June 21st has been designated World Refugee Sunday by the World Evangelical Alliance.
We encourage you to consider including the forcefully displaced in our world today in your worship that day. Some ideas:
- Consider including them in your prayers during your worship service(s)
- Consider having your Sunday morning educational classes (aka Sunday School) to explore a biblical story about forcefully uprooted people (see “Refugees in the Bible” below for some ideas).
- Consider raising awareness of this global issue during your worship using one or more of the following resources:
- Refugees in the Bible (27 kb)
- Snapshot of Refugee Realities on the Refugee Highway Today (216 kb)
- Understanding the Basic Terminology of Forced Displacement (519 kb or 77 kb)
- Consider asking a refugee or former refugee that is part of your fellowship to share their story of displacement with the church
- Consider including a note about World Refugee Sunday in your bulletin and other church publications
- Consider downloading and playing Hold On – a 5 minute musical prayer for uprooted people in the world during your offetory, prelude or postlude. Download Hold On by choosing a resolution and clicking a link below. QuickTime player required to view:
- high resolution (126 MB)
- medium resolution (42 MB)
- Consider downloading and playing “The Orphan, Widow and Alien“, a 3 minute interview from International Teams about the mandate of God’s people to love the refugee. Note: .mp4 file -QuickTime or iTunes Player required to view.
- Consider encouraging other pastors and churches you know about World Refugee Day
- Consider coming up with some better ideas and resources!
Take a look at www.refugeehighway.net, the official website of the Refugee Highway Partnership (WEA) for more resources to help churches observe this day.
