an episcopal europe & episcopal relief and development collaboration
In February 2022, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, triggering the largest displacement of people on European soil in 70 years. As governments and civil associations began mobilizing to receive the massive influx of people fleeing the war in the midst of the COVID epidemic, congregations in the Convocation also began to see and welcome these new neighbors into their churches and homes.
In January 2023, as the Ukrainian refugee crisis continued to unfold, the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (CECE), with the support of Episcopal Relief & Development (ER&D), launched the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP). The initiative is designed to empower faith communities across Europe to deliver compassionate, targeted, and effective support to refugees and displaced migrants.
Over the years, the CRGP has proven that faith-based organizations can play a transformative role in Europe’s humanitarian response to migration and in refugee inclusion and social cohesion. By supporting local refugee ministries through grants and training, the program has fostered community resilience, intercultural understanding, and human dignity. It has effectively mobilized 904 local volunteers, built trust among refugee populations, and complemented public and NGO-led services. Our projects now include refugees and migrants from around the world. Each project offers assistance designed to meet the specific needs of the local population.
Since its launch, CRGP has reached more than 200,000 people in 28 cities in 12 European countries with the help of 21 local churches.
Welcoming & Walking With Refugees: The Episcopal Church and Europe's Refugees
We began filming a documentary in September 2025 in order to capture these historic moments in the lives of our churches. Projects from congregations across Europe will be highlighted to show the dedicated work our volunteers and refugee leaders have done to create safe and welcoming spaces for our migrant and refugee siblings. Our documentary will follow the lifecycle of the CRGP to capture the wide range of projects and assistance offered. We are pleased to share these chapters here, with updates as each chapter is released.
The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC) in Rome, Italy
The JNRC was founded as an informal ministry in the 1980s, focusing on basic translation services and food and life necessities, to refugees and migrants new to Italy.
Today, the JNRC employs 10 staff members, expanding its offerings to include language classes, job integration, and professional and personal development, reaching over 9,000 people per year.
"Kunstpause" in Wiesbaden, Germany
“Kunstpause” is an art therapy project established by Anastasiia Synytsia. A Ukrainian refugee, Anastasiia found the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury while searching for stability and peace in her new life in Germany. She joined the church choir, where she soon found she wanted to offer more to her new church family and her fellow Ukrainians. “Kunstpause” was a way to bring the two communities together—creating a healing space and keeping the traditions and language of Ukraine alive.
About the Convocation Refugee Grant Program and its partners
Donations to the Ukraine Response Fund will help support refugee-led programs throughout Europe: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/ways-to-give/more-ways-to-give.
For over 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has worked with an extensive network of faith and community partners to advance lasting change in communities affected by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change. Inspired by our faith, we reach over three million people each year by focusing on four interconnected priorities: nurturing the potential of caregivers and young children, reducing violence against women and girls, strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change and facilitating humanitarian response to disasters. Together with our partners, we leverage what’s working well to drive impact, learning and sustainability. Together, we create lasting change. Join us: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/get-involved/stay-informed.
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe is a diverse community of mostly English-speaking and intercultural congregations spread across Europe that seeks to offer everyone a loving and open place to grow in their faith journey, a place that welcomes curiosity and celebrates diversity. As part of the global Episcopal Church, we strengthen our congregations through resource sharing, and providing spiritual and community support to our distinctive membership. Learn more about us here: https://episcopaleurope.org/.
Welcoming & Walking with Refugees: Convocation Welcome Grant Program
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe has received grant support from Episcopal Relief & Development—the humanitarian agency of the Episcopal Church. These funds have been set aside in a separate account by the Convocation, with a view to providing both the means and the encouragement for strengthening the ability of all Anglican congregations in Europe to understand more deeply, and to respond more resourcefully, to the needs of all refugees in the communities they serve.
Click to find out if your project or church is eligible and more information on applying.
the joel nafuma refugee center
Every day, hundreds of men and boys make their way to the Episcopal Church in Rome, descending the steps that lead into the church’s crypt to seek answers and assistance from the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC).
The JNRC, the only day center for refugees in Rome, was dedicated in 1995. The center, located at St. Paul’s Within the Walls, provides a sanctuary for refugees to seek advice and assistance.
“Project Hope for Migrants” grows in Portugal, expands offerings in legal support for refugees
The program now offers Portuguese language classes, legal assistance, rent support, and emergency medical funding for refugees while continuing the work with their Portuguese neighbors.
A Place of Hope in Strasbourg, France
The Bernanos Centre was originally a student dorm on the campus of the Université de Strasbourg but, since 2016, has been transformed into a center for URM. “It’s really a place of hope, a way of being in solidarity with those in difficult circumstances.” That’s how Fr. Mark Barwick describes “Welcoming the Stranger,” a collaborative program to house and help unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) in Strasbourg, France.
Building dignity and belonging at Christ the King in Frankfurt, Germany
Building a holistic, community-based support system for vulnerable individuals in ways that encourage belonging and dignity is the overarching focus of projects at the Anglican/Episcopal Church of Christ the King (Frankfurt) that are being funded through their second grant from the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP).
Report from the 2026 ERD field visit to selected CRGP project locations
Five Convocation Refugee Grant Programs (CRGP) in Germany, France and Italy received visits and support from the combined leadership team from Episcopal Relief & Development and CRGP.
Report from the UN Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe represented at the UN Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in Geneva, Switzerland, by the Right Reverend Mark Edington and Giulia Bonoldi, Chief Welcoming Officer.
Observations from the “Hope Makers” conference in Berlin, Germany
Socorro Heepe was the Convocation’s Racial Justice Ministry representative to the conference – “Hope Makers: From Hostility to Hospitality – which brought together representatives from the Church of England (Diocese in Europe and the Racial Justice Unit), the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the World Council of Churches (WCC), United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), academic institutions, interfaith organizations, and civil society partners.