Hundreds of people gathered at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield to call for an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians on Feb 2, 2026. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).
During the February 8, 2025 Columbus Free Press salon, we declared “We are United with Springfield.” (Link to salon video)
On February 2, 2026, over 1000 people of faith and conscience gathered in solidarity with the Springfield Haitian community. The US government had set February 3, 2026 as the date to end Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for nearly 400,000 Haitians.
The US formalized immigration system since the 1920’s has a primary goal of excluding people, which does not support the current immigratory patterns driven by foreign policy, economic strangulation, and capital transfers. The push and pull character of immigration is profound on families taking this journey. However, Donald J. Trump’s regime seeks to politicize the migrant, and has not worked toward correcting this anachronistic system.
On February 2, 2026, the prayer and public testimony event at St. John Missionary Baptist Church brought together clergy and lay leaders. I asked what motivated the large number of faith leaders to show? I wondered what motivated faith leaders to attend, what in their faith tradition informed this decision (ie., Matthew 25 projects, Matthew 25:31-46 NIV - The Sheep and the Goats - “When the - Bible Gateway), and what public statements on immigration had their faith traditions? I interviewed several Central Ohio clergy to get to those answers.
From the interviews, the motivation for why people attended was clear, and it cut across perceived borders that usually exist among the faithful. Reverend Nick Bates, Interim Executive Director of the Ohio Council Of Churches and Executive Director of the Hunger Network of Ohio stated it the most simply: “We needed to be here!”
Joel Miller, Senior Pastor at the Columbus Mennonite Church, was drawn by the faith based organizing. Reverend Lea Austin, Scioto Valley Presbytery - Presbyterian Church (USA) retired clergy, said that in retirement she wishes to be working for justice and love, and that one’s faith should inform a broader perspective on current affairs. Reverend Joel Esala, Columbus Covenant Presbyterian Church Senior Pastor, was compelled to join based on the faithful commitment to love our neighbor.
Many of the gathered faith traditions have a Matthew 25 ministry focused on welcoming the stranger, caring for the injured, visiting the imprisoned, facing the oppressive systems of the world, and receiving the immigrant. So I asked, how do they envision shared ministries that can better uplift and support the Haitian communities?
Reverend Joel Esala shared that he had not seen many causes that draw such a diverse ministry as that of welcoming the immigrant, which the February 2 Springfield Prayer event demonstrated. “The relationships that are built through this project are truly inspirational.” Reverend Lea Austin emphasized “bridge building” requires intentionality, and that through shared ministries communities can overcome challenges people of faith face alone.
Reverend Joel Miller stated that the time is for the “flock to act not as individual sheep.” According to Reverend Miller, now is the time to celebrate “it’s good to be together” to proclaim a common voice and purpose.
The third question was what do faith communities bring to these times? Reverend Joel Miller maintains that faith communities provide us the ability to live out a society that goes to the moral core of our Humanity. Reverend Joel Esala mentioned that faith communities provide the connectional tissue that can attend to humanity’s need to feel welcomed and needed. Reverend Bates hopes that moral clarity would be at the core of faith communities. Reverend Lea Austin spoke of the intentional work that must accompany a faith community that cares and envisions a world that welcomes the stranger.
Reverend Joel Esala ended with that it was a gift to have been in Springfield on February 2, 2026, and that the power of the people and prayer brought an extension of the TPS for all 400,000 Haitians. All power to prayer and to the people!!
More work is needed to address the out of sync immigration system, and I expect these faith leaders to be in the middle of that scrum as we head toward a world that welcomes the stranger, feeds the hungry, visits the imprisoned, and faces the oppressive systems that humanity has created.
Capitalism is getting old!
We need to find another economic system that can create the wealth needed to address the needs of the world without further stressing the planet's survival, and where Humanity can place a much higher value of sharing that wealth with all.
