The Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf is Senior Pastor of Lake Street Baptist Church in Evanston, Illinois as well as the author of Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically About Whiteness and Sanctuary.

In a moment when the question of how the church supports the immigrant community is of utmost importance, I wanted to speak to him because of the many perspectives he holds on that question. As a pastor he can speak about his church’s successes and shortcoming providing sanctuary to an immigrant family for the last ten years. As an academic and ethnographer who has studied the sanctuary movement he can speak to the opportunities and dangers of partnerships between predominantly White faith communities and immigrants. What are the difficult power dynamics? Can they be avoided or worked with in healthy ways?

We talked about Michael’s joint call to ministry and ethnography; the racial dynamics of Sanctuary; the screening process for taking in recipients of Sanctuary and the ethics of raising the voice of the “ideal migrant”; if and how Sanctuary as a tactic might still be effective in 2025; what his congregation loves most about hosting a Sanctuary family; Michael’s own prayer practice for examining his conscience around Whiteness; and how Michael became the rare White Baptist pastor from Alabama with a primary ministry focus on racial justice.

If you want to read more of Michael’s writing there are links to his book and numerous articles here:

- Michael’s webpage with links to his writing and sermons

-     Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically About Whiteness and Sanctuary