In a world marked by grief, division, and violence, Christians are called to be sanctuary—places and people shaped by God’s love. Across the Diocese of Ohio, our faith communities are being given the option to name this commitment by placing sanctuary signs on their doors, signaling spaces of prayer, welcome, and transformation. This is a statement of faith, not politics. We are sanctuary not because we are fearless, but because God is faithful.

Signs of sanctuary are now available to order.

Transcript: If you are like me, you may find yourself longing for a hiding place—from the news, from bitter disagreements, from the violence that seems to surround us. Sometimes we can turn off our screens and find a measure of peace. Sometimes that refuge looks like a quiet walk, a warm blanket and a good book, or sitting in a church—resting in silence, prayer, music, and beauty shaped by generations of faith.

Christians believe that the deepest peace comes not from escape, but from the abundant love of God. This peace—the peace that passes all understanding—anchors our souls when nothing else can. When we place ourselves intentionally in God’s presence, we are changed. We are steadied. We are rooted again in love.

Scripture calls this gift sanctuary.

Throughout the Bible, sanctuary is a sacred space where God is near. At times it is physical: the Ark, the Temple. Across Christian history, churches have also understood sanctuary as refuge—a place of mercy, prayer, and protection. Sanctuary has always been both comfort and challenge: a place where God meets us, and a place where God shapes how we live.

In the Christian scriptures, Jesus himself is sanctuary. And the apostle Paul reminds us that we are, too—that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. We carry Christ’s love into the world. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”

Living as sanctuary does not look the same for everyone. For some, it is prayer. For some, it is teaching and learning. For some, it is choosing love when anger would be easier. For some it means quietly accompanying and serving those who are oppressed by delivering food, driving children to and from school, and making grocery runs. And for some, it means publicly standing alongside those who are vulnerable and at risk. Scripture gives us no single way to live this calling—only the command to love God and love our neighbor fully.

In the Diocese of Ohio, we commit to living into this call together. Our faith communities are places of sanctuary—spaces of prayer, welcome, and transformation. In the coming days, churches across the diocese will have an opportunity to place signs on their doors naming this commitment.

These signs are not promises of perfection. They are signs of intention—that here, God’s love is honored, human dignity matters, and violence does not have the final word. We are sanctuary—not because we are fearless, but because God is faithful.