Christian Church(Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
96c-11
February 22, 1996
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- More than 2,000 refugees were assisted by congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1995. The number is the largest since 1980, when the Mariel Boat Lift brought many Cuban refugees to the United States. Sixty-six Disciples congregations participated in the resettlements, 26 as sponsors or co-sponsors and 40 as assistants. The largest number of sponsoring congregations was in the Kentucky region, where eight churches were sponsors and three provided other aid. The refugees came to the United States from 18 countries. The largest number, 1,205, was from Cuba; in part because of the U.S. government's program to resettle those who had been held for over a year in the military base at Guantanamo Bay. The second largest group, 319, was from Vietnam. War in Bosnia has caused the number of refugees from there to increase; 166 persons were sponsored or assisted by Disciples. The largest number of refugees resettled in Florida (938). An additional 23 states received new residents including California (214), Texas (177) and Oregon (122). The refugees were relocated through Refugee and Immigration Ministries, a shared ministry of Week of Compassion and Homeland Ministries. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of nine denominations working through Church World Service for refugee resettlement. Disciples handled 10.6 percent of the CWS caseload.
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