Patchogue church offers message of comfort to Syrian refugees

The image of Aylan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian boy who drowned off the Turkish coast in September, sparked discussion across the globe.

It also led Isabella Humberstone, 7, of Shirley to ask her parents about refugees for the first time, they said Sunday at the Congregational Church of Patchogue, which is among the community cornerstones where Syrian immigration is being hotly discussed.

Sunday, the Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter gave a sermon that touched on the refugee crisis and referenced the Paris attacks and the House's recent vote to tighten the screening process for refugees. Wolter said his purpose was not to tell his parishioners what to think, but to reflect on what he called the Christian mandate to help those in need.

He described Syrian refugees as today's societal lepers, "afflicted by a condition beyond their control and treated as if they were the cause of it."

"We, as Christians, are mandated to offer food, shelter and clothing to the refugees," Wolter said. "What form our welcoming of refugees takes can and will be debated. . . . What is not debatable is that Christ welcomed us as he would have us welcome each other."

Isabella, who her parents said is an avid reader and news enthusiast, started inquiring about Aylan and Syria. It was a conversation that Hondo and Marta Humberstone did not anticipate having so early.

"A 7-year-old shouldn't have to have these kinds of observations, but unfortunately we're living in a climate where these are the headlines," said Hondo Humberstone, 40. "We were not ready for it."

Wolter said while he aimed to deliver sermons relating to issues inside and outside the church's walls, he was not advising people on how to vote or which political stance to take.

Long Island has no plans to receive Syrian refugees, but the nonprofit Catholic Charities announced last week that fewer than 15 families could be resettled in 2016.

"If the church is not able to be relevant and vital in times of terror or disaster, then perhaps they [churches] deserve the poor attendance and closures that we're seeing around the country," Wolter said.

Parishioners at Sunday's service said it was thought-provoking to have this conversation in church.

Lifelong parishioner John J. Roe III said Wolter's message resonated with him and that it was good to witness this kind of emotion from the ministry.

"We all came from someplace else," said the Bellport resident, 80. "The photo of that kid on the beach. . . . It just gets you in the heart."

Medford resident Gerri Clements said she nearly felt compelled to stand up and applaud after the sermon, adding that it was productive to hear a Christian perspective on an issue she mainly reads about in the news.

"I can understand people being fearful post-Paris of letting refugees in," Clements said. "On the other hand, this is who we are. This is what the Statue of Liberty stands for. We need to be a refuge for people in trouble."