Please join us for a special service Sunday morning, February 23, 8 AM and 10 AM to celebrate Migration with Dignity Sunday. This designation originated with the 2024 General Convention Resolution “Migration with Dignity” which called for an annual “Migration with Dignity” Sunday.
The principles of migration with dignity contained in the resolution resonate with the teachings of Jesus and our baptismal promise to respect the dignity of every human being.
These principles include a universal right of movement, the right to be secure, the right of equality, rights to a basic quality of life, a right to access services such as health care and education, and civil and political rights.
-
WHAT IS “MIGRATION WITH DIGNITY”?
At the 81st General Convention in June 2024, the Church adopted a resolution calling for Migration with Dignity, “a statement of specific principles about migration that resonate with the teachings of Jesus and our baptismal promise to ‘respect the dignity of every human being.’” This set of principles addresses the challenges of global migration in a new way while aligning with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international laws and agreements and is consistent with previous resolutions of the General Convention.
The resolution foresees replacing the punitive immigration policies currently enforced in the U.S. and many parts of the world with frameworks that respect six specific types of human rights:
• A universal right of movement, including freedom to leave and return to one’s country of origin, freedom of movement within one’s country of origin or country of settlement
• The right to be secure: from sexual violence, including rape and sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery, forced labor, and arbitrary and abusive detention
• The right of equality is to include: 1) equal treatment with no discrimination under the law based on color, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, political affiliation, national origin; and 2) equal opportunity for upward mobility
• Rights to a basic quality of life, including employment rights, housing rights, and food rights
• The right to access services such as health care, education, and legal representation
• Civil and political rights guaranteeing the right to identity, to use of one’s language, and to freedom of speech and religion.
As Episcopalians, we are called upon to affirm Migration with Dignity as a framework to guide ministry with migrants, making urgent efforts to support arriving migrants’ immediate needs for shelter, food, clothing, legal assistance, work permits, healthcare, transportation, etc. We are also urged to advocate for Migration with Dignity to local, state, national, and international governing bodies, exhorting them to enforce existing laws and policies that uphold these principles and to enact new laws and policies guaranteeing migrants welcome, protection, and integration into our common human journey.
The resolution also directs the 81st General Convention to establish a Task Force on Migration with Dignity to strengthen and expand migration ministries. The Task Force will inventory current programs and develop a strategic plan for coordinated, global Episcopal ministry consistent with Migration with Dignity principles.
Click to read the full text of the resolution.
