3 Dioceses Quick To Aid Salvadorans
Episcopal News Service. December 15, 1983 [83230]
NEW YORK (DPS, Dec. 15) -- When the government of El Salvador granted "amnesty" to hundreds of detainees in early December, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief had little more than a day to find and prepare sponsors for the nine Salvadorans that the Episcopal Church had been asked to sponsor. Phone calls by the refugee/migration staff found a caring response from Episcopalians in three dioceses.
In Chapel Hill, N.C. a family of five is being housed by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wagner. The Church of the Holy Family led by the rector, the Rev. Gary Fulton, along with a coalition of neighboring congregations accepted the challenge of sponsorship with enthusiasm. Mrs. Wagner, who met the family at the Raleigh-Durham Airport in the early morning hours of Dec.1, remarked that the refugees were very happy to be in the U.S. and were looking forward to getting to know their new community.
The Rev. Kirk Galloway, diocesan refugee coordinator in the Diocese of Chicago and the Rev. George Monroe, priest-in-charge of St. Alban's Church, agreed to sponsor three refugees. Hoping to draw upon the resources available in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood surrounding St. Alban's, the parish is offering these refugees a safe haven and opportunities to become self-sufficient. Monroe views these sponsorships as an opportunity to expand the outreach ministry at St. Alban's as well as a way to bring hope to people who were forced to give up almost everything.
A group of Polish refugees in Connecticut, who themselves were sponsored through the Presiding Bishop's Fund, expressed their joy and excitement at the opportunity to be a sponsoring community for a refugee from another country and culture. Mr. Jerzy Bielec, a representative of the group, met the Salvadoran refugee on Nov. 30 at Kennedy airport and remarked "I've been here before and I know what he must be feeling."
The sponsoring group is receiving back up support from Grace Episcopal Church, St. Paul's on the Green and Christ Church, all in Norwalk, Conn. This unusual sponsorship arrangement is being coordinated by the Rev. Ruth Bersin, diocesan refugee coordinator.