| Churches can make refugees lives a little easier DAWN S. ONLEY
UM CONNECTION CORRESPONDENT When refugees leave their homelands to come to America, it is an emotional time that can be both painful and overwhelming. The Baltimore-Washington Conference is helping to make their transitions a little smoother by providing refuge and reassurance as they begin a new life. The conference Refugee Resettlement Program is a ministry designed to help refugees secure housing and employment while providing a sanctuary for them to fellowship with other Christians.  Its important because we have many, many immigrants who come in and they would be more active in the church and the community if they werent hiding, said the Rev. Val Holmes, conference coordinator of the program and associate pastor of Asbury UMC in Washington, D.C. There are thousands of immigrants in this area, Holmes said. Many times they come to America confused and scared, having witnessed unspeakable atrocities in their homelands. The churchs role is to help them out wherever possible and to be a friend as they adjust to the profound changes in their lives. Part of the program also involves educating pastors and other church leaders about what refugee resettlement means. This includes recruiting churches to sponsor individual people or entire families, Holmes said. Churches that sign up as sponsors are asked to help provide for some of the material needs of the refugees as they make the transition from refugee to citizen. We serve as advocates, said Sandra Ferguson, associate council director.  The United Nations defines a refugee as a person who is living outside of his country because of a well-founded fear of persecution.
The immigrants in this area come from all regions of the world, especially from El Salvador, Africa and the Caribbean. Its a broad-based ministry, Holmes said. One of the main projects the ministry is working on is setting up an immigration office in Spanishtown in Baltimore, where immigration attorneys and staff members will be located, Holmes said. The office, which is expected to open in June, would help immigrants fill out paperwork, from naturalization papers to health documents and educational materials. Were trying to win the trust of the people, Holmes said. In the name of Jesus Christ, (were trying to) do something that really will benefit them. By this time next year, Holmes said, the program hopes to have 12 offices in the conference area devoted to immigration needs. | 
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