Refugees waiting for the possibility of resettlement go through an exhausting, disconcerting process which can take many years to navigate, usually while waiting in a dangerous place.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the Trump administration plans to set the fiscal year 2020 refugee admissions goal at 18,000, a record low that effectively dismantles the U.S. resettlement program established nearly 40 years ago. Today’s presidential executive order also permits state and local officials to block refugee resettlement in their communities.
In this season of Pentecost, we commemorate the Holy Spirit’s movement through a local group of apostles sent to proclaim the Good News to the world — dissolving tribal divisions between nationalities and languages. At the hand of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles’ understanding of their community was literally blown wide open. In Pentecost, we are reminded that God’s love extends to all, and that we are part of one family.
The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Office of Public Witness, joined faith leaders from major Christian denominations to host a prayer vigil and rally in Lafayette Park in front of the White House on Wednesday. Their call to witness was to demand that the Trump administration stop slashing the refugee program and welcome 75,000 new refugees in 2019. The rally, sponsored by Church World Service, was held prior to the administration’s planned consultation meeting with Congress, which is expected soon, although no firm date has been set.
As the U.S. debates the moral and legal ramifications of federal raids on illegal immigrants, the United Nations Refugee Agency will commemorate World Refugee Day on Wednesday, June 20. The event began in 2000 to raise awareness on the global responsibility for refugees.
“I call it the holy place,” said Sultan,* a young man from Eritrea who came to St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) hoping to access education through the Unaccompanied Youth Bridging Program, a specialized initiative designed to assist young refugees in Egypt without a parent or guardian. Since he was here with his family, he was ineligible to enroll. But he was persistent, eventually landing a job as a teaching assistant in the program. Over the years, he has become a leader among the staff at StARS and now works as a program assistant in the Refugee Legal Aid Program, and as a StARS ambassador, meeting with visitors and planning events.
“I call it the holy place,” said Sultan,* a young man from Eritrea who came to St. Andrew’s Refugee Services (StARS) hoping to access education through the Unaccompanied Youth Bridging Program, a specialized initiative designed to assist young refugees in Egypt without a parent or guardian. Since he was here with his family, he was ineligible to enroll. But he was persistent, eventually landing a job as a teaching assistant in the program. Over the years, he has become a leader among the staff at StARS and now works as a program assistant in the Refugee Legal Aid Program, and as a StARS ambassador, meeting with visitors and planning events.
What began as a planned screening of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s newest documentaries in Dayton, Ohio, recently morphed into a communitywide event dedicated to peace.
The original idea was to simply schedule screenings of the most recent Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) documentaries on immigrant detention and refugee resettlement (Locked in a Box and To Breathe Free) at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton. What Westminster member Sally Dyer didn’t realize, however, was that a number of organizations across the city were planning their own awareness events around these issues.
The original idea was to simply schedule screenings of the most recent Presbyterian Disaster Assistance documentaries on immigration detention and refugee resettlement (Locked in a Box and To Breathe Free) at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton. What Sally Dyer didn’t realize, was a number of organizations across the city were planning their own awareness events around these issues.
