World Refugee Day

While June is Gay Pride Month (Wear Rainbow!) and June 7 was Gun Violence Awareness Day (Wear Orange!) and June 9 was Pentecost Sunday (Wear Red!) and June 15 is Father’s Day (tell a bad joke!), there is another day during the month of June that I invite you to find a way to observe. This Thursday, June 20^th, is World Refugee Day. 

I think the best way for a person of faith to approach World Refugee Day is to begin with the word, “Refuge.” Did you know that in the Torah – the first five books of the Old Testament – God’s people were required to establish six cities of refuge, where anyone who was fleeing for their life could go and find safety? It is a command that is repeated throughout the Torah, appearing again in the book of Joshua as the people of Israel end their wilderness journey and establish themselves in the Promised Land. It is a concession that no matter how ordered or chaotic society can be, there will always be people who need to flee their homes and find safety. And it is a command that people of God provide that safety. 

The idea of finding refuge became a motif in the Psalms about how God provides shelter, help, and rescue. That idea is one of the meanings behind the words “save” and “salvation” that became more familiar ways of speaking about God’s activity in the New Testament. The church in many parts of the world remember this connection. A song in our hymnal, that is popular in Pakistan and India, uses the word “Sarunam” over and over, which can mean both “refuge” and “I surrender.” The fluidity of the term “Sarunam” shows how our relationship with God is inextricably tied with the way we regard refugees. In the church in the US, many expressions of faith have separated thorny political, economic, and ethical issues around refugees from personal issues of salvation, which is a travesty that is contrary to the Scriptures and the Christian faith. It is critical to remember that God’s transformative activity in our lives is not separate from the command to provide refuge for persons fleeing for safety.

That is why people of faith need to take World Refugee Day seriously – not just as a one-day celebration, but as a call. Especially in a moment when people in positions of power hurl horrendous insults toward refugees, setting the tone for placing more restrictions and hurdles on the path to safety for people who are, literally, fleeing for their lives. People of the Christian faith need to engage this problem, not just on behalf of other Christians who are facing oppression or those who are oppressed by our “enemies,” but also for those who are being oppressed by Christians and countries with whom we have strategic alliances. 

So, here’s the call: Get involved. And here’s how, straight from the Refugee Council USA’s web site: 

Join National Call-in on Thursday, June 20th: Call (866) 961-4293*

*Please call this line 3 times to be connected with your 1 Representative and 2 Senators.

Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and as a person of faith I urge you to protect refugees & asylum seekers and to be bold in choosing moral, just policies that provide refuge for vulnerable individuals seeking protection. I call on you to:

• Hold the administration accountable to meeting this year’s 30,000 refugee admissions goaland urge them to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2020, rebuilding the program and returning it to historic norms – and support the capacity and infrastructure of local communities to welcome refugees.
• Co-sponsor the GRACE Act(S.1088 and H.R.2146), which would set a minimum refugee admissions goal at 95,000 (the historic average since 1980).
• Co-sponsor the NO BAN Act (S.1123 and H.R.2214), which would end the harmful refugee, Muslim, and asylum bans put in place by this administration and establish vital protections against future discriminatory bans.
• Join the bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus(for Representatives only).

My faith community welcomes refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, and I urge you to do the same.”

If you want to do more, click hereand hold on to your hat, because there are tons of things one can do. 

Next week, we’ll look specifically at what the Presbyterian Church (USA) has urged all of us to do. Our individual and concerted action will make a world of difference. 

Mark of St. Mark