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World Refugee Day: A Call to Accompaniment, Justice, and Hope

Each year on June 20, the world observes World Refugee Day, a day set apart to honor the courage, resilience, and strength of millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes. This global observance shines a light not only on their journeys but also on the urgent need to protect their rights and support their futures. It is also a day to recommit ourselves to walking alongside our neighbors in their search for safety, dignity, and hope.

Today, that calling feels especially urgent.

The world is witnessing the highest level of displacement on record, driven by conflict, violence, persecution, and disasters. From Ukraine to Sudan, from Myanmar to Central and South America, families continue to make impossible journeys in search of safety. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution, violence, or serious human rights violations and cannot safely return.

Behind that definition are real parents, children, and elders, each carrying a story of loss but also remarkable courage.

A Faith Grounded in Solidarity

As siblings in Christ, we are called not only to recognize these realities but to respond. We are called to bear witness to injustice and to advocate for a world that reflects the dignity of all God’s children.

For more than 50 years, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) has lived out that calling. Through long-term accompaniment, LDR walks with communities affected by disaster and conflict, supporting those displaced by war, those in need of healthcare in fragile settings, and those facing ongoing humanitarian crises.

Our work is rooted in relationship. It is about showing up, again and again, with compassion, with resources, and with a commitment to justice.

When we come together as a church, we can do far more than we ever could alone.

Why World Refugee Day Matters Now

World Refugee Day is more than a moment of recognition. It is about responsibility.

It is an invitation to act.

In 2026, the need is profound. Ongoing crises continue to displace millions, and climate-related disasters are increasingly forcing people from their homes. Refugees often face barriers to education, healthcare, and employment, even as they seek to rebuild their lives with safety, dignity, and hope.

This day reminds us that responding to displacement is not just a humanitarian concern.

It is a shared moral responsibility.

Three Ways to Take Action

Even in the face of immense challenges, World Refugee Day centers on hope. It lifts up the courage of those who have been displaced and calls on the global community to stand in solidarity with them.

This World Refugee Day, you are invited to join Lutherans across the country in supporting refugees and migrants:

  •  Learn
    Deepen your understanding of refugee experiences. Engage with ELCA resources like Bible studies and conversation guides that explore migration through the lens of faith and justice.
  • Advocate
    Use your voice to call for just policies. Through the ELCA Advocacy Network and Action Center, you can urge your elected leaders to defend the rights and dignity of refugees and migrants.
  • Give
    Your generosity provides tangible hope. Gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response support programs serving displaced communities around the world, including those impacted by conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza and the West Bank, Myanmar, and across the Americas.

A Shared Commitment

World Refugee Day reminds us that even in the face of immense suffering, there is also profound resilience. Refugees contribute to their communities, rebuild their lives, and embody hope in extraordinary ways.

As people of faith, we are called to stand with them.

This June 20, let us renew our commitment to welcome the stranger, advocate for justice, and accompany our neighbors in love. Together, we can work toward a world where every person has a safe place to call home.

Thank you for your partnership in this life-giving work.

Supporting Communities Through Lutheran Disaster Response

In the face of these compounding emergencies, Lutheran Disaster Response continues to walk alongside communities as they respond to immediate needs and rebuild with dignity and hope. Through trusted international partners, LDR supports emergency relief, recovery, and long-term resilience efforts, addressing food security, shelter, livelihoods, psychosocial support, and disaster preparedness.

Supporting Lutheran Disaster Response enables timely, locally led responses that prioritize the most vulnerable and strengthen communities against future crises. As climate impacts intensify and conflicts persist, sustained solidarity and partnership are essential. Together, we can help ensure affected communities are not only supported in times of crisis, but also empowered to recover, rebuild, and thrive. Learn more about how to support the work of LDR here.

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Proposed Policy Change Will Affect Hungry People

 

The following guest post from Alaide Vilchis Ibarra, program director, migration policy, for ELCA Advocacy, describes a proposed rule change that will have a dramatic effect on some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

While my husband worked at a small nonprofit and I went to school, we used the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to be able to afford his health insurance. Not having to choose between his health and other indispensable items made a difference for our family at a pivotal time when we needed support. As I write this, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering proposing a rule change that would harm families that have accessed public benefits, just like my family once did.

This expected rule will raise barriers for people to obtain and maintain legal immigration status in the U.S. if they or their dependents access public benefits such as Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance subsidies, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Historically, the U.S. government has restricted immigration applications if they determined an immigrant would be a “public charge,” that is, if they would likely depend on cash assistance or long-term medical care. This rule change will greatly expand this definition to harm people whose dependents, including U.S. citizen children, have had to access public benefits.

As a church, the ELCA has long advocated for healthcare for vulnerable populations, SNAP, and WIC. As people of faith, we have ministries across the country that accompany people that will be hurt by this rule. Families that we worship alongside and minister to have to choose between accessing support for food security and good health or leaving their family vulnerable to separation, a choice no family should have to make.

Programs like WIC and SNAP are vital safety nets for families and often provide the short-term support they need to get through hard economic times. These programs have proven effective in ensuring that families and individuals can avoid long-term poverty and hunger. As people of faith in God’s promise of a world without hunger, Lutherans have long been at the frontlines of providing relief to people living in poverty and food insecurity. But we also believe that one of the core responsibilities of government is ensuring that all people have what they need for healthy lives. In the ELCA’s social statement on economic life, Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All, our church calls for “scrutiny of how specific policies and practices affect people and nations that are the poorest, and changes to make policies of economic growth, trade, and investment more beneficial to those who are poor.”

Scrutiny of this proposed rule change clearly points to the negative impact it will have on people in our communities and congregations who are hungry and in need of assistance.

What can people of faith do?

After the rule is published, there will be a small period for the public to send comments to oppose this rule. The number and content of comments submitted during this period will impact whether the proposed rule is revised. We can make a difference.

If you are participate in a hungry-related ministry, think about how this proposed change might affect you or your community. Then, follow ELCA Advocacy and ELCA World Hunger on social media to receive instructions when the rule change is issued and the comment period begins.

ELCA Advocacy:

Facebook: ELCA Advocacy

Twitter: @ELCAAdvocacy

Advocacy e-alerts: Sign up here.

ELCA World Hunger:

Facebook: ELCA World Hunger

Twitter: @ELCAWorldHunger

By speaking up, people of faith can work together toward a just world where all are fed.

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