The federal government recently reached out to city and state government officials, as well as non-profits and faith communities, to coordinate an orderly process to assist asylum seekers and others who have been processed and cleared to leave immigration custody in traveling to reunite with family members.  In response, Governor Lee, Senators Blackburn, and Hagerty, and members of the state legislature responded by stoking fear and hatred against vulnerable people seeking safety and opportunity in our country.

Here is what a few Tennessee faith leaders with the Southern Christian Coalition had to say:

Rev. Brandon Berg, Pastor of Norris and Sinking Springs United Methodist Churches:

“The Christmas season is a time when our families come together to enjoy each other’s company, and in Christian households, to celebrate God’s presence with us in Jesus,"

"No matter where we come from, or what we look like, whether we’re black or white, Latino or Asian, immigrant or refugee, we all want our families to be healthy and whole. But days before Christmas, Gov. Bill Lee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Bill Hagerty are trying to undermine family stability in our most vulnerable populations and stir up fear and anger between communities based on what we look like or where we come from. Their rhetoric serves no Christian agenda. It only serves their own political agenda. This isn’t what Jesus would do. Jesus calls on us to welcome the stranger.”

Pastor Kevin Riggs of Franklin Community Church:

“This weekend, we remember an uncharitable innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph. Will Gov. Bill Lee turn away folks who are looking for safety and shelter, or will he show us in works, not just words, his proclaimed Christian values and do as Jesus' calls: welcome the refugee, the stranger among us, who journeys to find a place to lay their head?”

"Furthermore, the words of these leaders are nothing more than fear mongering. Those coming from the border to Tennessee are not breaking any laws. In fact, they are following the laws of our land and entering our country through the legal process. In addition, they are not being 'dropped off.' They are coming here because Tennessee has a long history of welcoming immigrants through our dedicated non-profits."

Rev. Gordon Myers, Retired Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in Arlington, TN.:

"Governor Lee’s personal deficit of the Spirit of Christmas, should not be replicated by those who recognize the birth of Jesus as God’s invitation to live in His Kingdom, where love of neighbor as self and treating all others as we would desire to be treated are the gold standard of behavior,"

"Politicians may at this time of year be more concerned about scoring political points than living the Spirit of Christmas.  They may overlook the fact that the Baby Jesus himself was a refugee shortly after his birth. (Matthew 2:13-15), or that Jesus taught that we should treat 'the least of these' as if they were Jesus himself in need (Matthew 25). But people of faith should not be distracted.  Jesus came to this world to declare that God’s love includes all and the way we serve and honor God is by caring for one another."

Rev. Matt Steinhauer of Middle TN:

“For just one day of their life, much less a week or a month or years, I wish Governor Lee and the Republican leaders in the legislature, could walk in the shoes of the poor, the outcast, the hopeless. The initial response from Gov. Bill Lee is the typical whipping up of fear and frenzy, over Christian hospitality and love of neighbor, in asking refugees and asylum-seekers be blocked from coming to Tennessee. For a man who puts forward such a public image of a follower of Christ, I don’t get it.”

“This weekend, we remember an uncharitable innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph. Will Gov. Bill Lee turn away folks who are looking for safety and shelter, or will he show us in works, not just words, his proclaimed Christian values and do as Jesus' calls: welcome the refugee, the stranger among us, who journeys to find a place to lay their head?”