On Behalf of The Least of These

Proverbs 31:8-9 tells us, 

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

    for the rights of all who are destitute. 

Speak up and judge fairly;

    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

And Jesus said in Matthew 25:40,

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

This past week, the Interfaith Ministerial Alliance issued a statement regarding the immigration enforcement crisis here in Key West. I serve as the president of this alliance, so I also had the opportunity to speak at the end of last week's City Commission meeting. In our statement we asked the commission to take action to rescind the 287g Agreement between our local police department and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). We also requested greater transparency on the actions of our local police in conjunction with ICE and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol).

Here is a link to our full statement: IMA Statement

Here is a link to a video of my speech before the city commission and the commissioners responses. Video Link

I realize that some of you who are reading this have already tuned out or begun to angry about my words. I hope that you will do your best to take a deep breath, control those emotions and read the statement and watch the video. We don't ever grow in Christ with out stretching ourselves a bit and feeling "uncomfortable." This includes hearing opinions and facts that are different from own interpretations. And after you do read the statement and watch the video, I am more than happy to sit down and have a conversation with you because we are all children of God, wholly loved and made in the image of our Creator. 

I am honored and privileged to be able to do this work on behalf of our immigrant neighbors in this community. If you are feeling called to volunteer in some way to support our neighbors who are living in fear, please let me know. Key West Immigrant Support Network has a variety of volunteer opportunities available and I would love to connect you to this work.

Grace and Peace

-Pastor Madeline