St. Luke’s Family,

Today I was given an opportunity to help our neighbors. The Muslim community asked for volunteers to stand outside of their mosques while they had prayers. Reverend Christopher Richardson and I met at the mosque on Westerville Road at 11 AM this morning as requested. We stood outside as members of the community entered area businesses and the mosque with confused looks on their faces. It was then that we met a new friend, Deeq.

Deeq was born in Somalia and his family fled to Kenya during the war. His family then immigrated to the United States and he attended high school in Columbus and attended Ohio State University and obtained a degree in computer science.

Deeq’s Volunteer job at the mosque is to help traffic flow in and out before prayers, so we had the opportunity to get to know him a little more.

At about 2 PM, after prayers were over, Deeq invited us to lunch. Christopher and I enjoyed an incredible lunch from a Somali restaurant near the mosque. More importantly, Christopher and I made a new friend. It was an incredible opportunity to share story, hold sadness together, and to look towards hope together.

Deeq shared that only about half of their mosque was full today due to fear surrounding the Ice raids over the last two days. He shared that people are afraid to go to work, afraid to go to the grocery, and afraid to leave their homes. The coffee shop and restaurant next to the mosque was empty. The shop owner shared that it would normally be full, but people are scared to come out to eat.

If you are interested in joining a Friday Ministry of presence let me know. We now know that we need to be at the mosque by 12:30 PM and would be finished near 1:45 PM.

It was quite a chilly day, but my heart has been warmed by the new friends that we got to meet. We do not fear leaving our homes and going to church, or to the grocery, or going to work because of our land of birth.

Please keep our immigrant siblings in your prayers.

Julia+

Additional Opportunity To Help Our Neighbors
From Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS)

Dear CRIS Community,

Thank you, as always, for the care and commitment you bring to our community. We are reaching out to share that, due to increased ICE activity in our area, we anticipate a rise in emergency support needs for some of our clients in the coming weeks.

In order to be prepared, we are organizing a list of volunteers who may be willing to provide short-term, rapid-response support if and when needs arise. We are asking interested volunteers to complete a brief form letting us know how and when you would be comfortable helping, so we can respond quickly and thoughtfully if support is needed.

The primary ways volunteers may be asked to help include:

Transportation to and from work
Escorting individuals to appointments
Grocery delivery
Assistance with creating personal or family safety plans

If you are open to supporting in one or more of these ways, please complete THIS VOLUNTEER FORM.

Completing the form does not commit you to responding to every request. It simply allows us to plan ahead, understand volunteer availability, and coordinate support safely and effectively should emergency needs arise.

We recognize that this is sensitive and challenging work, and we deeply appreciate any capacity in which you are able to offer support!

I will be out of the country from December 22nd to December 30th and will have limited access to my work email and phone. Please contact Teresa Gibson at tgibson@cris-ohio.org with questions and comments, and she will be reaching out directly with needs.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thank you so much and Happy Holidays,
Flannery

A Chance To Help Our Neighbors