What Does 2021 and 2022 Hold for the Refugee Highway Partnership North America?
The short answer is: we can’t be sure. A lot will depend on how quickly the COVID-19 pandemic is substantially beaten back at a global level. The timing of that will affect the rate at which forcibly-displaced people find their way to North America, which will affect how we as a network are able to welcome them and accompany them. It will also affect how soon our network can gather in-person, and in what settings, for mutual learning, encouragement, and prayer.
The longer answer is that we (the Leadership Team) had to guess how it might turn out. We met (online, of course!) for a few days in January to imagine how the network will function this year and in 2022. This is what we are hoping to see:
First half of 2021: more online presence, content, and events
Second half of 2021: a few Regional Roundtable events, either online or in-person
Late Spring 2022: an in-person North American Roundtable in Toronto, Ontario. Updated: Oct 26-28, 2022.
Back in 2019, we had hoped to have a North American Roundtable in 2021, but the uncertainty relating to COVID-19 has made long-term planning very challenging, meaning that it’s just not realistic at this point for us to plan a large in-person event this year. We are hoping to develop a sense of connection through a variety of online options.
We’ll need your help to do this! The RHPNA has no staff and no organization backing it; the Leadership Team are all volunteers. Over the next couple of months, we’ll be in touch to suggest some ways you can be involved to help the network find expression in 2021. In the meantime, let’s be in prayer for one another, specifically that the long, tiring journey of COVID-19 will not cause our devotion to flag nor our reliance on God to grow stale. Let us pray that in new and fresh ways our vision will find greater traction in 2021 and beyond, to
see a Kingdom movement of transformational ministry with and among forcibly displaced people in North America and beyond.
We’ll post updates on our website and our social media accounts as we move forward. Make sure you “follow” us to stay in the loop!