Holy Spirit Episcopal Church

MIGRATION WITH DIGNITY - Alms Sunday on January 19

One of the Resolutions passed at the 81st General Convention was entitled "Migration with Dignity." This resolution is consistent with previous actions taken by General Convention and is based on our Baptismal Covenant, to "respect the dignity of every human being." Then in October, sponsored by Holy Spirit and other churches, our Diocesan Convention approved a Resolution calling on Episcopal Churches to Welcome Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers to Montana.

Also at the General Convention, a group of Deputies started the Episcopal Migration Caucus, with the intention of giving life to this Resolution. And the first step along that path will begin tomorrow... across the country, many Episcopal congregations will begin to celebrate "Migration with Dignity Week," starting on January 20th and culminating on Sunday, January 26th.

As we will be holding our Annual Meeting on that Sunday, our focus will be on the progress we have made here at Holy Spirit over the past 18 months. And that is appropriate! However, we cannot set aside our need to continue to respect the dignity of every human being, so on January 19 we will talk about specific steps that can be taken to ensure this, and to begin to comply with our Diocesan Resolution.

Our donations on that Alms Sunday will be destined for the Episcopal Migration Ministry. This organization within the Episcopal Church is one of nine or ten organizations authorized (and financed) by the Federal Government to work with refugees admitted to the United States, and also provides support so that parishes like ours can work to ensure Migration with Dignity.