A call for advocacy for our Burmese brothers and sisters this Advent
Photograph by Zinko Hein via Unsplash
Rev. Dr. Greg Mamula
When entered into faithfully, Advent is a frustratingly wonderful season of awkwardly waiting for God to act on the promises God has made. Advent is a season firmly planted in kairos time, yet it requires an annual examination of chronos time, the ordinariness of our everyday lives. It is a season between times: it only makes sense when we look to the future, the past, and our present, in that order.
Advent, more than anything else, compels us to look toward the second coming of Jesus, when the new heavens and new earth will be fully united. Biblical poems, prophecies, and proclamations abound: a giant city with gates always open, rivers of living water, trees of life, mountains that summon the kingdoms of the world to God’s presence, and banquet tables laden with abundance for all people. These overlapping visions proclaim a future when God is the focus of all things, relationships thrive, peace and justice reign, sin is healed, and sorrows are soothed.
Advent calls us to stay vigilant in the present to the ways of Jesus, for we do not know when these things will occur. Staying vigilant is difficult work.
The Burma Advocacy Group (BAG) is part of the American Baptist Churches USA family and embodies this Advent vigilance. Formed after the military coup that removed Myanmar's democratic government on February 1, 2021, BAG includes over thirty ecumenical and nonprofit organizations committed to the well-being of our Burmese neighbors and fellow believers.
The BAG advocates for refugee-based educational training worldwide through fundraising, humanitarian support, and government engagement. As a body of Christian believers and American Baptists, we monitor policies, statements, and decisions that directly affect diaspora Burmese communities and those still suffering inside Myanmar.
To remain vigilant, we must be honest about the recent past.
Since the coup in 2021, Myanmar has descended into a humanitarian crisis:
Over 3.5 million people are internally displaced
Over 22,000 people are being held in arbitrary detention
75% of the population live below or just barely above poverty levels
Christian churches are explicitly targeted with bombings, fires, and mass arrests
In March of 2025, a massive earthquake added to the devastation, killing nearly 4,000 people and leaving more than six million people in need of assistance. In many areas, the military junta blocked international aid from reaching the intended people.
The crisis worsened with the closure of USAID under the current administration, which has cut off the largest source of humanitarian aid to refugee camps along the Burma-Thailand border, eliminating food, medicine, and other needed resources for refugees.
On November 25, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese nationals residing in the U.S., claiming that Myanmar is now safe for return and that the junta’s December 28 elections are “free and fair.”
These claims are demonstratively false and contradict several U.S. government statements, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s recommendation in its 2025 annual report to redesignate Burma a “country of particular concern” for its “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” In November, bipartisan House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations leadership condemned Burma’s “sham elections.” A detailed letter submitted to DHS by more than 150 organizations, including our Burma Advocacy Group, provided verified evidence of ongoing airstrikes, forced displacement, religious persecution, and the absence of any legitimate ceasefire or democratic process.
Advent calls us to act where we can, advocate where we must, and trust that God’s new heaven and new earth will make all things right.
The tragic shootings of U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe in Washington, D.C. on November 26 have resulted in a rapid response involving broad immigration policy changes, despite no known motive connecting the attack to broader immigrant communities. These changes include the December 2 announcement that the government is halting green card, asylum, naturalization, and other immigrant procedures for nineteen high-risk countries, including Myanmar. Furthermore, a re-examination of those already granted legal immigration status is underway for individuals who arrived in the US since January 20, 2021. These announcements only worsen already terrible situations.
The stark dissonance in these policies is troubling. How can Myanmar be “safe enough to return to” on November 25, yet be considered so dangerous by December 2 that all immigrants from the past five years require re-evaluation? Such conflicting statements reveal political overreach, not fact-based decisions. Our Burmese and other immigrant communities are suffering because of the prejudices of others.
Advent also urges us to reflect on our current situation and find ways to wait faithfully and actively for the coming kingdom. We light one candle each week, gradually revealing the harsh realities of life. The painful realities of immigration challenges, war, abuse, systemic racism, generational poverty, economic uncertainty, climate change, Christian nationalism, destructive partisanship, and sexism reveal that things are not as they should be.
This honesty is vital to our vigilance. Only when we face the world as it is can we live into the world God intends.
Such honesty leads us into hope-filled action.
Here are some actions churches, leaders, and communities seeking to offer Advent hope to others can do:
Connect with Burmese congregations in your region. ABC Nebraska has 18 Burmese churches representing Kachin, Chin, and Karen people. Many members have been here for over twenty years. However, recently arrived asylum seekers, TPS recipients, and others engaged in immigration and naturalization are now in danger of losing work authorization, driver’s licenses, medical coverage, and legal protection. Reaching out to pastors and members can offer needed solidarity and community connections.
Engage with your local city, county, and state governments to see if there are local resources to immigrants whose legal processes have been disrupted through no fault of their own. Please encourage them to advocate for better treatment of local immigrant communities who contribute to the economy and social fabric of your community.
Contact your local congressional representative and senators.
Ask them to request DHS correct its factual record
Rescind the TPS termination or shift to Deferred Enforced Departure status
Investigate how DHS reached its conclusions without evidence
Investigate the legality of the December 2 statements
Consider H.R. 1689 (Haiti TPS Restoration Act) as a legislative model should TPS require reinstatement.
Use easily accessible tools to identify your officials:
Senate: https://www.senate.gov/ (Find Your Senators)
House: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Sign and share two national petitions that have already been prepared and are circulating.
Advent invites us to live in the tension between what is and what is yet to be. It invites us to see the brokenness that the Kingdom of God seeks to heal clearly. Advent helps us name the injustices, while hoping for God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven. Advent calls us to act where we can, advocate where we must, and trust that God’s new heaven and new earth will make all things right.
Advent requires awkwardly waiting for God’s promised future. Our Baptist distinctives compel us to stand with our Burmese and other immigrant communities. Our long history with Burma and our Baptist heritage bind us. Our Advent hope gives us the courage to remain vigilant. This hope helps us to know what Advent knows, that a light shines in the darkness and has not overcome it.
Rev. Dr. Greg Mamula is the Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Nebraska (ABC NE). In addition to his regional role, he is the author of “Table Life: An Invitation to Everyday Discipleship,” exploring how shared meals can deepen community and spirituality. He also co-edited “Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul” and contributes articles to publications like Word & Way and The Christian Citizen. Additionally, he hosts the “Mission in 5” podcast, discussing various facets of church life and ministry.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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