Accompanying Refugees5/27/2025 how one congregation serves their neighbors In recent days, our hearts have been heavy as storms and tornadoes have devastated communities in St. Louis, Kentucky, and Virginia. We grieve the loss of life, the destruction of homes and sacred spaces, and the deep disruption to daily life. In moments like these, we’re reminded of how fragile our sense of safety can be—and how vital it is to have a community that shows up with compassion, presence, and care. The same spirit of accompaniment is at the heart of the refugee ministry at Mt. Pleasant Christian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Since 1995 – when they welcomed a family from Vietnam – this congregation has offered radical hospitality to strangers seeking refuge. Over the span of this 30 year ministry, members of Mt. Pleasant have built meaningful relationships with families from Vietnam, Colombia, Ecuador, Liberia, Sudan, and Congo, persisting through language and cultural barriers with laughter and pantomime. Claretta Witherspoon, who has coordinated this ministry for many years, recalls laughing with a mom from Colombia in Walmart when they both finally realized that the thing they were shopping for was toilet paper! For thirty years, Mt. Pleasant and the families they have accompanied have journeyed together to doctors’ appointments, given care to furnishing apartments, and helped install appliances – all the while, breaking bread together, worshiping together, and building relationships that have lasted for years. Grants for refugee response from Week of Compassion have provided support to Mt. Pleasant and other churches offering such gospel hospitality, mercy, and grace. As the current U.S. administration halts refugee resettlement and anticipates a slate of mass deportation, these relationships – strangers become friends – are more important than ever. On January 22, 2025 the refugee program in the United States was paused; two days later, stop-work orders were announced for the resettlement agencies supporting recent arrivals. These policies, along with executive orders declaring an invasion at the U.S. southern border, heightened immigration enforcement, and due process violations have created a climate of fear for refugees who lawfully entered the United States through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. For the eight families that Mt. Pleasant has supported over the last 30 years, these recent policy shifts have created a climate of fear and retraumatization. Witherspoon recently said that while many families they support now have green cards, they have seen that lawful permanent residency no longer guarantees security, and they worry about indiscriminate targeting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Church members are doing the best that they can to console anxious neighbors, but also don’t want to make false promises of safety. Witherspoon is quick to name the emotional toll this takes on refugees: “There is a huge need for emotional support. Many of the families we have supported experienced trauma where they’ve come from, and now they are being retraumatized by the fear and confusion these policies are creating.” Amid the heightened need for emotional support, many refugees that arrived in the months prior to January 22 have lost access to critical services because of the federal stop-work orders. The Church World Service office in Greensboro had to lay off 75% of their staff, and appealed to the wider community to help meet a $500,000 gap in funds to provide basic services promised to refugees, including rent, healthcare and transportation. The local ecumenical response has been significant, with local churches stepping up to donate the necessary funding and time to help refugees resettle in the dignified way that they deserve. With the refugee pause continuing on an uncertain timeline, Mt. Pleasant Christian Church remains committed to sustaining their culture of welcome and will continue to offer support for the families they have accompanied along their journey to the United States. Week of Compassion is grateful to serve alongside so many Disciples devoted to values of community and accompaniment. As Claretta Witherspoon spoke with affection of her congregation’s commitment to hospitality, her stories illustrated a community that has always been flexible and adaptive to the changing needs of refugees in the United States and has not shied away from answering the call of families in need. For more information about refugee response and congregational connection, contact Rev. Grace Kozak, Associate Director for Immigrant and Refugee Response.
Since the Refugee Act of 1980 was passed, Disciples across the United States have welcomed more than 30,000 refugees to their communities. While the refugee resettlement program has faced difficult challenges, none have been more devastating than the 2025 halt of the program and stop work orders. At this teach in, learn about what has happened to the refugee resettlement program and how Week of Compassion and our partners are responding.
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