Christ is all in all. He is here symbolically in a stone altar He is here sacramentally in bread and wine. He is here spiritually in hearts lifted up and returned to us renewed, transformed, consecrated.

During Advent, World Renew will post a picture, meditation, and word of the day. You are encouraged to participate and help create the Global Advent Calendar via social media. On Twitter and Instagram, tag your image/prayer #adventword plus the tag for the day. On Facebook go to the AdventWord Page and write on page using #adventword

Meditation: Christ is all in all. He is here symbolically in a stone altar He is here sacramentally in bread and wine. He is here spiritually in hearts lifted up and returned to us renewed, transformed, consecrated.     – Brother Mark Brown 

Take a Picture – Tag it | Tire uma foto – Marque com | ஒரு படம் எடுங்கள் – இணைந்திருங்கள் | एक चित्र लें ( एक फोटो लें) – टेग#आगमनसंदेश शब्द& | 選取一張照片 – 標記 | التقط صورة، – الرابط | Tome una Foto – Marcar | Prenez une photo – Tag | Machen Sie ein Foto – das Hashtag #AdventWord #Renew

PHOTO – CANADA

When we sponsor refugees, we renew hope!
When we think of refugees, we may think of terms used on the news such as “foreigners” or “immigrants.” We may also remember the Biblical call to “welcome the stranger”. But if you ask Alice Van Stempvoort and others involved in sponsoring refugees as they come to Canada, the word that comes to mind may simply be “friend.”
“I value the friendships that the refugee families sponsored through my church have offered to me and have been blessed by them,” said Van Stempvoort, who is member of Grace CRC in Chatham, Ontario.

Grace CRC, which is located in Chatham, Ontario, belongs to a Joint Refugee Group of four churches. So far this group has sponsored six refugee families through World Renew. The group’s most recent two refugee families have come from Myanmar.

Each sponsorship experience has been a new opportunity for volunteers like Van Stempvoort  to witness God’s hope and grace at work in the lives of these fellow image bearers of God.

“God uses people to change us. When you get to be involved with refugees, your world view enlarges and changes, if you are willing for that to happen. Some of the refugees have faith lives and prayer lives that have put me to shame. They have endured terrible things, and yet, they love and trust God. That’s been a precious experience for our church,” she said.

In the midst of a growing global refugee crisis, World Renew is deeply grateful for the opportunity to help individuals and churches welcome refugees through sponsorship and resettlement. A sponsorship agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada allows World Renew to connect refugee families with host churches that can help them with relocation to Canada. This ministry is a powerful way to continue the Christian Reformed Church’s long history of demonstrating God’s love to refugees.