AMMPARO Initiative

At our congregational meeting in January 2020, we voted unanimously to become a Welcoming Congregation in the ELCA’s AMMPARO initiative. Here is a message of welcome to Good Shepherd from the ELCA offices:

AMMPARO
Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection,
Advocacy, Representation, and Opportunities

Dear friends in Vermont,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the AMMPARO network! You are now part of a growing movement of ELCA and ecumenically connected congregations and synods that stand ready to welcome migrants in our communities and can respond with advocacy efforts for a more just and humane US immigration policies!

We are now at 182 welcoming and sanctuary congregations and 34 synods with organized groups doing work that includes AMMPARO! In total, AMMPARO now has connections in 53 ELCA synods [out of 65]!  An interactive map can always be found on the AMMPARO website [ www.elca.org/ammparo  - see Good Shepherd in Vermont!]

Now that you have connected to AMMPARO...you will hear the latest reports on what is happening in Central America, Washington, DC and throughout the ELCA regarding Central American migrant children and families [during quarterly conference calls]... In addition to these check-ins, we frequently post developments around AMMPARO in our Facebook page. Follow it at: https://www.facebook.com/ELCAammparo/

We also maintain an AMMPARO listserve group for regular communication between all of us. You have been added.

As a part of the AMMPARO network, you are the heart and soul of AMMPARO, a movement that actively works to accompany migrant children and families in our communities and in the communities they fled…Thanks for joining AMMPARO!

Mary B. Campbell
AMMPARO, Program Director
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
8765 W Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631