Explore Christian Responses to Immigration

Come hear how local faith communities are responding to the current immigration situation and how they have overcome obstacles to their work. This workshop will include brainstorming practical responses for personal and congregational involvement.  

We will begin the workshop with an introduction to the terms “migrant,” “immigrant,” and “refugee”; and suggest guidelines for how we can talk respectfully about the issues. 

Christine Baer from Church World Service will share about their work with immigrants and refugees in Lancaster and beyond. She will discuss how local congregations can be involved in building relationships and positively impacting their neighbors. 

Pastor Greg Davidson Laszakovits will share about Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren’s Immigrant Support Committee. It started by finding ways to support “dreamers,” undocumented young people brought to the U.S. as minors. More recently they have been involved with advocacy efforts and maintain a fund for local immigrants in need. 

Fannie Miller, with Walking Together, a program developed by members of Landisville Mennonite Church, will discuss her regular visits to the York Detention Center, the largest in PA. The Center receives people from across the country, so an individual’s family and friends may be hundreds of miles away. Sometimes language barriers cut people off from everyday conversation. Walking Together steps in, visiting individuals at the Center weekly, and finding volunteers with specific language skills as needed. 

Hear about these initiatives, ask questions about ideas you have, and help your congregation get involved with the issue of immigration.