 The Rev. Wayne Miller, bishop of the Metro Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is a vocal advocate for immigration reform. His involvement with immigration and refugee issues first began in the 1970s when he worked on a refugee resettlement project with his congregation. It was through this personal interaction and relationships with Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees that immigration issues started to become very real and significant to him.
As his friendships developed and his awareness of the difficulties faced by migrants around the world grew, Bishop Miller began to gain new insights about both himself and his faith. He began to examine in depth what he sees as a biblical imperative to reach across perceived societal boundaries in order to pursue equality and dignity within systems of immigration. He has found during his ministry that it is through the very act of reaching across these artificial boundaries and divisions that an attitude of welcome is best achieved.
Bishop Miller believes that welcoming immigrants in and of itself is a tangible way of breaking down boundaries and borders of separation. His advocacy continues today in Chicago, where he works to educate others on the destructive and divisive impact that ignorance about America’s newcomers has on the life of a church and a community.
He recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to lift his voice to elected officials as a member of the ELCA’s Ready Bench on Immigration. In partnership with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service he voiced his concerns to legislators and shared that, “immigration, openness, and the significance of reaching across boundaries is significant to me not only as a citizen, but as a minister of the gospel.” Bishop Miller continues to be transformed in his search to further understand and speak boldly in support of immigration reform.
Click here for to see Bishop Miller at 2009's Immigration Ready Bench
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