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June 22, 2021Religious leaders from all over Tucson came together at the St. Augustine Cathedral June 21, 2021. The event started outside with music by the local band Tonight’s Sunshine. A procession was then led by banners made by a local artist in honor of refugees.
Inside the Cathedral, Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger opened with prayer. Then, religious leaders shared their faith traditions about honoring human dignity. Among them were Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, from the Congregation Or Chadash, Hassan Ali, Imam for the Muslim Community Center of Tucson, Ned Norris, Chairman from the Tohono O’odham Nation, and Nancy Miester, Deacon from Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Religous leaders in Tucson join hands to pray for refugees.
Rafael is to the right and Evilín to the left.
The crowd was moved to tears as two brave refugees, Rafael and Evilín, shared their story of migrating to the U.S. Evilín, who has seven children, says they have been separated from her husband. She asked for support and prayers in hopes of being soon reunited with husband again. Rafael, in tears, shared how he witnessed abuse and kidnappings while trying to migrate over the course of two years. Both shared how they lived in fear in their countries and how they felt like their choice to leave was based on life or death. They thanked programs such as the Kino Boarder Initiative, Casa Alitas, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and many others for helping them.
Other programs were also represented throughout the event. If you’re interested in learning how you could support our refugee brothers and sisters, you can visit any of these websites listed below.
https://www.kinoborderinitiative.org
https://www.ccs-soaz.org/agencies-ministries/detail/alitas-aid-for-migrant-women-and-children
For more photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fLGcjFWnbp9Fmb4U6
