NORTH CENTER — Members of the North Center community, which had sponsored a family of Syrian refugees now barred from entering the United States, are inviting their neighbors to an interfaith prayer service and rally on Sunday.
The Rev. Kevin McLemore, pastor of Epiphany United Church of Christ, is organizing the event in a show of "solidarity with others seeking safety in the United States."
The "refugee care team" at Epiphany, 2008 W. Bradley Place., learned last Friday that the family of Syrians they'd been preparing to welcome — a mom, dad and two sons — would not be allowed to enter the United States after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which placed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria.
The family was set to fly to Chicago this upcoming Monday. A family similarly sponsored by Lincoln Square neighbors was also prohibited from boarding a U.S.-bound flight and was sent back to a refugee camp in Turkey.
In both instances, the families had undergone a rigorous two-year screening process.
Since 2011, nearly 5 million Syrians have fled their homeland after the country's government used military firepower to quell pro-democracy demonstrations. Only 18,000 of the refugees have been resettled in the United States, according to advocates.
Sunday's rally is set for 1-2 p.m. in North Center's Town Square, 4100 N. Damen Ave.
