Posts Tagged: one great hour of sharing

Immigrant-led Faith-based Community Organizing in Brockton, MA

In March 2021, PDA established a new grant opportunity for refugee or immigrant led organizations with a focus on immigrant rights. Awarded to those already engaged in public policy advocacy, the overarching goal of the grant program is to support the capacity of local/grassroots organizations so that they can connect local and personal experiences with… Read more »

Afghanistan Evacuations and Refugees

As we watch the news about the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the evacuation of U.S. troops and other government personnel, our minds are racing to think of all that is needed in such a time of humanitarian crisis. Our hearts go out to those who are trying to flee and those with… Read more »

Raising Our Voices to Advocate for The Stranger

Wanderers, travelers, Weary and worried, God grant us strength and Courage to dare. Risking our safety, Freedom, and status, Your children need us, Dare us to care. (From God of the Traveler, hymn text by William McConnell, 2018) World Refugee Day may have passed but it is not too late for you to honor refugees… Read more »

Exploring Resilience and Service

No one dreams of growing up to become a refugee. The term itself is used to describe what happens to someone—being persecuted or threatened with persecution; being forced to flee one’s home country; at the mercy of other governments and other nations—but it does little to define who someone is. When we hear the word… Read more »

Connecting with Others through Learning

Opportunities to learn about refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S. and around the world are numerous as we approach World Refugee Day on June 20th. Knowing where to begin with this complicated subject can be daunting, so we have pulled together some study materials to better educate your congregation about today’s refugees. Learning about… Read more »

A faithful response to the border, refugees, and immigration matters

Every day there is something else in the news about refugees, immigrants, or the border—it is difficult to keep up with it all. And, try as we might, it is too much to really understand after one class or webinar. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it on your own because, whether you are interested… Read more »

Preparing Welcome as a Spiritual Practice

Written by Susan Krehbiel, PDA’s Associate for Refugees and Asylum Awaiting the US election results this past week, I was reminded how difficult it is to wait. In fact, a general observation of predominant American culture shows that waiting is difficult for many of us. Our advertising tells us repeatedly that we live in a… Read more »

Remembering people in immigration detention during this pandemic

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 »

PDA’s Response to COVID-19: a pastoral letter

Dearly Beloveds When did we see you? In company with the whole church—its congregations, pastors and chaplains, mid councils, and national staff, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has entered this strange new world of pandemic, beginning our response to COVID-19 with a solidarity grant to our ACT Alliance partner in China in February, to support their… Read more »

It Takes A Village

Wendy Tajima, Executive Presbyter in the Presbytery of San Gabriel, wrote this story about a young man from Cameroon named Bertrand for their recent newsletter. Bertrand is university-educated, a devout Catholic (he made his own rosary out of thread while at Adelanto), and was working with youth for an NGO when he was warned that… Read more »