PCUSA.org – February 12, 2025
- LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is among more than two dozen plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in response to a rescission of the Department of Homeland Security’s “sensitive locations” policy. That policy had restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting immigration raids, arrests, and other enforcement actions at houses of worship.
- The case, Mennonite Church USA et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al., was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown Law. View the lawsuit here (Click the Link in the column at www.mygpc.org).
- A description of the PC(USA)’s ministry and mission is on page 15 of the lawsuit: “Guided by their call to welcome the stranger and belief in the inherent dignity of all people, PC(USA) actively advocates for and works toward more just immigration laws and processes.”
- Speaking on behalf of the General Assembly, the Stated Clerk and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA), the Rev. Jihyun Oh, said, “The policy statement ‘God Alone is the Lord of the Conscience’ adopted by the 200th General Assembly (1988) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sought to ‘articulate the conditions of the civil society necessary to the free and effective conduct of the church’s mission and ministry…’ because these are a ‘vital dimension of Presbyterian witness and responsibility’ both for the free exercise of religion in our country and for the common good.”
- “The policy statement affirmed that ‘the free exercise of religion’ must be understood to include and protect the right to practice faith in public and private as well as the right to believe….’ This is what the current legal action aims to do: to proclaim that the practice of faith is lived out not just in a worship service but in ministry, including public witness and acts of justice, that are expressions of the worship with the whole of our lives.”
The bullet points are taken from a larger article on The Presbyterian Church (USA) website.
Friends, as you’re reading this, I am in Stony Point, NY. I was invited to attend the Presbyterian Church (USA) Justice Summit at the Stony Point Conference Center, Friday, April 4 – Sunday, April 6, 2025. The Summit is focused on social issues that are currently under threat—Immigration issues, Institutional Racism, and Gender Justice.
On our Interim Pastor journey with you, I remain faithfully yours,
Steve
The Rev. Dr. Steven M. Marsh (Interim Pastor)
Mennonite Church USA v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Complaint >
Share
2
APR
APR
0