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Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Welcoming Migrants and Refugees: A Biblical Ethic of Kinship


What is a Christian response to people-on-the-move?


Refugee welcome and immigration reform are back on the political agenda in North America: In October 2020, Canadian Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino promised to resettle 65,000 people who are seeking asylum to Canada over the next three years, and President-Elect Biden’s first post-election promise was to raise the United States’ ceiling for annual refugee resettlement to 125,000.

It’s time to return to an old question, for this new moment: what is a Christian response to people-on-the-move? We offer that a biblical ethic of kinship compels and shapes a distinctive Christian welcome of people who are seeking a home—a common Biblical theme.

An ethic of enfolding and protecting vulnerable people as kin runs through the life-blood of scripture. This model of kinship points to something broader than a family bond; the loyalty of kin is not dependent on blood. An ethic-of-kinship is Scripture’s invitation to live in loving solidarity with one another, to bring the weakest among us to the center of our communities. A biblical ethic of kinship enfolds people who are seeking asylum into the protective center of society. Read More
Unless you are a Native American or a member of the First Nations or a recent immigrant to the United States or Canada, you are the descendant of  willing or unwilling immigrants. Even Native Americans and First Nations members are descendants of immigrants Their ancestors migrated to the United States or Canada a lot earlier than ours. It is something that Americans and Canadians should not forget. 

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