Entertaining Angels

World Renew refugee resettlement workers in Canada say that throughout the world there are some 45 million refugees suffering from injustice, traumatized by war, and living in limbo because they have been uprooted from their homelands.

These men, women, and children are longing for hospitality and a safe place to call home.

Canada is the only country in the world that allows sponsorship of refugees by private organizations, which gives it a unique opportunity to welcome refugees.

Within Canada, World Renew has a sponsorship agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This enables World Renew to connect refugee families with host churches that can help them with their resettlement in Canada.

In the past year, 31 families (69 individuals) were welcomed into Canada under the auspices of World Renew’s Refugee Sponsorship ministry.

The testimonies from churches and refugees involved in this ministry show that it is an experience of mutual hospitality and blessing. Coming to Canada through church sponsorship gives refugees the support they need to build their life in a secure environment and welcoming community.

As a way to help focus attention on the struggles facing refugees, the Christian Reformed Church has set aside Sunday, April 6, as Refugee Sunday. With this in mind, World Renew is making available a video that features the work that a Christian Reformed Church in Kitchener, Ontario has done in helping to resettle a family from Eritrea.

Churches can commemorate Refugee Sunday by ordering and showing the video during the offering or at another time during the worship service

In a similar vein, World Renew has made available a video showing the work that the CRC agency’s Disaster Relief Services does in response to disasters all over North America. Although DRS Sunday has just passed, churches can still show this video as a way of seeking support for DRS.