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by JACK SUNTRUP @JackSuntrup NORTHAMPTON — Religious leaders across the state on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to reconsider his executive order that freezes refugee resettlement in the United States for four months. In an open letter, the Massachusetts Council of Churches called the executive order “injurious.” “We grieve this decision to limit refugees, as it will cause further suffering, not just to our fellow Christians escaping persecution, but all refugees fleeing violence,” the letter reads. It quotes from scripture, specifically Deuteronomy 10:19: “You shall also love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.” “Our savior was a migrant,” the letter continues. “We hear Jesus Christ declare in Matthew 25 that His followers will be judged if we do not welcome the stranger. We stand under that judgment today.” The letter ends with a call [...]

Hear Pastor Sarah talk about how we are trying to respond to the heroin crisis, and our staff training to use Narcan in case of a drug overdoes: Listen to Sarah on NEPR

By JACK SUNTRUP @JackSuntrup Daily Hampshire Gazette, Sunday, December 18, 2016 NORTHAMPTON — A world away from Aleppo, Syria, Zaid AlNassar stood behind a microphone Sunday and in Arabic tried to convey an unimaginable feeling: the pain of a relentless war that has ripped apart his homeland. Wind swept in and clouds churned overhead as about 100 people huddled in front of First Churches of Northampton, endeavoring to do what they could to help put an end to Syria’s civil war. “The pain and the bloodshed is unimaginable in Syria and in Aleppo,” AlNassar said through a translator. “Every day hundreds and hundreds of people die.” AlNassar, 37, who now lives in Westfield with his wife and five children, said he and his family were resettled in Massachusetts two years ago from Daraa, Syria, a city credited with helping spark [...]

“The mythology is hold your nose and vote for the lesser evil and things will get better. “Lesser evil” politicians have been speaking for us and they are bought and paid for by their corporate influences consisting of “predatory banks, the fossil fuel giants, the war profiteers and the health insurance industry.” — Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaking during a campaign appearance at First Churches in Northampton Sept. 18, 2016 Photo by Kevin Gutting- The Valley Advocate   Photo Credit, Kevin Gutting for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, September 19, 2016 The Daily Hampshire Gazette: Monday, September 19, 2016 Story by Luis Feldman for The Gazette NORTHAMPTON — Green-Rainbow Party nominee for president Jill Stein spoke at the First Churches in Northampton on Sunday night with a message: Vote for the greater good, not the lesser evil. [...]