Old South Church votes to become Level 2 Sanctuary Church

On Sunday afternoon, October 15, 2017, the Old South Church congregation voted 116-1 to become a Level 2 Supporting Congregation of the New Sanctuary Movement. As a result, Old South Church will be partnering with Bethel AME Church and a cluster of six other houses of faith, providing sanctuary to a Salvadoran man, a father of five, who is under threat of deportation. To learn more about this man and his circumstances, read Jamaica Plain church shelters man facing deportation via The Boston Globe.

Associate Minister Rev. John Edgerton says, “This effort will be led by the OSC Christian Service and Outreach Committee, but will take the spirit and energy and faith of our whole congregation. We recall the unequivocal witness of scripture that we are to care for foreign born people living among us. We are emboldened by the long tradition of the church offering sanctuary to vulnerable people. We begin this work without knowing for certain what shall come of it, but relying on our faith in God, that the One who has brought us thus far shall sustain us still.”

Level 2 support may involve shopping for groceries, providing books or movies for entertainment, tutoring in ESOL, or helping with other needs as they arise.