Two United Methodist agencies are urging action on behalf of migrant children in U.S. government holding facilities along the U.S. Mexico-border.
The General Board of Church and Society is urging United Methodists to address child detention and family separation at the border. The statement encourages writing letters or emails to Congress and to President Donald Trump addressing child detention and family separation. It also urges sending letters and drawings from children and youth that express their thoughts about the border situation. The actions Church and Society is urging grow out of statements in The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles and The Book of Resolutions 2016.
UMCOR and the General Board of Global Ministries continue to urge action, gifts and prayer on behalf of the children. A flyer is still usable as is a prayer originally written for the June 30 Sunday of Solidarity for Suffering Children. Among the suggested actions are calling elected U.S. officials and making UMCOR hygiene kits. While U.S. government regulations preclude UMCOR from providing direct assistance to the children in the holding facilities, the denomination’s humanitarian agency has distributed over 46,000 hygiene kits to six transitional shelters that it is assisting along the border. UMCOR also provides support for six Justice for Our Neighbors sites in cities there.
Related Resources
- Care for the children of God! Read more about how UMCOR is responding to the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border and how you can help.
- Read about United Methodists who are joining the outcry over the treatment of children at a Texas detention center.