from Irene Willis Hassan, MDiv, Minister for Refugee and Migration Ministries. Global H.O.P.E. – Humanitarian. Opportunities. Progress. Empowerment.
Greetings colleagues in UCC immigration ministries,
I’m so excited to hear so many of you are having good experiences so far in sponsoring the families in your care. Here’s a list of upcoming offerings to help assist you as you continue in relationship with your new neighbors:
February 10, 2022, 4pm-5:30pm ET: Afghan Resettlement Check-in/Boundary Training. We will provide an opportunity for churches that are engaged in Afghan sponsorship to check in and share resources with each other. This meeting will also offer a 20-25 minute boundary training to help churches orient priority goals and challenges that may be occurring; for example, how to approach hesitancy to find a job, or asking for things that may be beyond the scope of your church’s commitment to offer. Link is here: https://UCC.zoom.us/j/97493924204?pwd=M3BiTGxDS3I3Mk5xSndzRE9PMWc3QT09
February 8, 2022, 6-7pm ET: Monthly Trauma Informed Care Reflection Meeting: “Safe Requests for Storytelling with Vulnerable Persons,” Rev. Noel Andersen, Director of Community Organizing for Church World Service. Rev. Andersen will provide a presentation on how to safely discern if and how to ask a person who has experienced trauma to speak out their experience, both one on one and publicly. A Taize meditation will be offered after the presentation for participants to practice internalizing the topic introduced. Link to meeting here: https://UCC.zoom.us/j/94643912990?pwd=emlmSEJ4enp4VzQzVlVXRkVaZ1l6QT09
Wednesdays in March, 7pm-8pm ET: How to Help You Sponsored Family with their 1st Ramadan in a New Country. We will be hosting a 4-week series on Ramadan, the holy month of the Islamic Calendar that is set to begin April 2, 2022. Many churches who are hosting Afghan families and other Middle East-African refugees will need some training and awareness around Ramadan. These workshops will create space for churches to prepare for behavioral changes in their sponsored families, connections to local mosques, sensitivity to trauma incurred by the first major holiday in a foreign land that doesn’t recognize the holiday, etc., will be essential for maintaining a good relationship with sponsored families as well as increasing the sponsored families’ ability to integrate successfully into their communities. Link to meeting here: https://UCC.zoom.us/j/93582858343?pwd=WHd4SGZMb1JONjJCSHpGQVNnSU5DQT09
March 4-6, 2022: Church World Service “Together We Welcome” Conference. The UCC is a sponsored donor and participating in organizing the event. Register here: Together We Welcome Faith Leader's Conference 2021 - CWS (cwsglobal.org)
Also, as a reminder, grant applications for this cycle are due Saturday, January 22, 8pm ET. The application is here for those who are interested: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/77376-United-Church-Of-Christ
Thank you for all that you do to welcome our new neighbors with dignity!