“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”- DEUTERONOMY 10:18
Brothers and Sisters-
As you know, we’ve recently begun accepting donations to help meet the needs of Afghan refugees that are being resettled in Oklahoma. The state is set to receive 1800 refugees, about 1000 of which will be settled in the Oklahoma City area. As you can imagine, fleeing your home with only a few of your possessions is a devastating experience, and in times like these it becomes even more imperative that we, as God’s people, bear witness to Christ’s love. I am very happy to announce that our congregation has NOT disappointed in this regard.
Over the course of just two Sundays, we’ve managed to collect over $5700.00 to aid our Afghan brothers and sisters! These funds will be distributed to our sister church Wesley UMC, which is working alongside the Spero Project and Catholic Charities to provide a ton of support to these newcomers, ranging from purchasing food, hygiene items and cleaning supplies to finding employment for adults and linguistic tutoring for kids. Our donation will be used to help with housing, which is not only an immediate need but a hard one to fulfill right now in the current housing market (OKC is at 98% occupancy) and with the federal governments requirements for refugee housing.
Our donation is enough to secure long-term housing for a family of 5 and to furnish it properly. Our plan is to work with these families alongside Wesley on a long term basis in a more hands on capacity in the future, and- God willing- to do our very best to show these folks that they too are God’s children and that they have a place in our community.
Thank you for being who God called you to be, Chapel Hill, because it is making a very real difference in people’s lives. God bless you!
Rev. Jonathon Clinesmith
Associate Pastor of Discipleship Connections
To learn more bout how Wesley UMC is welcoming Afghan refugees to Oklahoma City, visit www.wesleyokc.org/refugees