. Inclusively: We seek to build relationships across boundaries that exclude and divide. Vulnerably: Just as Jesus became vulnerable to us, we open ourselves to others. Empowering: We seek to identify and correct imbalances of power, which may mean recognizing and letting go of our own. Sustainably: To ensure local ministries last, we seek to embed mission in ongoing relationships and communities.

PUBLICLY ENGAGED CHURCH

We pursue justice and seek peace. Our faith and our call to boldly serve and love our neighbor take us into some interesting and challenging aspects of life: advocacy, corporate social responsibility, racial justice, science and ethics, peacemaking, justice for women, social issues, and community organizing. We are drawn into every corner of life, society and its institutions to bring the good news of Jesus Christ and to work for lasting, positive change that upholds human dignity.

PEACE NOT WALLS

The ELCA is working for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel through our campaign, Peace Not Walls. Peace Not Walls connects ELCA members to our companions and promotes dignity, full respect for human rights, healing and reconciliation. With our Palestinian Lutheran companions, we also accompany Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims working together for peace with justice.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There is a great need for your time and skills for doing God’s work in the world. Locally, God is already doing great things through ELCA congregations, Lutheran social ministry organizations, and projects in our area. Check out our synod’s website: milwaukeesynod.org. Nationally, there are a wealth of volunteer opportunities: ELCA- affiliated camps and retreat centers across the United States; Lutheran Disaster Response sites; Lutheran social ministry organizations; Mission Builders donate their time and technical know-how to help with construction of new churches. There are also long-term service opportunities through Holden Village, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Urban Servant Corps, and Border Servant Corps. We even have short- term and long-term service opportunities around the world through ELCA Global Mission.

ECUMENICAL AND INTER-RELIGIOUS RELATIONS

The ELCA is not an island. We are committed to fostering unity among the children of God for the sake of the world. The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations team cooperates with partners, such as The Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Our Full Communion partners are the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, Moravian Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, and United Church of Christ. We are dedicated to living out our baptismal calling to be light to the world. We serve our awesome God in amazing ways.

(This article was taken from Ascension’s October 2015 newsletter).