The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (JNRC) is the primary outreach ministry of St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church. Each weekday, we welcome 200-250 refugee guests into our center. The JNRC is a safe place where guests relax, recharge, and recuperate from the daily struggles they face. We offer our guests many services, thanks to the generosity of our diverse partners and supporters. Our ministry is dependent on the hard work of volunteers who come from backgrounds as varied as the guests they are serve.
The Refugee Center Mission Statement –
To accompany and assist asylum seekers from all over the world, regardless of ethnicity, faith tradition, or phase of their journey for protection, integration and resettlement. By recognizing our common humanity and providing hospitality in the heart of Rome, we aim to provide a support program, and to encourage and empower refugees to build new lives.
While in Rome for the 50th Anniversary Celebration meeting of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, the Presiding Bishop, the Most Revd Michael Curry, visited St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church. While there he recorded a short video;
The main image has always brought me joy. As I recall from an article about the Refugee Center months ago, they are refugees from Afganistan. I don’t know if they are a male couple, cousins or just close friends, but their joy makes me happy that they feel safe at the Refugee Center. To learn more about the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center please visit the website.