A Dutch Church Is Taking Extraordinary Steps
Sanctuary churches aren’t just an American phenomenon. In The Netherlands, one small church has been holding non-stop services for more than a month—all to protect an Armenian refugee family from deportation. Bethel Church in The Hague welcomed Sasun and Anousche Tamrazyan and their children on October 25. Because Dutch officials aren’t allowed to enter churches during worship, pastors from around the country are taking turns conducting around-the-clock services.
The Tamrazyans came to The Netherland nine years ago, seeking asylum because of death threats over Sasun’s political activism. Their request for a “children’s pardon” was denied, a practice that’s become increasingly common with the rise of far-right parties in the country. Giving “hospitality” allows time for officials to reconsider the “urgency of the situation,” says Theo Hettema, chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers.
Hayarpi Tamrazyan, one of the couple’s children, says, “It’s impossible to express how special it feels when so many people help you.”
Should Churches Engage in This Type of Social Action?
Critics of sanctuary churches say these pastors and congregations are misguided. The Rev. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of a Dallas megachurch and a religion correspondent for Fox News, says, “A lot of these liberal churches that harbor illegal immigrants who are criminals say they are following the example of Jesus” but are, instead, “following the Jesus of their imagination.” He adds, “The real Jesus of the Bible said, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.’ That is: Obey the government.”
That’s taking the Bible out of context, says the Rev. Alison Harrington, who leads Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. “For us in the borderlands, it would be an act of infidelity to the gospel of Jesus Christ to turn our back on our undocumented neighbors and watch as their families are destroyed by the ill-conceived and, frankly, sinful deportation policies of our nation.” Southside was the birthplace of the American sanctuary-church movement, which began in the 1980s to help Central Americans.
