Educational Programs/Adult Forums

Staff and board members make presentations to various groups about the scope of our work and the problems of adjustment and/or assimilation of refugees and immigrants.
The presentations can include:

· telling about the programs of SeAM that serve refugees and immigrants
· basic history about what brought Southeast Asian refugees here
· cultural information about Hmong and Cambodian people
· information about paj ntaub (Also known as Pan Dau or Hmong needlework)
· discussion of the problems facing refugees now

Presentations can be for any age from kindergarteners to adults. There is no charge, though an honorarium is greatly appreciated.

Since 1981, SeAM has worked with refugees and immigrants, some of our newest neighbors. The 2003 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA voted 875 to 63 to encourage the church at all levels to call on the United States government to admit more refugees to the country and in other ways to care for refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. Currently debate about immigration is front page news. Adult forums can be an opportunity for discussion; advocacy can be an outgrowth of these discussions.

A sample of discussion questions:

· Why did and why do immigrants and refugees come to Minnesota and to the Twin Cities?
· Have things changed in the last twenty years for Hmong and Cambodian refugees?
· What about the newest Hmong refugees (more than 5,000) who have arrived in the Twin Cities since 2004?
· What do you know about the newest group of refugees, the Karen people from Burma who have been arriving in the last few years?
· What does this all mean to our congregation/organization?

We would love to come give a presentation or facilitate discussion for your group. Contact us at (651) 293-1261 or at seam-stpaul@hotmail.com.