Although many people describe the immigration crisis in this country as a highly-charged partisan issue, for Dan Cale, lead pastor at the Evangelical Friends Church, Hughesville, it’s not politics — it’s how we treat people.

“From Judaism to Christianity, our faith is rooted in the idea that one of the measures of our faith — Isaiah would say this, many of the prophets would say this, and Jesus said this — that the true measure of our faith is found in how we treat people who are less fortunate, who have less than we have, who are less powerful than we are. It’s not in how we treat people who are in equal status and equal privilege. It’s how you treat the poor, it’s how you treat the widow, it’s how you treat the orphan that real religion, that real following of God, is found. That’s — that’s the measure,” Cale said.

“Now that’s not what gets you into heaven, but the measure of whether you are following God or not, whether you’re following Christ or not, the best measure of whether you are following who Jesus is, is how you treat people who are less fortunate, who are underprivileged, who are underrepresented, who are marginalized,” he continued.

“Jesus said, you know, it’s about how you treat widows and orphans. And what he meant was that is what Tsedaqah is. That’s what righteousness is, it’s how you treat people who are disenfranchised. So that’s who we are…it’s really who we are as Christians as a whole, and it’s who we are as a church,” he added.

Although their history is Quaker, the church is Evangelical Friends. Members of the Hughesville church have welcomed community members who have arrived here from Spanish-speaking countries even before members of their church family were impacted by the change in immigration policies.

“We were doing English as a second language class on Sundays. We did language cafes where we were actually taking students from Muncy High School, and they were coming in and interacting so that we’d have interaction with Spanish and English — it was a great combination for everybody,” Cale said.

About 15 people were coming to the church whose primary language was Spanish, so the church purchased headphones that would translate in real time English to Spanish so that they could hear the music in the service and understand what the pastor was preaching. The headphones were also used to communicate with each other.

“They come to Sunday school, and we use those to communicate. I would usually sit when I wasn’t teaching. I would sit with them at their table, and I would use an earphone, and we would that way I could join the discussion with them and be a part of that. So we found ways to adapt, to make it work,” he said.

“So our history goes all the way back to fighting for the abolition of slavery. Always there is one of the tenants of what we believe is equality and helping the poor. That’s part of what makes us who we are. It’s part of our identity. It’s part of our ethos. And so for me, trying to work with these folks, I mean, they were just part of our family…They came to church, they became part of our family. And once they’re part of our family, it’s like,how do we help? I mean, there’s no way you can turn your back on somebody who is in the situation they’re in,” he said.

Cale contended that many in the church are not aware of what is happening in the community with people who are here legally being detained by ICE without the legal process being followed.

“The Christian community is rising, I think, and is starting to hear that this is not humane. This is not and it’s not just our church. It’s other churches that are finding out that what’s being done is not constitutional. It’s not legal, and that’s why so many things are being turned over in the federal courts as soon as they get to a federal court. But under both administrations, the last several administrations, the idea is we’ll do whatever we want until you make us stop,” he said.

“Well, making them stop means going through the federal court system, and that takes years. It takes years to get to the Supreme Court, so by the time it’s heard in the Supreme Court and somebody makes them stop, they’ve already accomplished everything they want to do. This is what we’re up against as we’re trying to support people who are friends, family members, they’re part of our community,” he added.

Brooke Walter, who coordinates the Hispanic ministry at the church, credits Cale with teaching the members how to disciple their Spanish speaking church family.

“He has taught us well. He has taught us how to be disciples who become voices for people who can’t speak for themselves and have become advocates for people who have lost their ability to advocate for themselves,” Walter said.

“I think that there’s a large group of us here that understand what that discipleship looks like, and it’s costly sometimes, but the outcome is always something that reaps profit and fruit for the Kingdom. So it’s been a beautiful process to see,” she said.

She noted that the people who had joined the Friends church family were at different spots in their spiritual walk.

“But by being a part of a community and coming into a church that just wrapped their arms around them and loved them. They have all come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And I think out of all things, as a church, that’s what you want. That’s what it’s about,” she said.

“So no matter what political spectrum you are on, our foundation is the Word of God. And I think for us, that’s the most important. And this is what the word of God tells us to do, and this is how we love people,” Walters added.