On a typical Sunday in September, 1995, Cindy Hughes sat with her husband and children in their usual pew in St. David's Church, Agawam, Mass., listening to the weekly announcements. The parish was sponsoring a family of refugees and, while the father had found a job and the kids were placed in schools, the mother needed companionship. Would someone be willing to go for coffee and a visit?

Mrs. Hughes remembers thinking casually, "I could do that." When she went to visit Dragica Kolak, a refugee from Croatia, however, their time together was anything but casual. "We spent three hours together. We laughed, we cried, we looked up words in a dictionary to be able to communicate," Mrs. Hughes recalled recently. "Dragica told me about her son, who had exploded a land mine. About how she ran into the mine field to save him, and the unusual events that enabled him to keep his life though he lost a leg. I realize now that the Sunday announcement was a call from God, at that particular moment, to get involved in the ministry of refugee resettlement."

Now Mrs. Hughes is the diocesan refugee coordinator (DRC) for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, and works to place refugee families with one of the 69 parishes in the diocese. Some 50 dioceses across the nation now have DRCs who place a growing number of refugees; last year, about 3,000.

The DRCs work through Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), the arm of the national church that works in partnership with dioceses and parishes to offer assistance in resettling refugees throughout the United States.

As expressed by EMM, the ministry to refugees speaks dramatically to the challenge of our baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons. This is a ministry of rescue - a ministry which transforms death into resurrection.

Churches understand the challenges of serving people in need. "One advantage is that we get a lot of help for each family," Mrs. Hughes said. "The whole congregation works to make people self-sufficient. When refugees come to a parish, they're coming into a welcoming family, not into the welfare system. The visiting, fellowship and support available from the people of the parish is critical to the transition. That's why the parish model is so important." In fact, the Department of State has recognized EMM as the nation's leading resettlement agency because of the outstanding performance of its affiliates in serving refugees.

The experience in Western Massachusetts bears out EMM's high rating for success: In the past three years, 100 percent of refugee clients have become employed within six months. "The resettled people are working, paying taxes, putting their lives back together," Mrs. Hughes said. "All they're looking for is a chance to start over again, and we offer that chance."

Last August, the Western Massachusetts refugee resettlement ministry moved out of its diocesan office and into space in a parish church, the Church of the Atonement in Westfield. Mrs. Hughes explains that part of this ministry is to change attitudes and to raise awareness, and she believes that "God has a plan for this parish in this community in terms of witness and advocacy. The fact that our diocesan ministry has moved to Atonement is not an accident." Plus, locating the ministry office in a parish is a perfect complement for EMM's parish model.

If a parish in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts is interested in sponsorship, a period of discernment is necessary. "We hold a series of meetings, generally over a period of six months, to explain the model for taking on sponsorship and what to expect," Mrs. Hughes explained. "It's important that sponsors see their role as working to meet the needs of the refugees, rather than expecting the refugees to fulfill the sponsors' expectations. Before we can proceed, we need a unanimous vote of the vestry to be sure we have the support of the parish."

Each sponsoring church puts together a team to address various needs: employment, acculturation, donated goods, English as a second language, financing, health, housing, transportation and fund raising. Mrs. Hughes' hope is that once a church becomes a sponsor, a new refugee would be sponsored each year.

"I'm often asked how I can do this," she said. "That is, how I can continue to face the enormity of this situation. There are an estimated 20 million refugees in the world right now. Sometimes, I confess, I succumb to feelings like, 'Oh, man, why bother?' But that's when I pray a lot. I just try to be sure I'm responding to what God is calling me to do. And I remember why it's important: When there are so many in need, how can we not respond? We can't get frozen in fears of how big the problem is or much work is involved. We're always pulled out of our comfort zone when we're working for God. The more I work in this ministry and the more I see the experience of those involved - the refugees as well as the parishes sponsoring them - the more I see God at work.

"Right now, there is a man from Zaire who is living with us. He came to the U.S. on a student visa to study fish farming. Other villagers were supporting him and he planned to use his new skills to help the village. But rebels took over his village and destroyed it. Of course, they destroyed his plans, too. The U.S. won't deport him because of the political situation in his village. But it also won't give him asylum here because there is a waiting list of hundreds of thousands of people. He has nothing, not even a status.

"Yet when I ask, 'What will you do?' he looks me in the eye and says, 'God will provide.' His faith is so strong, he doesn't worry. It makes you want to give all you can give. Many people go through the day worrying about what they don't have, rather than being thankful for what they do have. We forget that the Lord has blessed us with what we have. This man from Zaire has nothing; he has to turn to the Lord every day.

Refugees may need a lot of support, Mrs. Hughes said. "But I think we can learn a lot from them."

Burton Hansen is a member of the Church of the Atonement, Westfield, Mass.