Protecting Safe Spaces
Ministry of Outreach and Justice: Separation of Church and State
The Ministry of Outreach and Justice (MOJO) Committee is calling on our members and other citizens to respond to a recent Trump Executive Order that no longer protects “sensitive locations (safe places).” This new US Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) policy states that churches, schools and medical facilities can no longer be considered “safe places” and are subject to immigration enforcement-related surveillance and visitation by law enforcement agents.
From Ryon Price, Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas: "Medical care facilities, schools, and houses of worship should be safe and free to offer physical care, education growth, and spiritual comfort without fear. Eliminating sensitive location protection creates a climate of fear that promotes discrimination and unnecessary suffering. No one should be forced to avoid care or sacrifice religious liberty because they fear detention, deportation or family separation."
Myers Park Baptist Church strives to be a community of faith that is open to all and closed to none. Through our worship, statements of belief, education, inclusivity, and faith, we provide a place that allows us to worship and share our life together. All houses of worship, hospitals, and schools should be safe sanctuaries for those they serve. It is important that our church raises its voice to advocate for those whose voices have been silenced. When individuals are fearful of entering a church to worship or seeking a safe place because of government policy it violates our Religious Freedom.
The Ministry of Justice and Outreach would like you to join us in a call to protect sensitive locations/safe places to ensure our religious liberty and maintain the separation of church and state.
Please contact your congressional delegation to support a return to the sensitive locations provisions policy.