As you are well aware, our world is experiencing a  refugee crisis, the worst since World War II. Our church, like so many others, has been moved to play a role in helping with this need.

A few weeks ago I announced that the Westheights leadership was interested in sponsoring a Syrian refugee family to settle in Canada. Westheights church has been part of refugee sponsorship programs before. In the past the church sponsored a Vietnamese settlement and, in more recent years, we sponsored a large Sudanese family. We understand the tremendous blessing that comes from this kind of work but we are also aware of the challenges. Therefore, before committing to a settlement project the leaders of the church wanted to see if there was enough interest among the congregation to join a refugee settlement team.

The good news is that we have had a wonderful response from the Westheights congregation towards the idea of sponsoring a Syrian Refugee family for settlement in Canada. Eighteen people have expressed interest in being on the team. This provides the affirmation that the Westheights church board was looking for and we are moving to the next stage in this process.

On Thursday Oct 29th at 7:00 pm we will be hosting an Information Night for the settlement project. We would welcome anyone else who is interested in joining the effort. If you missed the first wave of communication please feel free to join us on Thursday October 29th at 7:00 pm in the portable office building.

The purpose of this first meeting will be to discuss the various roles and responsibilities that will be involved in successfully helping a Syrian refugee family settle in Canada. If this need stirs your heart, mark your calendar and join us at the Information Night.

DATE & TIME: Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 pm

PLACE: Westheights portable office building