This June, both World Refugee Month and Pride Month, the Missions and Church in Society Teams invite our UMCG and wider community into a simple but meaningful practice: walking one mile a day in solidarity with people who are on the move.
At first glance, a mile may not seem like much. It might be the distance around your neighborhood, through a local park, or even across a vacation destination. But when we walk with intention, our steps can become embodied prayer. They can remind us that while many of us walk by choice, millions of people around the world walk because they must…seeking safety, stability, and a place to call home. Honestly, the numbers are staggering. Today, more than 117 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Many face uncertain journeys marked by danger, detention, or deportation. Yet behind every statistic is a person, a family, a story…
And that is why we walk.
This challenge comes from We Choose Welcome, a grassroots community “seeking to mobilize and equip women [people] of faith to build and cultivate a welcome movement from their tables at home to the halls of Congress…” and they remind us:
“We walk in solidarity with people who are displaced, detained, and deported. We walk to remember that the journey to safety is often made on foot. We walk because love doesn’t stand still.”
For us at UMCG, this invitation is deeply connected to our faith and who we are as a faith community. Throughout scripture, God’s people are always on the move…Abraham leaving home, the Israelites journeying through the wilderness, Ruth crossing borders, Mary and Joseph fleeing with Jesus as refugees…and we’ve taken this seriously. Over the years our work, both hands on and financial, in support of people through organizations like Kids Alive! Haiti, World Relief, The Neighbor Project, Northern Illinois Justice For Our Neighbors, and others has (and continues to) embody our belief that our faith is one shaped by migration, hospitality, and welcome. And no one embodied that more fully than Jesus himself. Did you know that the average speed a human walks is three miles an hour? This means that Jesus also walked at this pace during his time on earth. So, if Jesus walked at three miles per hour, then, we can consider that perhaps, that is the speed at which God walks with us in love. Or, as the Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama once reflected: “God walks “slowly” because [God] is love. If [God] is not love [God] would have gone much faster. Love has its speed… It is the speed we walk and therefore it is the speed the love of God walks.”
Isn’t that beautiful? God does not rush past suffering…God walks alongside us. Step by step. Mile by mile.
This month, we invite you to do the same.
To support this practice, we’ve created a June Walking Calendar featuring daily prayers and reflections adapted from We Choose Welcome resources. Each day offers a small opportunity to center your heart in compassion, awareness, and prayer. You’ll also find links to additional resources, including a curated playlist and opportunities to learn more about the experiences of refugees, immigrants, and displaced people. While the invitation is to walk one mile a day, we recognize that walking is not always possible or accessible for everyone. Participation in this movement is not measured in steps but in solidarity. If walking is difficult or impossible for you, we invite you to engage in another intentional act of care: pray through the daily reflections, listen to the playlist, learn more about refugee and immigrant experiences, write to elected leaders, donate to organizations supporting displaced people, or share what you are learning with others. Every act of intention and compassion matters.
Whether your participation happens on a walking trail, from a chair, or in conversation with a friend, you are part of this journey. Consider holding someone by name in prayer. Perhaps someone you know personally. Perhaps someone you’ve read about in the news. Let your actions become a witness to the truth that every person deserves dignity, safety, and belonging.
Let’s remember that our steps carry many stories. We walk with refugees and asylum seekers, with those who have been displaced by conflict and crisis, with immigrants facing detention and deportation, with children whose voices have been silenced, and with LGBTQIA+ siblings whose journeys toward safety, belonging, and freedom often require extraordinary courage. We remember that many people around the world continue to face persecution and violence because of who they are, and that for some, seeking safety means leaving home behind. Together, these stories remind us that God’s love moves toward those who are marginalized, excluded, and searching for home. So, whether you walk alone or with friends…notice your surroundings. Pay attention to the stories unfolding around you. Track your miles if you’d like or simply mark each day with a prayer. And if you’d like, please share your journey with our community using #WeChooseWelcome and #UMCGWalk4Solidarity.
May all the ways we choose to move in love remind us that welcome is more than a value; it is a practice and that belonging happens with intention. Let us continue in the way of Christ, whose love is always moving toward those most in need of hope, justice, safety, and home.
