6.6.2006 LCMS News
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod
June 6, 2006 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 36
Synod leaders urge 'appropriate solutions' to 'dilemma' of immigration legislation
While "issues related to immigration and immigration laws are causing distress in our land, it is not the role of the church to specify particular civil legislation, either to its own constituency or to the government," says a June 2 statement from two Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod leaders.
"We do, however, pray that God will grant wisdom and discernment to our nation's elected leaders as they endeavor to provide appropriate solutions to this very real dilemma," LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick and Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief/Human Care, say in their joint statement to the Synod posted on the Internet.
"Meanwhile, in order to fulfill our Christian obligation," their statement continues, "we also request that the charitable act of providing assistance to undocumented aliens not otherwise engaged in illegal activity not be criminalized ipso facto."
For Kieschnick and Harrison's entire "Joint Statement Regarding Immigration Concerns," go to http://www.lcms.org/?10023 <http://www.lcms.org/?10023> on the Web.
The statement begins by recalling that the 2.5-million-member Synod traces its origin to German Lutheran immigrants who came to Missouri in the mid-19th century seeking religious freedom.
"With this as part of its history, the LCMS has been sensitive to the needs of immigrants across its 159-year history," Kieschnick and Harrison say, pointing out that the Synod and its 6,150 congregations have welcomed immigrants "from all parts of the world." They note that in more recent years, such resettlement has been done in cooperation with social-ministry organizations and through a partnership with Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
"Millions of undocumented persons have come to the United States for many and various reasons," the two church leaders say. "They have come to flee oppression of many sorts, including extreme poverty and hunger. They have come in order to make provision for their loved ones. They have come in order to end separation from loved ones. They have come illegally because they have deemed that the legal route is nearly impossible to maneuver. They have come because they can work, and they find dignity in labor. We recognize also that a small percentage have come for malevolent reasons.
"Christians equally committed to God's Word may reasonably arrive at different conclusions on specific aspects of these issues and their resolution," the joint statement says. "However, this much is certain: God, in His Word, consistently shows His loving concern for 'the stranger in our midst' and directs His people to do the same."
"We pray that appropriate solutions may be found," Kieschnick and Harrison's statement concludes, "so that our assistance to those in need can also include helping persons become legal residents and citizens of this land of freedom and opportunity in which God has so richly blessed us."
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