“All Saints” Film Spotlights Church of 12 That Aided 65 Refugees

By Michael Foust

When sixty-five refugees from Southeast Asia started attending Michael Spurlock’s tiny church in Smyrna, Tenn., about a decade ago, he welcomed them, even though the struggling congregation was on the verge of closing its doors.Still, a question lingered in his mind: If the church of only twelve members couldn’t pay its own bills, how could it meet the needs of others? The answer, he says, came from heaven.Spurlock was walking through a large field owned by the church one day when he sensed God telling him, “I’ve given you land, and I have sent you farmers from the other side of the world. Get to work.”The solution seemed simple enough. The Karen refugees who fled Myanmar (Burma) had extensive experience in agriculture, and Spurlock’s congregation—All Saints Episcopal Church—had plenty of property. It even was adjacent to a creek. Church members and the Karen people could partner to grow vegetables, which could then feed hungry mouths or be sold to raise revenue.The plan exceeded everyone’s expectations; by the end of the first summer the group harvested twenty thousand pounds of produce.An inspirational movie based on Spurlock’s story releases in theaters today. Called All Saints (PG), the Affirm Films/Provident Films movie also follows the struggle to oppose an order to sell the building and a battle to save the 2010 crop from a once-in-a-century flood.The film stars Emmy and Golden Globe nominee John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Northern Exposure) as Spurlock, and Screen Actors Guild winner Cara Buono (Stranger Things, Mad Men) as Spurlock’s wife, Aimee. Comedian Chonda Pierce also has a role.“What drew me to welcome them was my understanding of Scripture, which commends hospitality to strangers, and helping people in need,” Spurlock said. “I did hesitate, for a moment, because I feared my already vulnerable church didn’t have the resources to really help the Karen, but I couldn’t reconcile myself to turning them away, either. So, I told them that I didn’t know how anything would work out, but for them to come to church and we’d try to figure things out together.”Even though the Karen had extensive experience in agriculture, Spurlock did not. “I didn’t need it,” he said. Yet he quickly learned about planting and harvesting, not only from the refugees but also from the county’s agriculture department.He also faced less resistance from those around him than he expected. “When I began sharing the news that God intended for us to start a farm, I kept thinking someone would bring me back down to earth and tell me I was crazy,” he said. “But everyone, from my congregation’s leadership to my bishop to experts in agriculture kept telling me how exciting this was, and kept asking how they could help.The “only real resistance,” he said, came from “two or three members of the congregation.” They eventually left the church.Spurlock wants moviegoers who watch All Saints to see God’s power at work. “God directed us, provided for us, encouraged us, and in the end salvaged a situation that we were, at one time, prepared to write off as a loss, but God saved us,” he said. “I want people to leave the theater with a renewed sense that God is alive and well, and still working in His world today,” he said."All Saints" is rated PG for thematic elements. Learn more at www.allsaintsmovie.com.

Michael Foust is an award-winning freelance writer and father of four small children. He blogs about parenting at michaelfoust.com.

A Great Film

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War tells the story of a US couple’s courageous private war against the Nazis in 1939.The Sharps, a Unitarian minister and his wife, are two of only five Americans honored as Righteous Among the Nations in Israel's Yad Vashem. You can watch their story online at PBS until October 5 by clicking on the above link.This film is the latest from Ken Burns, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs in documentaries. Defying the Nazis is an incredible story of great personal sacrifice.In this film you will see many similarities to the current social environment in America. How does an unlikely candidate rise quickly to power? How does racism thrive? Why don't people care for refugees? Is national security more important that children's lives? We've been here before.When you finish, read Auden's poem, September 1, 1939. We must love one another or die.

Can Any Good Thing Come Out of Nazareth?

The depiction from the USA had no Jesus at all.

My column on refugees/immigration ran in DTS Magazine recently: 

Standing in Nazareth's Basilica of the Annunciation, I gazed up at mosaics from all over the world. These works depicted the Virgin Mary with Jesus, and in each case Jesus bore the ethnic identity of the predominate group in the gifting country. That is, the art from Ecuador showed Jesus as Ecuadorian; the work from China, as Chinese; and the one from Thailand, as Thai. The baby Jesus from Slovenia even had red hair.The mosaics’ creators made these localized images to remind viewers that Jesus is “one of us”—which he is. Yet so many artists have depicted Jesus as white for so long with such far-reaching influence that many think of Jesus as white, even if unconsciously.

Taking the Blinders Off

There’s nothing inherently wrong with localized depictions of our Savior. Yet they can blind us to the reality that Jesus was born of a Jewish mother in the Middle East. And in a world of Roman power, he was so deeply Galilean that in the same city where I saw the diverse mosaics, two millennia earlier, Jesus slipped away into the crowd without detection (Luke 4:30).The olive-skinned Jesus knew how it felt to live as an outsider, to be “other.” He spent his first years in Egypt as a refugee who fled infanticide. When he relocated to Nazareth, he doubtless felt the sting of being “one of the new kids in town.” Later, he experienced being homeless. And if that weren’t enough, consider how he probably spoke. At Jesus’s trial in Jerusalem, Peter, another Galilean, heard someone say, “Your accent gives you away” (see Mark 14:66–70).The one who is “one of us” in his humanity was also wholly “other.”

Build Strong Partnerships

Years ago, members of my church took a spring-break trip to a border town, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Every night after walking dusty roads with members of our sister church, our team crossed back into the United States, where we had a discount on lodging. But something about the experience made us feel unsettled, so we took Octavio Esqueda (MACE, 2000) with us the following year, and we asked him to help us build a better relationship.At the end of our week together, Octavio did have some suggestions, and our choice to follow them led to a stronger partnership that benefited us all for decades. First, incarnating Christ means “presence,” he said. “So stay on the Mexico side. Otherwise, it feels like you’re ‘fleeing to safety’ every night.” Second, instead of scheduling the trip for spring break—the most convenient time for us—he advised going over Christmas.True, that was a terrible time for Americans, but in Mexico, nobody would have to take time off work to cook beans or translate for us, and people would have extra relatives in town, meaning extra tamales, and extra nieces and nephews happy to attend Christmas programs. Next, quit calling the work a “mission” trip; call it a “ministry trip.” Finally, invite members of the Mexico church to help us in Dallas so we would recognize that we were equal beneficiaries of each other’s help.

Move Toward Unity

Jesus prayed that we all might be one (John 17:21). And a move toward unity across barriers—whether ethnic, geographical, social, physical, or spiritual—means we must acknowledge that we all have forms of blindness. So we must ask questions and listen; serve, instead of expecting others to accommodate us; and learn from each others’ perspectives.The kingdom of heaven is upside down. Our king was a Middle Eastern, persecuted, homeless, refugee outsider who tells us that to serve the naked and the poor is to serve him.We all have prejudice in our hearts; often we have biases we don’t even know about. But—good news—our Lord loves and changes bigots. Recall that when a man named Nathanael from Cana (John 21:2) insulted Jesus’s adopted hometown with, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (1:46, NASB), Jesus invited him to join the Twelve. Our Lord in his grace even gave this man a glimpse of his own identity as the Christ: “You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (v. 51, NASB).When we humble ourselves and celebrate unity in diversity, we ourselves benefit; and we can give others a glimpse of the reality that something truly fantastic came from Nazareth.

No Religious Test for Refugees

While a few U.S. political leaders have called for banning resettlement of all Muslim refugees, leaders in the evangelical community affirm that refugees should not be rejected based on their religious identity. According to the January Evangelical Leaders Survey, 91 percent of respondents said the US should not bar entry to all refugees affiliated with certain religions.Evangelical leaders are not alone. According to a December 2015 CBS News poll, nearly six in ten Americans do not believe the US should temporarily bar Muslims from other countries from entering the United States, and two-thirds said such a ban would go against the founding principles of this country.Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), said “Religion should not be a litmus test for receiving aid. Most evangelical leaders believe compassion and security can and should go hand-in-hand.”

A Day Helping Refugees

Today I'm happy to have guest blogger Jessica Stephenson, a DTS grad who works with refugees in the Midwest. Opening my Mouth (and Growing Hoarse) “Open your mouth for the mute,for the rights of all the unfortunate.Open your mouth, judge righteously,And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8–9)Aamina (all names have been changed) squinted at a piece of paper in front of her. On the paper my supervisor had scribbled Aamina’s name and address. Aamina, my supervisor (we'll call her May), and I were all sitting in the room around the telephone. Aamina, an illiterate refugee who arrived to the United States this spring, had applied for medical insurance, but her application had been delayed. Aamina needs medical insurance. She has a few health problems such as high blood pressure for which she needs medication and health care. We assisted Aamina in calling to inquire about the status of her application.The voice of a woman was on speakerphone. An interpreter was also on the line, and the conversation ebbed between English and Somali. The lady on the phone would not allow me or May to help speak on Aamina’s behalf.“I need you to spell your name for me.”Aamina stared at the paper that May had pushed in front of her, but she could not do it.“I need you to tell me your address.”Aamina stared at the paper again and explained that she could not read her address.“You should be able to tell me your name and address. If you cannot tell me your name and address, then I cannot help you,” said the voice on the other line.And that was that. I grunted, buried my hands in my face, and stomped the ground a bit with my feet. Once again, one of the voices of a refugee living in the United States had been muted.Oh, lady on the phone, I wish that you would bear with me patiently for a moment as I explain. Not everyone has had an opportunity to be educated as you have. Not everyone has had an opportunity to live in safety and to have the luxury to learn to read and write. Some people have been on the run for their lives, such as my 50-year-old friend Aamina.Oh, lady on the phone, I would like you to imagine the following for a moment: What if you had to move to Algeria tomorrow, to a brand new city that you had never heard of before. And what if I were only to give you your new address in the Arabic language and script, a language that you have never studied. Oh, lady on the phone, can you please read me your address? And if you cannot, I am so sorry, but I cannot help you. Click.Aamina is brand new to the United States, and the fact that she does not yet know English is not by fault of her own. In fact, this 50-year-old is braver than most. She has come to the Midwest to begin again, and although she is no longer a youth, she has started regularly attending ESL classes. This lady who used to write her “X” as a signature has now learned to write “A-A-M-I-N-A.” She is brave and courageous. She is finding her voice oh so slowly. Can you please have the compassion and empathy to bear with her and help her as she learns?This story of Aamina is only the beginning. Will you please bear with me as I continue? Will you take the time to understand as I give you a glimpse into the daily struggles that I am encountering on the job, as I learn the tiniest portion of what it means to open my mouth for the mute in the Midwestern US?The town where I work is troubled by a scarcity of housing. When I prepared to move here, I myself went through a list of a dozen complexes that all told me they would have to put me on the waiting list. But there is one landlord in the city who has an extensive list of vacancies. And that one landlord has refused to work with my organization in renting to our new arrival refugees, even though we have explained that we will pay the security deposit and the first month’s rent and will help the refugees to get jobs within a few weeks of arriving to the United States.So, what do I do when, for example, I have a family of six Burmese refugees slated to arrive to the United States in September after living 27 years in a refugee camp in Thailand? I needed housing for this family, and I needed it immediately! Praise God, May and I were able to find a man named Juan, a landlord with just a few different rental properties, who was willing to work with us in providing a place for this family.And I rejoiced in this little victory!The Ama family of six arrived on a weekend, and on the following Monday I took them to the administrative center in my town in order to help them put the water, electricity, sewage, and trash utilities in their name. And then, I heard the apology that I am getting rather used to hearing, “I’m so sorry, m’am, but we require two forms of identification in order to be able to open an account with us.”So, I give my spiel. “I understand, but these are legally admitted refugees. They have just arrived to the United States, and they only have one form of identification. They will get their other form of identification within 90 days, but they cannot wait that long to have running water and electricity. They need it today.”“Well, I’m really sorry. I am truly sympathetic, but…”“May I please speak with your supervisor?”And then the supervisor decided to allow the Ama family to open up a utility account.And I rejoiced in this little victory!But then, I needed to help the Ama family set up a gas account because the gas company is a separate entity. I knew trouble was coming, but I plunged in anyway.“I’m so sorry, m’am, but we require two forms of identification in order to be able to open an account with us.”So, I give my spiel all over again: “I understand, but these are legally admitted refugees. They have just arrived to the United States, and they only have one form of identification. They will get their other form of identification within 90 days, but they cannot wait that long to have a gas account. They need it today.”“Well, I’m really sorry. I am truly sympathetic, but…”“May I please speak with your supervisor?”This time the supervisor wasn’t ready to give me a final answer, but suggested that I fax them a letter explaining the situation. So, I faxed the letter to the gas company, and then I chatted with the Ama family for a bit.“Well, the good news is that you now have water, electricity, trash, and sewage services. The bad news is that I haven’t been able to get the gas turned on for you yet. This means that you may not be able to use your stove since it is a gas stove.”The woman in the Ama family looks at me and asks, “So how will we be able to cook?”That night I didn’t sleep well. I tossed and turned in my bed, and I thought about the Ama family and how something as simple as finding livable housing was turning out to be so difficult. It is hard and sometimes unpleasant opening my mouth for those who cannot speak for themselves. I felt the pressure weighing down upon me.In the morning I got a call from the gas company. It was the supervisor. She said that she had decided to allow us to open up a gas account for the Ama family. They would come sometime the following morning to the house to turn the gas on.And I rejoiced in this little victory!Each month, our little office of three staff will receive about thirty refugees arriving from refugee camps to the Midwest. So, imagine this little saga that I have detailed for you above multiplied about five times over this month.I am opening my mouth for these people, but I am just one voice among the 30,000 residents of the town where I work. We need more mouths—more mouths speaking for the disempowered and the mute, more mouths speaking for the afflicted and the needy coming to this country with little more than a small bag apiece.There is a disconnect. There is a disconnect somewhere between the federal government who has admitted these refugees to the United States and the local organizations (employers, landlords, utility companies, banks, etc.) who have made it nearly impossible for these newly arrived refugees to get up on their feet. These organizations apologize profusely that they cannot offer services because these newly arrived refugees do not fit nicely into their existing frameworks, policies, and guidelines.But these are legally admitted refugees.If these legally admitted refugees do not fit into the existing local frameworks, then it is these local frameworks that need to adapt and change.This is my voice. But sometimes it gets lost in the noise, and I find myself growing hoarse, worried sick about these people whose burdens I cannot carry on my own.But the Lord reminded me this week as I read and meditated upon Scripture, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good,” (1 Thess. 3:13). And “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ,” (1 Thess. 3:5). And “'Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land… They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the LORD,” (Jer 1:18–19).And I am reminded through the Holy Spirit of that truth which I cannot afford to forget—that I am not alone and that there is a God who cares about justice even more than I do.