February 2016 Newsletter Article: Welcoming Syrian Refugees

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 16^th, 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 13^th 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 7^th 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