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Sanctuary Starts with Relationships, Relationships, and Relationships.

GET OUT OF THE BUILDING                                                           CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY!

None of us can be of much help nor find help with others if we do not know and trust one another. Building relationships across differences of culture, ethnicity, religion, language and immigration status will help our communities be stronger and safer for all. 

Immigrant Welcoming Communities

Welcoming Community is a program to guide local churches in learning about and connecting with immigrant populations in their community. It is also a way for churches with many immigrants to build relationships with churches with members primarily from the dominant culture. In times of divisiveness, such relationships help us all be be wiser, safer and more loving.

Neighbors Together:Neighbors Together Promising Practices to Strengthen Relations with Refugees and Muslims is a booklet with many ideas and many stories of success in building communities of neighbors was produced by Welcoming America which also has many other helpful resources.

Learn about immigration realities:

  • The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Community Education,  in Washington State, offers community education programs around Washington Sate.
  • Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, Portland, provides speakers for educational events to faith communities.
  •  Dreamers and DACA: Learn more about the program started by President Obama which offers the right to work, study and avoid deportation for young undocumented immigrants which meet certain criteria: DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This site provides basic and updated information.
  • Immigration 101 for Allies and Service Providers. This 2 hour 22 minute education program provides information valuable for churches.  The video is taken from a live program hosted by from the Seattle Public Library Foundation, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. The slides are an updated version of those used in the live program.
  • What is detention for immigrants? Detention Watch Network is a national organization with information about the politics, the financing and details of the detention experience for immigrants.
  • Colectiva Legal del Pueblo, in Seattle, offers training in community organizing, history and roots of oppression and immigration, know your rights and, can even offer childcare for training events.

Learn about Muslims:

Organize WITH the community:

Rapid Response Toolkit for Faith Communities and Allies: How to organize, create networks, and roles to be able to plan and then respond in the moment of a raid by ICE.

Work to help your city to become a Sanctuary City:

Stay connected and up to date:

We Welcome the Immigrant – UMC of the Greater Northwest Facebook Group for staying up to date on news, sharing information, coordinating action through United Methodist Churches in the Greater Northwest Area, including the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Counter Discrimination against Muslims