By the Way: Welcoming the Newcomer
By Medicine Hat News on March 9, 2024.
Our neighbours to the South are well on their way to selecting their nominees for the 2024 presidential election. Once again, immigration and border security dominate the discussions. While far less contentious in Canada, hundreds of thousands of newcomers enter Canada each year as well. There are various programs and initiatives which open our borders to immigrants, with one of the largest being the student visa program. Medicine Hat has a wide array of programs and agencies that help newcomers integrate into society. One of these is the Medicine Hat Ecumenical Campus Ministry Society. The society has been supporting a chaplain on the campus of Medicine Hat College since 2009. While the chaplain serves the entire college community, this ministry is uniquely positioned to support international students. Churches, businesses and other organizations as well as individuals routinely donate food, hygiene items, clothing and other items to students through the chaplaincy. Students who are struggling to adapt to a new environment and culture are given a safe place to receive encouragement and make new friends. The interfaith Centre (which the chaplaincy operates out of), also connects students with places of worship and services in the community. However, it is not only agencies and ministries that are tasked with welcoming newcomers to our land. The Bible is filled with commands to care for, and extend hospitality, to the alien and the foreigner. The “Golden Rule” which Jesus gave us, calls us to treat other people as we would like them to treat us! This certainly extends to the way we treat newcomers to our land as well. And, By the Way… getting to know and befriend newcomers to the country is profoundly interesting and rewarding. Experiencing new cultures and different foods and all that newcomers have to offer is a rich addition to the lives of those who are open to it! George Koopmans is a chaplain with Medicine Hat College 9-8
