{"id":2434,"date":"2016-03-09T16:24:06","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T16:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidhenson\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2016-04-04T16:38:01","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T16:38:01","slug":"transforming-a-town-into-gods-kingdom-how-christians-helped-form-a-bridge-to-canada-for-syrian-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidhenson\/2016\/03\/transforming-a-town-into-gods-kingdom-how-christians-helped-form-a-bridge-to-canada-for-syrian-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Bridge to God’s Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"lethbridge\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Awhile back, I hosted\u00a0a beautiful sermon by\u00a0the Rev. Erin Phillips\u00a0on the Syrophoenician Woman <\/a>and the Syrian refugee crisis.<\/p>\n

Now, several months later, I am\u00a0even more honored<\/em> to share\u00a0the amazing, faithful, incarnated\u00a0work she and Mennonite pastor Ryan Dueck have been doing in their\u00a0small town of Lethbridge.<\/p>\n

Soon, the town will have welcomed 300 Syrian refugees, thanks to an incredible partnership and a town willing to come together for the good of humanity.<\/p>\n

Erin explained to me that private sponsorship groups, working with government and non-governmental agencies to bring Syrian refugees to the town, are made up of Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist<\/a>, and folks of no faith at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group I\u2019m a part of started as five groups\u00a0\u2014\u00a0three Anglican churches, the university and a group of doctors \u2014 now is one group,\u201d Erin said. \u201cWe\u2019ve become friends as we work together and the network of support keeps growing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan and Erin\u00a0also serve on\u00a0Lethbridge\u2019s steering committee and\u00a0she says she has watched\u00a0people from so many different sectors\u00a0\u2014\u00a0education, health, policing, EMS, housing \u2014 all working together to make this work. Even the\u00a0mayor, Chris Spearman, showed up at the airport at midnight to welcome families. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLethbridge welcomes usually 70 refugees a year to the city and in two months welcomed more than that many Syrians while still welcoming other folks,\u201d Erin added.\u00a0\u201cIt is quite incredible to see.\u201d<\/span>
\nThis is the kind of crisis literally solved by hospitality, love, and welcoming the other. Y\u2019know, all that stuff Jesus talked about so much.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u00a0Look,\u00a0anybody who thinks the church is dying needs only to read this story to see the possibilities.\u00a0Anybody who thinks churches can\u2019t make a difference needs only to read this to see what the future can hold when we get caught up in God\u2019s vision for the world.\u00a0Anybody who doubts whether\u00a0a church can partner with different faiths and with state or local agencies to offer God\u2019s welcome, hospitality, and love, please read this CNN piece.<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This is what the social, political, and theological witness of the church looks like.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few minutes later, Erin bursts through the door carrying locally roasted bags of coffee in one hand and ice skates in the other. \u201cWe\u2019re going to turn these boys into Canadians yet,\u201d she says about Muna\u2019s nephews.<\/p>\n

She flashes a smile the breadth of her entire face and announces Muna\u2019s family will start arriving in two days. The scenes in Muna\u2019s dreams are at long last unfolding.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I believe, without a shadow of doubt, that Muna\u2019s dreams are also God\u2019s dreams.<\/p>\n

+++++<\/p>\n

This post is brought to you by my generous patrons, Christopher Graham, Greg Strong, Kenny Pierce, John Henson, Carren Sheldon, Gillian Butler, <\/a>and many more. Please consider supporting my work by becoming a patron, too,\u00a0 \u2014at even just $1 a month\u2014 through\u00a0Patreon<\/a>. Thanks for reading. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for your support. It means more than you could know.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Ryan Reynolds\/Flickr, Used Under Creative Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awhile back, I hosted\u00a0a beautiful sermon by\u00a0the Rev. Erin Phillips\u00a0on the Syrophoenician Woman and the Syrian refugee crisis. Now, several months later, I am\u00a0even more honored to share\u00a0the amazing, faithful, incarnated\u00a0work she and Mennonite pastor Ryan Dueck have been doing in their\u00a0small town of Lethbridge. Soon, the town will have welcomed 300 Syrian refugees, thanks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding a Bridge to God's Kingdom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Awhile back, I hosted\u00a0a beautiful sermon by\u00a0the Rev. Erin Phillips\u00a0on the Syrophoenician Woman and the Syrian refugee crisis. 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