LANDOVER HILLS, Md.– From the altar of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church during Mass each week, the change wasn’t very noticeable at first.
But now, as Father Mario Majano scans the congregation week by week, he sees it more clearly – more and more faces are missing.
Some parishioners say they are afraid to risk going to church due to immigration crackdowns and isolating themselves in fear.
Majano says he used to pass out “know your rights” cards and leave stacks of them at the back of the church, but with so much uncertainty around immigration policies and detentions, he doesn’t always know what to do.
“It’s hard to not be able to give them something tangible when we ourselves are not really sure what’s happening,” said Majano. He has noticed that, at least in his parish, many people are building a network around faith to seek comfort and a sense of community.
“As human beings we truly need to be connected to one another,” said Majano. “And that’s where we triumph. We get together, we remind ourselves of our dignity and solutions are found. We are creative and it’s pretty impressive what we do when we are together.”
Around Maryland, religious leaders are raising similar concerns. Approximately one in three people in Maryland identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to census data. And even though clergy members say they don´t see ICE targeting churches, they are well aware of ICE agents in the area and of raids going on.
So religious leaders in the Latino communities across the state are sharing feelings of overwhelm and concern.
Pastor José Arce Jr. from an evangelical church in Montgomery County said his predominantly Latino congregation has been dealing with detentions and fear of detentions. Though he wants to help, he said, it can be difficult to comfort families.
“I want to be very cautious in the advice I give out,¨ said Arce. What he tells people, he said, is, “I don’t know, but give me time and I’ll try to find an answer for you.”
He wishes he had all the answers, he said, but of course he does not.
“There are moments where it’s frustrating,” said Arce. “However, what that does is it sends me back to the prayer closet and to ask God for wisdom and to give me the strength to be able to be supportive of our members and community.”
Reverend José López-Chapa says his congregation at the Fallston Presbyterian Church has not been directly affected by the immigration policy changes and threats, though he, as a child of immigrants and faith leader, has felt the tension.
“In times like this when things are really difficult, we often fall back to that spirituality we grew up with and look for support within that community,” said López-Chapa. “It’s tough to share a message of hope when we feel hopeless but we have to rely on one another and we need to continue to do that.”
At the end of Mass, Majano stands by one of the exits of Saint Mary’s, shaking hands with parishioners and chatting briefly with some of them. He has noticed that recently, more people come up to him after the service and ask to schedule time to meet with him.
“There has been some uptick in people who want to talk,” said Majano. “It’s people who want to be heard and express what they are going through.”
He says he routinely asks the more active members of the congregation to look around to see who is missing and make sure they feel supported. Through Whatsapp groups and attending services, members of the church are organizing food drop-offs and visits with families who are deciding to stay home to strengthen the spirituality in the community.
“At least in this parish, in this community, we’ve seen a lot of people gather together with their faith,” said Majano. “It’s that comfort of something stable, something higher than everything that’s going on right now and something that is very rooted in their own experience.”