The Blessing of Serving Refugees

Pastor John Kline serves a congregation in Des Moines, Iowa, that is constantly reaching out to the most vulnerable and most in need. This congregation inspires me so much. You can read more about their values as a church here and about their story here. At the heart of this church’s mission is outreach to those who can’t pay them back, based on Jesus’s teaching that we should invite people to a banquet who cannot repay us. They believe in giving and expecting nothing in return. It so happens that their church has a lot of refugees who live nearby, including a Muslim community. (You really need to read their story. It’s incredibly powerful.) This is what Pastor Kline told me about his experience of the blessings of working with refugees:

At staff this week we talked about a particular, pastoral problem. Because of our unique situation, I found out that not only is this particular, pastoral problem a problem for pastors in the US, it’s also true in Congo and Myanmar. I think working with refugees and immigrants makes me understand that we’re all human and for the most part, we suffer from the same sins and the same temptations. And that means the answer is the same, too. Jesus, btw.

Likewise, Pastor April Dietz told me:

At Lutheran Church of the Master in Omaha, NE, we have a Sudanese congregation who worships at our East Campus on Sunday afternoons. Every so often, the congregation meets with other Sudanese Christians from the region in a Unity Service, either at our church or another church near the Eastern Nebraska region. These Christians are refugees, they work where they can in Nebraska region, they may be separated from their family and friends. So, the Unity Sunday worship services are very important for them to encourage each other and see one another. Our congregation members have pitched in to provide items when families had need, such as beds, tables, chairs, and coats. We have sent drugstore medicine with their members who have returned to the Sudan to take care of their loved ones back home. Some congregation members of ours have begun an afternoon Sunday School for the Sudanese children, and they have had Easter and Christmas celebrations with the children.

Some of their members worship with us on Sunday morning, but many don’t yet know English as well. Sometimes their members will share worship songs in their language at our worship services, which is such a blessing. It has stretched our congregation members to be more gracious with the use of our church building space and time, and some of our members have been able to use their God-given gifts for ministry to love these women and children. The men of their congregation encourage one another, and are encouraged by our male pastoral staff of our congregation.

I feel like our congregation is blessed more by their presence, but I know it’s a mutual blessing.

Krispin Mayfield has worked with refugees in the past (as has his wife, Danielle). He currently lives near refugees in a major city and continues to build relationships with them. He said this:

One thing I’ve loved is talking about God with Muslims, as we recognize together lies we believe about God–they highlight the blindspots we have in our traditions.

Also, it reminds me of what Jesus meant when he said the poor are blessed in the Kingdom–those who have gone through so much turmoil are more ready to accept the coming Kingdom and its everlasting peace than I am, because in some ways I still kind of like the way things are–but that’s because I’m not poor or hungry.

A fellow writer friend, Carolyn Astfalk, told me this about the experience of working with refugees as a child:

This may be kind of a different perspective, but when I was a little girl, our parish sponsored a family of Vietnamese refugees in suburban Pittsburgh. I tagged along with my mom when she drove them to doctor appointments, took them shopping, dropped off clothes, furniture, etc. While they headed to a warmer climate after a couple of years (CA), they were so very grateful and exchanged letters and Christmas cards with my mom for many, many years. …

Until that time, I don’t know that we really knew anyone that wasn’t of European heritage. Despite our differences and limited ability to communicate, their desires and needs were quite simple and like those of anyone that we knew–they wanted to keep their family together, work, and provide for their own needs. (I believe they ended up starting their own businesses.) It wasn’t until later that I understood why they were here and admired their courage in traveling across the world to a foreign country, speaking no English, almost entirely dependent on the kindness of strangers. I guess it put names and faces to anonymous persecuted people and opened our hearts and minds to their plight and their humanity.

Another writer friend, Martha Artyomenko, who consistently responds to any issue or situation that arises with compassion and gentleness, told me about her experience with refugees:

I was only about 12 when we gathered at the airport to meet a bewildered group of foreign refugees that our church was sponsoring. I am still unclear about how many families our small church sponsored. I will never forget the lessons I learned about serving others from different cultures. They were not all believers that we helped. But each one had something they taught us. I learned that even though sometimes I may not understand the culture, the customs or why they did things, they had something to offer, just as we had something to offer them. The man I later married was originally a refugee. I would not be the person I am today if it were not for the people termed refugees.

Pastor Steve Shipman told me this about working with refugees:

I still hear regularly from a Vietnamese refugee the congregation I sponsored served back in the 1970’s. We wanted a family and got three unrelated males. It was interesting; I was young and even more foolish than I am now. I served a two-point parish, but none of the big town churches were interested in sponsorship. I walked in to the local newspaper with a small article hoping against hope I could find some helpers in the community. I was marched right in to the editor who said, “I’ve been waiting for somebody to do this,” and he gave us huge amounts of free publicity. One of the first phone calls was from a Jewish physician: “I was a refugee from Hitler, and I will give free medical care for one year.” Yes, I got all the usual stuff. Some Vietnam veterans were still angry from their experiences there, and muttered threats. I was told they were taking jobs from Americans (who weren’t lining up to clean toilets in an Elby’s Restaurant). But God put an amazing group together, and the man I still hear from is one of the most patriotic Americans you will find anywhere (who still loves his native country too). He also was a Buddhist when he came, and is now a very active Lutheran.

… Another congregation I served sponsored a Bosnian family (father, mother, two children). Two families got off the plane at Harrisburg, and before they arrived I met and was speaking with the sponsor of the other one. As “our” family came off the airplane carrying a large duffle bag my new friend said, “That is their whole life, in that bag.” I still have trouble controlling my emotions when I think about that.

What about you? How have you been blessed by serving refugees or others among the poor?

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