Resolved, That the 81st General Convention commend Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) and its Rainbow Initiative Congregation/Community (RIC) partners for their work during 2023 to bring attention, aid, and welcome to LGBTQ+ people who had fled their homelands in search of safety, in pursuant to General Convention Resolution 2022-D045; work which included the following:

• Building a network of 21 formal RIC partners throughout the United States and in Europe, including:
  • All Saints Episcopal Church (Hershey, PA)
  • Bridge Refugee Services (Knoxville, TN)
  • Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (Paris, France)
  • Christ Lutheran Church (Nashville, TN)
  • Church of the Ascension (Munich, Germany)
  • Epiphany Episcopal Church (Vacaville, CA)
  • First Lutheran Church (Duluth, MN)
  • Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (Duluth, MN)
  • Grace Episcopal Church (Sandusky, OH)
  • Holy Spirit Episcopal Church (Belmont, MI)
  • Iglesia Episcopal San Mateo / St. Matthew's Episcopal Church (Hyattsville, MD)
  • Integrity Harlem at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (New York, NY)
  • LGBT Asylum Task Force, Hadwen Park Congregational Church UCC (Worcester, MA)
  • Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church (Houston, TX)
  • Rio Grande Borderland Ministries (El Paso, TX)
  • St. Anna’s Episcopal Church (New Orleans, LA)
  • St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church / San Miguel y Todos Ángeles Iglesia Episcopal (Portland, OR)
  • St. Nicholas’ Episcopal Church (Elk Grove Village, IL)
  • St. Paul’s and St. George’s Episcopal Churches (Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, NY)
  • Southeastern Synod, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) (Atlanta, GA)
  • The Benedictine Way (Omaha, NE)
• Providing witness in Pride and World Refugee Day events that proclaimed to hundreds of thousands of spectators and participants The Episcopal Church’s inclusive love of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status;
• Developing and disseminating resources helping congregations and others to “Learn, Pray, Witness, and Serve” as they stand alongside LGBTQ+ forced migrants;
• Discerning together their evolving and diverse callings to advance this work in 2024 and beyond through continued learning, prayer, witness, and direct aid.

EXPLANATION:

• The previous General Convention passed Resolution 2022-D045[1] which included an unfunded “request that the Episcopal migration Ministries highlight the issues surrounding LGBTQI+ refugees and asylees and offer information on ways of support.”
• Approximately 65 countries throughout the world make same-sex intimacy, gender nonconformity, or transgender identity illegal, with punishment up to the death penalty in twelve.[2] Persecution takes place in many more, where so-called  “morality codes” target LGBTQ+ people, or where extreme violence and discrimination against go unpunished.
• Approximately 30,000 people file for asylum status in the United States annually, on the basis that they cannot return to their countries of citizenship because of persecution against them because of their LGBTQ+ status.[3] Many thousands more (statistics unavailable) are undocumented in the U.S. or hold other immigration status.
• Given that they are much more likely to be asylum seekers than refugees, LGBTQ+ people seeking safety in the U.S. in particular are unable to make use of federally-funded assistance such as that provided by Episcopal Migration Ministries. They are also typically unable to obtain work authorization for 180 days after they file their asylum applications.[4]
• LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and other immigrants often lack the family, community, and religious group support that other immigrants depend upon for survival. This isolation compounds their vulnerability.[5]
• Several of the inaugural class of Rainbow Initiative Congregations/Communities (RICs) were affiliated with The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a full-communion partner of The Episcopal Church.
• For information about the Rainbow Initiative’s witness at Pride and World Refugee Day events – which reached hundreds of thousands of people – see EMM’s blog piece on the subject.[6]
• The resources developed through the Rainbow Initiative are available on a dedicated section of EMM’s website: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/rainbowinitiative/
• A report of Rainbow Initiative activities and accomplishments is available online.[7]
• EMM and its partners are continuing to advance their work with and for LGBTQ+ forced migrants in 2024.

[1] 2022-D045: On Supporting LGBTIQ+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Accessed February 27, 2024: https://2022.vbinder.net/resolutions/275/finalization?house=HD&lang=en

[2] Source: Human Dignity Trust. Accessed March 5, 2024: https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/. Other sources states that 70 or more countries make LGBTQ+ identity or activity illegal.

[3]  Niedzwiecki, Max. (October 2023). Jesus Didn’t Turn Anyone Away, Neither Do We: Churches Welcoming LGBTQ Forced Migrants. Centre for Migration Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Webinar #23. Accessed February 27, 2023: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377782566_Jesus_Didn't_Turn_Anybody_Away_Neither_Do_We_Churches_Welcoming_LGBTQ_Forced_Migrants

[4] REFERENCE

[5] REFERENCE

[6] EMM Rainbow Initiative Partners Shine a Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Forced Migrants during Pride Month. Accessed March 5, 2024: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/emm-rainbow-initiative-partners-shine-a-spotlight-on-lgbtq-forced-migrants-during-pride-month/

[7] Episcopal Migration Ministries and LGBTQ+ Forced Migrants: Giving Thanks for 2023. Accessed March 4, 2024: https://episcopalmigrationministries.org/episcopal-migration-ministries-and-lgbtq-forced-migrants-giving-thanks-for-2023/ (Note: A link to the full report on 2023 activities is included in the blog piece.)