Immigration has been a contentious issue in American politics for centuries. Our history is
littered with stories of bigotry based on nationality, systemic racism attempting to keep immigrants
in a lower class, and when that failed, outright violence. As much as we'd like to think America has
outgrown that horrible history, the fact of the matter is, it seems the only thing that’s changed is
the nationality of the victim. You only need to watch about five minutes of election advertisements this fall to see the prejudice being leveraged to win hearts and minds — and political office.

 

Most shocking are the anti-immigrant messages vented by conservative Christians—even
though their Bible include Jesus’s directions to feed the hungry, give the thirsty a drink, and welcome the stranger (Matthew 25: 31-46). If that’s not a direct order to welcome immigrants, perhaps I don’t know how to read after all.

 

Yet here we are, a nation where mass deportations and the uprooting of millions of lives is fodder for political theater. It’s easy to dehumanize people when you’re trying to get rid of them.

 

Putting faces and voices and stories with the immigration debate is the best way to combat that narrative, and that’s where A Journey Called Hope: Today’s Immigrant Stories and the American Dream by Rick Rouse shines in the darkness.

 

When Rouse shared his inspiration for a book on immigration that would release in
the depths of the 2024 election, it was an instant match. Coauthor of 2020’s The World is About to Turn: Mending a Nation’s Broken Faith, Rouse proposed abook that was part research, part interview.

 

The research portion lays out the facts around immigration from credible sources and with meticulous accuracy. Rouse brings the instincts of an investigative journalist or a historian completing a foundational work, with rich but comprehensible data and a clear, engaging writing style.

 

Even more compelling is the interview portion. Over the course of several months in late 2023 and early 2024, Rouse collected eight stories of immigrants from five continents, digging into their stories of deciding to leave their homelands and their experiences arriving in the United States. Some stories are those of a single individual, such as Wilmot Collins, a Liberian native who now serves as
mayor of Helena, Montana, or Emillie Binja, an Uganda emigrant who is now a Lutheran pastor. Others are family stories such as the 15-member Kotok family from Ukraine, fleeing a fierce war against fascism. Each story contains photos to put faces with those stories. After you see the face, the story will stay with you even longer.

 

Closing the narrative with a twelfth chapter entitled “God’s Vision for a Beloved Community: Our Nation as a Tapestry of Diversity,” Rouse puts his lengthy career as a pastor to work. He takes in a global view of immigration and then zeroes in on the vast difference in opinions within Christianity on immigration.

 

Rouse closes with a charged question: What will it take to reclaim the promise of the American Dream? He offers five suggestions: Love the neighbor, try civil discourse, practice compassion, live with a spirit of generosity, and embrace diversity. Those bear a strong resemblance to that passage from Matthew 25, don’t they?

 

Another bonus for readers is an extensive collection of appendices that connect readers to organizations that support immigrants, resources for civil discourse, statements by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) related to immigration, and a report from the Public Religious Research Institute on immigration.

 

Yet another gift from A Journey Called Hope is a foreword by a man who knows a thing or two about the world’s cultures and their gifts — renowned travel writer and personality Rick Steves. His global adventures of have instilled a sense of global family, and he welcomes readers by noting, “[t]he stories you’re about to read—the stories of their faith, hope, andlove—will help us get to know the family.”

 

Along the way, each chapter concludes with questions for small group discussion or individual reflection. As always, Chalice helps you put what you’ve just learned into action. When you finish A Journey Called Hope, you’ll be prepared to stand by the hungry, thirsty strangers in our world.

 

Brad Lyons, President & Publisher

Chalice Media Group
St. Louis, MO