 Today we begin a four-part series:
WELCOME: stories of Refugee & Immigrant Response. Over the next year, we will be in conversation with some California Disciples, and their ecumenical collaborators, as they welcome an Afghan family into their community, and offer radical hospitality and welcome to new neighbors in their midst. We’ll also feature a few short highlights with each story, showing the ways other Disciples are doing the same work in their own communities. New Homes and New Hope5/17/2022 How Welcome Changes Us All In the fall of 2021, as the government of Afghanistan collapsed and families were rapidly evacuated, Week of Compassion reaffirmed refugee response as an ongoing priority and employed increased resources, including the Afghan Welcome congregational grants, to support local churches. Dozens of congregations, across multiple regions of the Disciples church, have helped Afghan families to establish a new life in an entirely new place under deeply stressful circumstances. Out of the desperation and disconnect of this crisis, opportunity and community have somehow thrived.
There are countless incredible stories that we could share (and we will continue to do so!), but just a few recent conversations reveal the unfolding and ongoing care for new neighbors in our communities: Together For a Common Purpose11/18/2021 Disciples Congregations Work to Welcome AfghansMany congregations have been working over the past weeks to respond to the growing need and help welcome Afghans to their local communities. Across the country, Disciples have been setting up apartments, collecting food and stocking kitchens, and helping enroll children in school—just a few of the details that need to be taken into account when a family starts life in a new country and culture.
First Christian Church of Bowling Green, Kentucky, has a long history of supporting refugees locally. In the early 1990s, the church worked to help resettle Bosnian refugees in the community. Through that ministry, they built strong relationships with several families who remain friends of the congregation to this day. Disciples Churches Respond to Refugee Crisis11/12/2021  In recent weeks, many congregations have been working to welcome Afghans to their local communities. Across the country, Disciples have been setting up apartments, collecting food and stocking kitchens, and helping enroll children in school—just a few of the details that need to be taken into account when a family starts life in a new country and culture.
Week of Compassion has long been committed to supporting the needs of resettled families. Now, there is a growing urgency to create pathways for newly arrived refugees to integrate into their new communities. With the high number of families who have been evacuated due to the collapse of the Afghan government, local and federal agencies alone don’t have the capacity to support that volume of people arriving in the U.S. in a short amount of time.  God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. ~Psalm 46:1-4 Dear Friends, The past few weeks have been heavy with crises: the desperate situation in Afghanistan, which continues to unfold; the earthquake in Haiti, which killed more than 2,200 and left tens of thousands more without a home; Hurricane Ida, which caused widespread damage in Louisiana and Mississippi, and even as far north as New York and New Jersey; and wildfires that continue to spread rapidly across the western U.S.  Afghanistan How to help: -Donate to support refugee relief -Advocate for a robust U.S. refugee resettlement program -Get involved with resettlement in your local community -Pray for those who are fleeing violence and seeking refuge In recent days many of us have witnessed the dire situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban entered Kabul, seizing control as the Afghan government collapsed. As U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Afghan allies and refugees are seeking to flee the country as the Taliban take over. As this humanitarian crisis unfolds, Disciples are asking how to help. Week of Compassion is working with partners in the region to provide needed relief and help meet urgent needs. Those needs are still emerging, and the situation is very delicate. But know that gifts to Week of Compassion will go to the partners best situated to respond. |
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