On the Move for Refugees

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. 

You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10: 17-19 NRSVue

Let mutual affection continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 

Hebrews 13: 1-2 NRSVue

 AURA (Anglican United Refugee Alliance) is a Canadian charitable organization assisting in the sponsorship and resettlement of refugees based in Toronto. We work in partnership with Anglican and United Churches as well as local community groups to support the arrival of newcomers through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Our mission is to provide support and expertise to groups involved in refugee sponsorship and resettlement.

Recently I wrote about the disturbing rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in Canada. While this xenophobia and outright hatred is grimly apparent south of our border it is more evident here than I can recall in decades. 

I have some positive news about welcoming the stranger, a biblical imperative, and it comes in the form of an event today, sponsored by Trenton United Church. Again this year more than 30 people took part in Walk N Roll for Refugees,  walking and cycling to raise money for the needs of refugees who come to this country. Our event took place a week earlier than some in other communities and we had perfect weather for it. 

While this is a joint United Church and Anglican AURA initiative the participants were from a range of backgrounds. And they were from a wide range of ages including a couple of 71 year-olds. With one exception we were probably the oldest participants by nearly a quarter century!

The majority of the gang were young people -- about 20 -- with perhaps  half from the Trenton UC congregation and the rest being their friends from school. One mom from another Christian community told me during our concluding hotdog lunch that this is a lowkey way to remind her children each year of the importance of welcoming refugees which has the bonus of fun with friends. Before we set out Pastor Isaac, our son, explained in simple terms what we were doing. 

We love the energy of this outing and we were delighted that in the end more than $2,000 was raised for those who will make a new start in a new country, often after experiencing displacement and trauma in their homelands.

 Once again, thanks to daughter-in-law Rebekah for all her organizing, and to Bill and Marie, Rosemary and Don, for hosting the lunch. It was good to participate in this "faith in action" event and to realize that evangelisation can take a positive form. Compassion for the stranger/refugee is a biblical imperative and never gets old.