2 minute read
Welcoming Refugees
The Rev. Brandon Ashcraft
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Almost a year ago, a group of parishioners gathered in the Brooks Room to begin discerning a possible new ministry of outreach to refugees. At this meeting, we prayed and read scripture to remind ourselves that, throughout the ages, the people of God have been refugees. From Moses’ leading the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, to the flight of the Holy Family from Palestine to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod, the foundational narratives of the Abrahamic traditions are stories of migration: people on the move and those who welcome or deny them.
After months of prayerful perseverance – and many starts and stops – the Cleveland Field Office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) matched us with the Bahatis, a family of seven Congolese refugees living in East Cleveland: a father and mother and five children ranging in ages from six to nineteen. At our first meeting, pictured left, the Bahatis welcomed us into their home for a time of conversation and prayer. (Mr. Bahati is a Pentecostal pastor!) Right now, twice a week, parishioners meet to provide ESL tutoring support to Mr. and Mrs. Bahati. The younger four children are all enrolled in local schools and the eldest child is currently working and hopes to enroll in college this fall.
As this relationship grows, new opportunities to support the family’s community integration will undoubtedly present themselves, and we will share those opportunities with the wider community. For now, we invite you to pray for the Bahati family – that they might find abundant hospitality and safe haven in their new home and community – and that in our relationship, we might see the face of God in each other, and grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord.
