Luke 6:43-49; I Corinthians 3:4-16 Sanctuary Today 10 22 17

The State of Illinois Trust Act was signed into law this summer. It prevents
law enforcement officials from detaining individuals across the state solely based
on their immigration status1 The Act provides clarification that in order for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to make arrests, they must first
have a judge-issued warrant. This specificity curtails any practice of stopping
people on the street because they look like they might be here illegally (also
called profiling). Early this month, the City of Evanston Council clarified its status
as a welcoming city, assuring that it aligns with the Illinois Trust Act. This was a
significant step that parallels the action of the Evanston school districts, that
recently claimed the identity of being a safe haven for families affected by any
changes in immigration policy.2
What the state, city and school districts have in common, even though they
are not using this ecclesiastical language, is that they are declaring sanctuaries.
The concepts of trust, welcoming and safe haven are qualities of a sanctuary,
whether that sanctuary is a physical space or a space created by common values.
Both the physical and intangible sanctuaries are significant in our lives of faith.
University United Church of Christ in Chicago and Lake Street Church across
the park here, are sanctuary churches for people at risk of deportation. They
have literally welcomed people into their buildings where they can be safe and
together with their families. Wellington Ave. UCC in Chicago was a sanctuary
church during the 1980s when hundreds of people came to and through the

1 kristinakarisch2020@u.northwestern.edu, Daily Northwestern, October 2017

2 Ibid.
1
United States from Central America, seeking refuge from their home countries
ravaged by war.
You and I can acknowledge the mixed history our society has with
immigration policies. In the 19th century, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was
just that a legal ban on immigration of Chinese people to the U.S. The Asiatic
Barred Zone Act in the early 20th century (1917) limited immigration from much of
the Asian continent on the grounds they were: idiots, feeble-minded,
criminals, epileptics, insane, alcoholics, mentally or physically
defective, polygamists, and anarchists. It is stunning/ shocking/ painful to
hear these words used to villify people seeking asylum, protection and a new
home.
The history of our congregation is tied to a group of 17th century
immigrants who first gathered in a building in the town of Scrooby in
Nottinghamshire, England. It was in the Scrooby Manor that separatists, many of
whom made up the passenger list of the Mayflower, met in secret to worship as
they chose, and to express ideas that were considered against the State. They
were considered rebels, anarchists, pagans and malcontents. Scrooby Manor was
a sanctuary for people with ideas different from the majority political teachings of
England and theological thought of the Church of England. That building was so
significant for these early immigrants to North America, that they brought parts of
the building with them. The building itself mattered. We have here in our
sanctuary a stone, the Scrooby Stone, from that building which served as a
welcoming safe haven for early congregationalists. It is located in the Northeast
corner of the art gallery.

2
 I recently learned that Wellington Ave. UCC, the one I mentioned earlier as
a sanctuary church in the 1980s, has in their sanctuary the Scrooby Font! The
baptismal font from the these early worshippers. I think we should get our
congregations together celebrate our common Scrooby connection. We could
have a meal, music, socializing, dancing you know a real Scrooby do!
[you knew that was coming, right?]
Pauls letter to the Corinthians in the 1st century suggests the foundation of
a building matters. The stone on which you build, as well as the foundational
ideas and ideals. This sanctuary in which we worship today, was dedicated 90
years ago this month. We know there were two other buildings before this one,
each with differing architecture. The structure of this building tells us about the
vision its builders and early inhabitants had. We know from our high ceilings that
there was an expectation of lofty thoughts, and from the chapel that there was a
desire for more intimate gatherings. The room set aside for the pastor and the
pews in front for the choir reveal a plan for a particular kind of leadership. We
have a fellowship hall, suggesting there was a common understanding there
would be conversation and gathering outside the context of formal worship on
Sundays. And we have lots of doors 8 of them that lead inward AND outward.
A flow of ideas and movement in and out was part of the original foundation,
even as it is now. Finally, we have a steeple. We are not hiding! We want to be
seen and known for our foundations. It matters that we are here.
What we have found through the years, is that the vision cast by the
original architects, builders and theological teachers 90 years ago, left room for
new insights along the way. The chancel of the church has changed in
appearance. Our fellowship hall welcomes the Lakeside Buddha Sangha on

3
Sunday nights, and up to 35 homeless men and women in the winter. Our
narthex has evolved to embrace gatherings, an art gallery and current
information. The sanctuary here expans I purpose as we grow and change in our
faith.
In closing, I want to share a story about a church in another state. When I
was at the University of Illinois in Champaign, I met a a woman who was
returning to her studies after a time away. She confided in me that the reason
she was absent was because she was pregnant, and her family wanted her to
seclude herself out of state with a relative until she could give up her child for
adoption. During the long months of isolation, she attended a church close to her
relatives home, where the pastor greeted her warmly, and welcomed her in.
After she returned home, she wrote a note to the pastor thanking him for his
kindness and gracious reception. He wrote her back, responding, The church at
its best has always been a sanctuary.
We have many opportunities to offer the best of being the church - to
nurture and sustain sanctuary in this place. Through our annual giving, we
maintain the sanctuary. Through volunteering to make coffee, we foster
relationships. Hosting a recital here, we provide respite from the mundane and
the frenzy of the world. When we stay overnight and offer a helping hand, we
foster trust, a safe haven, and put our faith in action. By educating ourselves
about the realities of immigrants in the United States, or offering legal aid or
other counsel, we support a context of welcome. Whether you are in a position
to offer sanctuary, or you are in need of sanctuary, First Congregational Church,
its structures and its people, are here for that purpose.
Amen.

4
I Corinthians 3:4-16
For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you
not merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe,
as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the
growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but
only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have
a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of
each. For we are Gods servants, working together; you are Gods field, Gods
building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I
laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose
with care how to build on it.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that
foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw the work of each builder will become
visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the
fire will test what sort of work each has done.If what has been built on the
foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up,
the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.
Do you not know that you are Gods temple and that Gods Spirit dwells in you?