A Good and Generous Nation

This Sunday our nation will celebrate its 234^th anniversary of independence. We will remember stories from our past, some on a grand scale but some more personal. Each of us has a heritage that unfolds within a broader context of history. Thanks to my sister Patty, we have learned more about our own family history in recent years. The Orts family came to America in the 1850s as German immigrants. Economic conditions in Germany were extremely difficult. There were more people than jobs. Military service was compulsory. Opportunities were scarce. Thousands of people—mostly young men—braved the trip across the Atlantic to come to America.

Over a period of 30 years, five Orts brothers arrived in Texas seeking a better life.  They were neither well educated nor highly skilled—mostly farmers and carpenters. The first to arrive was George who docked in Galveston in 1854. He settled in Bastrop. One by one, other brothers followed—each helping next one to settle. August (our direct ancestor) and his wife arrived in 1863 during the Civil War. They left their one year old son in Germany until they could build a better life here. The parents weren’t re-united with their son until six years later when the maternal grandmother arrived in Texas with the boy.  While the Orts family came to Texas as nominal Lutherans, they were converted by German-speaking Methodist circuit riders who established Methodist churches in the area around Bastrop and Gonzales. 

The Orts immigrants didn’t expect an easy life as evidenced by the letters they wrote back to Germany. However, they were willing to work hard and make sacrifices on behalf of a better life for themselves and their children. This July 4^th I will give thanks for a nation and a church which welcomed my family as immigrants.

At the same time, I am deeply aware that current issues of immigration have impacted our nation and our church at many levels. I frequently hear accounts of today’s immigrants who relate their own stories of hope and heartache, struggle and success.  At the same time, I hear many cries of complaint against those who “come here illegally.”

Emotions run high along a continuum that represents all points of view. I continue to believe that people, across the spectrum of beliefs and convictions about immigration, are people of good will. Yet, as we have seen in the wake of the recent passage of the Arizona law and the violence along our U. S.-Mexican border, the immigration debate is dividing us not only as a nation, but also within our own United Methodist Church.

I believe that immigration is deeply spiritual and moral issue. Over and over again, the Scriptures encourage us to welcome the stranger, provide hospitality for those who may be different from us, and to care for the least of these. I think of Abraham welcoming the three strangers, the Good Samaritan caring for the wounded man of a different ethnic group, the parable of the Last Judgment, and many more. The lectionary readings from Luke this summer emphasize hospitality as a defining mark for a disciple of Jesus.

 For almost a year I have joined with faith leaders from the Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and other Protestant denomination—along with key Jewish leaders—in occasions of prayer and conversation around this issue. I encourage you to engage in conversation as well.  Begin with Scripture and prayer. Remember or discover your family’s story of coming to America.  Read carefully the whole statement that the Houston faith leaders have signed. Talk with your pastor.  Listen to voices on all sides of this issue. Practice clear, calm conversation. Pray for that our beloved nation will find a way to welcome the stranger even as Christ welcomes us.   

Along with other faith leaders in Houston, I believe:

“As people of faith, we see in the faces and hear in the voices of the immigrants in our midst, the image of God. The dignity inherent in us all is clouded, diminished every time one of God’s own suffers from poverty and want, or from oppression of any kind. We pray for, and commit to continue to act toward, a comprehensive immigration policy that protects families, provides an avenue for the undocumented to come out of the shadows, that punishes those who exploit the immigrant, and yes, secures our borders from those who would do us harm. Even though we come from many and varied faith communities, we are united in our belief that this is a great nation is big enough, generous enough and good enough to welcome stranger in our shores—those who come here for a better life.”*

 Have a blessed Fourth of July and may God bless America.

Grace and peace,

Janice Riggle Huie

*Statement by Cardinal DiNardo, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, bishop, Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Bishop Michael Rinehart, bishop Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, ELCA, Rt. Reverend C. Bishop Andrew Doyle, bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Texas, Reverend Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, pastor of St. John Fisher Catholic Church, Rabbi David Lyon, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel and leader of the The Metropolitan Organization, Reverend Michael Cole, general presbyter, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reverend John Bowie, pastor, True Light Missionary Baptist Church and co-chair of the The Metropolitan Organization, and Reverend John D. Ogletree, pastor, First Metropolitan Church and leader of The Metropolitan Organization.