“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for vice president and a U.S. senator from Ohio,

During worship on Sunday — the fourth day of bomb threats in the community — the congregation of Central Christian Church rose to applaud and welcome the five Haitian community leaders who were visiting. Rev. Carl Ruby and others hugged their Haitian neighbors.

“Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is with us in truth. And the truth is that Haitians are not eating pets in Springfield,” Ruby declared. “We love you. … We are glad you’re here.”

Ruby encouraged congregants to help hand out thousands of cards to show support for the Haitians in their community. The cards read in both Creole and English: “I’m glad you are here. Christ loves you and so do I.”

Rev. Carl Ruby (center) and other leaders hug members of the Haitian community during a worship service at Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 15, 2024. (Kathryn Post/Religion News Service)

Numerous churches in town have engaged in outreach to Haitians moving there. Rev. Wes Badia, the retired former pastor of First Baptist Church (an American Baptist congregation), told PBS that Haitians moving to town meant “new people” joining a church that had been declining along with the city’s population. During the worship service on Sunday, people talked about how they are a loving community and will continue to follow Jesus in loving and welcoming all their neighbors. Rev. Adam Banks, the current pastor at First Baptist, said his city is blessed with a “Samaritan situation” by being given a chance to serve their neighbors and “celebrate beloved community.”

Rev. Vicki Downing, pastor at Grace United Methodist Church (that’s had a Haitian immigrant outreach ministry since 2021), also criticized the “made up stories” by “people who are full of hate and want to sow division and encourage prejudice.” Noting that the church has Haitian immigrants who have been part of the church for more than three years, Downing added, “We are blessed to have these hard-working and God-fearing people as part of our church family. May God help us to follow Jesus’s example of offering love and help to all people, who cross our path.”

Kathryn Post of Religion News Service reported that the weekly English Speakers of Other Language course held at First Evangelical Haitian Church normally struggles to find enough English-speaking conversation partners, but this Sunday they had about 30 volunteers to help. At the end of the session, the English speakers, many from local churches, gave flowers and baked good to the Haitian English learners.

But local religious leaders aren’t just serving their Haitian neighbors. They’re also calling out the politicians making false claims. Ruby declared at church Sunday, “We respectfully call on all politicians and media figures who are promoting this rumor to help make Springfield great and safe again by speaking the truth about our community.”

Similarly, Viles Dorsainvil, a former pastor in Haiti and the leader of Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, emphasized that “words matter.” He explained, “What you say can unite people, or it can create great division in a community. This is what we are experiencing now.” He also said about Trump and Vance: “If they have the heart of God, they will think differently and speak differently.”

Such public rebukes of false attacks are important. It’s inspiring to see churches welcoming, serving, and defending their Haitian neighbors. It’s not enough to just feed them, teach them English, help them get jobs, and bring them into worship. Part of what it means to love our neighbors is to defend them against White Supremacists marching in town and hateful politicians spreading racist and fictitious attacks. Loving our neighbors means not crossing by to support politicians who lie about them, inspire bomb threats against them, and demonize them.

As a public witness,

Brian Kaylor