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PWRDF proud to protect refugees

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Published on 
April 4, 2013

The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has signed on to the Proud to Protect Refugees campaign, being launched today (World Refugee Day) by the Canadian Council for Refugees. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and President of the PWRDF Board of Directors, has posted a public letter about the Anglican Church’s work with refugees through PWRDF. The full text of the letter follows.

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”  Matthew 25.35

Dear Friends in Christ,

As people of faith, we are called by the gospel to “welcome the stranger” in our midst.

Today, Refugee Rights Day, the Canadian Council of Refugees is launching a three-year education and awareness raising campaign entitled “Proud to Support Refugees”.  As a member of the Council, The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund has been invited to participate.

Work with refugees continues to be a top priority for PWRDF. From coast to coast to coast, Anglican parishes “welcome the stranger” through Private Sponsorship Agreements and advocacy for the rights and hopes of refugees.  I am very proud of your commitment to this ministry. It is a powerful witness to the law of Moses, the call of the prophets and the teaching of Jesus.

Aware of overwhelming challenges facing the world’s approximately 43 million refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers and those who seek to accompany them, the “Proud to Support Refugees” Campaign offers the kind of nation we want to be for those who seek refuge among us and for those whom we accompany in other parts of the world.

This campaign is a wonderful opportunity to learn and spread the word about the gospel imperative to reach out to millions of the most vulnerable and at risk people in the world, to respond to their hope for new beginnings, to welcome and be transformed by their presence, voice and heart in our midst.

You can learn more about the “Proud to Support Refugees” Campaign and our Church’s participation in it by contacting PWRDF Public Engagement Coordinator Suzanne Rumsey.

I encourage your participation in this campaign and your prayers for its reach and success in transforming the heart of this nation.

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” said Jesus.

In his compassion,
I am sincerely yours,
The Most Reverend Fred Hiltz
Archbishop and Primate
President, The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.