Holy Families Are Still On The Move: A Christmas Conversation with Joan Rosenhauer of JRS/USA

There’s a lot of movement in Scripture during this Christmas season. God comes among humanity through the Incarnation. The Holy Family travels to Bethlehem for a census and then flees to Egypt under threat of death. The shepherds and magi travel varying distances to be present to and encounter God. Scripture isn’t just a historical retelling of holy events—it’s alive and speaking to us today. And when we reflect on all of these stories where we see God’s people on the move, we can’t help but think about the enormous numbers of people on the move today, forced to flee their homes due to violence, lack of opportunity, or environmental destruction. So, for this Christmas episode, we turn to someone who is always thinking about issues impacting God’s people on the move: Joan Rosenhauer, Executive Director of Jesuit Refuge Service/USA. In this role, Joan leads the organization’s efforts in the U.S. to fulfill its mission to accompany, serve, and advocate for refugees and displaced people. As a member of JRS’s global Senior Leadership Team, she also helps lead JRS’s global operations. Joan has a long and impressive career at the crossroads of faith and justice. She was the Executive Vice President of Catholic Relief Services, spent 16 years with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as associate director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, and has degrees in social work and public policy management. Today’s episode may not put you in the Christmas spirit in the traditional sense—tidings of comfort and joy and all that—but it will remind you what Christ’s coming points to: a reordering of relationships to bring about God’s justice and peace. Don’t forget: if you like what you hear on AMDG: tell your friends, subscribe and leave us a nice comment.