Church Together at the Border

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The last two weeks in July will include a large-scale reunification of parents & children separated under the Zero Tolerance policy. The objective is to reunify 1,500 children in the next 2 weeks. All of the reunified families will be released to 4 NGOs: Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Phoenix, Catholic Charities in San Antonio, Sacred Heart in McAllen, and Annunciation House in El Paso.
Annunciation House, the primary hospitality center in the El Paso/Las Cruces area, will receive 400 – 500 reunified families each week, in addition to the 400 – 500 families they welcome weekly. Peace Lutheran Church in Las Cruces and Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey in El Paso partner with Annunciation House to offer hospitality in their congregations. 
As a church with a long history of ministry among refugees and immigrants, the time is right for us to act as Church Better Together, assisting our ELCA congregations in their care for refugees and immigrant families at the border.

The ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod is establishing a Border Emergency Fund to support the work of Cristo Rey and Peace  as they host refugees and assist in the reunification of immigrant families. It costs $100 to provide hospitality to a family staying at one of our RMS congregations, as they assist them getting to their sponsor.” Our goal is to raise $10,000 for immediate needs. 

Give to the Border Emergency Fund on the Rocky Mountain Synod Website (bottom right corner)

For more information on the specific ministries of these congregations, click here:

Peace Lutheran Church
Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey

 It is time to act as Christ's Church Better Together for the sake of our most vulnerable neighbors.

 In faith,
Bishop Jim 

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