We hope you are staying well during these unsettling times. Below is an update about the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program (PSRP) and the refugees our church partners have sponsored.

We encourage you to keep your arms open to our newcomers. We believe that this can be a moment of hope as the Canadian Church cares for refugees like family. World Renew has been helping churches to welcome and resettle refugees for more than 40 years. We are still here to support churches and newcomers through this extraordinary time.

For families eagerly awaiting the arrival of sponsored refugee family members, the current travel situation is devastating. Most have waited for years to be reunited with loved ones. Please join us in praying for these heartbroken families and the caring churches that are comforting them.

If your church is helping to settle newcomers, please check in with them regularly. (To comply with social distancing, you may need to do this by phone, or by video call through Zoom or Skype.) Make sure they have enough food and supplies. Also, ensure that they understand how to keep themselves and others safe as they take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Give them instructions, which we are making available in multiple languages, on what to do and who to call if developing symptoms. Please share this information with sponsored families. Offer to pray with them for their loved ones back home. We are providing a page of COVID-19 Resources for Sponsors and Newcomers to help you overcome language barriers to communicating about the crisis. The page includes links to videos, from a variety of community agencies, in many different languages.

Thank you for demonstrating Christ’s love to people who are vulnerable in these difficult times!