On Tuesday, December 8, 2015, Kentucky Refugee Ministries hosted a press conference organized by Louisville area faith leaders. Together, these 60+ leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, and other faith backgrounds, created a position statement in support of refugee resettlement and welcoming Syrian refugees to Louisville.

The press conference was organized by Louisville area faith leaders and local agencies, including Americana Community Center, Catholic Charities, and KRM.

Read the Position Statement developed by Louisville area faith leaders and signed by 175+ faith leaders so far:

RE: A Call By Communities of Faith to Welcome Syrian RefugeesLOUISVILLE (Dec. 4, 2015) Faith leaders from across the Metro Louisville Community, whose religious traditions contain explicit teachings about welcoming the stranger, and who collectively have decades of positive experience with the refugee community, express our solidarity and pledge our support for those fleeing war and brutality—particularly, those escaping conflict in Syria. We unite around the moral imperative to welcome refugees. Despite the understandable grief and anxiety in the aftermath of recent domestic acts of terror, we are called to live with courage, not fear.

Therefore, we will continue to raise awareness of the plight of Syrian refugees. They are not potential threats to be feared, but sisters and brothers deserving of our compassion and protection.We will also mobilize our various faith communities to work together to provide the financial and material support necessary to the local agencies whose priority of care extends to the refugee community.

We urge our neighbors and fellow citizens to join us in acting with compassion and hospitality to refugees, and urge our civic leaders to support such acts of compassion and hospitality.As representatives of various religious communities much of what binds us together is our shared commitment to advocating for the most vulnerable. This shared commitment expresses the most profound aspects of our faith traditions, as well as our shared conviction that faith itself can bind us together in our common humanity, motivating us to pursue justice and peace for all God’s children.

For more information, see the Written Comments to Press and Calls to Action from Faith Leaders.

Leaders from different faith traditions gathered at Kentucky Refugee Ministries in Louisville in December 2015 to call the community to welcome all refugees, including people fleeing Syria.