At the time of writing, the churches of the Anglican Diocese of Wellington have committed to supporting 40 families - representing some 160 people. This is over 20 per cent of New Zealand's total annual refugee quota, or over a quarter of the total that John Key announced would be welcomed into New Zealand over the next three years.
The responses are summed up by one parish: "How can we possibly say no"?
Almost all churches have risen to the challenge of supporting one family, in generous and beautiful ways: one congregation member brought in a jar of coins to kick-start the fundraising drive. Another parish is considering options for its vacant land as a site for temporary accommodation. Arabic-speakers put their hands up; one rural parish offered accommodation with access to a free dairy cow.
There has been medical, legal, psychological and language support, help connecting families with employment and social services. There have been offers of furniture, bedding, clothes, home-kill, toys and playdates. And there has been accommodation - rooms, sleep-outs, whole houses. Responses from the poorest church communities are the most telling - often the most whole-heartedly generous.
These people often understand more than others what it is to be desperate. These responses are flowing in, but they are not ad hoc. They are from professional people who can provide the support and networks required to integrate refugees into new communities. They are from people who themselves have experienced hardship, and know where to go for help.
This response reflects the compassion felt amongst the wider community as witnessed in social media, in local protests and in contributions of aid and support offered to refugee agencies. I know that it's not just 'church folk' who are willing to contribute in this way.
But these loving responses are largely impotent when the gates to New Zealand are only partially open. Many New Zealanders have found themselves in an interesting political place: in a largely individualistic society we value our freedom to choose our own course of action - and yet when that action is compassionate and altruistic, we find that the systems in place make it difficult for us to achieve the change we want.
In Monday's announcement, it is interesting to see how far removed our government is from the values of care and compassion expressed by its people. As a collective of loving and caring individuals we have the power to initiate social change through our refusal to accept this new quota enforcement - through our lobbying, our financial aid, our protests, our responsible use of social media, and through our prayers.
My message to our leaders is this: let more refugees in.
This tragedy requires a humanitarian response - economic cost should not be the primary concern in our country's decision in how to act. Let Kiwis do what we do best - providing generous hospitality. New Zealand society on the whole knows that our country becomes richer, not poorer, when we extend our hands in welcome.
It is my prayer that ordinary New Zealanders will be permitted to stretch and extend Jesus' vision of grace and mercy. We are prepared. We know what to do and how to connect people to what they need. Let us do it.
Justin Duckworth is the Anglican Bishop of Wellington.
