World Refugee Day

toward a world where all are welcomed

WORLD REFUGEE DAY (June 20) is designated by the United Nations to recognize refugees around the globe, an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their stories, and to honor the perseverance and resilience shown in rebuilding their lives.

A refugee is someone who flees home and country owing to ‘a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion’. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.

Many communities of faith in the United States, including many Disciples, have been actively engaged in refugee response and resettlement for decades. 

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Beargrass Christian Church (Louisville KY) has a rich history of refugee response and welcome. By working with Kentucky Refugee Ministries, a local Church World Service office in Louisville, Beargrass has supported more than 100 refugees in the Louisville area. The congregation has helped to resettle dozens of families by serving as co-sponsors – the community liaison for the family, introducing them to schools, grocery stores, helping with transportation and appointments in the first few months of a family’s arrival. They have assisted dozens more families by providing welcome teams – the first faces on arrival into the new community, greeting families at the airport, setting up an apartment, stocking the pantry and cooking a welcome meal. Families from over 13 different countries have come to call Louisville home thanks in part to the hospitality provided by these Disciples, who see refugee welcome as a vital ministry witnessing to the love of God for all people.

Interested individuals and faith communities often take the time around World Refugee Day to study the concerns of refugees and immigrants and learn how churches can be involved in refugee response, including Saint Andrew Christian Church (Columbus OH), whose worship services on June 23 will lift up the stories and impact of their ministry of refugee response and welcome.   

To help congregations get started, or go deeper, in refugee and immigrant response, Week of Compassion has gathered a variety of worship resources, stories, and information on our World Refugee Day page. 

​Welcome and hospitality is a biblical mandate, and part of our DNA as people of faith, and as Disciples. This World Refugee Day, Week of Compassion honors the strength and dignity of the millions who find themselves refugees, and the faithful compassion of all who live ready to welcome the stranger as neighbor and as friend.