Indiana-based religious groups joined a nationwide effort Friday aimed at fighting immigration policies being pushed by the Trump administration. The campaign includes 37 Christian denominations representing 30-million Americans.
“We will invite all our constituents and all other people of faith to join us in espousing a future that evokes the spirit of love…not fear,” says Sharon Watkins, president of The Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, which is headquartered in Indianapolis.
She says her church will offer resources and support to encourage public demonstrations urging members of Congress to rescind ant-immigrant orders.
President Trump’s hardline stance on immigration was made manifest in January through an executive order blocking citizens from seven countries – said to be an attempt to protect Americans from foreign-born terrorists. A federal judge blocked the order, but a revised version is expected soon.
The order has been divisive among faith groups. But on Friday a number of Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches announced a grassroots effort to fight any version of the ban.
The campaign also hopes to raise $1 million over the next six months to help refugees.
It was announced through the National Council of Churches and Church World Service, a group that helps settle refugees. Out of the nine agencies that resettle refugees in the U.S., six are faith-based.