March 27, 2025

Dear Beloved,

It is Lent, a time of repentance, fasting and reflection.  We heed the call of Isaiah who proclaimed that true fasting is to loose the chains of injustice, break every yoke, feed the hungry, provide shelter to the wanderer, and clothe the naked. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn.”

It is that light we are called to be in these difficult times.

All of us are witnessing in America today unprecedented attacks on immigrants, refugees and people of color through the blatant disregard of the rule of law. Accusations of illegal activity have been directed at Protestant, Catholic and Jewish organizations who, here and abroad, are living out their faith in works of mercy.  

We are not surprised. We know very well that Jesus was crucified for the very things we are being accused of today:

challenging the oppressors,

protecting the migrant,

and insisting on the dignity and equality

of all people as children of God.

Pope Francis has called these immigration policies “a disgrace.” 

Thankfully, the collective voices of faith communities are rising in opposition and condemning these acts of injustice.

The cost is real:

fear among the innocent,

families torn apart,

children afraid to go to school.

This is wrong.

Immigrants are a gift as were our ancestors before them. 

What can we DO?

Today faith communities are praying;

speaking out;

following religious news that rarely makes the headlines (religionnews.com),

holding community gatherings,

printing know-your-rights red cards for immigrants (https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas),

regularly calling Senators and Representatives,

and volunteering at food banks, shelters and legal aid centers.



We of the ECC are doing many of these things.

We will continue to be light in the darkness.

In 1985, at the height of brutal State Apartheid, South African theologians once again called for justice. We close with their words:

“The Church of Jesus Christ is not called to be a bastion of caution.  It has a message of the cross that inspires us to make sacrifices for justice and liberation. We pray that God will help us to translate the challenge of our times into action.”[1]

We pray that we will continue to listen to the Spirit as She calls us from reflection to action.

Paz y amor

Bishop Paul "Pablo" Burson, M.Div., L.P.C.

Presiding Bishop, ECC

BishopPaul@ecumenicalcatholics.net

[1] Kairos Document 1985