Refugee Ministry
We are reminded of how important this is as a part of our faith in the book of Leviticus 19:33-34 where it says, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.” As these newcomers make their way from extreme danger, fleeing their homes, and many having to leave their family, we want to make this place as welcoming and comfortable as possible for them. As a church we have chosen to join this effort in the following 4 ways. Please read below carefully and respond as you feel God leading you.
We are really excited to announce our next steps in our Afghan Refugee Ministry opportunities. There are three immediate opportunities available to you this week:
-Step 1 Training: You can do an individual training course through this LINK that, once completed, will certify you to begin to meet face to face with the refugees and participate in upcoming opportunities. Once you have completed this please email Stephen to confirm.
-Meet and Greet Monday January 31 at Trinity West Homewood: Most of the refugees are participating in English as a Second Language course there on Monday nights. This is an excellent opportunity to spend time with them as well as receive some in person training from our Inspiritus leader Betsy. You can either meet at Trinity West Homewood at 6:00pm or ride on the church bus from Grace departing at 5:30pm. In order to participate in this opportunity you need to a. Completed Step 1 Training as listed above b. Complete THIS FORM to let us know that you are coming.
-Step 2 Training and informational Zoom Meeting: On Thursday night February 3 at 7:00pm, we will have our step 2 zoom training/ informational meeting with Betsy our Inspiritus leader. This is the makeup from the training that we had to postpone from last week because of Betsy testing positive for COVID. We have decided to make this a zoom meeting for your convenience. At this meeting you will receive step 2 training as well as have a question and answer session about all of our opportunities with Afghan refugees. You can attend the virtual meeting by CLICKING HERE to take you to the Zoom meeting.
I hope you will prayerfully consider how you will engage in these opportunities and register ASAP if you are planning on participating on Monday night. Please let me know if you have any questions, stephen@gracebhm.org