STORIES
Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
New Week of Compassion Staff12/19/2023 Week of Compassion welcomes Alexis Vaughan to new staff roleThe Rev. Alexis Vaughan joins Week of Compassion as Managing Director, Domestic Operations. Alexis will play a crucial role in furthering the mission of Week of Compassion, overseeing the day-to-day activities, serving as team leader and strategist for operations to deepen Week of Compassion’s commitment to efficient response and faithful stewardship. Alexis comes to Week of Compassion as the Managing Director with a breadth of experience working for wholeness in a fragmented world. She holds a BA in Biological Anthropology from Duke University and a Master of Divinity from the University of Chicago Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar. An ordained Disciples minister, Alexis has pastored congregations in the Washington, DC area and is one of the founding clergy of the Congregation Action Network, an interfaith organization dedicated to building community and political power for immigrant and refugee communities in the greater Washington DC area. Prior to joining Week of Compassion, Alexis served as the inaugural Director of Racial Equity Initiatives at Interfaith America, where she developed programs that amplified the stories of interfaith cooperation within communities of color that have shaped American culture and policy. She also served as the social justice coordinator for the National Benevolent Association, where she convened one of the Peer Learning & Wellness Groups for Disciples leaders of color involved in contemporary ministry and social justice movements. Alexis lives in Chicago and enjoys watching tennis and Duke basketball, discussing television, walking outside, and being wherever exotic animals are. news from MECC12/14/2023 an update from the Middle East Council of ChurchesOur Disciples & UCC colleagues at Global Ministries (Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ) have shared recent updates from the Middle East Council of Churches, one of our primary partners responding to the ongoing war in Gaza. As violence has continued, MECC's Department of Service for Palestinian Refugees has continued its focus on those forcibly displaced to the southern area of Gaza. Their attention is especially on women and children, providing psychological first aid, health/nutrition and medical supplies, and cash distributions where possible for those still on the move. We remain in close contact with Global Ministries, MECC, and other ecumenical partners in the region, and hold close in daily prayer those who are placing themselves at great risk to care for these most vulnerable individuals and communities. Shalom. Salaam. Peace. Rebuilding A House - and HOME12/13/2023 a story of resilience and partnershipIn the wake of frequent hurricanes across Florida and the Gulf Coast, Week of Compassion has maintained a long-standing partnership with VIND (Volusia Interfaiths/Agencies Networking in Disaster), working together to meet the long-term recovery needs of Volusia County residents as they rebuild after storms.
A recent project following Hurricane Ian last year, funded with a grant from the Lowe’s Reconstruction Grant through National VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), is just one example of survivor resilience and the power of strong partnerships. Bringing Hope12/12/2023 site leaders help make recovery possible“Week of Compassion is here for the long haul.” “There are partners who will be the first in. Disciples will be the last to leave.” “It’s been years since the storm, and your groups are still here, doing the work that needs to be done.” Long-term recovery is easy to overlook – once the cameras are gone, and the urgency of storm relief subsides, it is the long, slow, careful completion of each step that helps families really recover, that moves families into safe and secure houses, where they can make true homes. Disaster Site Leaders are the foundation of disaster recovery volunteering. Modern Miracles11/28/2023 providing health care in Pakistan
Refugee Response Tour11/20/2023 reflections on recent conversationsRecently, Rev. Alan Dicken, Week of Compassion's Associate for Immigrant and Refugee Response, spent a week in the Ohio Region, bringing together congregations and resettlement partners to make connections about the ongoing work and future possibilities in caring for new neighbors in their communities. Churches asked questions, shared insights, and discovered ways to partner for the good of those around them, offering welcome and hospitality in ways large and small. Alan offered brief reflections and photos from each stop of the Refugee Response Tour: What a joy it was to join Disciples leaders from all over Ohio in October! Ohio was a wonderful host, with fruitful gatherings where resettlement offices and church leaders from all over the state were able to develop new relationships. Together, we were able to learn more about what is happening with refugees in the world and how congregations and the whole region can be involved in faithful refugee response. In Akron, First Christian Church Stow hosted the International Institute of Akron who shared about the need for home set-up supplies and the ways congregations can take up collections for refugee families who are being resettled weekly in the Akron area. Disciples Christian Church, which has a rich history of refugee support, connected other Disciples churches in the Cleveland area to the United States Committee of Refugee and Immigration (USCRI) Cleveland offices. Three USCRI representatives came to speak with over a dozen of Disciples leaders regarding the needs for newcomers who come to call Cleveland home. First Christian Church Wauseon shared space for a rich conversation about the situation facing refugee populations and how congregations can be actively involved in helping to support the needs in Toledo, Columbus, and remotely in more rural northwest Ohio towns. The resettlement offices in Dayton, through Catholic Charities Miami Valley, opened their doors to Disciples in the area to learn more about transportation volunteers, conversation partners, and ways that volunteers can connect with refugees even for an hour or two per week. Heartfelt Tidbits hosted Cincinnati area clergy and shared their unique opportunities to come alongside refugees in community gardens, school support, and in connection to neighborhood programs around the city. Disciples clergy gathered together for a district dinner and we heard more about support programs in the city. Chauncy Christian Church of the Hocking Valley Parish welcomed leaders from around the Athens and Jackson area for delicious donuts and dialogue about refugees who come to Ohio University - and discovered how close Columbus is for direct service projects and setting up houses for refugees who land in central Ohio. Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) in Columbus offered a tour of their facilities and engaged Columbus area clergy in conversation regarding their volunteer coordination programs and how churches can serve as welcome teams. St. Andrews Christian Church leaders shared how their involvement as a CRIS Welcome Team has blessed their church and community immensely as they’ve worked with an Afghan family over the past year. Although each site had vastly different conversations, each resettlement office had different needs for volunteers, and each church had different levels of volunteer capacity and engagement, each place had the same Spirit at work. Regardless of where a refugee comes from, what their background is, or where in Ohio they might be, there are chances for Ohio Disciples to be welcoming communities of support. Together, we learned that no matter how large or small, urban or rural a church may be, any Ohio Disciple can make a huge impact by being part of a welcoming refugee response. As congregations consider how to faithfully and effectively engage in new refugee support or continue existing ministries, Week of Compassion is honored to join in conversation, education, and action to support refugees throughout Ohio. Thank you for hosting me, and thank you for joining in this vital region-wide commitment of support for refugees. For more information about Week of Compassion's Immigrant and Refugee Response, contact Alan Dicken. |
region / focus :
All
|
|
Follow Us
|