Overview

Gold Medal Winner, Illumination Award, 2023 Welcoming the undocumented resident refugee into the life of the polis is a challenge for some communities and a moral imperative for others. This books provides a Christian ethic for church leaders, congregants, and their churches to discern a way of welcoming their neighbors who are refugees residing in the US without authorization. Grounded in political theology and the Presbyterian-Reformed faith tradition, the ethical debates presented here and the legal overview of US immigration and alienage laws applicable to the undocumented resident lead to practices of worship, witness, and welcome for churches that can be tailored to different contexts. When Jesus challenged the sharp lawyer to love his neighbor as himself, the lawyer asked Jesus: """"who is my neighbor?"""" Jesus responded by telling him the parable of the Good Samaritan. Then Jesus asked the lawyer: """"who was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"""" And the crestfallen lawyer answered: """"the one who showed him mercy."""" Jesus told him """"to go and do likewise."""" This book assists faith communities to find mercy for those undocumented refugee neighbors who many would condemn. It points a path towards doing the """"likewise"""" of mercy in ethically defensible ways.

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9781666708936

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""Clémot has given the church a wonderful book that encourages churches to welcome others in the name of Christ. Discerning Welcome not only tells us why but how to be a refugee-welcoming church. Here's the guidance of a wise, experienced pastor and attorney who sees the current influx of refugees as a God-given opportunity for North American Christians to rediscover the welcoming, resourceful hospitality at the core of our faith."" --Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School ""Undocumented refugees face many difficulties. . . . Ellen Clark Clémot has provided an immensely helpful discussion and path to discernment for churches which wish to welcome neighbor refugees and are committed to the mercy of Christ. She carefully considers ethical, theological, and legal issues to help churches provide an ethic of welcome to refugees. All churches need to read this book!"" --Donald K. McKim, editor of Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith ""This book unfolds a Reformed theology of hospitality with and for the undocumented refugees in our communities. It is a theology that is grounded in the riches of the Reformed tradition and that also distills a wisdom born of pastoral practice, legal experience, and a clear-eyed analysis of the contemporary situation and its challenges. The result is a practical theology of welcome as a civic practice."" --Luke Bretherton, Duke University

"""Cl�mot has given the church a wonderful book that encourages churches to welcome others in the name of Christ. Discerning Welcome not only tells us why but how to be a refugee-welcoming church. Here's the guidance of a wise, experienced pastor and attorney who sees the current influx of refugees as a God-given opportunity for North American Christians to rediscover the welcoming, resourceful hospitality at the core of our faith."" --Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School ""Undocumented refugees face many difficulties. . . . Ellen Clark Cl�mot has provided an immensely helpful discussion and path to discernment for churches which wish to welcome neighbor refugees and are committed to the mercy of Christ. She carefully considers ethical, theological, and legal issues to help churches provide an ethic of welcome to refugees. All churches need to read this book!"" --Donald K. McKim, editor of Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith ""This book unfolds a Reformed theology of hospitality with and for the undocumented refugees in our communities. It is a theology that is grounded in the riches of the Reformed tradition and that also distills a wisdom born of pastoral practice, legal experience, and a clear-eyed analysis of the contemporary situation and its challenges. The result is a practical theology of welcome as a civic practice."" --Luke Bretherton, Duke University"

Clemot has given the church a wonderful book that encourages churches to welcome others in the name of Christ. Discerning Welcome not only tells us why but how to be a refugee-welcoming church. Here's the guidance of a wise, experienced pastor and attorney who sees the current influx of refugees as a God-given opportunity for North American Christians to rediscover the welcoming, resourceful hospitality at the core of our faith. --Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School Undocumented refugees face many difficulties. . . . Ellen Clark Clemot has provided an immensely helpful discussion and path to discernment for churches which wish to welcome neighbor refugees and are committed to the mercy of Christ. She carefully considers ethical, theological, and legal issues to help churches provide an ethic of welcome to refugees. All churches need to read this book! --Donald K. McKim, editor of Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith This book unfolds a Reformed theology of hospitality with and for the undocumented refugees in our communities. It is a theology that is grounded in the riches of the Reformed tradition and that also distills a wisdom born of pastoral practice, legal experience, and a clear-eyed analysis of the contemporary situation and its challenges. The result is a practical theology of welcome as a civic practice. --Luke Bretherton, Duke University

Author Information

Ellen Clark Clémot (DMin Duke, MDiv Princeton, JD NYU, AB Brown) is an attorney and ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is also Sr. Pastor and Head of Staff at The Preabyterian Church of Chatham Township in New Jersey, a welcoming congregation.

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