Each of us must must have faith and courage to offer sanctuary

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains …

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation shall not take up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

In the advent of this New Year, amid the shock and fear of our recent election, people of faith are asking: What can we do?

The answer is simple: We can offer sanctuary.

Throughout the ages there have been many examples of sanctuary, such as convents housing battered women in the Middle Ages, the Underground Railroad helping slaves escape to freedom in the 19th century, and families hiding European Jews from the Nazi terror in the 20th century. One other example worth considering is the re-imagining of sanctuary begun by the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s: First, to understand flight from poverty as a form of flight from violence; and second, to understand sanctuary as the goal of justice work.

The Sanctuary Movement began when a Presbyterian minister wanted to help Central American refugees apply for asylum in the United States. He started a nonprofit organization to help them do so, but of the 13,000 applications filed, only 328 were approved. Those whose applications were denied were deported to suffer under the very people they were fleeing.

So he started a secret smuggling operation known as the Sanctuary Movement. Based on the Judeo-Christian concept of sanctuary, member churches declared themselves "sanctuaries" and committed to providing food, shelter, and legal advice. Soon more than 500 churches joined the movement.

Are we prepared to be this kind of sanctuary?

The Rev. Alison Harrington, pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church, in Tucson, Ariz., where the Sanctuary Movement began, writes: "[T]he geography of sanctuary, as a principle, reaches beyond the walls of a house of worship; true sanctuary has no borders and is not bound to a specific organizing group. Instead, the need to create sanctuary space is essential for all social movements."

This is particularly true for those communities most vulnerable under our new administration — including refugees, our LGBT brethren, our Muslim neighbors, women, and people of color.

Even today, the concept of sanctuary exists in our own communities. Cities across the country have declared themselves "Sanctuary Cities." This means that the city will not use its local resources — including its police force — to enforce federal immigration laws. Under our new administration, these cities run the risk of losing federal funds for providing such sanctuary.

Are we prepared to be this type of sanctuary?

So how do we do this?

• We can walk in solidarity in the struggle for civil/human rights;

• We can contact legislators demanding action;

• We can provide friendship and financial support;

• We can open our church space for others to gather and organize.

As people of faith, we are called to welcome the sojourner and love our neighbor. To offer sanctuary to those vulnerable to sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia, racism, and xenophobia. Sanctuary is no longer something provided by the relatively privileged on behalf of the displaced; it is a re-imagining of place to include as full citizens all who have entered.

In the words of Danez Smith from the poem "summer, somewhere":

no need for geography

now that we're safe everywhere.

point to whatever you please

paradise is a world where everything

is sanctuary and nothing is a gun.

Returning to the words of Isaah:

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

neither shall they learn war anymore.

Amen.