Today I’m pleased to share a guest blog post from our Manager for Congregational Outreach, Matt Herzberg. This post is part of a weekly email series for those who have signed up for the Refugee Sunday Kit. You can download the kit, signup for special materials, and Matt’s email weekly update here.
The temperatures are starting to creep up around the country as summer finally comes upon us. For every season, there is a new set of questions you have to ask yourself for that commute to work. The questions that arise during the summer are among my least favorite. Will the bus’s air conditioning work today? How humid is it? Why aren’t shorts and a tank top appropriate to wear to the factory or the office?
How lucky am I that these are the questions with which I struggle? While comparing experiences can be tricky, if I’m being honest, the big picture consequences of how I answer these questions is pretty limited. I’m not off to battle or fleeing into the wilderness like David in the Old Testament. I’m not deciding how much stuff to bring to get me across a desert or whether or not I’m on the safest path. I’m not leaving behind home to navigate a new culture.
Those decisions are far more difficult and should be considered by all of us. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read through the Refugee Simulation Game on the Refugee Sunday Resource page. Take a few minutes to walk through a refugee like experience. How does it feel? What questions come up? How does that affect how we treat and respond to others?
As always, let me know how I can help with your Refugee Sunday planning. And let us continue the great work of welcome and community building, so that one day soon the toughest decision our refugee brothers and sisters have to ask is what they should wear to work when it is warm.
In faith and justice,
Matt
If you haven’t signed up for the Refugee Sunday Kit, click here. You can download the kit and get exclusive materials. As you plan your Refugee Sunday celebration, please consider Matt your first resource if you have any questions, need help, or just want to share! You can contact him at outreach@lirs.org.