Refugee Sunday: Working through both practically and theologically the issue of women in ministry last year has been somewhat cathartic for me. So too the issue of refugees. I was first challenged by this some fifteen years ago when we were in Victoria, northern rural Victoria, blue ribbon Liberal seat Victoria where buying the Weekend Australian made you a leftie.
I had some involvement with Rural Australians for Refugees – we had Julien Burnside up for a visit.
Kerang Baptist church never made the denominational paper – Baptist Witness – they sent up a journalist to visit for the weekend – two page spread. We had people in church that weekend I’d never seen before.
Saving the Franklin River was easier than talking refugees in church.
But within this very conservative rural community were those that were being challenged in their hearts by what they were seeing and hearing in/on the media, and felt a rising conviction that the Gospel spoke into this issue.
And I still believe that. And that is why, although our involvement in refugee week is limited to these services today, we take the time to raise awareness of what is a global and a gospel issue – refugees and displaced.
Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues affecting refugees and celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. Celebrated since 1986, Refugee Week coincides with World Refugee Day (20 June).
More people are now forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence and human rights violations than at any time since end of World War II.
More than 65 million people were forcibly displaced. Of these, 22.5 million were refugees and 3.2 million people were seeking asylum; 10 mill stateless; 189,300 refugees settled 2016.
More than half of the world’s UNHCR-mandated refugees came from just three countries: Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia. In addition, more than half of the people displaced are children.
The global refugee crisis is the worst humanitarian disaster in the world today. Roughly 12 million Syrians have been forced from their homes by a brutal civil war. Over 6 million are still surviving within Syria.
Twelve million people: that’s like half the population of Australia becoming homeless.
One of every 113 people in the world is now a refugee.
And so the theme for this year is: The theme for Refugee Week for 2015 to 2017 is “With courage let us all combine”.
Taken from the second verse of the national anthem, the theme celebrates the courage of refugees and of people who speak out against persecution and injustice.
It serves as a call for unity and for positive action, encouraging Australians to improve our nation’s welcome for refugees and to acknowledge the skills and energy refugees bring to their new home….