McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — On Sunday morning, 27-year-old Melanie Cruz listened attentively from a pew near the back of St. Mark United Methodist Church as a guest preacher addressed the topic of immigration.
“Jesus was a refugee,” Alma Ruth reminded the predominantly Anglo congregation of about 65, gathered just a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Ruth was a foreigner,” she said about the biblical character who is said to be the grandmother of King David.
“In these challenging times, we are presented with a historic opportunity to make a difference amidst division. Our faith now calls us to view migration, immigration, and borders through a spiritual perspective,” said Ruth, who is a missionary in northern Mexico and the founder of the nonprofit Practice Mercy Foundation.
Afterwards, Cruz said she was moved by the message.
“She spoke sincerely, with real wisdom and lived experiences,” expressed Cruz, who has an American father and a Mexican mother who is a legal resident. “I’ve never experienced what she has, and I truly appreciate her insights.”
Throughout her 30-minute sermon, Ruth’s voice occasionally broke, and she was moved to tears as she recounted stories of the many migrants and refugees she has encountered in Reynosa, Mexico, since her organization began its mission there in 2019.
“The majority of people we serve are people of faith,” she said. “Immigrants with Bibles in their backpacks.”
Ruth and her team provide food, toiletries, clothing, and spiritual support to migrants living in shelters and along the Rio Grande in Mexico. While most aspire to seek asylum in the United States, the current rules set by the Trump administration offer no legal path.
“Tell the American church that we mean no harm,” she says they tell her. “That we come to work. That we come to protect our family’s lives. And that should make a difference for us.”
Cruz clapped excitedly when the sermon ended.
“When she spoke about coming back and speaking to the American church that really struck me. Because it’s true. We’re an international faith and we’re abandoning other people from the same faith and other countries. I just think that makes me have a reality check,” Cruz said.
St. Mark United Methodist Church Pastor Joe Tognetti said the guest sermon was in line with their ongoing study series “faithful Women in the Bible.” He says he also encourages his congregation to think of how they can help others.
“I encourage folks to talk about social issues, especially ones so relevant to us. The border is right there, you know, really right there. And so I encourage folks to talk about that, reflect on it, and be faithful in doing good,” Tognetti said.
He gets together monthly with other area pastors to discuss immigration. They meet at the historic Jackson Ranch Church, a former Methodist church in San Juan, Texas, which was the site of the Underground Railroad where slaves were helped to get to Mexico in the 1800s.
“A lot of people eschew immigration because they think it’s too political or too divisive. But, you know, it’s so relevant for us. And it’s such a common theme in the scriptures that I don’t know how you avoid it,” Tognetti told Border Report.
Ruth says it’s a topic that she’s not invited to speak about in local border churches on the U.S. side very much.
“Sadly, it is a very challenging topic. It shouldn’t be. If you are a person of good conscience and you are a person of faith, this shouldn’t be a negative or a demonizing subject,” she said.
She opposes spending billions of dollars on border wall but respects the efforts of law enforcement officers who are doing their job securing the border.
“We make our nation better if we embrace migration with the right approach — promoting advocacy, promote human dignity, protect human life. Because if we say we’re pro life, then we should protect all life, everywhere. And I think as a nation, we can benefit greatly if we can say, ‘Let’s do immigration reform,'” Ruth told Border Report.
Vote Common Good Executive Director Doug Pagitt said Ruth is the point person for a new free online toolkit that is being offered to churches and faith leaders to help with immigration questions, how to deal with ICE raids and how to de-escalate conflicts.
The toolkit was released last week and can be found at this link.
“There’s a number of things that churches can do. They can be trained in what are the rights of immigrants. They can offer their own connections and services to those people, if they’re in need, if, if ICE has come knocking at their door and they want to be in an interview with ICE, but they’re not sure if it’s going to be safe for them, they can reach out to church leaders and to members of congregation. So we’re training those church leaders and congregants in what they can do to be supportive for people. And most importantly, these churches can create a support network that can run alongside the support network that so many immigrants in this country have,” Pagitt said.
On Sunday, Ruth did not speak about St. Mark becoming a sanctuary safe space and she cautiously avoided naming political parties.
Tognetti did not tell the congregation about the toolkit nor is he considering the church as a sanctuary place. He didn’t he talk politics on the pulpit, either. He says it’s simply a matter of being a better person.
“Being a sojourner, being a foreigner, and welcoming the foreigner is just so integral to the Scriptures,” Tognetti said.
The church took up a donation for migrant shelters La Posada Providencia and Good Neighbor Settlement House, in Brownsville, Texas, which also assist low-income individuals.
Although she left politics out, Ruth did tell the congregation: “Immigration is a life or death conversation.”
“Our faith is transformative,” she said. “We have an invitation to make us better.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
