A recent meeting between representatives of the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP) and United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) in London laid the groundwork for potential future partnerships with a shared focus on the same projects, said Guilia Bonoldi, the Convocation’s chief welcoming officer.

“One of the most important aspects of our program is fostering connections, to create a space where migrants and their families feel welcomed, valued, and supported,” said Ruth Frederico, employment and social integration specialist for Frontiers of Hope, a project in the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP).
The project is part of St. Paul’s parish of the Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelic Church in Lisbon and is one of two CRGP projects in Portugal. “For us, the process of accompaniment seeks not only to respond to immediate needs, but also to create opportunities for each person to develop skills, find work, and rebuild their life with greater stability and hope,” Frederico continued.

The Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP), with support from Episcopal Relief & Development (ER&D), is currently hosting a five-session “Sustainability Training Series” for clergy and lay leaders involved in ministries and community projects across the Convocation.

“For us, the success story is that there are always a couple of people we’ve helped who become community leaders,” said Kenji Sario, a volunteer with Food for Thoughts, Soup for Souls, which is a project of the Filipino Ecumenical Diaspora in Europe (FEDE) in Brussels, Belgium. 

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.

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 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).

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.

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.

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.

Mindful donations center on guarding the dignity of the guests in a church’s refugee and migrant program while communicating thoughtfully with your community and donors, according to Desiree Townley, who recently gave a Community of Practice sessions for coordinators who are heading projects funded by the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP) across Europe.

“Fragrance is always inviting. Fragrance reaches out, it can reach out to people who are not expecting fragrance to come,” said Fr. Vinod Victor. And being a fragrant presence in the southern German city of Freiburg is the aim of an extensive refugee outreach program developed by the Anglican Church Freiburg using a grant from the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP).