Bristol Friends Meeting Helps Resettle Afghan Refugees

Bristol Friends gathered for worship on the fourth Sunday in November, as we do every month, but for once the meetinghouse was full, so full there were barely enough places for Friends to sit.

The meetinghouse was full, not with people, but with furniture collected in the previous weeks by the Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement (BCICRR) in anticipation of the arrival of Afghan refugee families. Sitting in silence among the tables, beds, cabinets, sofas, chairs, and smaller items, it was easy to feel the presence of the Spirit and a special sense of thanksgiving, for the jumble of furniture and household goods was a sign that tiny Bristol Meeting had found a way to serve despite―and actually because of―our diminutive circumstances.

When the BCICRR was looking for a place to store furniture until the arrival of one and possibly two Afghan families that the group is preparing to sponsor, we quickly realized that we could offer the needed space without interfering with any of our own activities.

And we’re grateful that we’ve found two other ways that we are in the perfect position to help the BCICRR help Afghan families. The group was worried about taking on new responsibilities because they still had unmet needs of the two Syrian families they have sponsored for the last five years. These families are nearly self-sufficient but are not yet able to deal with any unexpected major expenses that might arise, so BCICRR wanted to raise money to have a loan fund available in case of need. We realized that Bristol Meeting’s bank balance between semi-annual distributions from Friends Fiduciary has never in recent years dropped below the amount BCICRR wanted to raise, so we’ve pledged to be the BCICRR’s Syrian family rainy day fund in return for BCICRR managing repayment of any loans. With a loan fund in place BCICRR could confidently move ahead with fund raising to sponsor Afghan families.

Finally, the congregation that for the last five years acted as BCICRR’s fiscal agent–a service required as the group is not an incorporated non-profit–wished to pass on that responsibility. Once again, we realized that Bristol Meeting is perfectly suited to take on this role. Our members support other Meetings, so Bristol’s only income is its Friends Fiduciary distributions. We will have no trouble sorting out the many contributions that BCICRR receives from our own income.

We’re very thankful to have found these ways for Bristol Meeting to support the Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement. And we’re newly reminded that what we usually experience as weaknesses can in providential circumstances turn out to be strengths.

UPDATE: We can now say that we expect most of that stuff will be moved out on January 24 when an apartment becomes available for an Afghan family to make into a home.