When members of a Wilmette synagogue struggled to gather enough manpower to help a refugee family through the HIAS Refugee Resettlement Program, they reached across faiths to a nearby church to fill their volunteer roster. Now there’s a team of nine volunteers – representing Congregation Sukkat Shalom and the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette (FPCW) – who are working together to support an Afghan family of four and a single woman as they adjust to life in the US.

“Partnering with the church has been a wonderful collaboration so far,” said Gail Nusekabel, who had recently volunteered for HIAS with other synagogue members and served as a mentor to a Central African Republic family. “It has allowed for a much larger group of volunteers and is a great way to meet and get to know more people in our local community. We are learning more about each other’s religions as well as the Muslim religion the refugees practice.”

Jim Weyrens, who was already working with his church’s Mission Committee to find a way to help refugees, agrees.

“It just seemed like such a wonderful fit,” he said. “We’re together in unity to do this work that we all find rewarding - to help people - and we wouldn’t be able to do it without each other.”

Supporting a family of four and a single woman takes a lot of planning, and Gail said they have divided up the tasks to have one person lead each one. But she added that as the tasks and goals change, it can be challenging to keep up with them with such a large group of volunteers.

Gail said the key to their success so far has been good communication.

“We have Jim leading the group from the church and we have had good communication between Jim and I and between all volunteers,” she said. “We continue to build relationships amongst the volunteers and to problem solve and plan together.”

Jim said during the first month they helped the family get winter clothes and made sure their 4-year-old was attending school on a regular basis.

He also noted that this isn’t the first time his church and Sukkat Shalom have come together to help the less fortunate. About ten years ago, FPCW, Sukkat Shalom and another local church formed a program now known as Stock the Shelves, which provides what food stamps won’t and what stretched incomes can’t cover by giving Chicago area refugees and their families the household and hygiene supplies they need to lead thriving lives. In addition, the two congregations jointly work with an organization called Family Promise, which provides a variety of social services to unhoused families, including temporary housing and meals in the congregations' buildings. 

“We really felt the need to help,” Jim said. “And (Gail) wanted to do something to help. And our two congregations knew that we could work well together, so that’s how that happened.”

Fatima Rasoul, Community Engagement Specialist for HIAS, has hopes that other synagogues will connect with churches to do more volunteer work through HIAS.

“This kind of partnership has inspired me to find ways that I can better connect our synagogues, promote this idea and motivate the synagogues we work with to reach out to churches in their area,” she said.