Book review by Carolyn Bircher, Reading Program Coordinator

As Californians, we grapple with the complex issues of immigration.  It is heart wrenching to consider life challenges so severe that they motivate people to leave everything they know in order to take a long, dangerous journey to a land that likely won’t welcome them.

Julia Fogg is a pastor and New Testament scholar who has been serving immigrant families in Southern California for a number of years.  In her book, “Finding Jesus at the Border,” she devotes a chapter to each of these topics:

• Fleeing without Papers 
• Border-wall mentalities
• Seeking Asylum at the US Border
• Various vantage points regarding borders
• Behind prison walls
• Standing before ICE

Fogg tells stories of people she’s met who have faced these issues.  Each story is juxtaposed with a Bible story.  Seeing a Guatemalan mother next to Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt, or a father being held in an ICE facility next to Paul writing letters from prison, helped deepen my empathy for my new neighbors.

Fogg encourages us to step out of our comfort zones and cross social, ethnic and religious borders, just as Jesus did.  The last chapter gives practical ideas for how we can help our new neighbors feel welcomed and secure.  Some libraries offer this book through Hoopla to be downloaded to a mobile device for reading.   It counts for the “Education for Mission” category of the UMW Reading Program.