McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Twenty-seven-year-old Melanie Cruz sat with rapt attention in a pew toward the back of St. Mark United Methodist Church on Sunday morning as a guest preacher talked about immigration.

“Jesus was a refugee,” Alma Ruth told the small mostly Anglo congregation of about 65 people whose sanctuary is just a few miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Ruth was a foreigner,” she said about the biblical character who is said to be the grandmother of King David.

“In these very challenging times that we are living, right, and we have a historic opportunity to make a difference in these divisive times. Now our faith invites us to see migration, immigration, and borders through the lens of faith,” said Ruth, a missionary in northern Mexico and director and founder of the nonprofit Practice Mercy Foundation.

Afterwards, Cruz said she was moved by the message.

“She spoke from the heart and with real wisdom and experience,” said Cruz, whose father is an American and mother is from Mexico and is a legal resident. “I’ve never witnessed what she’s seen. And I value that.”

At times during the 30 minute sermon, Ruth’s voice cracked and she even cried as she recalled the many migrants and refugees she has met in Reynosa, Mexico, since her nonprofit began ministering south of the border in 2019.

“The majority of people we serve are people of faith,” she said. “Immigrants with Bibles in their backpacks.”

She and her volunteers take food, toiletries, clothing as well as faith, words of hope and encouragement to migrants living in shelters and along the Rio Grande south of the border. Most want to cross into the United States to claim asylum but currently there is no pathway under Trump administration rules.

“Tell the American church that we mean no harm,” she says they tell her. “That we come to work. That we come to protect our family’s lives. And that should make a difference for us.”

Cruz clapped excitedly when the sermon ended.

“When she spoke about coming back and speaking to the American church that really struck me. Because it’s true. We’re an international faith and we’re abandoning other people from the same faith and other countries. I just think that makes me have a reality check,” Cruz said.

St. Mark United Methodist Church Pastor Joe Tognetti said the guest sermon was in line with their ongoing study series “faithful Women in the Bible.” He says he also encourages his congregation to think of how they can help others.

“I encourage folks to talk about social issues, especially ones so relevant to us. The border is right there, you know, really right there. And so I encourage folks to talk about that, reflect on it, and be faithful in doing good,” Tognetti said.

He gets together monthly with other area pastors to discuss immigration. They meet at the historic Jackson Ranch Church, a former Methodist church in San Juan, Texas, which was the site of the Underground Railroad where slaves were helped to get to Mexico in the 1800s.

“A lot of people eschew immigration because they think it’s too political or too divisive. But, you know, it’s so relevant for us. And it’s such a common theme in the scriptures that I don’t know how you avoid it,” Tognetti told Border Report.

Ruth says it’s a topic that she’s not invited to speak about in local border churches on the U.S. side very much.

“Sadly, it is a very challenging topic. It shouldn’t be. If you are a person of good conscience and you are a person of faith, this shouldn’t be a negative or a demonizing subject,” she said.

She opposes spending billions of dollars on border wall but respects the efforts of law enforcement officers who are doing their job securing the border.

“We make our nation better if we embrace migration with the right approach — promoting advocacy, promote human dignity, protect human life. Because if we say we’re pro life, then we should protect all life, everywhere. And I think as a nation, we can benefit greatly if we can say, ‘Let’s do immigration reform,'” Ruth told Border Report.

Vote Common Good Executive Director Doug Pagitt said Ruth is the point person for a new free online toolkit that is being offered to churches and faith leaders to help with immigration questions, how to deal with ICE raids and how to de-escalate conflicts.

The toolkit was released last week and can be found at this link.

“There’s a number of things that churches can do. They can be trained in what are the rights of immigrants. They can offer their own connections and services to those people, if they’re in need, if, if ICE has come knocking at their door and they want to be in an interview with ICE, but they’re not sure if it’s going to be safe for them, they can reach out to church leaders and to members of congregation. So we’re training those church leaders and congregants in what they can do to be supportive for people. And most importantly, these churches can create a support network that can run alongside the support network that so many immigrants in this country have,” Pagitt said.

On Sunday, Ruth did not speak about St. Mark becoming a sanctuary safe space and she cautiously avoided naming political parties.

Tognetti did not tell the congregation about the toolkit nor is he considering the church as a sanctuary place. He didn’t he talk politics on the pulpit, either. He says it’s simply a matter of being a better person.

“Being a sojourner, being a foreigner, and welcoming the foreigner is just so integral to the Scriptures,” Tognetti said.

The church took up a donation for migrant shelters La Posada Providencia and Good Neighbor Settlement House, in Brownsville, Texas, which also assist low-income individuals.

Although she left politics out, Ruth did tell the congregation: “Immigration is a life or death conversation.”

“Our faith is transformative,” she said. “We have an invitation to make us better.”

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.