DAY OF PRAYER FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS I, too, will…tear off a tender shoot, And plant it on a high and lofty mountain. Ezekiel 17:22 DAY OF PRAYER FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS

This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Mark 4:26-27

10.5 million people are currently recognised as refugees; people who have crossed borders to escape persecution because of their race, religion, political beliefs or social group. Thai-Burma border refugee camp Photo: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

More than twice as many people are Internally Displaced People; 27.5 million people have left their homes for very similar reasons to refugees, but have not crossed an international border. Malian refugees in the Sahel, 2012 Photo: Jean-Philippe Debus/Catholic Relief Services

Fewer than one percent of refugees are ever resettled. New Zealand accepts 750 resettled refugees and around 250 asylum seeking refugees each year. Fewer than one percent of refugees are ever resettled. Photo: Refugee Services

I, too, will…tear off a tender shoot, And plant it on a high and lofty mountain. Ezekiel 17:22 Refugees must start again to rebuild their lives….

The seed would sprout and grow… the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear…. Mark 4:27-28 Putting down roots, reaching out…

Learning to speak a new language…. Settling into school…. Planted in the house of the LORD, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:14 Learning to speak a new language…. Settling into school…. Acquiring skills for a new job…. Learning about the Kiwi way of life….

Reuniting with family… Building community… It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. Ezekiel 17: 23 Getting a job… Making friends…. Reuniting with family… Building community…

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade. Mark 4:31-32 All over Aotearoa New Zealand refugees and migrants are putting down roots and beginning new lives…

Images: Refugee Services

who fled from persecution, violence Asylum seekers, who fled from persecution, violence and situations that put their life at risk, stand in need of our understanding and welcome, of respect for their human dignity and rights, as well as awareness of their duties. Pope Benedict XVI: Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2012

in Aotearoa New Zealand Supporting refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand and Around the world