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🚨 Inside the Minnesota immigration fight’s faith fault lines 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged Hey, Minneapolis. You again, huh? “I don’t know why it feels like it’s always happening in Minneapolis, but I guess we are here for a reason,” Patrick … Continue reading 🚨 Inside the Minnesota immigration fight’s faith fault lines 🔌

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Minnesota churches pray for peace after fatal ICE shootings

Deaths in immigration crackdown exacerbate tensions and spark widespread debate. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle Patrick Doherty’s wife, Corinne, texted him with the news Friday: Agents with ICE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — had converged on the family’s suburban Minnesota neighborhood. Doherty preaches for the Woodbury Church of Christ in a growing community east of St. Paul. “The street we live on is … Continue reading Minnesota churches pray for peace after fatal ICE shootings

After El Paso massacre, one Mexican-American grandmother turns to God for answers and comfort

22 white balloons, ‘Amazing Grace’ and a little hope. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle For Monica Moreno, the first news of the El Paso, Texas, massacre came via social media. A glance at Snapchat drew her attention to a relative’s post warning of an active shooter at a Walmart in Moreno’s hometown. By the time the rampage ended that Saturday, 22 people … Continue reading After El Paso massacre, one Mexican-American grandmother turns to God for answers and comfort

In border wall fight, compassion mixes with concern

By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle As a Christian, U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie worships with a bilingual congregation that shares the Gospel with Spanish speakers and feeds the hungry without concern for immigration status. As a congressman, the Kentucky Republican points to a definite “crisis at the border” and supports President Donald Trump’s push to build a $5.7 billion wall separating the United States from Mexico. The 54-year-old … Continue reading In border wall fight, compassion mixes with concern

The pope praised him for providing for his parents; now Texas may want to deport them

By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service FORT WORTH, Texas — For the past two years, Mexican immigrant Ricardo Ortiz felt he had an advocate. Pope Francis, speaking via satellite, had praised Ortiz for “the way you gave everything you could as a boy, when you supported your family.” Now, the 21-year-old Ortiz — like numerous other Hispanics in Texas  — worries about how the Lone … Continue reading The pope praised him for providing for his parents; now Texas may want to deport them

In Canada, refugees find love and hope

For these Syrians, church members have become ‘a second family.’ First Place, Feature Article, Associated Church Press Second Place, Best Reporter portfolio, Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle ST. CATHARINES, Ontario — Ten-year-old Mohammed and his sister Miriam, 6, shriek with excitement when they hear knocking at the front door. The pint-sized Syrian refugees are expecting Jori Warren, … Continue reading In Canada, refugees find love and hope

In rural Canada, churches that once shunned one another open their hearts to Syrian refugees

By Bobby Ross Jr. | For Religion News Service DAUPHIN, Manitoba (RNS) Ken Yakielashek, a Roman Catholic and semiretired farmer in the Canadian Prairies, says he remembers when Christians of varying denominations “wouldn’t talk to one another.” To Yakielashek, that makes what’s happened in Dauphin — a rural community 200 miles northwest of the provincial capital of Winnipeg — all the more remarkable. A year … Continue reading In rural Canada, churches that once shunned one another open their hearts to Syrian refugees

Driven by faith, Texas mom advocates for refugees

Reda Hicks, attorney, community activist and military wife, helps displaced families start over in U.S. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle HOUSTON — To Reda Hicks, refugees aren’t nameless faces on the news. They’re real women — with real stories of escaping war and persecution in places such as Iran, Iraq and Sudan. Hicks, a member of the Memorial Church of Christ in this … Continue reading Driven by faith, Texas mom advocates for refugees

‘Do we really trust God enough to love our neighbors?’

President Trump’s immigration orders spark passionate responses from Christians. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle “We Welcome Refugees,” declared the sign outside the Northlake Church of Christ in Tucker, Ga., on a recent Sunday. That message reflected the intense national debate over President Donald Trump’s order to bar — at least temporarily — refugees from seven countries deemed terrorism threats. Trump’s court-challenged travel … Continue reading ‘Do we really trust God enough to love our neighbors?’