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Posts Categorized: Refugee Ministry
June 9, 2020
Since July 26, 2015, the San Fernando Valley Refugee Children Center (SFVRCC) has been a place of welcome and healing to the hundreds of unaccompanied children who have made the perilous journey from Central America to seek refuge in Los Angeles County. SFVRCC is dedicated to helping children and families transition to life in the… Read more »
May 22, 2020
This story, recently published by the Presbytery of Des Moines, demonstrates the way in which many refugee ministries have pivoted from providing practical and long-term assistance to focusing on the immediate needs of those they serve in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arabic Outreach Center (AOC)—an independent 501(c)3 established by First Arabic Presbyterian… Read more »
March 31, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across borders and oceans, we have gained a renewed awareness of our shared humanity within the global community. While we are all vulnerable to catching the virus, the impact upon each of those infected—and the impact of government and community actions to protect all of us from it—is different… Read more »
March 30, 2020
On March 17th, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced a temporary suspension of resettlement travel for refugees to their resettlement destinations. As a reminder that there are still things we can do to learn, act, and welcome refugees already here, Church World Service has created… Read more »
February 11, 2020
Minda Schweizer, an ordained Presbyterian minister and pastor to refugees, founded Home for Refugees USA after witnessing the heartfelt impact resettlement partnerships had on both families and volunteers. The nonprofit, which received some initial funding from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), builds collaborative relationships between faith groups, communities, and refugee families, helping to ease the tragedy… Read more »
January 16, 2020
By Susan Krehbiel, PDA Associate for Refugees and Asylum Late yesterday the US Federal District Court put a stop to the Trump Administration’s latest attempt to dismantle the US refugee program by issuing a temporary injunction against Executive Order 13888 (EO 13888). This injunction bars dissenting state and local governments from preventing resettlement in… Read more »
November 1, 2019
Bill Branch, a retired pastor and Presbytery executive, is also a National Response Team member for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. In July, Bill and his accompaniment partner, Beth Newell, participated in Presbyterian Peace Fellowship’s border accompaniment program in Agua Prieta, Mexico. The following reflection is the first installment detailing their encounters and experiences at the U.S./Mexico… Read more »
October 9, 2019
Susan Krehbiel, PDA Associate for Refugees & Asylum, delivered the following sermon on Sunday, September 29, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, MI. The reflections about Elena and Reynaldo are from a trip she took to El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez with leadership from the Presbytery of Philadelphia immediately before she delivered this… Read more »
June 10, 2019
How do we—as a community, a church, and a nation—care for the vulnerable? This is a question we are compelled to examine, particularly when it comes to refugees and forced migrants. Whatever your opinion of U.S. immigration policies, people (such as those attempting to enter through our southern border) are living in precarious situations,… Read more »
May 20, 2019
RENACERES, Red Nacional de Emprendedores Retornados, is a network of Salvadorans who have been returned to El Salvador from the U.S. or Mexico. It is just one of the integral partnerships that the Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador (IRCES) has formed in launching a new ministry to returnees (a term they have chosen for… Read more »
