"I was a stranger and you welcomed me."

Welcome to the Faith Alliance! Global Refuge is proud to offer a new training for communities of faith who seek to safely welcome and embrace immigrants and refugees.

“We see immigrants and refugees being vilified and harmed by hateful rhetoric, rapidly changing policies, and aggressive enforcement efforts,” writes Global Refuge Director for Mobilization Rev. Dan Beirne. “Many of us are wondering the same thing: ‘What can we do to safely support and welcome our immigrant and refugee kin?’ The Faith Alliance hopes to answer that question.”

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The training comprises four video and discussion modules, a retreat, and a liturgy for use after the training is completed.

• Module 1: Welcome in the Bible
  Enhances participants’ Biblical literacy by highlighting patterns of displacement and welcome in both the Old and the New Testaments
• Module 2: Immigration 101
  Covers basic terms, policies, and definitions in the immigration space and offers a crash course on communicating with one’s representatives
• Module 3: Immigrant Voices
  Uplifts the voices and experiences of refugees resettled by Global Refuge in the past, many of whom have been welcomed by faith communities like yours
• Module 4: Indicators of Safe Welcome
  Hear from Bishop Sue Briner and Bishop Paul Erickson as they share concrete examples from churches who have welcomed immigrants

Congregations that complete the Faith Alliance safe welcome training will come away with an understanding of their place in the work of welcome as people of faith and tangible next steps, as well as a media kit that officially recognizes their membership in the Faith Alliance.

Sign up today to access the training!

Join the Faith Alliance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Faith Alliance?

Faith Alliance is a safe welcome training for communities of faith that walks participating communities through four video modules: Welcome in the Bible, Immigration 101, Immigrant Voices and Indicators of Safe Welcome. Each Module is accompanied by a discussion guide and recommended readings.  At the conclusion of these four modules, participants gather together for a Covenant Retreat in which the community commits to three action items for the coming year.

The training is intended to deepen a faith community’s knowledge base and commitment to safely welcoming refugee and immigrant neighbors, regardless of how long they’ve been engaged in this work. Faith Alliance members are rooted in faith, informed by policy, shaped by real-life relationships, and decisive in action.

What are the benefits of joining the Faith Alliance?

Faith Alliance members join a national network of faith communities that has taken on the same training and asked the same questions in their respective contexts. Idea sharing, fellowship, mutual support, and ideation are all beneficial components of the Alliance. Each of the modules in the training calls upon content experts at the intersections of faith and migration, policy and migration, and social action,  providing a rare opportunity to welcome these expert voices into discussion with your own community as you deepen your commitment to this work alongside faith communities around the nation.

Is the Faith Alliance an interfaith training?

In this first iteration, the Faith Alliance training draws upon the wisdom of the Christian tradition. The Biblical principles (welcome, inclusion, etc.) it is based upon, however, are tenets shared by other world religions. We look forward to creating additional interfaith resources in the future.

How do I join the Faith Alliance?

Sign up here! If you have questions or comments before, during, or after you complete the training, please reach the Mobilization team by sending a message to their Email inbox.