The Happy Hour #260: Tess Clarke

My guest for The Happy Hour # 260 is Tess Clarke. Tess is the co-founder of Seek the Peace and the Director of We Welcome Refugees. She has a passion to see refugee and immigrant women protected and empowered along with helping the American church recognize and revere the image of God in these women.

Friends, if you hear the topic of this show and think this episode might be a political one, let me just tell you it isn't. Through our conversation I know you will see Jesus in the stories Tess shares, and the ways she encourages us to find the humanity in one another. Tess starts off telling us how she and her husband began working with refugees. We get to hear some of their stories, what they've been through, and how “refugees are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.”  We also learn about Tess' ministry Project Shine that equips pre-teen and teen refugee girls to understand their own worth, strength, and purpose. I know that these stories of suffering can be hard to listen to, but Tess describes how every single one of us can participate in the ministry of presence. She encourages us to go and find those who look, live, and sound different than you and to challenge our own bias. Tess says, God is calling us is step in and listen, and we are all invited to “come and be.”

If you're unsure what it means to be a refugee and/or want to learn more, click here!

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