MADISON, Wis. (RNS) — When Toni Swandby and her husband Mark decided to host Ngwa Augustine, a recent immigrant to Wisconsin from Cameroon, the couple opened not just their home to him, but their congregation at Midvale Community Lutheran Church.
“Not only did the Holy Spirit lead me very specifically to say ‘yes’ to this young man from Cameroon,” Swandby said, “but the Spirit has guided our congregation to see people differently than ‘other.’”
Midvale pastor the Rev. Katie Baardseth said that after the congregation met Augustine, it fell in love with supporting immigration-related ministries.
Since welcoming Augustine, the church has hosted a family from Ukraine and another from Colombia, both currently living next door to the church in a house owned by Midvale that is now used exclusively to house asylum seekers.
With immigration one of the top issues nationally in the November election, and no less for voters in the swing state of Wisconsin, some Republicans have criticized liberal strongholds such as Dane County for their status as “sanctuaries” for immigrants. Sanctuaries are communities with a policy, written or unwritten, of discou …