Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice.
    The General Board of Church and Society and the General Commission on Religion and Race invited United Methodists to participate in an ecumenical and interfaith worship service and march calling for the humane treatment of immigrants in Washington, D.C. on February 25. The day included worship, a prayerful march to the U.S. Capitol, and congressional visits.

Participants in “Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice,” gather near the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

In Washington, D.C., this week, I watched the Church spill over.
Not metaphorically.
Physically.
The sanctuary of Capitol Hill UMC filled. Then the hallways. And then we overflowed into two additional sites, screens flickering to life so that no one would be turned away. Like water finding its level, the people kept coming.

Lay and clergy.
United Methodists and ecumenical partners.
Interfaith neighbors.
Community allies. 
Elected stakeholders. 

A quiet convergence of conscience.

There is something sacred about overflow. It means the container is too small for what is rising. It means the Spirit is pressing outward. It means hope has weight.

We gathered for Faithful Resistance, yes. For immigrant families. For refugees. For asylum seekers. For neighbors, whose lives feel suspended between policy and promise. But what I witnessed was more than advocacy. It was alignment. A community grounded in the Great Commandment. And a witness guided by Micah 6.8.

The movement of overflow was not chaotic. It was steady. People of faith showing up for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Two overflow sites.

That detail lingers with me.

Two overflow sites and then we spilled into the streets and sang our way to the Capitol grounds. The Capitol police tended us with hospitality and grace.  Streets cleared so that our group could march as one in the Spirit. 

In a time when the Church is often described in decline, I saw expansion. In a season when fear can feel contagious, I saw courage travel just as quickly. When systems feel immovable, I saw bodies move. And you could feel the Spirit among us. 

We did not come to Washington to act in civil disobedience. 
We came to bear testimony. 
To ask for care for the immigrant that aligns to our Holy Scriptures. 

We came to consecrate the ground by our presence there.
We came to proclaim - what the old familiar song teaches us - "they will know we are Christians by our love."

The Wesleyan movement began in fields and foundry yards, in places too small to contain the gospel. It makes sense to me now that faithfulness would again outgrow its room.

Overflow is inconvenient. It requires extra wiring, extra coordination, extra grace.
But overflow is also testimony.
It says: the concern is shared.
The calling is communal.
The witness is not solitary.

And as I looked out at the multitudes from every corner of the country, I thought: this is what it looks like when love refuses to shrink.
The Church spilled over.
And in that spilling, I felt hope.

They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love (The Faith We Sing #2223)

Bishop Lanette Plambeck addresses the congregation during opening worship at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church in Washington. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

We are one in the Spirit,
we are one in the Lord,
we are one in the Spirit,
we are one in the Lord,
and we pray that all unity
may one day be restored:

Refrain:
    And they’ll know we are Christians
    by our love, by our love;
    yes, they’ll know we are Christians
    by our love.

We will walk with each other,
we will walk hand in hand,
we will walk with each other,
we will walk hand in hand,
and together we’ll spread the news
that God is in our land:

(Refrain)

We will work with each other,
we will work side by side,
we will work with each other,
we will work side by side,
and we’ll guard human dignity
and save human pride:

(Refrain)

All praise to the Father,
from whom all things come,
and all praise to Christ Jesus,
God’s only Son,
and all praise to the Spirit,
who makes us one:

(Refrain)

Resident Bishop
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

Read more about Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness: United Methodists lead witness for immigrants | UMNews.org
Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice to Take Place in Washington, D.C. | UMC.org