Stories of Hope

Last Sunday at Adult Education two parishioners gave an important presentation on ministry to refugees in our community. After surveying the strong biblical imperative toward hospitality to strangers, we learned about the harrowing journey of a refugee from his or her home country to the United States, and the “triple trauma” experienced along the way. Then, we were invited to participate in various gatherings focused on developing relationships with refugees in our midst. My hope and prayer is that each one of us would engage with some of these vulnerable, yet beautiful, strangers in our midst, for whom Christ was pleased to die.

This week, in the wake of the tragedy in Paris, welcoming refugees has become quite controversial. Providentially, this Sunday, as part two of the Adult Education series on ministry to refugees, we will hear from four refugees – three of whom are members of our congregation. Each of these brothers and sisters have endured incredible amounts of pain and loss, yet, ultimately, these are stories of hope, even stories of resurrection.

Christians of goodwill will inevitably disagree over how to strike the balance between prudence and compassion as we seek to develop sound public policy. We need mature, prayerful, and thoughtful Christian leaders to help us navigate what it means, truly, to love our neighbor in these complicated times. However, when our decisions are based more on fear than on love, and when we fail to see in “the other” the image of God and an object of Christ’s redeeming death, we untether ourselves from the gospel.

When we planned this two-part presentation over a month ago we had no idea that this topic would become so heated. What a gift, then, that we, as a Christian community, can prayerfully gather together to hear the stories of brothers and sisters who have come to us as strangers, and then receive an invitation to develop a friendship with a stranger, a stranger who we might discover is more familiar than we realized, as we hear a familiar voice say, “When I was stranger, you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).

In Adult Education last Sunday, we were given four opportunities to learn more about the refugees among us, in community with others from Christ Church. These opportunities include a low-key dinner with a refugee family at Mark and Martha Wenzel’s home and a “vision trip” to an apartment complex in Phoenix where many refugees live and where a faith-based English-language school operates. To be in the loop about these events, which will begin in January, sign up here. I also invite you to attend Redemption Church Tempe’s “First Wednesday” discussion forum on the evening of December 2, which will focus on this topic. Learn more about that here or email Mary Kaech for details.

Peace,

Chris