June 20th is World Refugee Day. On this day, we lift up those who have fled their home countries in the midst of horrendous conditions. Yet we must do more than just remember their plight. We must act for refugees, the stateless, and the displaced today. Those forced from their homes and rebuilding their lives in a new country should not then be met with more hardship.  

Leviticus 19:34 reminds us of our duty to care for refugees, saying, "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Time and again throughout the Bible we are called to love one another. Jesus even goes so far as to tell us how to love each other in Matthew 25:35, "For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."  

It is not in the spirit of our faith to ban people from our country when they are in need of help. Nor is it right to be contributors to unrest abroad that creates the conditions that people are forced to flee. The current budget reconciliation bill takes funds away from SNAP and Medicaid for refugees and instead puts it toward detention and deportation. The current administration has also cut off the refugee resettlement program and canceled thousands of already booked flights.   

Let this World Refugee Day serve as a renewal of our commitment to each other in our hardest times. Our actions speak volumes about our beliefs. If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we must back that up with the actions we take to feed, clothe, house, and share fellowship with refugees, while working towards a just and peaceful world for all. 

Encourage your members of Congress to support refugees by voting no on the budget reconciliation bill, urging the President to restart the refugee resettlement program, and supporting the bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE).