The Convocation’s commitment to providing relief and assistance to refugees and displaced persons has been a recurring theme of Bishop Mark Edington’s recent engagements and was visibly highlighted in screenings of the documentary “Welcoming and Walking with Refugees” last fall. Most recently, it was one of the many topics discussed during an online “Conversation Hour with Leaders from the Episcopal Church,” following Edington’s attendance at the United Nations Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in Geneva, Switzerland.
Edington and Giulia Bonoldi, the Convocation’s Chief Welcoming Officer, attended the progress review, which is an event designed to assess progress and maintain moment towards the advancement of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). In remarks made to the High Commissioner, Edington highlighted efforts by Episcopal Relief and Development and noted: “Even if some of the nations in which we live are reducing their commitments to our siblings fleeing from war and disaster, people of all faiths in those same nations continue to support UNHCR’s mission, and do our part to carry out its work of direct assistance to the most needy and vulnerable.”
In remarks to the Episcopal News Service, Edington said that the UNHCR meeting highlighted the crisis of the wealthiest nations in the world turning away from the needs of the most vulnerable at this point in history. And while faith communities cannot solve the whole problem, “we can do something” by stepping into vacuum left by reduced public funding.
“I fully agree,” Bonaldi concurred. “The Church is called to play a crucial role within the wider framework of refugee reception, both in response to the significant gap that has emerged and because of its distinctive ability to recognize needs, provide comfort, and foster inclusion. Although the Forum presented a wide range of positive intentions and reported outcomes, “significant challenges relating to asylum and the protections of displaced people clearly emerged.”
From her perspective in field-based work, Bonaldi said the key points that emerged were:
- First-hand understanding of displacement is essential for long-term solutions: hiring refugees in key positions, including them in strategic thinking, and shifting some of the powers are crucial aspects that should be considered when addressing challenges.
- Promoting refugee-led consultations and supporting refugee-led organizations as co-implementers increases the chances for effective solutions on the ground. Trust is the foundation of humanitarian work. Refugees must be trusted, heard, and enabled to act.
- Strategic partnerships among all actors involved in the reception system are essential to ensure coordinated, efficient, and sustainable support for refugees. Grounded in shared responsibility and shared burden, partnerships should combine resources, expertise, and accountability to avoid duplication, strengthen responses, and better address the complex and evolving needs of displaced populations.
- Responses are stronger when local communities and civil society lead initiatives; strengthening their role is therefore essential.
- Flexible and predictable funding for local actors, as frontline responders, enables long-term planning and effective responses to refugees’ needs.
- For those who are forced to flee, safe pathways are central to dignity, and family reunification plays a critical role in restoring family unity and reducing exposure to risk, especially for women and children.
- In counties of arrival, scaling refugee employment through cooperation with national and institutional actors is crucial for successful socio-economic integration.
- Safe, voluntary, and dignified return pathways are the foundation for sustainable reintegration. This should be the guiding principle adopted by the current trend which aims to encourage returns or to expel.
Edington and Bonaldi were joined by Tanzanian Archbishop Mainbo Mndowla, the Anglican Communion’s representative to the UNHCR Multi-Religious Council of Leaders, and Martha Jarvis, the Anglican Communion’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Mndowla also addressed the gathering, saying: “We affirm and commend the statement made yesterday by our Anglican sisters and brothers of the Episcopal Church in Europe and salute their commitment and work in challenging times.”
Mndowla highlighted the need for work at the local level and in community that “begins with dialogue and trust leading to practical collaboration at a local level, based on honesty about our respective strengths.” This “forms the basis for our global level relationships and collaboration, with UNHCR and others, and we recommit ourselves to that now,” he added.
The recent Conversation Hour between the Episcopal Church Center and Episcopal Europe was held on January 31st. Well over 100 participants took part in a listening and Q&A session with church leaders to hear more in depth how the Episcopal Church responds to national and international developments, discuss issues facing the Episcopal Church today, and how those realities intersect with the life and ministry of Episcopal communities in Europe.
Click below to access resources shared from that conversation.