Refugee Outreach

African Christmas Dinner

On Christmas Day there was a special dinner at the church for our members from Africa.

Everyone we invited to the basement and after Priest Barnes prayed for the food, we asked each adult to tell us something they remember from Christmas in their home country. While mostly they said it was getting together at church and with family for a feast the interesting different idea was they celebrate on December 24^th. celebrating the baby to be born, rather than after the baby was born.

I asked Unga to sing a Christmas Song in Swahili and she started it and they all jumped in. And then they sang another one, and another one, and another one. They did a great job. They pretty much were singing the rest of our time together. In fact, I asked Bienvenue to send me three Swahili songs from YouTube of the Chief Apostle in Zambia so we can sing them after service one day. Our music director has endorsed the idea and we need to get them to practice a couple of times so they do not get stage fright. By the way, it was funny, while the adults were relishing their old songs in their native language, the children only wanted to sing English.

The young people did a magnificent job supplying the gifts. Their generosity overwhelmed me. The children loved them and fought over them and the adults were so surprised they did not know what to say except “Thank you”.

There was lots of food leftover for them to take home, intentionally. After we cleaned up. There was a large box of food to take to our shut in family in Old Brooklyn and then a couple of pies for East Park Memory care.

Refugee children add to the Sunday school. Religious as well as English classes are taught with transportation provided.