In general, riding the wave of God’s justice at work in the world, the Center for Mission & Justice is meant to help local churches come to awareness and action in the things of God’s justice in the context of the neighborhoods throughout the New England District. Such endeavors might include but not be limited to: immigration and the movement of peoples, the sanctity of human life at all levels and in all seasons (birth/health/death, etc.), stewardship of God’s creation, socio-economics, unjust disparities of people groups (race, religion, gender, etc.), the discapacitation of humans (incarceration, trafficking, addiction, etc.), child welfare (fostering, adoption, etc.), human conflict, and access to necessities of life (clothing, food, housing, education, health care, etc.).

The quest to restore God’s justice is characterized as highlighted by Jesus in his Nazarene sermon (Luke 4:14-30) and in the judgment parable of Matthew 25:31-46.

There are many organizations and models that seek to come alongside local churches in these efforts through offering intentional processes of missional discernment and visioning. Some offer a wider bird's eye view: Communities on Mission/Church in Action, Fresh Expressions, Vision Partners, the USA-Canada Church of the Nazarene’s Blessing Our Community, etc. Others lead local churches in establishing more specific endeavors: Immigrant Connection, Sacred Settlements, etc.

Resources on Immigration

On January 26, we issued a letter of encouragement with resources in light of the executive policy changes regarding immigration and other peoples on the move. If you are a pastor on our district and did not receive the letter, reach out to us via email and we can send it to you. (Also, make sure you're on our Keeping You Connected mailing list!)

A standing statement from the Board of General Superintendents compels us to speak clearly and biblically to this challenging topic, inviting all Nazarenes to express Christian love to immigrants who live among us:

• We are called to participate in compassionate ministry to assist immigrants and refugees, to advocate for equitable laws that enable family reunification and pathways to legal status, and to love, welcome, assist, and disciple immigrants among us.

• …to treat immigrants with love, respect, and mercy.

• …to participate sacrificially in local, national, and global compassionate ministry responses to assist refugees and immigrants.

• …to encourage our respective governments to approve equitable laws that will allow for family reunification, legal work permits for productive immigrants in the workforce, and pathways for undocumented immigrants to be able to obtain authorized immigrant status.

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Resources for pastors & congregations navigating these things:

• Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero's words of encouragement - a great pastoral perspective

• National Immigration Forum: take a look at their full website, but recent updates and releases are available on the bottom of this page.

• Sanctuary & Harbor FAQ (en Español): Answers to questions about our churches, buildings, and ministry to and with immigrants.