Parish ‘opens eyes’ to issues around migrants, refugees

The First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen had been a welcoming community to Indonesian refugees since the 1990s. Despite this openness, when it came to social justice issues around immigration, the faith community stayed out of the fray.

That changed in January 2017 when one of their own was arrested and jailed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The congregation quickly rallied around Roby, an undocumented Indonesian immigrant. This mobilization and support of his family resulted in the well-liked congregant’s eventual release.

The Rev. Dr. Ellen Clark Clémot, now the senior pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, was invited to share the story of Roby and her former congregation at St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Chatham recently. She was joined by Deacon Mark Nixon of St. Patrick’s to discuss her new book that recounts the story. It’s called “Discerning Welcome: a Reformed Faith Approach to Refugees.”

“We didn’t know how to help Roby,” recounted Rev. Clémot, who was an attorney for more than 20 years before becoming a Presbyterian minister. In the end, “We were motivated to help our friend, neighbor, and part of our church in need — and his family.”

In an article published in Christian Century magazine on Aug. 1, 2018, Rev. Clémot wrote, “Something new happened. We changed from being a congregation of peaceful bystanders to becoming a community of active protesters.”

During the discussion, Rev. Clémot shared the Reformed faith tradition on the refugee issue, while Deacon Nixon contributed the perspective of Catholic social teaching. The two faith traditions closely mirror each other on the issue, said Deacon Nixon. He earned a Ph.D. in theology and taught Catholic social teaching at Fordham University in the Bronx.

Chatham hasn’t experienced any recent influxes of immigration, but the lively discussion at St. Patrick’s encouraged attendees to consider the issue more seriously. The event was also livestreamed.

“We are children of God. The Church says respecting the dignity of every person is paramount,” said Deacon Nixon, who hoped the talk would help everyone become “less lethargic” on immigration.

Deacon Nixon also said the Church urges us to “advocate for people” and practice hospitality.

In early 2017, ICE arrested Roby for staying beyond his tourist visa. He had hired an immigration lawyer, but the case was handled improperly. Since then, he built a new life in the United States. Indonesian Christians at First Presbyterian fled religious persecution from extremist members of the Muslim majority there, said Rev. Clémot, the church’s interim pastor at the time.

After Roby’s arrest, the church organized a town prayer service, marshaled local political support, and paid for Roby’s legal work. Rev. Clémot visited Roby in jail. The national headquarters of their denomination joined them in a postcard-writing campaign to legislators to change immigration laws.

In November 2018, ICE released Roby from detention. Rev. Clémot credited God for giving her and the church the strength to fight for Roby.

“We want more mercy for people at the border where they can get housing and medical care while their cases are being assessed,” Rev. Clémot said.

The idea for the refugee talk started months ago after Rev. Clémot invited Deacon Nixon to the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township to speak on the topic of saints. Rev. Clémot gave him a copy of her book, “Discerning Welcome.” He read it and invited her to St. Patrick’s for the event.

After the talk, Father Robert Mitchell, St. Patrick’s pastor, said the talk “opened people’s eyes to issues around migrants and refugees.”