Several years ago, our parish opened its arms – and its pocket book – to welcome to
our country a refugee family from Syria. Many of our members worked tirelessly to
help them settle in their new home.
Today, five years later, the Detroit area will welcome another group of refugees.
Hundreds of Afghanis who were evacuated from Kabul in recent weeks will
be coming to Southeast Michigan. Again, we have the opportunity to assist a refugee
family.
The Outreach Committee is hosting two meetings this Sunday, September 26 to
explore whether our parish wishes to become involved. The first meeting will be an
in-person meeting in Ledyard Hall immediately after the 10:30 service. For those
who are interested but cannot attend in person, we will have a Zoom call at 3 p.m.
Sunday afternoon. Ruth Boeder and Eileen MacDonald, both Outreach Committee
members, will lead both meetings.
After the meetings, members of the parish will be sent a survey by email asking two
questions: Should we work with an Afghan family and, if yes, how?
Our involvement might take any of three forms.
- Full sponsorship of a family, much as we did with the Wahouds. This
option includes financial support and “hands-on” help with the
family’s settlement in their new home. - “Welcoming” assistance, which would involve helping set up their
apartment or home, collecting furniture, stocking the pantry, picking
them up at the airport and preparing a welcome meal. - On-going services, such as coordinating medical visits, helping with
English fluency, working on their financial literacy, assisting in
preparation for employment, and providing transportation.
Please join us in this important and interesting discussion.
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