Register for our upcoming webinar on the global asylum seeker and refugee crisis.
'Love Beyond Borders: Peace and Welcome for All'
Tuesday 23 July, 7:30 - 8:30pm AEST, Online via Zoom
As followers of Jesus, we hold that distinctions of ethnicity and nationality fade in the light of our shared humanity and the recognition that we are all bearers of God’s image. This understanding deepens our sorrow as we witness the horrors of conflict and the scale of the global displacement crisis. We lament that the systems and nations of our world fail to prioritise peace and adequately extend compassion, care and welcome to those seeking asylum and safety. As we witness the devastation caused by conflicts around the world, such as the crisis in Gaza, we see these failures being acutely played out before us.
To help us reflect and consider how our faith communities can be acting in love, compassion and welcome in this moment, Common Grace will be hosting a webinar with our National Director, Gershon Nimbalker, in conversation with Suzan Wahhab, the President of Palestinian Christians in Australia; Jarrod McKenna, co-founder of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage; and James Harris and Blaise Itabelo from NAYBA, the initiators of the Welcome Home Project. Bianca Manning, Common Grace's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Coordinator, will also be grounding this conversation with an Acknowledgement of Country.
This webinar conversation will help deepen our understanding of the lives of Palestinian’s being displaced by the conflict in Gaza, and hear what we, as a movement, can do to make a difference. We’ll talk about how we can respond with advocacy, pilgrimages and supporting initiatives like the Welcome Home project which helps refugees find safety and a new beginning in Australia.
Register to join us in this conversation so you and your faith community can consider how we can take action together for a world a little more like the one God intends, a world where love knows no bounds, where all are treated as family, and all people flourish.
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Gershon Nimbalker is the National Director of Common Grace and founder of Sojourners Social Change Consultants. He has more than 15 years of experience working in advocacy, policy, and research, as well as leading and growing grass roots movements to campaign on issues of social justice. Gershon lives on the lands of Awabakal peoples in Newcastle, NSW with his young family. |
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Suzan Wahhab is the President of Palestinian Christians in Australia. She was born in Jerusalem after the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. She grew up in Ramallah before migrating with her family in 1980’s to Sydney Australia. Her vision is for PCiA to become the platform for Palestinian Christian voices of peace in Australia.
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Jarrod McKenna is passionate about God’s nonviolent-love becoming our experience of prayer and program for transformation. Jarrod is the co-host of the popular InVerse Podcast, served as the Nonviolent Social Change Advisor for World Vision (Middle East/Eastern Europe) and as a Former National Director of Common Grace. Jarrod pastors with Steeple Church in Melbourne and is a co-founder of the global peace pilgrimages for Gaza. |
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James Harris is Director of Strategic Projects with NAYBA, where he leads The Welcome Home Project, supporting churches to engage in community refugee sponsorship. He has served in many roles globally, including being based in Jordan with World Vision and Nauru with Save the Children. He sees community refugee sponsorship as the perfect vehicle for Christians to not simply say they love their neighbour, but to know and walk alongside them.
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Blaise Itabelo was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 1996 war in DRC forced Blaise and his family to flee, and for over a decade, they lived in a refugee camp. In 2011, Blaise migrated to Australia, where he proudly became an Australian citizen.With over ten years of experience in Community Engagement and Development, Blaise has dedicated his career to assisting newly arrived migrants, refugees, and people seeking asylum in their settlement journey in Australia through community refugee sponsorship programs such as The Welcome Home Project. |
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Bianca Manning is a Gomeroi woman and emerging Aboriginal Christian Leader. Bianca currently lives in Logan, South-East Queensland on the lands of the Yugambeh peoples and works with Senior Aboriginal Christian Leader Aunty Jean Phillips in the Brisbane and Logan areas. Bianca is currently part of forming an intentional Christian community in Woodridge, Logan, and is passionate about asset-based community development, veganism, dance, and pursuing a genuine relationship with Jesus.
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Further Information
The Welcome Home Project is Australia’s new community sponsorship programme is a unique opportunity to demonstrate the tangible love of Jesus by helping refugees find a home in local communities across the nation. The Welcome Home Project provides a pathway for you and your church to get involved.
Find out more about the Welcome Home Project here.
