“Recalling that our families were once the “stranger”—and remembering our Lord’s call to love our neighbor as ourselves—can expand our moral imagination, enable us to see the new “stranger” as our neighbor, and open us to welcome today’s newcomers.
Our church also has a history of hospitality for refugees. Following World War II, when one out of every six Lutherans in the world was a refugee or displaced person, Lutherans, with the participation of 6,000 congregations, resettled some 57,000 refugees in the United States.”
“Immigration, refugee, and asylum policies express who we are as a nation, influence the nation’s future character, and affect the lives of millions of people. We encourage our members, in light of our history and our ministry with newcomers, to join with other citizens in our democratic society to support just laws that serve the common good.”
-A Social Message on Immigration, 1998
“The NC Synod’s Immigration and Refugee Task Force prays, advocates, and responds to calls for action in support of the myriad needs and issues faced by immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees that are attempting to enter the United States or are already here.
The Task Force is working to coordinate the Synod’s efforts in support of and to advocate for immigrants and refugees of all nationalities and ethnicities. These efforts are based on our Lutheran, Christian, and humanitarian ideals. Current Task Force efforts include supporting the resettlement of refugees, communicating with people in detention, advocating with non-governmental organizations such as LIRS and other resettlement agencies, coordinating with local support groups and elected officials, and participating with the ELCA AMMPARO Network (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities).”
In spring of 2021, the task group has:
- added new members (see below)
- encouraged congregations to join the AMMPARO Network—three congregations are now members: Christ the King, Cary; First, Greensboro; and Holy Trinity, Chapel Hill—and
- participated in Zoom calls with LIRS, LSC, and the ELCA Program Director for Migration Policy.
Task Force Members
| Team Lead | Dave Charters | David Charters is a member of Christ the King (CTK), Cary, where he lives with his wife Cindy of 45 years. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, having practiced civil engineering for over 40 years before retiring in 2019. David is the lead member of CTK’s advocacy group for immigration and refugee issues, and he represents CTK as the first NC-member church of the Accompanying Minor Migrants with Protection, Advocacy, Representation, and Opportunities (AMMPARO) Network. |
| Team Member | Kristin Somers | Kristin Somers is a member of Holy Trinity (HTLC), Chapel Hill, along with her husband and two collegiate daughters. Refugee resettlement has been her passion over the last twenty years after participating in HTLC's first resettlement. Since then, she has led the efforts with her congregation and community to successfully sponsor nearly fifty individuals from Burma. Kristin is a global marketing communications manager with Eaton. |
| Team Member | Ginny Hultquist | Ginny is a member of First, Greensboro, where she lives with her husband, Art. For many years she was the Director of Refugee Resettlement for Lutheran Services Carolinas and currently serves on the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services board. She writes a bi-monthly advocacy column for her church newsletter. |
| Team Member | Jeff & Susan Hicks | Jeff & Susan are volunteers who have been working with Lutheran Services Carolinas since 2014. Jeff worked as a Construction Engineer in Afghanistan from 2008-2012 and since then seven families he worked with have immigrated to the U.S. under the Special Immigrant Visa Program, four into NC. Jeff collects furnishings for incoming families and then, with a network of volunteers, sets up apartments. Susan is a retired teacher and works at Catholic Parish Outreach Food Pantry in Raleigh. She supplies food to incoming families as well as families in need of continued assistance. They have mentored several families from Afghanistan. |
| Team Member | Ms. Grace Berbaum | Grace is a member of Philadelphia, Dallas, where her husband, Shea Berbaum, resides as pastor of yoked congregations. Grace taught 4th grade for three years before getting her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, and has always been passionate about advocating for children. Grace feels called to this task force to continue to speak up for children and their families. |
| Team Member | Pastor Scott Berry |
Pastor Scott graduated from Appalachian State in 1990 with a B.S. in Mathematics and from LTSS in 2011 with an MDiv. He has always had a passion for helping folks from other countries. For ten years he served as pastor at Shepherd of the Sea, Atlantic Beach, where he worked with a local Episcopal church in coordinating the settlement of two refugee families to the Crystal Coast. While there, Pastor Scott and his wife of 26 years, Emily, opened up their home to recent immigrants to have a vacation at the beach. Pastor Scott currently serves at Our Father, Greensboro. |
| Team Member | Ms. Beverly Foster |
Beverly Foster is a member of A Mighty Fortress, Charlotte. She resides in Charlotte with her life partner of 26 years, Charles. Beverly once chaired Mecklenberg County’s Domestic Violence Advisory Board and has worked in the field of human trafficking. She also volunteered as a Guardian Ad Litem for over 10 years, as well as serving as a trainer for new volunteers. Beverly is a member of the synod’s African Descent Strategy Team, a member of the synod's Racial Justice Network, and a facilitator for our DCSL White Privilege Training. Beverly was elected to the NC Synod Council at the 2021 Assembly and looks forward to advocating for disadvantaged populations. |
| Team Member | Ms. Susan Conlon |
Susan Conlon is a member of Our Father, Greensboro, and a retired research librarian. A past president of the Montagnard Mission Council, the leadership team of a former NC Synod youth-based Synodically Authorized Worshipping Community in Charlotte, NC, she also worked with students of all ages to further their educations, assisted in applications for social services, and wrote grant proposals to support programming. Immediately after college, Susan taught in the ESL Department of University of LaVerne-Naples, at the southern Italy NATO campus. She is currently a volunteer at UNC-Greensboro’s Center for New North Carolinians, where she has most recently worked with a Sudanese couple to prepare for their successful citizenship testing. |
| Team Member | Mary Ballard |
Mary is a member of Grace, Boone, and is a Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University. Mary is involved with the Immigration Justice Coalition (IJC) of the High Country. She developed a scholarship application process for local high school students who are immigrants or the children of immigrants who want to attend college or trade school. As a member of the IJC Mary has also helped with a COVID relief fund, ID drives, power of attorney events, and fundraisers. |
