Immigration Ministries

Immigration Ministries organized in 2021 following the fall of Kabul to welcome Afghan refugees who were fleeing the country and resettling in Northern California. Partnerships were forged with resettlement agencies and since then scores of Afghan families and individuals have been warmly welcomed and assisted in establishing their new homes and lives in our communities by churches, interfaith, and community groups. Many of our teams continue to accompany these refugees as they continue to secure their futures. In addition to Afghans, families fleeing wars in Ukraine and Syria have been welcomed.

Read: World Refugee Day and The Episcopal Church’s Commitment to Refugees

In 2023, asylum seekers from Venezuela were dropped off in Sacramento and a ministry team member organized and participated in a widespread community effort to welcome and assist these new arrivals. This was the beginning of the ministry’s growth to include welcoming and assisting immigrants, mostly from Mexico, Central, and South America.

Today, new arrivals of refugees have greatly diminished, and our work is focusing on continued support for our previously resettled refugee families, accompaniment of Asylum seekers as they navigate the immigration system, and walking with our long-time immigrant neighbors as they face the anti-immigrant political movement in our country.

Please contact Bob Wohlsen, Immigration Ministries Chair for more information or to join our ministry team – bob.wohlsen@gmail.com

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