Our Deanery of Waterloo Refugee Committee has raised enough money through the
parishes, and topped off by a gift from the Diocese of Huron, that will enable us to move
towards sponsoring our 8th refugee family in Fall 2025/Winter 2026. With these funds,
we are able to meet Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s requirement that
a certain amount of funds be collected in advance of submitting our sponsorship
application for a family of 4. We will continue to fundraise, post a family’s arrival, as
additional funds will be needed to support the family through the 12-month settlement
period and possibly longer if the committee deems it necessary due to the high cost of
living and challenging employment market.
We are seeking additional volunteers to actively assist with the settlement tasks needed in getting ready for pre and post-arrival and to attend our committee meetings beginning Sept 15 @ 7:00 pm at St. George’s Forest Hill in Kitchener. There are typically 6 meetings in the settlement year. Please contact Andrea Brandt if you have any questions.
- Refugee Committee Updates graciously submitted by Andrea Brandt and Kathy Richmond Cox
A Moment for Grace - a prayer for refugees
God of our Wandering Ancestors,
Long have we known that your heart is with the refugee:
That you were born into time in a family of refugees fleeing violence in their
homeland,
Who then gathered up their hungry child and fled into alien country.
Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages: “Will you let me in?”
Give us hearts that break open when our brothers and sisters turn to us with that
same cry.
Then surely all these things will follow:
Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.
Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.
Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.
And hands will reach out— working for peace in their homeland,
working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.
Lord, protect all refugees in their travels.
May they find a friend in me and so make me worthy of the refuge I have found in
you.
Amen