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News for the Pews
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25th March 2024
MondayReflection
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'Leah McKibben' says
WELCOME TO AUSTRIA
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Leah McKibben has been reflecting on what it means to welcome the stranger.
Here she tells of her experience in Vienna - of welcome packs, refugees and apple strudel...
How many of us have been to a Christian Conference and received a welcome pack?
I love them!
A name badge, a pen, a notebook, maybe even some sweets!
This gift has been given to you - it has your name on it.
It welcomes you to a new place, treating you, accepting you, telling you that this is where you should be.
A few months ago, I had this welcome in Vienna.
I was there to go to a fundraisers conference.
Being welcomed somewhere makes you feel accepted and loved.
I'm not a person who finds travelling to new places and meeting new people an easy thing to do.
These people were opening their arms and being an embodiment of the acceptance and kindness of Jesus
These characteristics are ones that I saw repeated as I witnessed some of the work that the Austrian Bible Society is doing with the refugees in their country.
I got the chance to visit a centre called the 'Meeting Place' which is run by one of the big churches in Vienna.
Here refugees are given a space where they can meet and receive training and teaching.
When Tina, who works with the Bible Society in Vienna, was asked how they interact with refugees, she replied with three very simple statements:
"we love them, we receive them, we welcome them"
It's so simple.
Our love for God and our love for our neighbour is shown in the physical, emotional, spiritual welcome we give to the stranger.
And it has an impact...
When I was at the 'Meeting Place' I met Asad (not his real name).
Originally from Iran, he had travelled the difficult journey to Austria.
A number of years ago he had met an evangelist and had decided to make a commitment to Jesus.
Being a Christian in an extreme Muslim country was not easy and he had to hide his faith.
He worked for the government but going to the office became dangerous as too often he witnessed the treatment that co-workers got when they professed a different belief to that of the Muslim religion.
Asad and his brother had to make the difficult decision to leave Iran.
Asad didn't go into much detail about his journey; his account was brief and factual, and I wondered what he had had to face in comparison to my slight confusions at train station ticket machines.
He was keen to tell us about the welcome he received at the 'Meeting Place'.
When he heard about it he was quick to visit.
There he found help, love and community.
He's learning to speak English and he's getting the legal advice that he needs.
He now works as an administrator for the church and is enjoying translating Bible lessons into Farsi for other refugees.
"So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it!"
Romans 15:7 (MSG)
Jesus accepts all people into his family. If Jesus did it, we should do it.
And let's not wait for the stranger to come to us and knock on our door - let's go out and meet them... 'so reach out and welcome one another'.
Would I go back to Vienna?
Yes - but not only for the schnitzel and apple strudel.
I'd go back because I know I'd be welcomed by family.
My prayer is that when people interact with Christians in Northern Ireland, they too would feel welcomed.
I pray that our eyes would be opened to see the stranger and our hearts and hands would be ready to reach out with a welcome pack into God's family.
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This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
'Leah McKibben'
is Projects Manager for the Bible Society NI.
She enjoys visiting different church groups around the country, sharing about the work of the Bible Society NI and encouraging people with stories of how God's Word is impacting lives all over the world.
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