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world refugee day
A day ahead of World Refugee Day, worshipers during the Chapel service at the Presbyterian Center heard a personal story from a refugee among them.
The causes of the refugee crisis along the United States’ southern border and its many communities — as well as actions Presbyterians and others can take to help stem the crisis — were among the topics of a Friday webinar put on by the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Office of Public Witness.
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.
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.
June 20 is designated as World Refugee Day. Over the years the significance of this day has grown. For Presbyterians, it is a day to connect or reconnect with our own refugee heritage through our faith ancestry. As Scripture tells us, “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut. 10:19). Throughout our church history we can find those who have fled persecution for their faith and those who have responded to the call to welcome the stranger: Abraham and Sarah; Moses, Miriam, Aaron and the people of Israel; Ruth; Jesus, Joseph and Mary; the apostle John.
Noor arrived in Europe with two young children and without her husband. She left her home in Aleppo, Syria, two years earlier. Conditions made it impossible to live. Her family felt they had no other choice.
Presbyterian churches across the U.S. will be placing special emphasis on refugees in the coming days. The United Nations recognizes June 20 as World Refugee Day, as a time to lift up the thousands of families who flee their homes and war-torn countries in search of a better life and remember the church’s commitment to provide refugees a safe haven.
