A note from Pastor Travis 10/23/25
Message from our Pastor
The Reverend Travis Bonnette-Kim
This past week, I was asked what the United Methodist response to the Trump administration immigration policies and the ICE raids. Early on in this crisis, the United Methodism Bishops issued a statement condemning these policies. Since that time, a number of statements and calls to action have been issued by the General Board of Church and Society, the United Methodist Agency responsible for speaking about and organizing around justice issues.
Below, I am sharing a link to read a recent statement by the General Board of Church and Society and a second link to the General Board of Church and Society’s webpage. I invite you to explore this website to learn about the United Methodists church’s justice work. I am also sharing a statement by the United Methodist Bishops.
The United Methodism moral theological stand on these issues is grounded in scripture and rooted in our Social Principles, which states in section G:
“We affirm the dignity, worth and rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees, including displaced and stateless people. In so doing, we acknowledge that the world today is facing an unprecedented crisis related to the displacement of vast numbers of people due to such factors as ongoing wars and other hostilities, foreign interventions, widespread famine and hunger, global warming and climate change, and the failure of nation-states to adequately protect and care for their people.
We recognize that displaced people are particularly vulnerable as their in-between status often provides them with few protections and benefits, leaving them open to exploitation, violence and abuse. We urge United Methodists to welcome migrants, refugees, and immigrants into their congregations and to commit themselves to providing concrete support, including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment and other kinds of support.
We oppose all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants or refugees. Additionally, we decry attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions. We challenge policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children, and we oppose the existence of for-profit detention centers for such purposes.”
Link to statement by the General Board of Church and Society:
Link to their website: https://www.umcjustice.org/
Bishop Statements
Pastoral Letter Addressing the Plight of Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees in the US
Epiphany 2025
Jesus said, “When you welcome the stranger, you welcome me….” Matthew 25:35
At no time has the church in the U.S. had a greater opportunity to welcome Jesus among us as he journeys with migrants, immigrants, and refugees than today. We, your bishops, are clear that the situation these beloved of God face as the Trump Administration comes to power threatens their humanity, livelihood, and basic human rights.
For decades, a broken immigration system in the U.S. has kept migrants, immigrants and refugees in this country living in the shadows of society in a state of perpetual fear. They have come to the U.S. under forced circumstances fleeing extreme poverty, hunger, political and religious persecution, war, cartel and gang violence, and the severe impact of climate change.
Some are actively recruited by large U.S. companies who need their labor. Yet migrants,
immigrants and refugees help to sustain the U.S. economy, serve our families caring for our children and our elderly, cleaning our homes, landscaping our properties, building our roads and the houses we live in, and cultivating and picking the crops that feed our families. They are our neighbors, our friends, and members and pastors of our churches.
Deplorably, racist, xenophobic, nationalistic, and anti-migrant hate speech has become standard rhetoric for many US politicians, including President-elect Donald Trump. He has stated that under his administration he will order the mass deportation of the 11 million undocumented migrants who live and work in the U.S. He has threatened to use military and law enforcement at all levels for this mass deportation. If allowed, this mass deportation of migrants will cause further racial profiling, the separation of families, the undermining of communities and congregations, the weakening of the economy of this country and its democratic systems of law and justice.
President-elect Trump has also threatened to end birth-right citizenship, dismantle Refugee resettlement in this country and further strip away the possibility of the U.S. welcoming Asylum Seekers onto this land.
We are living in a dark time that more than ever calls us to be the light of Christ, people of faith who take our baptismal vow to “resist evil in all its forms,” with utmost seriousness.
As United Methodists we have firmly declared through our Social Principles that we are called to actively welcome the migrant, immigrant, and refugee among us.
• Affirming the dignity, worth and rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees.
• Recognizing that displaced people are particularly vulnerable as their in-between status often provides them with few protections and benefits, leaving them open to exploitation, violence and abuse.
• Urging one another to welcome migrants, refugees, and immigrants into our congregations, providing concrete support to them, including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment and other kinds of support.
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• Opposing all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants or refugees.
• Decrying attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
• Challenging policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children.
• Opposing the existence of for-profit detention centers that are used for the purpose of detaining migrants, immigrants, and refugees including minor children.
(Social Principles of The United Methodist Church, The Political Community Basic Rights and Freedoms, Section G. Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees)
We, your bishops, call upon the people of The United Methodist Church to pray for migrants, immigrants, and refugees among us, and to welcome them with the fullness of Christian love, remembering that as we welcome these, our brothers, and sisters, we welcome Jesus our Lord.
Bishop Tracy S. Malone
President – Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
If you have any questions about our Church’s stand, please talk to me.
Blessings and Grace,
Pastor Travis