When a Stranger Calls

The refugees assisted by Episcopal Migration Ministries, who are from many different places and embody many more cultures, bring riches of experience and traditions to the communities into which they resettle. Yet these newcomers often feel alienated when they first arrive in the U.S. and integrating fully into American life can be a long and challenging process.

It may not always help that, for local residents, the appearance of an unexpected stranger can signify change they’re not sure they’re ready to embrace.

This month's newsletter includes a story of a parish in Syracuse, New York, that was surprised, and a bit puzzled, by a first encounter with recently resettled refugees. The members of the Episcopal Church of the Saviour were unprepared for a visit from a Karen refugee who showed up one Sunday, speaking little English, but clearly wanting to join the church.

In the months ahead, many more Anglican Karen families came through their doors, hoping to find a spiritual home like the one they were forced to leave behind in their native Burma. (The photo on the right of Bishop Gladstone B. Adams of Central New York at Church of the Saviour with some of the Karen refugees who he confirmed, and their families, is evidence of their success.)

It’s certainly good news that any hesitancy church members may have felt about embracing the unexpected mission opportunity didn't stop them from welcoming scores of newcomers into their midst. They discovered, among other things, that goodwill and common prayer can go a long way in overcoming barriers of language and culture.

For us, this story serves as yet another example of how community building between refugees and their new neighbors is well worth the leap of faith it requires.

 

Gratefully,

Episcopal Migration Ministries

 

{IMAGE PLACEHOLDER}

Refugee Spotlight

 Iraqi doctor finds security, opportunity in Michigan

 

As a physician working in an Iraqi hospital in 2003 and 2004 Gheith Yousif saw many of the worse consequences of war, terrorism and sectarian violence plaguing the country.

 

He treated patients with horrific injuries; some belonged to militant groups and threatened to kill Yousif if he couldn’t heal them. He survived two assassination attempts in one year.

 

“Working in the hospitals was very difficult. Most of the patients threatened you,” Yousif said. “As a doctor, you can’t treat these patients. It was miserable; a very bad situation.”

 

In 2004, Yousif fled Iraq with his wife and daughter, spending four years in Jordan, where he lived, like many thousands of Iraqis, as a refugee.

 

In Jordan, Yousif and his family found relative safety, but no hope for permanent residency or the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

 

In 2007, they received refugee status and were accepted for resettlement in the United States.

 

In 2008, they arrived in Detroit, where they were assisted by Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, an Episcopal Migration Ministries affiliate.

 

It was a defining moment for Yousif; an opportunity to live in security and assert control over his own future.

 

“In Michigan, we love it. We love the U.S.,” Yousif said. “The life in Iraq, four years in Jordan: this period you can describe as ‘zero period.’ I am here for two years, so I am now two years old. The previous life was zero.”

 

Yousif currently has a job working for a medical supply company on a part-time basis and, like many native-born Americans, he’s hard-pressed to pay the bills, despite the support of the “helpful and kind” staff at Lutheran Social Services.

 

But Yousif remains undaunted by the challenges his family has faced in adjusting to life in the U.S.

 

He’s eager to complete the recertification process required to restart his career as a physician, and he hopes one day to open his own medical practice.

 

He also predicts a bright future for his two daughters; the younger one was born in Michigan and won’t know the fear and uncertainty that Yousif said many children face in Iraq.

 

“My children 100% like it in Michigan. In Iraq they can’t play outside because of the bombs, because they’re afraid of kidnapping,” he said. “The best thing here is that security is very good. The most important thing that any person, any living being, is searching for is security.”

From the Field

Chicago dry cleaner builds strong workforce with refugee employees

 

Finding a job is a pressing concern for refugees who come to the United States after living in limbo overseas; the U.S. Refugee Program is built on a model of early self-sufficiency for the newly resettled.

 

But like many native-born Americans in a difficult economy, refugees can face challenges finding good, steady work.

 

So, when businesses in need of reliable, hard-working employees get connected to refugees seeking work in their communities, the results are usually very positive. Take, for example, the case of Davis Imperial Cleaners in Chicago.

 

Davis Imperial hired its first refugee employee two years ago, and that decision has completely changed the company's approach to seeking new workers.

 

The company has hired nine more employees who came to the U.S. as refugees in the past two years, working with Episcopal Migration Ministries affiliate Refugee One (formerly known as Interfaith Immigration and Refugee Ministries) to fill empty positions.

 

The high-end garment repair and dry cleaning business currently has eight refugees from Bhutan and Iraq on its staff.

 

Jordan Wood, who owns and manages Davis Imperial with his parents, Rick and Linda Wood, said the refugees have been exemplary employees because of their work ethic and professional backgrounds.

 

“It’s been great. They have great attitudes; they’re thankful for the work,” Wood said. “My first phone call is to [Refugee One] whenever we have an opening. You’re talking about being able to hire people who are teachers and engineers in their own countries.”

 

Wood said he often recommends working with refugee resettlement agencies to other dry cleaners.

 

He said the presence of newcomers from abroad has a positive effect on his business; managers and American-born employees are amazed at the trials their refugee colleagues faced in coming to the U.S. and inspired by their enduring optimism.

 

“With what some of these people have been through and seen – what people here consider a bad day relative to what [refugees] consider a bad day puts things in perspective,” Wood said.

 

And while much of the work refugee employees do at the company is unskilled, Wood said many plan to use the experience as a stepping stone to further opportunity.

 

“It’s kind of cool to be able to have a big impact on their lives, providing them with an income and a chance to take the first two or three steps to maybe living the American dream,” he said.

 

“We don’t expect that they’ll be here forever. Many are in school to brush up on their English or taking classes to enter a trade. We wish them better and better things, of course.”

Arrivals Update

September 30th marked the end of fiscal year 2010. With the support of dioceses and many volunteers, Episcopal Migration Ministries resettled 4,962 refugees, the highest number ever in a single year for the agency.  Those refugees came from the following regions:

 

Africa -- 774

East Asia -- 1,055

Latin America/Caribbean -- 337
Near East and South Asia -- 2,725

Europe -- 71

EMM in the Press

The Chattanooga Free Press ran  this story about a Somali family resettled with the help of Bridge Refugee Services and their efforts to help build their first home in the United States.

 

A story in The Boston Globe about Mandaean refugees in Massachusetts  cites the work of Lutheran Social Services of New England in assisting the newcomers from Iraq.

Church Engagement

"Holy moment" leads to unplanned refugee ministry for Syracuse parish

 

One Sunday morning a few years back, a man walked into the Episcopal Church of the Saviour in Syracuse, New York, and changed the church in a profound way.

 

The man was a refugee from Burma, a member of the Karen ethnic group which has long been persecuted by the Burmese military government. Since he didn’t speak much English, members of the small congregation thought the man might be in the wrong place.

 

“About a block away is a Roman Catholic church with a strong Vietnamese community,” said the Rev. Gerard Beritela, Vicar of Church of the Saviour. “We thought he might be looking for the Catholic church. And he said in a very loud voice, ‘No, Anglican!’”

 

That interaction was the first that many members of the church ever had with a refugee, but it was not to be the last.

 

Interfaith Works of Central New York, Episcopal Migration Ministries’ affiliate in Syracuse, helps many Burmese Karen refugees resettle in the area, along with refugees from other nations and ethnic backgrounds.

 

And while the refugees Episcopal Migration Ministries and its affiliates assist are certainly not all Anglican or even Christian, some members of the Karen community are.

 

When the Anglican Karen refugees found out about Church of the Saviour, many began attending services there.

 

In the past two or three years, Beritela estimates about 15 Karen families have joined the church, presenting the small urban parish with unforeseen challenges, but also a new mission focus.

 

“Most of us realize that this is a ministry to which we are called,” Beritela said. “One member said ‘God has kept our church open and I think this is the ministry that we’ve been kept open for.’”

 

Beritela said that language remains a barrier between American-born members and the refugee newcomers, but both groups are adjusting.

 

Richard Giaccio, who is warden at the church, said the congregation has long been a small one, but not insular.  He said the parish's reaction to the newcomers is reflective of a long-standing willingness to welcome others.

 

"I think it some ways it’s very exciting to have a whole bunch of people show up, people with families and young kids," Giaccio said. "Most people are trying to connect with them and make them feel welcome and part of things."

 

An Advent Lessons and Carols service last year featuring hymns in English and Karen was a big hit. Now, every Sunday the Gospel is read in both Karen and English, and Church of the Saviour is working with Interfaith Works to translate other hymns and prayers.

 

The church is also restarting a long-dormant Christian education program at the request of the new members. Prior to the arrival of the Karen, most members of the church were older, and there was no need for children’s programs.

 

“The running joke at Savior is everyone under 60 is in the youth group. At least that’s the way it was,” Beritela said. “It’s been a big shot in the arm for us, and also it’s been very good, I think, for some members of the Karen community.”

 

The Rev. Bob Honeychurch is Missioner for Congregational Vitality at the Episcopal Church Center, engaging a broad network to invigorate parishes and dioceses throughout the Episcopal Church.

 

“The Church is most fully its true self when it is about the work of partnering with God in the transformation of the world,” he said. “It’s not just about getting people to show up on Sunday morning.”

 

Honeychurch said the Church of the Saviour is an instructive example of how ministry, planned or otherwise, can redefine a church’s identity and place within its community.

 

“The Church of the Saviour could never have planned for an influx of Karen refugees from Burma. When opportunity came knocking, so to speak, the congregation viewed it as a ‘holy moment’ where God might be breaking into their midst in new, wonderful, and certainly unexpected ways,” Honeychurch said.

 

Since the Karen members began attending services at Saviour, the church has held baptisms and weddings, and the Bishop recently visited to confirm a number of resettled refugees.

 

The parish has also learned a lot about their new members’ cultural and spiritual traditions, and they’ve partnered with Grace Episcopal Church in Utica, New York to consult on the needs of Karen members at both churches.

 

In other words, the ministry has led to new connections and new energy in the parish. And it all started with an unexpected guest dropping in on a Sunday morning. 

Affiliate Spotlight

School impact program helps refugee youth prepare for classroom

 

Starting school can be a challenge for any child. For young refugees resettled in the United States, the adjustment to American schools is all the more difficult.

 

Language barriers, new teaching styles and a general lack of familiarity with American-style classrooms are a lot to overcome.

 

Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, Episcopal Migration Ministries' affiliate agency in Detroit, is helping refugee children and their parents prepare for all of these issues through a school impact program funded with a grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

 

The program, which began in 2007, serves about 250 children and their families through the “Refugee ESL Summer Learning Academy.”

 

The day-long summer sessions provide English tutoring, creative projects and lessons, and cultural orientation designed to make young people ready for an American classroom.

 

“We model it as a classroom setting. They have to follow a schedule that’s the same as it will be when they go to school,” said Jessica Cotton, who heads the program at Lutheran Social Services.

 

While children attend the learning academy, their parents attend English and computer classes in the same building.

 

The lessons for children and adults coincide to help refugee parents understand what their children will experience in school, and to help define their role in their child’s education.

 

By the time children finish the program, Cotton said they understand the basic social and study skills they’ll need to function in school, which makes it easier for teachers and administrators to help them learn and integrate into their new community.

 

“We had some kids who were having a hard time, so I’m glad they’re able to go through this before starting school,” Cotton said. “We’re preparing them for the future.”




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