Immigrants as Neighbors in Need

The pastor of this church has a philosophy that says "Help the stranger". Sounds like a good philosophy. DP

by Christy McKerney

newsweek.washingtonpost.com: SAN JOSE, Calif.— You could sum up much of the Rev. Joseph Leon’s theology with one phrase: Help the stranger.

“We have to be out on the mission fields,” said Leon, pastor of Pueblo de Dios, a congregation whose 160 members come largely from surrounding immigrant communities. “We are soldiers of the Lord, and we have to be out in our community, finding out what are the needs.”

For Leon, the work of the Christian faithful is to be disciples of God, to minister spiritually and practically to those in need -- including illegal immigrants.

The communities surrounding Pueblo de Dios ("House of God" in Spanish) are largely Latino and Ethiopian. There are men in steel-toed boots and blue jeans, looking for work outside Home Depot. There are boys and girls who Leon knows with the right encouragement might grow up one day to become professionals and good husbands and wives. There are young couples loading trucks with furniture and all their belongings, preparing to move on in search of the next opportunity.

Leon said he doesn’t know how many of the immigrants he reaches out to with clothing, food and personal products are documented, and how many came to this country without papers. He believes the country should deport those who break the law and are a danger to society, but he also believes most immigrants he meets are hard working people who deserve to live and work in safety and to receive spiritual solace.

“The church is a safe place for them to come and worship,” said Leon. “It’s not only our church, but all the churches in the valley.”

Pueblo de Dios is a small church that has served the neighborhood for 50 years, long enough to see the congregation turn from entirely Anglo-American to a largely first- and second-generation immigrant population. The church offers daycare for neighborhood children and grows vegetables in a community garden. The church also gives clothing, food and personal supplies to those in need.

He sees his mission as “Just going out there, walking out there and getting noticed, inviting people to church, not this church but a directory of churches.”

He feels a responsibility as a Christian to help the most vulnerable. And, he said, immigrants are vulnerable: They’re vulnerable to their own community, they’re vulnerable to dishonest employers and to landlords and to a culture that seems alien to them.

Some churches are not so welcoming, he conceded, acknowledging a national trend against immigration.

“Americans in general do feel threatened by people coming to our nation,” he said.

But for Leon, the most important thing a faith community can do -- in addition to helping people achieve their basic needs -- is to instill hope.

“People need a sense of hope. I think we have to believe in something,” he said. “I think that faith brings us hope, that God is going to work somehow someday in the midst of our daily lives, and on our daily walk. I think with faith, with faith all things are possible.”