BCICRR
Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement
Still Waiting and Hoping
As our readers know, we have been working for several months now preparing to welcome Nilofar and her family from Afghanistan. There has been a little bit of movement. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s office got a response from the State Department that gave us contact information for the Embassy in Islamabad. We have written to them, but still have not received definitive news.
We continue to prepare in the ways we are able. We have identified several potential housing options and are in conversation with the rental offices. There was a tremendous response to the request for people to sign up to provide home essentials once the family is good to go. (There are still a few items that we need. Click here to sign up!)
If we are able to welcome the family, there will be an immediate need for help with childcare and driving! Please consider if you’re willing to help in these areas, click here to let us know your availability. Both drivers and child care volunteers will need child safety clearances. Click here for instructions on applying for clearances. It is easy to do and free for volunteers!
We appreciate your generosity and patience and will provide further updates as soon as they become available.
Faith Reflection
Rhythm of Kindness
by Steven Charleston, Choctaw Elder and former Bishop of Alaska
“True humility is a reflex.
Like the blinking of an eye,
It happens automatically
It is not planned or postured
But occurs instinctively.
When we have so deeply internalized the spiritual value
That all people are to be loved without exception
And that we are to be the natural embodiment of that love
Then we behave with a sense of respect
That is effortless and unconscious.
We would gladly serve persons of any walk of life
Even those far different from ourselves
Because by doing so we become the heartbeat of God:
A constant rhythm of kindness
That never discriminates and never judges.
Our interfaith community grounds our work in the teachings of our diverse traditions. Each meeting of BCICRR begins with a reading or reflection from a member of the community. We share one of them here.
WHO WE ARE
Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement (BCICRR) was founded in 2016 as an all-volunteer group working together to support two Syrian families.
The coalition is made up of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others who have come together to provide friendship, practical assistance, and financial support for these families. Along the way we have become an extended family, supporting and learning from one another.