The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu writes:

The combination of the Trump administration granting expedited refugee status to white South Africans and the Episcopal Church ending a 40-year partnership with the federal government rather than help resettle fake refugees leaves me with contradictory feelings.

As an Episcopal priest and a dual citizen of the United States and South Africa, I am proud of the Episcopal Church for standing up and speaking out about the U.S. government’s lies of a white “genocide” in South Africa. In equal measure, I am devastated that the work our church has done for decades, giving hope and care to people forced to leave their homelands, is ending because of white supremacy and Christian nationalism.

Our parish, All Saints’ Atlanta, has a vibrant refugee ministry, and this year, in response to the end of government funding for refugee resettlement, the parish committed to continue to support the refugee families the government had abandoned and to actually increase the number of families it’s supporting. The mission of showing “hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels” (Hebrews 13:2) or treating “the stranger who sojourns with you as a native among you … for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33-34), is central to our faith community. [Continue reading…]