Making Sanctuaries Places of Sanctuary

When you enter your house of worship, what catches your eye? Stained glass? Images on a screen? The austere beauty of traditional Reformed architecture? Sanctuaries are places where we “behold God’s power and glory” (Psalm 63:2). To keep the Sabbath and to reverence God’s sanctuaries is part of the obedience we owe God (Leviticus 19:30).

We revere our sanctuaries when we treat them as special places, set aside from ordinary uses for prayer and praise. Because they are devoted to God, sanctuaries have also been places of refuge. 

In 1 Kings 1, when Solomon outmaneuvered his brother Adonijah to succeed his father, King David, Adonijah fled to the altar in Jerusalem seeking sanctuary. King Solomon permitted him to leave the altar in peace, if he promised to behave himself. 

But when Joab, David’s general and hatchet man, also sought sanctuary at the altar, King Solomon ordered him killed on the spot. Joab had shed innocent blood, and David, on his deathbed, warned Solomon that he’d better “take care” of the rogue general once he became king. Sanctuaries have long been havens for people fleeing harm, but only if those in power respect the holiness of the sacred space, writes Michael Woolf, a pastor in Evanston, Illinois. 

A year ago, the new Trump administration rescinded a long-standing policy that barred immigration agents from conducting enforcement actions in sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals, and churches. Since then, ICE agents have detained people on church property in California, Georgia, and North Carolina. Houses of worship are no longer places of sanctuary in our country. 

Note that being in the United States without documentation is a civil offence, not a crime. It is certainly not a crime like the dirty deeds that Joab committed. Imagine if law enforcement authorities were to enter a church and detain worshippers for speeding tickets. Something like that is happening in our country. 

On January 20, shortly before his term expired, Governor Phil Murphy signed the “Safe Communities Act.” The new law restores a sense of safe haven to schools, hospitals, and churches. It requires the Attorney General, “in consultation with religious leaders within the State, (to) develop a model policy that may be adopted in whole or in part by a place of worship to ensure that individuals are not deterred from entering the premises.” The model policy must be posted within 180 days of the bill becoming law. I applaud the outgoing governor and legislature for respecting the sanctity of our houses of worship and ensuring that people can come together to praise God without fear. 

The governor pocket-vetoed two other immigrants’ rights bills. The Privacy Protection Act would have prevented state agencies and health care facilities from sharing sensitive personal information with federal authorities. The other bill would have codified a 2018 Attorney General directive that limited state and local police from assisting in federal immigration enforcement. I hope that the new legislature and governor will address the former governor’s concerns and enact new versions of these bills. People who are sick or are victims of a crime should be able to go to the doctor or call the police without fear of being deported. 

Our congregation’s Justice and Advocacy Committee equips First Presbyterian Church of Haddonfield to be a voice for justice and compassion in the public square, including on the issue of immigration policy. The Immigrant Mission Network of the Presbytery for Southern New Jersey also advocates for just and compassionate immigration legislation. It is organizing training sessions to inform the public about immigrant rights and sessions for families to prepare action plans in the event they interact with immigration officers. If you are interested in this advocacy work, please get in touch with me.

MLindsay@HaddonfieldPres.org | (856) 429-1960

“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me,” said the Lord (Matthew 25:35).