The St. Thomas More Parish Refugee committee started from a group of 30 parishioners who came together in 2014 with one conviction: Faith should not only be spoken, it should be lived.
On Oct. 4-5, we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Read the Holy Father’s message. Locally, what started as a small gathering of involved parishioners, has since grown into a dedicated community that welcomes, supports, and stands alongside Christians fleeing religious persecution as they begin their new lives in an embracing Canada.
(Some families in this story are not named, out of respect for their particular situation)
Eric Green, a longtime parishioner at St. Thomas More, is the leader who helped shape and define the committee’s early work. Under his guidance, and together with the assistance of former pastor Fr. Andrew Bogdanowicz, and the Catholic Social Services, the group started developing structures needed to sponsor families seeking shelter and personal renaissance.
In 2014, The federal government facilitated the arrival of refugees from Syria; The civil war had displaced millions — one of the largest humanitarian crises in recent history.
St. Thomas More Refugee committee’s mission started there. They welcomed the first family in November 2015 and introduced them to the parish at the Sunday Mass. It’s a tradition that persisted for each family brought in thereafter. Within the space of three months, another six families were welcomed into the Edmonton community. Over time, the outreach expanded well beyond the Syrian borders to include Iraq, the Congo, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.
Sponsoring a family costs $35,000, amounts raised by the committee. Beyond that, they also cover anything from housing, furnishings, school supplies, jobs, and vehicles through donations and other acts of giving from benevolent parishioners.
Nineteen refugee families have been sponsored by the St. Thomas More refugee committee between 2014 and 2023, with Eric as its chair. To date, the number of individuals brought into the community has increased to over 145.
Alongside challenges of language and culture, there have been countless rewards: children excelling in schools, parents parttaking in the local workforce, and above all, families sharing their gifts of faith and resilience with the wider community within a new-found peace.
Since 2023, the committee has been led by Eveline Lakwanki, herself an immigrant from the Congo.
Eveline perfectly embodies the timeless Christian tradition of “welcoming the stranger.”
“It’s not easy, and you have to love it, you have to give your time and heart to it.”
She came to Canada as a young woman of 23, fleeing one of the most persecuted regions of the world. At the time “there were hardly any people who looked like me here.”
Building a new life wasn’t easy but she wears her faith on her sleeve; today her roots are firm in Edmonton, she’s a business owner, and the committee’s leader, and, as she says, “someone who knows how to be a refugee.” That lived experience guides her through both the obstacles and joys of her role. “People are very happy with my service, and that makes me proud, because I know the struggles.”
The challenges are real: the cost of sponsorship has increased together with wait times, now often three to five years compared to the previous one to two years. Eveline and Eric both share their concern about tightening federal policies as needs grow.
The current 12 committee members always start the meetings with a prayer – a reminder that the mission is about action and faith. “Changing lives is essential” Eric Green says: “The need to do more, from our Catholic Christian perspective never ends.”
As St. Thomas More Refugee committee looks ahead at plans of expansion and growth alongside the Divine Mercy parish centre currently being built.
The mission endures.
-Marianna Civitillo is a freelance writer in Sherwood Park
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