Interfaith dialogue
Refugee sponsorship
In December 2015 three Halton congregations — a church, a synagogue and a mosque — welcomed one Syrian family together.
December 2015
Abraham’s Children
Abraham’s Children was formed as a project of the Interfaith Council of Halton by three communities acting together: Maple Grove United Church, Shaarei-Beth El Synagogue and the CSRDN Muslim group.
In December 2015 they welcomed a family of refugees from Syria, and supported them through their first year in Canada.
The name was chosen deliberately. Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their faith to Abraham, and all three scriptures command hospitality to the stranger. Sponsoring one family together said something that three separate sponsorships would not have.
Three traditions, one family, one undertaking.
How sponsorship works
What a sponsoring group takes on
Private sponsorship in Canada is a serious commitment, and a well-worn one. Faith communities have been doing it for decades.
A group forms
Congregations join together rather than sponsoring alone. Abraham’s Children was a United church, a synagogue and a Muslim community — three traditions, one undertaking.
A family is matched
Sponsors commit to supporting a family for their first year in Canada: housing, income, and the hundred practical things nobody thinks of until they are needed.
The year that follows
Enrolling children in school, finding a doctor, opening a bank account, learning a bus route, getting through a first Canadian winter. It is not paperwork. It is company.
Thinking about sponsoring? Members of the Council have been through it and are glad to talk it over with any congregation considering it — including what it costs, what it asks of volunteers, and what we would do differently. Send us a message through the contact form.
Everyone is welcome at the table
Hospitality to the stranger
It is written into every tradition at this table. Occasionally it asks something concrete of us, and then we find out whether we meant it.