How should Christians welcome immigrants and respond to the divisiveness surrounding immigration policies in the United States? Briana Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome, talks with Amy Julia about her journey from working in the pro-life movement to working with immigrants, biblical hospitality, and what extending welcome to immigrants could look like today.
SHOW NOTES
Briana Stensrud is a human dignity advocate and the Director of Women of Welcome. Connect online:
- Women of Welcome: womenofwelcome.com
- Instagram: @womenofwelcome
- Instagram: @bri.stenz
- Facebook: @WomenofWelcome
On the Podcast:
- Women of Welcome
- Latasha Morrison and Be the Bridge
- Heather MacFayden
- Amy Julia’s trip to the border
- Letter on Immigration Reform
- Love Undocumented by Sarah Quezada
- Genesis 1:27, Matthew 25, Luke 10:25-37
- Association for a More Just Society
Why Christians Should Welcome Immigrants quotes | Briana Stensrud
“That started me on the journey of seeing the interconnectedness of all these different vulnerable populations along the spectrum of life…the borders on my definition of what it meant to be pro-life really started to expand because of my anchoring in the belief of the dignity and sanctity of every human life. Being against abortion was not enough.”
“You have law enforcement handling a humanitarian crisis, so instead of treating vulnerable people as a specific vulnerable population, what you’re doing is trying to meet that humanitarian need with a military response, which is such a mismatch because you’re asking border patrol to handle toddlers, and their job is to thwart and find those who would seek to do harm to the country or enter illegally.”
“Women of Welcome…we are a community of Christian women who are looking to enter into this issue from a biblical perspective. What is Christlike welcome? What is biblical hospitality…immigration for us is a biblical issue; it’s not a political issue. What that does is it frees us up to engage and enter into this space and speak very transparently and honestly about the policies that are affecting vulnerable people no matter who’s in charge, no matter who the president is.”
“We want safe borders. We also want compassionate treatment of those who are made in the image of God.”
“The quartet of the vulnerable…in the Old Testament there is this elevation of widows, sojourners, the poor, and orphans. They’re talked about more than any other vulnerable population in the Old Testament. And so we know that God has mandated his people to have special concern for these vulnerable populations.”
“When you move to this Kingdom mindset of what God cares about, you move off of this “country” or “empire” mindset that says, ‘Citizenship first. America first.’”
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here, or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
To learn more with Amy Julia:
- Love is Stronger Than Fear | Season 4—Head, Heart, Hands
- Responding to the Immigration Crisis with Your Head, Heart, and Hands
- S3 E9 | How Jesus Overcomes the Barrier of Wealth with Marlena Graves
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