Recently, three key leaders representing the Board of Directors of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) issued a statement in response to current and ongoing immigration enforcement in American cities, specifically Chicago. For the first time in history, the city is being considered a “border territory” by the Trump administration because it falls within the 100-mile border enforcement zone established by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Addressed to the American Baptist family, Rev. Dr. Jamie Washam, President of ABHMS Board of Directors, Rev. Trevor Hyde, Vice President of the ABHMS Board of Directors and Executive Director of ABHMS and CEO of Judson Press, Dr. Jeffrey Haggray offered a pastoral response prompted by recent events. On November 14, clergy and faith advocates were arrested during a peaceful demonstration in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, Illinois.
Identifying a member of their community who was arrested during the nonviolent protest, the statement reads in part, “Among those arrested was Rev. Michael Woolf—pastor of Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois; a 2023 recipient of the Edwin T. Dahlberg Peace and Justice Award; and a respected American Baptist voice whose writing for The Christian Citizen exemplifies our tradition’s commitment to conscience and public witness. His involvement serves as a prominent example of the broader prophetic and pastoral engagement demonstrated by many faith leaders throughout the Chicago area.”
The three leaders said the situation in Chicago, “felt acutely by immigrant and asylum-seeking families, by congregations offering support, and by faith leaders seeking justice,” is a recurring demand for empathy and faithful participation.
“We are mindful that the immigration enforcement actions taking place in Chicago are happening in other cities including Charlotte, Los Angeles, Memphis, Portland, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. We denounce the dehumanization and cruelty of the current approach and extend our support to American Baptist churches and leaders across the United States and Puerto Rico as they continue to live into the gospel in their cities and communities.”
Read the full press release, which includes next steps, here.
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Director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative, an associate editor, host of the Good Faith Media podcast, “The Raceless Gospel” and author of Take Me to the Water: The Raceless Gospel as Baptismal Pedagogy for a Desegregated Church.
