PROVIDENCE –– Hoping to set a new tone in the debate on immigration, some of the state’s religious leaders are reminding the faithful of the biblical command to “welcome the stranger” in their midst.

The Rhode Island State Council of Churches will release on Monday a 2,600-word document developed over the course of a year by the council’s Faith and Order Commission. The governing board adopted the document two weeks ago.

The Rev. Donald Anderson, the council’s executive minister, said it is less a policy paper on immigration than an outline of biblical principles that should help those who seek to approach the issue with the eyes of faith.

“I think everyone agrees that the system we have now is broken,” he said Friday. “We’re not trying to suggest that everyone must come up with the same conclusion as to how to fix it. But we say that if you are a person of faith, your attitudes and approach on immigration must be consistent with your faith perspective.”

The document starts with a reminder to both Jews and Christians that Abraham, the first patriarch of the Hebrews, had been “called by the Lord” to emigrate from his homeland, and that Jews were constantly admonished in the Scriptures not to “wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

Similarly, it says, it speaks of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman as an example of reaching out to people across ethnic lines, and points to his admonition that punishment will go to those “who do not feed the hungry or clothe the naked.”

“All the Christian denominations in the U.S. are immigrant churches. The history of our churches is a mixed record, though, and many of us have apparently forgotten our origins,” the statement laments.

It goes on to say that while the denominations generally agree that that the stranger is to be welcomed, and that churches must try to fill the gaps when government support is lacking, there is less agreement on the gate-keeping role of the federal government.

“Since one motivation for immigration is the relative prosperity of the U.S., some may argue that the federal government should protect that prosperity from declines caused by excessive immigration,” it says. “It is not clear if the U.S. economy is improved or worsened by immigration.”

However, the council goes on to list recommendations drawn from statements of the various denominations, among them:

•That people should have equal access to immigration no matter which country they are coming from.

•That caps and quotas not be based on race, gender, income level or party affiliation.

•That priority be given to reuniting families and to opening the doors to refugees regardless of their political leanings or the affiliation of their home government.

•That illegal immigrants who have be in the United States for a certain length of time be afforded a chance for residency without having to go back to their home country.

•That there be an end to “punitive government actions.”

With 13 member-denominations and a number of other affiliates, the Council of Churches is the state’s largest ecumenical agency. The Diocese of Providence is not a member but has members on the Faith and Order Commission.

During the past year, Mr. Anderson, along with Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, have been outspoken in their criticism of the raids on factories that hired illegal immigrants, and of Governor Carcieri’s order that state agencies and vendors use an E-verify system to ensure that the people they hire are in the country legally, saying they created division and fear among the immigrant community.

However, neither the raids nor the e-verify issue is mentioned in the new immigration statement, titled “A Call to Christian Hospitality: Principles for a Politic of Immigration.”

The news conference will be at the Westside Tabernacle Baptist Church.

rdujardi@projo.com