The
life-blood of the world
is
shed in mindless war;
and
fam’lies desire a home
where
conflicts cease.
With
all the world we lift our hands
in
hope to you, O God of peace.
- Juan
A. Espinosa; tr. Martin A. Seltz, “The People Walk,” ELW 706
Syria, the war-torn nation and its
eight million refugees, have been all over the news in recent months. The plight
of millions of families caught between warring factions, between a bomb and a
gun, has captured hearts and news cycles.
Surprisingly – or maybe not, if we
consider the power of the Holy Spirit – our lectionary readings have also
featured Syria during that same time. My sermon on Christmas Eve, of all times,
focused on the fact that Jesus grew up in the Roman province of Syria. (You can
listen
to it on the web.) When Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt on the run from
Herod, they were literally Syrian refugees. In the Gospel lesson on a recent Sunday,
Jesus himself references Naaman the Syrian, the foreign military leader whom the
prophet Elisha had healed of leprosy. Jesus reminds the people of Nazareth,
only 50 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus, that sometimes God favors
these Syrian “foreigners” over the people who know themselves to be God’s own.
In 2016, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan will be among the organizations resettling Syrian refugees in
Kalamazoo. Though it has been decades since Lutheran Church of the Savior has
helped settle a refugee family, it seems the time has come for us once again to
engage in this vital Spirit-led work. We have many partners already engaged in
this work, including the aforementioned LSSM, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), and local congregations and organizations.
On Tuesday February 16th,
the normal 1:00 pm meeting of the Kalamazoo Conference of ELCA clergy will
modify our usual structure to welcome ecumenical partners and lay people to
Lutheran Church of the Savior for an informational meeting on resettling Syrian
refugees. Our special guests that day will be LSSM’s Chris Cavanaugh, director
of refugee resettlement for western Michigan, and Rev. Nik Schillack, LSSM’s church
relations director. You are welcome to attend this meeting, and to bring your
friends.
Our Lent Wednesday education hour
(6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, preceded by a light dinner and followed by Holden Evening
Prayer) will focus on the refugee situation using Bible study and informational
materials from LIRS. We may have the opportunity to welcome LSSM’s Rev.
Schillack and other staff back for another information session on one of our
Wednesday evenings, which should be especially valuable as many of us will be
unable to attend the previous daytime meeting.
Then in March Kalamazoo will
really get the ball rolling. On the evening of Sunday March 13th
Interfaith Peace and Justice will be hosting their annual interfaith worship
service at First Congregational UCC downtown. The keynote speaker will be Dawud Walid, Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, talking about Islamophobia and the Syrian refugee crisis. Following the
service, a reception will feature representatives of LSSM and Bethany Christian
Services, two of the organizations bringing Syrian refugees to Kalamazoo in
2016. This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn more about refugees and
our partners in the ministry of refugee resettlement.
Additionally, a group of area Christian
clergy recently wrote a letter to the Mayor and City Commission encouraging
Kalamazoo to formally resolve to be a welcoming community for immigrants and
refugees. Watch for the letter in the Kalamazoo Gazette and on MLive.com. The
Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Monday March 7th offers an opportunity
for Kalamazoo to take this public step even beyond our religious communities.
Syrian
refugees are coming to Kalamazoo, and we have the opportunity to use our resources
for the gospel work of partnering to resettle families looking for a new
beginning. In the coming months, we will have many opportunities to learn about
the situation and how we can follow Jesus by becoming involved.
Thanks,
Pastor
Andrew