Sanctuary: A Letter from the Co-Rectors
May 14, 2025
As immigration enforcement actions across the country have increased in the past three months in size, scope and severity, from traffic stops to mass deportations, churches are no longer safe spaces. ICE agents are free to conduct searches for suspected undocumented immigrants and make arrests. One of the very first acts of the administration on Jan. 20 was to rescind the 30-year federal immigration “sensitive locations” policy prohibiting such actions in houses of worship or during religious ceremonies except in very narrow circumstances.
In our view, and in the view of the national Episcopal Church and many other religious groups, this government policy violates our guarantees of religious freedom under the First Amendment.
A central precept of our faith is welcoming the stranger. Every human being, regardless of birthplace, is a child of God worthy of dignity, care, and love. Our scriptures, our teachings and our traditions point us firmly to the obligation to embrace, serve, and defend the refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in our midst without regard to documentation or legal status. We don’t check documents at the church door.
Churches, synagogues and other houses of worship, particularly in areas with large migrant populations, have felt the chill of the new enforcement climate. As one lawsuit challenging the end of the sensitive locations policy noted, “Some congregants with legal status are choosing to stay home out of fear that they may be mistakenly arrested simply because of their appearance. Ministries that serve largely undocumented farm worker populations, have had to be ended or restructured to keep congregants safe.”
While churches in Missoula may not be as likely to be visited by ICE, it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility. We are glad that our national church has stepped up to defend our sacred spaces, protect the vulnerable and stand up for our religious freedom. In addition, our church and many others are advocating for bills to protect churches and other sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, which have been introduced in Congress with many co-sponsors (H.R. 1061/S.455). Please call or write to our Congress members urging passage of this measure.
As Julia Ayala Harris, president of the Episcopal House of Deputies, said, “Let us be the church that future generations will remember as having stood firm in faith, unwavering in welcome, and unshakeable in our commitment to human dignity.”
Rev. Terri Grotzinger
Rev. Gretchen Strohmaier
Co-Rectors, Holy Spirit Episcopal Church