Elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) federal policy is being considered, and a decision to end it may be announced by the Trump Administration on Tuesday, September 5.  I ask that we as the people called United Methodist, and others, pray for our country and for the fate of nearly one million anxious young people who, as immigrants, are part of our American family.

Please pray that the ten state attorneys general who have threatened to sue the administration over DACA will end their threats and instead support the U.S. Congress’ Dream Act of 2017. The bill, which is still pending in Congress, would provide a path to citizenship for the undocumented young people who were brought here by their parents as children.

Our United Methodist Social Principles affirm the rights of immigrant people: “We urge the church and society to recognize the gifts, contributions and struggles of those who are immigrants and to advocate for justice for all.  We oppose immigration policies that separate family members from each other or that include detention of families with children; and we call on local churches to be in ministry with immigrant families.”

These are tense and difficult times for young people who have never known anything but a life in this country. Please pray, speak and work for people who need your voice.

As difficult and divisive immigration issues loom large in the halls of power, many lives hang in the balance, especially the lives of young people who had no say in coming here to live but who now contribute to our culture and society as vital threads in the rich, diverse fabric of our nation. Let their dreams be our dreams.

I invite you to pray this benediction from Bishop Woodie White and to know that no matter the outcome, our burning thirst, our quest for justice, mercy and righteousness, in the name of Jesus Christ, must not end:

And now, may the Lord torment you. May the Lord keep before you the faces of the hungry, the lonely, the rejected and the despised. May the Lord afflict you with pain for the hurt, the wounded, the oppressed, the abused, the victims of violence. May God grace you with agony, a burning thirst for justice and righteousness.

May the Lord give you courage and strength and compassion to make ours a better world, to make your community a better community, to make your church a better church. May you do your best to make it so; and after you have done your best, may the Lord grant you peace.