Working Group on Refugees

For more information, please contact Sr. Mary Kerber mkerber@stmarys-wbl.org 651-429-7771 option 1.

(Posted 6/21/2022)

When the parish agreed to support refugees in their transition to American life, the Justice Peace and Outreach Commission invited St. Mary’s parishioners to become mentors to refugees. Following training and background checks, this newly formed welcome committee of seven set out to take Pope Francis’ words to heart, to “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate” those who have had to flee their homes in order to stay safe. Our eyes, as well as our hearts, have been opened to the difficulties and the hopes that these families have experienced. We have been welcomed into one-bedroom apartments, struggled to make ourselves understood to each other, laughed together at our linguistic troubles, and promised to see each other again soon.

After a particularly busy day communicating, researching, texting, placing phone calls and emails, I thought I’d jot down the variety of tasks this group has taken on. We currently support four households with a total of six people (the seventh is on the way). The following “day in the life” gives you an idea of our experience. The times may vary, but the dedication and goodwill are reliable! I have used only the first initial of the names of our refugee families.

A Day In the Life of the Refugee Mentors Kathryn and Michael Lien, Julie Wodicka, Carol Stehly, Aine Mickelson and Mark Sather

7:30 AM: Kathryn’s nephew, Patrick, texts her, offering an almost new mattress, if one of our refugees would like it. Quickly, Kathryn sends a message, which first is written on Google translate from English to Pashto, and then copied to WhatsApp, to Sa, whose bed is broken, wondering if a queen-size mattress would fit in his apartment. “I am happy” is the reply that means, yes, please. We agree to deliver the mattress Wednesday evening at 7 pm.

8:00 AM: Julie sends an email with details outlining ESL possibilities in the south metro, where our refugee friends are living. They include contacts with the LiteracyMN and Lyndale Education Program. Aine has researched the International Institute of Mn. Julie also looked into health care possibilities for MJ and Z, who work for a food provider for aircraft at the airport.

8:30 AM: Carol and Kathryn discovered, on their last trip to see H and M, that M’s baby is due in THREE weeks, not SIX weeks. Carol is locating and contacting food shelves, WIC information, and well-baby centers. Kathryn contacts our favorite interpreter, K, to see if he can meet the group with H and M on Tuesday afternoon.

9:00 AM: Kathryn sends off a driver’s manual in the Pushto language to MJ, who wants to learn to drive. After several phone calls and a visit to the DMV, Mark has managed to find a driver’s manual in paper form rather than online, for Su, who also wants to learn to drive, but prefers his manual in English.

11:30 AM: Aine, who had to fly back to Ireland to see a dear friend, sends a long email describing what she’s learned about Afghan culture. Her extensive reading enlightens us as we learn more about how to interact with our new friends.

1:00 PM: Kathryn contacts Richfield Parks and Recreation, to find out about pick-up soccer games. Sa would love to play. Mark is checking in with city administrators in Richfield, Bloomington, and Edina, to learn about opportunities for immigrants and refugees in those cities.

3:30 PM: K texts Kathryn that he has been successful in setting up a meeting on Tuesday at 5:00. However, his car is in the shop, could he ask to have someone pick him up?

4:30 PM: After a few texts and WhatsApp conversations, Carol, Maureen, and Julie agree on leaving White Bear Lake on Tuesday at 3:45 for a 5:00 visit with K and H and M. K’s car is repaired so they go straight to the apartment. At that meeting arrangements will be made for Michael to take H and M to Alight, the non-profit that offers household goods to refugees for free. H and M hope to find a television and a vacuum cleaner, and a baby swing. Oh—and M’s baby is due in six weeks, not three. Whew.

St. Mary’s is committed to partnering with Lutheran Social Services to serve as mentors to refugees. If you wish to contribute to our on-going support, contributions can be placed in the collection -please indicate “for Refugee Outreach”.

(Posted 6/6/2022)

Our Refugee Working Group has been busy these past few weeks. Through Lutheran Social Service’s Circle of Welcome program, our team has been matched with four refugee households, comprised of two married couples and two single men. All six of these men and women are from Afghanistan and were part of the evacuation that took place in late August 2021. They are far from home and miss friends and family but are also grateful to be safe and looking forward to finding their way in a new country.

The match meetings, which have been taking place in the last two weeks, bring together our liaison from LSS, members of our refugee working group, an interpreter, and the refugees themselves. Our conversations, though halting and formal, have been insightful and promising in the hope of finding friendships that will continue beyond our 90-day mentorship program.

As we build relationships with our new friends, we want to help integrate their lives with all that Minnesota has to offer. There are certainly things they need. For example, there are certain household goods that would make life easier, bus routes to school and work to check out, finding nearby parks to enjoy. Each refugee needs space to learn and practice English. If you or someone you know, knows of ESL programs offered in the south metro, please give us a call.

The United States is opening its borders to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. There are refugees from Myanmar, Somalia, Haiti, and South America looking for safety and refuge. On behalf of St Mary of the Lake, JPOC has taken the steps needed to build a foundation of welcome. Our work has just begun, and we look forward to it taking root to become an ongoing program of support and accompaniment to those fleeing danger from anywhere. We need your prayers, your attention to legislation and public policy regarding refugees, your creativity in finding ways to welcome, and finally, your presence as mentor. Contact Kathryn Lien (kathrynannlien@gmail.com) or Carol Stehly (carstehly@yahoo.com) to find out more.

Are you wondering about refugees in Minnesota? Here is a story from MPR’s Minnesota Now.

Go to https://www.mprnews.org/shows/minnesotanow. Look for June 2, 2022. The story begins at 34:55.

(Posted 5/24/2022)

Pope Francis, from the beginning of his papacy, has held the plight of the migrant and refugee in his most fervent prayer. In his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees of 2018, he asks us all to “welcome, promote, protect, and integrate” our sisters and brothers as they find themselves displaced from home and country.

Our own Refugee Working Group has sent out the call to welcome the stranger. We now have seven refugee mentors who have taken the step to support, on behalf of St. Mary of the Lake parish, those who have come to Minnesota as refugees from Afghanistan. They are:

Kathryn and Michael Lien
Aine Mickelson
Maureen and Mark Sather
Carol Stehly
Julie Wodicka

Please keep these mentors, as well as the households they will meet, in your prayers.

(Posted 5/24/2022)
In the Omnibus Workforce Bill of the 2022 Minnesota State Legislature, an Office of New Americans would be created within the department to serve immigrants and refugees in the state and coordinate programs to integrate new Americans into the workforce. A coordinating committee would include members from Departments of Health, Education, Corrections and Public Safety, among others.

(Posted 4/6/2022)

Who Is My Neighbor? St. Mary’s Parish Welcomes Refugees

As our parish prepares to choose and train mentors for Afghan refugees, you may want to learn more by listening to a recent broadcast by NPR, “Meeting the Challenge of a New Life in America”. This broadcast exposes us to the situation of Afghan refugees in the US, how the organization welcome. US is assisting and some thoughts on the 100,000 Ukrainians that the US is open to receiving.

https://the1a.org/segments/meeting-the-challenge-of-a-new-life-in-america/

(Posted 4/4/2022)

Who Is My Neighbor? St. Mary’s Parish Welcomes Refugees

This week’s book recommendation: Fratelli Tutti by Pope Francis. You will find many reviews and commentaries online. Here’s one: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/many-and-one-0

(Posted 3/28/2022)

Who Is My Neighbor? St. Mary’s Parish Welcomes Refugees

This week check out the Center for Migration Studies of New York (www.cmwny.org) This resource gathers news on migration throughout the world and brings it to you in one newsletter, delivered weekly. Stories and reports from a variety of news sources are included as well as the latest from the USCCB.

Our book recommendation this week: After the Last Border, by Jessica Gandeau. You can find a review of this memoir of two refugee women and their journey to safety HERE.

(Posted 6/16/2022)

The United States is opening its borders to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. There are refugees from Myanmar, Somalia, Haiti, and South America looking for safety and refuge. On behalf of St. Mary of the Lake, JPOC has taken the steps needed to build a foundation of welcome. Our work has just begun, and we look forward to it taking root to become an ongoing program of support and accompaniment to those fleeing danger from anywhere. We need your prayers, your attention to legislation and public policy regarding refugees, your creativity in finding ways to welcome, and finally, your presence as mentor.

Contact Sr. Mary Kerber at mkerber@stmarys-wbl.org with questions.

(Posted 3/30/2022)

Who Is My Neighbor? St. Mary’s Parish Welcomes Refugees

The International Institute of Minnesota (www.iimn.org) is a leader in local resettlement. At this website you will learn about the Afghan Adjustment Act, legislation moving its way through Congress. The Afghans torn from their homes in 2021 are currently under Temporary Protected Status, which does not allow them to proceed through channels that will end in citizenship. Passing legislation that would protect these evacuees is critical because obtaining asylum may be difficult or out of reach for many of them. Find out more and call your legislators.

This week’s book recommendation: Somewhere In the Unknown World by Kao Kalia Yang, the stories of thirteen refugees who now live in Minnesota. You can read a review here.

Please note: if you missed the LSS Zoom session on March 31 that gave information on becoming a mentor for refugees, please contact Sr. Mary Kerber and she will be able to send you a private link of the recording. Contact Sr. Mary Kerber at mkerber@stmarys-wbl.org with questions.

(Posted 3/16/2022)

St. Mary of the Lake and the Refugee Crisis

We have all seen the images of families fleeing for safety in these past months, most recently from Ukraine, but also from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and other places around the globe. Minnesota has been and continues to be a safe haven for people whose lives have been disrupted through no fault of their own.

In response to the concern of parishioners regarding the plight of refugees from Afghanistan, the Justice, Peace, and Outreach Committee (JPOC) has begun the work to stand in solidarity with these brothers and sisters whose lives have been uprooted. Upon extensive research into the many organizations who help in this important work, our refugee working group has recommended Lutheran Social Services (LSS) and its Circle of Welcome. This program began several years ago and has many families and congregations who will attest to its effectiveness in bringing people together in friendship and support.

At the moment, LSS has settled all the families assigned to them from Afghanistan who have fled their country. However, there are still Afghans who are either single or married without children who also need support and are waiting for us to assist them in finding their way as they navigate this new way of life.

What do we need to do? First, we will say “yes” to the invitation from LSS to become a partner in refugee work. Second, we need to find 4-6 people who will act as mentors to our new friends for a 90-day period. Third, we will need more support to supply things like household goods, gift cards, linens, and anything else needed. Fourth, we will need people who can make a run to the airport, spend time helping people to learn and speak English, perhaps assist in opening a bank account. Fifth, we will need $1,225.00 per person for rent support. Finally, and always, we need to pray for peace and for the specific needs of our sisters and brothers throughout the world whose lives are in such disarray.

Want to learn more? The weekends of March 19-20 and 26-27 following each of the Masses, there will be a member of the Refugee Working Group to answer your questions as best we can. Emily Bingham from LSS will host an information session March 31 at 7 PM. Join via Zoom link here. Check the bulletin, Constant Contact, and the website.

Please contact Sr. Mary for more information, mkerber@stmaryswbl-org or 651-429-7771 option 1.

Working Group on Refugees

Please keep these mentors, as well as the households they will meet, in your prayers.

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