“One refugee without hope is one too many.” The theme for World Refugee Day 2012 resonates with Lutherans.

The Hebrews fled from Egypt. The Holy Family fled Bethlehem. Martin Luther was given refuge in Wartburg Castle. At the close of World War II, one out of every six Lutherans in the world was a refugee or displaced person. When the LWF was founded in 1947, its first service program provided assistance to refugees in Europe.

Today the LWF continues to operate major programs for refugees around the world through the Department for World Service, one of the major non-governmental implementing partners of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).