Back in the days when I was leading youth retreats, it was almost obligatory to sing the song Sanctuary. Besides being simple enough to play on the guitar that even I could manage it, the song had an instant meditative resonance that allowed youth and adults alike to enact a space of holiness and safety, of healing and vocation:
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
Pure and holy, tried and true;
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You.
In her statement to the diocese on sanctuary, a word that has come to carry a wide range of meaning, Bishop Jolly writes:
In a world marked by grief, division, and violence, Christians are called to be sanctuary—places and people shaped by God’s love[…] We are sanctuary not because we are fearless, but because God is faithful.
We are living through difficult times in which the word “sanctuary” carries powerful resonance. It can be a word that means a place of holiness, a place apart. It can also refer to freedom from persecution. Our worship space is a sanctuary, a place where we are safe enough to be vulnerable before our creator. It is a place where we are healed. It is a place where we are prepared for the work of justice and peacemaking. To offer sanctuary is an act of mercy and witness.
As Episcopalians, our response to crisis starts with worship and intercession. We hold our grief and our anger up to God in prayer because that is where true power lies. Through our prayers, we are changed, and we are given grace and strength to be a voice for justice in the world.
We will continue, in our regular worship, to include prayers for the vulnerable and marginalized, including immigrants. We’ll also offer an evening service of prayer and witness for immigrant communities on Wednesday, February 25.
We’ll also offer formation in the coming month that connects our faith to our justice work. This Sunday, our Faith Formation team will offer a session on Faithful Dissent, and on March 1, the Dean’s Forum will be on the dangers immigrants face, in conversation with Americans Making Immigrants Safe (AMIS).
Sanctuary can carry multiple layers of meaning. As Christians, we speak of sanctuary in terms of pastoral care and social witness, of sanctuary as a broad commitment to the well-being of immigrants. Yet to some, sanctuary can mean something more specific. The word has, in places, also included protection from deportation through physical and legal support; in a word, a daily commitment of safe harbor that sometimes lasts for years. It is a word we all take very seriously, precisely because the danger posed to those in need of it is so very real.
In our public witness, we are called to be mindful of the layered meaning of sanctuary and the commitments to which it calls us. We must also be mindful that in times like these, public signaling can attract attention that might put anyone with a vulnerable immigration status at Trinity at greater risk.
I encourage us to follow our Bishop’s lead in reclaiming the word sanctuary as one that reflects the transcendent safety of God’s embrace. A world that is churning as fast as ours is also one that is ripe for change. We must continue to work for a world where sanctuary cities and safe harbors are no longer needed. That starts with caring and advocating for those at risk today, while proclaiming God’s word of compassion and mercy.
Friends, this is both a difficult and dynamic time, which is to say that the situation is uncertain and constantly changing. Through it all, we will continue to discern how Trinity Cathedral can be a support to those in harm’s way, bear witness to God’s call for justice, and be a beacon of hope in our city and world.
Faithfully,
