CAPSA LAUNCHES NATIONAL WEEK OF PRAYER AND ACTION 2022

The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) has launched its National Week of Prayer and Action, a week of activities and events aimed at engaging the Australian Catholic community to stand in solidarity with people seeking asylum by taking a range of practical steps and actions.

The National Week of Prayer and Action starts on World Migrant and Refugee Sunday, 25th September. The theme of this year’s World Migrant and Refugee Sunday is building the future with migrants and refugees and in line with this, the National Week of Prayer and Action will highlight actions that can be taken now to help build an Australia that welcomes people seeking asylum and treats them with humanity and compassion.

CAPSA, co-convened by Jesuit Social Services and Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia, supports individuals, schools, parishes and Catholic organisations across education, health, refugee and social services in their advocacy for fair and humane treatment for people seeking asylum in Australia.

CAPSA Co-Chairs Julie Edwards, CEO of Jesuit Social Services, and Tamara Domicelj, Country Director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia say that the National Week of Prayer and Action will provide information and inspiration to support community members to use their time, resources, voice and heart to advocate for people seeking asylum.

“The National Week of Prayer and Action is a chance for all Australians to hear the stories of people with lived experience of seeking asylum in Australia and those working tirelessly to support them, and learn more about how they can make a difference both in their local communities and in terms of advocating for systemic change,” says Ms Edwards.

“CAPSA encourages the Catholic community to visit our range of resources online, which includes a free toolkit for refugee action to support people to have conversations with their friends and family about humane approaches towards people seeking asylum. By advocating within their existing sphere of influence, people can help to shift hearts and minds at a grassroots level,” Ms Domicelj.

One of the key events during the National Week of Prayer and Action will be a webinar called CAPSA in Conversation: building a better future together, held on Tuesday September 27th from 6.30pm. The webinar will feature four thought-provoking speakers who will share how attendees can use our time, resources, heart and voice to advocate and take action for people seeking asylum and refugees in their own communities. The webinar is free, but registrations are required. To register, visit https://events.humanitix.com/nwpa2022.

The National Week of Prayer and Action website at www.capsa.org.au/nwpa_2022 will also showcase stories of CAPSA community members who are taking action for people seeking asylum in Australia throughout the week, as well as a variety of resources, social media content, reflections and links to help people to build a better future right now, together.