World Refugee Day | North Thompson Ecumenical Shared Ministry

Focussing on the right to seek safety

Monday, June 20, 2022

At the refugee point in Barabás, a small Hungarian village on the border of Ukraine, ACT Alliance member Hungarian Interchurch Aid offers food, drinks, and hygiene items for people fleeing the Ukraine war.
Credit: Antii Yrjönen/FCA

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

In 2022, there is a focus on the right to seek safety. The following poster can be downloaded here. For more information, go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ webpage for World Refugee Day. Canadian Lutheran World Relief has information and resources here. The United Church of Canada also has information here.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief shared this prayer.

A PRAYER FOR REFUGEES

God of our Wandering Ancestors,

Long have we known

That your heart is with the refugee:

That you were born into time

In a family of refugees

Fleeing violence in their homeland,

Who then gathered up their hungry child

And fled into alien country.

Their cry, your cry, resounds through the ages:

“Will you let me in?”

Give us hearts that break open

When our brothers and sisters turn to us with that same cry.

Then surely all these things will follow:

Ears will no longer turn deaf to their voices.

Eyes will see a moment for grace instead of a threat.

Tongues will not be silenced but will instead advocate.

And hands will reach out—

working for peace in their homeland,

working for justice in the lands where they seek safe haven.

Lord, protect all refugees in their travels. May they find a friend in me

And so make me worthy

Of the refuge I have found in you. Amen.

Source: Catholic Relief Services