Afghan Refugee Resettlement Information

From the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Call to Prayer and Action For Afghanistan and Afghan Refugees

Pray:
Join the call to prayer by using the prayer and lament for Afghanistan in your church or Sunday school class.  Use this resource from our partners at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) for guided prayer with the ecumenical and interfaith community.

This hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gilette was written for the people of Afghanistan.  It was written to a gentle, peaceful tune for a people who need gentleness, peace, justice, and human rights in their land (as we all do, in our lands).  Permission is given for free use of this hymn, including in online worship services.

Act:
Contact congress and urge the administration to expand and expedite access to the US resettlement program for Afghan refugees.  Click here

Support:
Support PC(USA) partners providing humanitarian assistance on the ground in Afghanistan and the region through the PDA U.S. Refugee Emergency Fund.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance will provide financial aid to ACT Alliance members for their humanitarian work inside Afghanistan as well as in the neighboring countries as the needs are identified and programs are expanded.

Welcome:
Thousands of Afghans have arrived in the U.S. already this year and many more are arriving.  They need basic furniture and supplies to set up apartments, rental housing, financial support and volunteers. PDA has general information on how refugee resettlement works and how churches welcome refugees here.

Learn:

Encourage your church or community to learn about the refugee experience by watching “To Breath Free

To Breathe Free follows the 5-year journey of a Syrian family fleeing the war in Homs to the refugee camps in Jordan and starting a new life in Washington, D.C. Using home movies, phone video, family photos and interviews with family members and former refugees, this short documentary gives an intimate and unique perspective not seen in current media reporting on the refugee crisis.

For additional information on the Afghan refugee situation from PDA please click here.

This ministry work is still unfolding and as additional information is available we will add it here.

Update from PDA:

PMA is in the process of setting up a dedicated web page on the Afghanistan situation and PCUSA response(s), where all this information and future updates will be housed.  We have created a working group from across PMA and OGA to coordinate our work and information sharing.  Just yesterday we agreed on tentative dates for 2 webinars to be offered in late September and early October – one will address the history and current conflict in Afghanistan and U.S. involvement and the other will focus on Afghan refugees and their displacement globally, including the U.S. response.  Both webinars will highlight what churches can do.

NEW JERSEY RESOURCES

Please do not send donations yet. Use this portal to register your willingness to provide donations.

New Jersey Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster

Team Rubicon: Disaster Response

Other Resources:

American Red Cross is already on the ground at Fort Dix and working with the Refugees who have arrived from Afghanistan. Presently 4,000 refugees are being housed at Fort Dix. The base is prepared to receive up to 10,000 refugees over the next weeks and months.

NJ Coalition for Afghan Refugees, a coalition of secular and faith based groups, are gearing up to assist refugees in New Jersey.