CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — The pastor of a Clackamas County church never thought his regular post showing his church's sign would go viral.
It's a sign that he changes once every week or two, usually with an announcement of an upcoming event or something related to current events.
That's exactly what the sign dealt with this time, it reads in all caps:
The sign went up days after President Trump declared a national emergency on the southern border.
The picture was posted by Pastor Adam Ericksen on Clackamas United Church of Christ's Facebook Page. So far, the post has been shared more than 40,000 times. The response surprised him.
"I was expecting maybe a couple of shares and a couple of likes but, it really resonated with people," Ericksen said.
The message hits home for the pastor.
"I have family members who are crippled by hospital debt and medical debt, I know people in my congregation,” he said. “I have neighbors who are also crippled by it. This is a huge issue."
The post received both criticism and praise, which Ericksen said sparks a needed conversation.
“We need to have this conversation in our communities so that we can deal with these issues one way or another,” Ericksen said. “These are issues that matter, and we need to talk about them."
Ericksen started at Clackamas United Church of Christ just over a year ago and within months had the sign installed, "I want to get the progressive message out there that we are a place that everyone is welcome."
Some have asked, should a church cross that line and step into the political arena? Ericksen said it's been happening for years.
"Churches have always stepped into that political arena. Jesus was in that political arena,” he said. “Jesus lived in the empire of Rome and in the kingdom of Herod and he went around talking about the kingdom of God."
Ericksen found the number 44 million in an article by PBS, but according to census.gov in 2017 the number of people without health insurance was closer to 28 million. Ericksen says it's still a problem.
"No matter what the number is, it's still a problem,” he said. “It's still an emergency and it's still something that we need to figure out."
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