The Middle East Refugee Crisis:  What will MacNeill’s Response Be?

A Report from the congregational meeting of October 4, 2015

Thank you to the goodly number who came out to this meeting. Others were unable to attend, but expressed interest in ‘doing something’ as our part in responding to the dire need. We made a good start in our explorations. We were greatly helped by the presence of some guests. Juanita is a certified immigration consultant and a friend of Glenys’. Juanita shared her considerable knowledge regarding the processes involved in sponsoring refugees to Canada. Juanita introduced us to her friend Maria, and Maria’s two small children Emily and Adam. Maria described the plight of some of her family members who have either fled Syria or are currently under siege from bombs and snipers in Damascus, thereby personalizing this current refugee situation in a poignant way.

At this meeting we honoured the fact that MacNeill has a history of sponsoring refugees. We agreed that it is imperative that we do ‘something’ and that doing ‘nothing’ is not an optional Christian response. We also recognized that we are an aging congregation with less numbers and resources than in the past. We may need to partner with others in order to do our part. CBIM is encouraging congregations to engage in sponsorships. We heard of several Baptist congregations who have made the decision. We reviewed the following potential options:
– MacNeill to seek out a partner agency/congregation to share the sponsorship of a family of refugees.
– MacNeill congregation to sponsor a family.
– MacNeill congregation to sponsor a single person.
– MacNeill to join with an already existing sponsorship (EG: offer our financial and other support to Westdale United Church, which is working with several United Church congregations to bring an extended family of 19 Palestinian refugees to Hamilton.)

ACTION PLAN (Coming out of the meeting)

1) We established an ad-hoc Refugee Committee to steer us forward. The volunteer committee members are: Mary C. Jackson, Al Palin and Barb Ridley, with Gary Purdy ex officio (Treasurer) and Heather Hobbs ex-officio (Moderator). This group will meet within the next two weeks, reporting back to the congregation as soon as possible. Other interested persons are welcome to join this committee. Please make yourself known.

2) All MacNeillites are invited to pledge their personal financial and time commitments and to note any gifts ‘in kind’. These pledge forms are to be found in the narthex. The pledge form can be filled in anonymously and put in the offering plate or handed to any member of the Refugee Committee, so that the level of support can be determined from the outset. NB: Gifts ‘in kind’ can be anything from gently used pots & pans to rental accommodation.

3) Everyone is invited to find out what is going on around us, at the congregations, schools, college and the university etc. in a bid to find potential partners, and to feed that knowledge back to the committee. Arising from the meeting we agreed to contact Micah House, Dundas Baptist, Burlington Baptist, McMaster student circles, the local Muslim community and the Interfaith Peace Group. Any and all ideas are welcome!