For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. –Matthew 25:35
St. Clare’s is teaming up with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor to sponsor a refugee family who had to leave their home due to violence or danger. UUAA will be taking the lead on this project, and we hope to learn from their previous experience in working with refugees. Monetary donations and volunteers to work directly with the family will both be needed.
Jewish Family Services, who administers the program, requires the sponsors to have money set aside before they will assign a family. St. Clare’s target amount for our portion is $4000, but we have a head start—Outreach is contributing $1200, and we hope to collect the rest through a combination of parishioner contributions and a grant from the Endowment Board. Collection will begin on August 25th and continue through September 15th, through our online giving page or through the Sunday collection plate. (Please note Outreach-Refugee Fund in the memo line.)
Once they arrive, our refugee family will need help learning aspects of life in the United States, rides to and from appointments, tutoring, and almost anything else you could think of. Volunteers will be required to pass background checks through Jewish Family Services (who administers the program in Washtenaw County), so the sooner we know who’s interested the better. Please consider whether you feel called to an aspect of this ministry to the world! If you feel like you might be interested, please sign up at this link. If you have questions, please contact Lucia Cooper or Rev. Toby Darrah.