Christ Church Cathedral has a long history of supporting refugee families. In September 2018, an Eritrean refugee arrived, and later in the month, the Refugee Support Group welcomed three more members of the Syrian Alali family to Canada. They were living in Iraq and fled ISIS by escaping to Indonesia. The young couple are both university trained, he is an accountant and she as an early childhood educator. They have reunited with his mother and brother, already settled here, after not seeing each other for several years. Safia, the mother, is the sister to the wife in a family brought over six years ago by the Church of St. John the Divine. Safia and her son have adjusted well to life here. Although Safia has a number of health problems and has experienced so much trauma in her life, she continues to be positive and persists with her English classes.
At the end of 2022, you may have read in the Times Colonist, and the Globe and Mail, that the federal government has instituted new standards to the refugee sponsorship process which are increasing the costs to Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs), those who sponsor refugees coming into Canada. The costs now exceed what can be borne by many groups including the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia. The Diocese has committed to bringing in those people whose applications have previously been accepted but financial help is urgently needed to do this.
For more information please contact the Cathedral office admin@christchurchcathedral.bc.ca