Charles Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown and the long-running Peanuts cartoons, said, “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics, and The Great Pumpkin.” Indeed, religion and politics seem to make the wheels of the news cycle go round and often are what drive people crazy about social media.

It is impossible to be a Reformed Presbyterian and avoid religion and politics. Jesus Christ is King. Enough said.

It is also impossible to talk about the legal and illegal immigrant near you without involving religion and politics, even if you’re trying to avoid those topics. Religions are a cause in the movements of peoples and affect how people view the immigrant. The government justifiably has a hand in immigration, yet the government has difficulty handling things apart from a one-size-fits-all approach; therefore complex answers to complex problems are elusive.

Helping people develop insight regarding immigration from a Christian worldview is a noble pursuit, even though there is little serious discussion of immigration in popular media, or an acknowledgment that it is multifaceted. The related problems were not created in a single wave of the hand and will not be resolved by one. We are not asserting political positions on immigration in this issue, but that’s not to rule out that some future issue would tackle that subject.

This issue of the Witness takes more of an on-the-ground view of the immigrant and immigration from Reformed/Presbyterian folks in a few different places: Germany, Cyprus, and the U.S. (San Diego). These people are at or near some of the front lines and come into frequent contact with immigrants. They show us how some individuals and congregations are looking at the situations near them and responding.

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A lot has already been said following the passing of Dr. Roy Blackwood. It is fitting that his home-base congregation, Second RPC in Indianapolis, is featured as this issue’s Congregation of the Month. Dr. Blackwood was all about discipling people and seeing such people raised up in congregations. His résumé is long and impressive, and some of that is highlighted in this article. We are grateful to his longtime friend Russ Pulliam for putting together this tribute for the Witness on short notice.

In 2009 when Roy Blackwood was honored with a lifetime service award, Russ Pulliam said that Dr. Blackwood reminded us that we were talking “too much about Blackwood.” He would doubtless feel the same way today. His desire was to point people to Christ, and that is what he endeavored all his days to do.

Photo: “Passed and waiting to be taken to Ellis Island.” Photo by Edwin Levick 1902–1913. Courtesy New York Public Library.