Craig D. Stewart, a member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church Mowbray in South Africa, was one of four authors of the “Statement from White South African Christian Leaders on Recent Actions by the United States Government.”
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Why Wouldn’t We Resettle White South Africans?
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Illustration by Thomas Fuchs
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HOW IS IT possible that a major Christian denomination has refused to aid refugees from South Africa? Isn’t “welcoming the stranger” critical to a Christ-like response?
In May this year, the Episcopal Church refused to provide support and assistance to more than 50 white South Africans arriving in the United States to claim refugee status. The denomination took this action in consultation with and the support and endorsement of Rev. Thabo Makgoba, the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa.
Despite the Episcopal Church’s nearly 40-year commitment to “seek and serve Christ in migrants and refugees,” it declared an end to its refugee resettlement contracts with the federal government because of Trump’s “white refugee” charade. To understand why the church’s refusal to resettle this group of white South Africans is not antithetical to the gospel, we need to take a closer look at the history of apartheid or racial segregation in my country.