Posts Tagged ‘U.S.’
When Refugees Go Back to School (Q&A)
Children across the U.S. are returning to school. Recently resettled refugees will be among those children. Tabitha McDuffee, Communications Coordinator for World Relief Dupage/Aurora (WRDA) sat down with both Malita Gardner, Children & Youth Program Manager at WRDA, and Deborah, a former refugee from Southeast Asia and staff member at WRDA, to discuss what the…
Read MoreAn Especially Hard Sunday Morning
It’s a known reality that Sunday mornings are an ‘experience’ for young families. Getting everyone up, ready, and out the door for church provides numerous joys and challenges. For me, this Sunday morning was particularly challenging. On one hand, it was full of joy. My two-year-old daughter had spent her first night in the ‘big…
Read MoreImmigration is Changing the Face of Christianity for the Better
For me, immigration is not a political issue or a policy issue; it’s a very personal issue. My own family’s history has fundamentally shaped who I am as an American, and who I am as a Christian. And as an American Christian, my fear is that the conversation about immigration in this country has become…
Read MoreOut of Many, One — The Power and Importance of Integration over Assimilation
“I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands.” — Revelation 7:9 This is the picture of eternity that the Apostle John…
Read MoreVIDEO: The Hope House
We are called to care for our neighbor, both American and foreign-born. “To care for both/and. Not either/or. But both/and.” That’s the message Pastor Bill Bigger preached to his church, Hope Valley Baptist in Durham, NC, as the congregation underwent a 5-month discussion and discernment period on whether to build a temporary shelter for incoming…
Read MoreThank God for Women — Calling All Women
Thank God for Women is a blog series rooted in gratitude for the strength, courage, and incredible capacity women demonstrate. Listen, women. It’s been a particularly difficult year. The assaults, insults, and violence towards women in this country and around the world have been devastatingly awful. Yet, the power, strength, beauty, and creativity found in women…
Read MoreA City on a Hill
In his farewell address to the nation in 1989, President Ronald Reagan, borrowing a line from Jesus, described the United States as a “shining city on a hill” for those seeking freedom, a place “teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace” whose “doors were open to anyone with the will and…
Read MoreVIDEO: Dyan Comes Home
Approximately 70% of all refugees resettled by World Relief are for family reunification. So when we saw the video below, we were deeply moved. Produced last year, “Dyan Comes Home” captures the story of one Sudanese family resettled by Catholic Charities, fueled by the commitment and care of volunteers from The Village Church in Forth…
Read MoreWorld Refugee Day: Love in Action
How Loving Our Neighbors Makes Space For Success For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Galatians 5:14 Original reporting and photo below courtesy of Noell Dickmann/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin We can’t wait for June 20th. It’s World Refugee Day and World Relief is ready to join…
Read MoreThe Current State of Refugee Resettlement in the U.S.
Susan Sperry, Executive Director of World Relief Dupage Aurora, has worked within refugee resettlement for over 15 years. Susan says, “The shocking thing is that many refugees we work with now have been displaced far longer than I have done this work. They are the true experts on the realities of displacement and resettlement, and…
Read More