To the Editor:

The Ministerial Association of Potsdam believes that how we treat “the stranger” or “the other” is central to our faiths and, indeed, in our Scriptures is seen as a test of our faith.

For Jews, in Deuteronomy, chapter 10, the scriptures proclaim, "For the Lord your God defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt."

For Christians, in the 25th chapter of Matthew, verses 35 and 40, Jesus makes clear that how we treat “the stranger” is how we treat him: "...I was a stranger, and ye took me in...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." That’s what the Gospel text says. And the “stranger” means immigrants and refugees — the citizens of other nations living and traveling among us.

Under Islam, a stranger is referred to as “Ibn Al-Sabil” (wayfarer or traveler). The Qur’an considers that it is an act of righteousness to give money to a wayfarer. We read the following verse: "Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler” (Al-Baqarah 2:177).

We welcome those who are refugees and strangers among us with open arms, offering our friendship and service. It is our mutual goal to make our community a model of love and compassion by reaching out to families and individuals who need our help.

Suzanne McBroom

Ministerial Association of Potsdam