Refugees

How can Canadian Christians celebrate Canada Day this year in a way that rightly honours a great country without falling into either idolatrous patriotism or divisive nationalism? It all comes down to the story we tell ourselves and others in our celebrations around the BBQ and the fireworks.

How could I not be deeply dismayed on a Sunday afternoon when my friend Nahla called from a medical clinic--they wanted cash before they would give attention to her ailing son.

So the neighbourhood became a place of welcome, not an agency but a neighbourhood. We began to paraphrase the African saying, “It takes a neighbourhood to welcome a refugee."

Do you think the church should help welcome refugees? Join us Saturday, March 28 in Toronto to celebrate the launch of a new refugee workshop and online toolkit and hear from celebrated refugee activist Mary Jo Leddy. 

The following prayers and litanies are only a sample of the resources available from the new Refugee Justice toolkit. Want more? You can find sermon examples, children's messages, children's books, Sunday school plans, film discussion questions, and much more in the toolkit. And coming soon, a 90-minute workshop! 

For the Courage to Do Justice

You’ve most likely read about the unprecedented number of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexican border, more than 50,000 since October of last year, with 40,000 more projected to reach the border by this coming October. That’s more than 245 children showing up at the border each day without their parents.

"A country is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable." Although the source of this oft-mentioned quote is up for debate, it is undoubtedly a powerful statement that stands in judgment of our nation.

First, let me tell you how we came to be refugees. In Putumayo, Colombia, we were very scared of the national army as well as the rebels.

It’s a bit one-sided. They share their pain, and we listen (and hopefully are changed and respond). But are we willing to be vulnerable with them? Or with other marginalized people?

This is the third year in a row that Lulu has celebrated her birthday in sanctuary.  Almost two and a half years ago, Lulu and her parents saw no other option but to move into a Toronto church when they were threatened with deportation to Hungary.