For decades, Virginia has sat at a crossroads of service: a place where military and faith communities work in tandem to welcome families displaced by conflict.
From Vietnamese refugees resettled after the fall of Saigon to Afghan interpreters rebuilding their lives near Quantico and Fredericksburg, Virginia’s resettlement story has always been shaped by forces that cut across political lines: duty, faith, and a belief in the dignity of second chances.
That shared identity, part faith-driven, part duty-bound, has anchored Virginia’s commitment to welcome for five decades.
Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC) and Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) are two of Virginia’s faith-based resettlement agencies whose roots stretch back to the 1970s. They have helped tens of thousands of families find stability and belonging across the Commonwealth.
In recent years, their partnerships with faith communities and military families has grown deeper. Area churches furnished homes, provided meals, and set up volunteer ministries tied to military families, many of them led by military spouses or veterans.
Virginia’s commitment to welcome cuts across party lines. Many of the military families and churches involved in supporting resettlement in Virginia overwhelmingly vote Republican. Their motivation to welcome the stranger has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with faith and obligation.
Pillar Church Pastor Colby Garman “knows it may be surprising to some that his church network has been steadfast in supporting refugees.” But, he rebuts: “[T]hat is a bias of not knowing who we are and what we do.”
His congregants echoed that conviction. As veterans Jake and Joi Rogers explained:
“We recognize that there are really faithful Christians that could lie on either side of the issue of refugee policy…Regardless of your view on what our national stance should be, we as Christ followers should have a heart for these people that reflects God’s heart.”
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