This Sunday at The Well: Refuge(e) & Hope

It's not uncommon to hear people describe The Well as a home for spiritual refugees. We are a community that tends to welcome those who've left church & or been left out.  It had never occurred to me before our recent trip to Uganda, that maybe this is why we were drawn to partner with life-giving work among refugees in Uganda.For the past three years, The Well has been partnering with Amani Sasa, a women's refugee shelter & ministry center in Kampala, Uganda. Amani Sasa is part of Refuge & Hope International, a ministry center that is offering hope & new life to refugees entering Uganda from many countries including: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi. Uganda practices what we might consider "radical welcome of refugees". Despite being the size of Oregon, they welcomed 60,000 refugees in the last two months alone! That's pretty radical, but then again, it sounds a lot like the very definition of loving your neighbor as yourself. Too often, we add too many caviats onto that command (...if it does not cost us anything).Two weeks ago, a team from The Well spent time in Uganda with Refuge & Hope, their staff & refugee families. One of the things we learned is that people very often mistakenly refer to them as Refugee & Hope, perhaps because of their very bold presence among displaced people. In light of recent executive orders to halt refugee entry into the United States, in light of our conviction to love our neighbors & in light of our experience in Uganda, we are declaring this Sunday as Refugee & Hope Sunday at The Well.  As part of our worship gathering, we will share stories, music & pictures from our time in Uganda. We will also pray for refugees, for Refuge & Hope & for our own part in welcoming refugees into our community.Please join us in re-affirming this partnership & re-committing ourselves to radical welcome.Peace & love,Susan[Photo credit: Flickr, by Adam McLane]