A Litany in Support of Immigrants

In the wake of the increasingly horrific treatment of immigrants, those seeking refuge, naturalized citizens, and children by the current administration - and also their use of scripture to justify this treatment - we have created a litany to center these issues in scripture and encourage leaders and congregants to lift up their voices with God's call to love our neighbor. All our neighbors.

Feel free to tweak and adjust as needed for your setting. Instructions for crediting our site are below the litany.

By Rev. Elizabeth Rawlings and Ray Gentry IV​

P: The ancestors of our faith were sojourners
C: Wandering the desert, looking for their home
P: Do not wrong or oppress an immigrant
C: For you too were immigrants in the land of Egypt
A: We are called to welcome the immigrant

P: The founders of this congregation were immigrants
C: Seeking safety and opportunity far away from their homeland
P: Do not wrong or oppress an immigrant
C: For we too were immigrants in this land 
A: We are called to welcome the immigrant

P: Do not neglect hospitality and welcome to strangers
C: For you may be unwittingly entertaining angels
P: Do not wrong or oppress an immigrant
C: For you too were immigrants in this land 
A: We are called to welcome the stranger

P: The Lord said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to the land of Egypt”
C: Where now can a family flee for safety if not here?
P: Do not wrong or oppress and immigrant
C: For you too were immigrants in the land of Egypt
A: We are called to welcome the refugee

P: The king of Egypt told the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to kill all male babies
C: But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded
P: The midwives disobeyed the king and let the children live
C: God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong
A: We are called to protect children

P: Children are being taken from their parents
C: Removed while nursing at its mother’s breast
P: Jesus said, “whoever welcomes a child welcomes me.
C: and whoever harms a child, it would be better a millstone hung around their neck and drowned in the sea
A: We are called to welcome children

P: The Lord said, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;”
C: for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 
P: I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.
C: That which you did to the least of these, who are members of my family, you did to me
A: That which we do to the least of these: the immigrant, the hungry, the imprisoned, we do to Christ


P: Beloved siblings in Christ, scripture calls us again and again to welcome the immigrant, for we were once immigrants. God commands this. Jesus told us that which we do to those thought of as the least in our world, we do to him. How we treat prisoners is how we treat Christ. How we treat immigrants is how we treat Christ. How we treat asylum seekers, refugees, and all seeking a better life is how we treat Christ.
Let us go forth, speak and act boldly, fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit, to ensure the immigrant, the refugee, the asylum seeker, and all of our siblings are treated as we would treat Christ.

C: Amen

Please ensure attribution to Disrupt Worship Project (you may also abbreviate it as DWP if you deem it necessary) is included somewhere on your worship materials anytime Disrupt liturgies are used. If any changes are made to the liturgy, [adapted by ____] must be included in the attribution. Email team@disruptworshipproject.com with any further questions or permissions.