Hearing a young mother’s plea for mercy

The Rev. Evodia Villalvia, pastor of El Buen Samaritano UMC in West Chester, sought help in October for one of her members, a young Latina immigrant mother whose husband had been detained and then deported back to Honduras. “Isabella” and …

Latino caucus addresses U.S., UMC conflicts

Racism, gun violence, the immigration crisis and internal clashes in The United Methodist Church were discussed at the 48th annual assembly of the Hispanic-Latino United Methodist caucus Aug. 1-4, in Philadelphia. “We know that Hispanic-Latino ministries are going to be …

Latina pastor to lead Eastern PA’s Latino Ministries

The Rev. Lillian “Luky” Cotto is the Eastern PA Conference’s new part-time Latino Ministries Coordinator, effective August 1. She succeeds the Rev. Brunilda Martinez, who had served in that role since mid-2017. A longtime member of Eastern PA’s Latino Commission, …

Advocating for immigration justice, mercy

Appeal to Shut Down Berks Family Detention Center “We oppose immigration policies that separate family members from each other or that include detention of families with children.” (Social Principles, ¶162.H) The UMC’s General Board of Church & Society announced a …

UMs support sojourners seeking asylum

As “caravans” of several thousand Central American asylum-seekers join thousands more undocumented immigrants in their persistent quest for U.S. residency, many religious groups, among them United Methodists, are on the southwest border and beyond extending mercy and rallying to their …

2 immigrant families find sanctuary at Philadelphia church

Two immigrant families, both with children who are American citizens, have taken sanctuary inside First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) to resist deportation orders from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The families, from Honduras and Jamaica, recently had …