WELCOMING THE STRANGER

Welcoming the Stranger is a non-profit educational ministry that seeks to follow Jesus' call to welcome people who come into our land. It provides free classes in English, computer skills, and citizenship preparation to adult immigrants and refugees in Lower Bucks County and Northeast Philadelphia.

Founded in 1999, Welcoming the Stranger has taught more than 2400 students from 87 different countries.

Using paid teachers and over 45 volunteers each term, we offer classes at eight locations: the Learning Center of the Langhorne Baptist Church, Morrisville High School, the Morrisville United Methodist Church, Bucks Landing Apartments in Warminster, the St. Mary Hospital Family Resource Center in Bensalem, the YWCA Center at the Creekside Apartments in Bensalem, the Brunswick at Attleboro in Langhorne, Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Mizpa in Warminster, and the Chandler Hall Health Services in Newtown.

Each year Welcoming the Stranger offers three 12-week terms of classes. Registrations for each term number approximately 200 students. There is no cost to the student for any of the classes. The organization is funded entirely by donations from individuals, churches and local businesses as well as grants from area foundations. St. Mary Heath Care provides a generous grant for all of the citizenship preparation classes.

On October 26, 2013, the students of Welcoming the Stranger will host their 13th Annual International Dinner. This is a fund-raising event where the students prepare foods from their native countries and serve them, buffet style, to over 150 guests from the community. See photos of the 12th dinner.

Rev. Sturgis Poorman, a Presbyterian minister, is the founder and executive director of Welcoming the Stranger.

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