IPC Calls for Christian Support of the Sanctuary Movement
Washington DC October 16, 2007 The Institute for Progressive Christianity believes that the plight of the undocumented immigrants is of our concern. Therefore, IPC stands in support of the New Sanctuary Movement in the name of hospitality and justice.
A sanctuary is a place that guarantees safety and protection. This concept has solid biblical underpinnings and a long history in the Christian tradition. There are written records documenting this practice in the times of the crusades and in the Middle Ages. When people took refuge in a sanctuary, they were considered beyond the reach of civil law.
Two decades ago, the faith-based sanctuary movement came to the U.S. when Christians chose to come forward and offer sanctuary to the refugees fleeing the wars in Central America. An earlier example of similar faith based work was the Underground Rail Road. What both of these movements shared was a commitment to justice and providing refuge for those who needed it.
Now the sanctuary movement has been reborn. These immigrants enter the United States out of the same desire for a better life of immigrants past, documented as well as undocumented. For many, their passage is dangerous and agonizing. And once they reach this country they are often exploited by their employers and attacked by hostile individuals. In response, to a broken immigration system and the unwarranted hostility and aggression that is being fueled by a right wing "nativist" movement, Christians have come together to provide sanctuary to immigrants and their native born children.
