Churches have been invited to participate in World Refugee Sunday which takes place over two dates later this month.
The World Evangelical Alliance, which has designated 17th and 24th June as World Refugee Sundays, together with the Refugee Highway Partnership have created a number of free resources for churches to use including downloadable ‘church’ and ‘prayer’ packs. Churches can also access a 30 minute film, The Peace Between, which has been produced by the European Evangelical Alliance.
This year’s event is being held under the theme of ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’, a reference to a parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25. In the text, the King calls to the “blessed”, telling them: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me”. When they ask when they did such things, the King responds “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The WEA says World Refugee Sunday “is an opportunity for churches to reflect on the practical implications of the numerous Biblical stories where people were displaced and in need of refuge because of conflict, natural disasters or persecution”. They include, among the many others, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter, John, and Jesus Himself during his childhood.
Bishop Efraim Tendero, secretary general of the WEA, said the Bible advocates for the strangers in our midst.
“God’s repeated call throughout Scripture to care for the widow, the orphan and the alien, coupled with Jesus identifying Himself with the hungry, the thirsty and the stranger compels us as believers today to respond courageously and generously to the foreigners we may meet at our doorsteps.”
There are currently more than 65 million refugees and displaced people in the world.
World Refugee Sunday is held on the two Sundays which fall either side of World Refugee Day – this year to be held on 20th June.
For resources, visit www.refugeehighway.net/world-refugee-sunday.html and https://sites.google.com/view/peacebetweendiscussion/home.
