refugees
I have served all of my ordained ministry in Durham Diocese, initially as a Curate at Alive Church Gateshead where I focussed on developing work with refugees and helping people explore faith.
In Coventry, I have been the doctor to a wide ranging group of patients: those with long roots in the city, those more recently arrived, asylum seekers and refugees, and students coming for a time.
The Cathedral also moved under my leadership to support refugees.
My worst experience of racism was at primary school, between the ages of 5 and 7, and I recall insults such as “go back to your own country!” I don’t want anyone else to suffer like I did, and I am glad that the Church welcomes refugees.
Through our partnership with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church we have hosted refugees for over four years.
My experience over several years of working with and supporting refugees gives additional insight.
For 15 years, I served as a pastor among Farsi-speaking people, refugees and people from different national and cultural backgrounds.
During training for ordination at St Mellitus, I served on the staff team of St Nic's Church, Nottingham, a city-centre resource church, where I was also involved in ministry among refugees and asylum seekers.
Chattel Slavery, Racial Justice, Refugees, modern slavery,
Refugees and UK Welcomes Hong Kongers, providing
I have sponsored and lived alongside refugees after the war began in Ukraine.
As the established Church, we have a particular responsibility to speak without fear for those whom voices in public life exclude or turn against: refugees and people seeking asylum, people living in poverty and working-class communities.
I have recently got to know and become friends with refugees from Iran whose courage and ongoing joy in knowing Christ in the midst of hardship has deeply impacted me.
It has a vibrant and growing congregation with a significant ministry to children and families and another to refugees and asylum seekers.
I worked as a doctor with refugees in the organisation ‘Freedom from Torture’.
frontline advocacy, pastoral care, and practical support for asylum seekers, refugees, and communities experiencing displacement.
work helping South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.
TCL is genuinely varied: professionals, students, graduates, refugees, single parents.
I am passionate about justice and have always been involved with campaigning for the rights of oppressed and marginalised communities, particularly asylum seekers and refugees.
In 2014, living in Northern Iraq, I set up a small charity to help the churches of Ankawa support thousands of refugees fleeing ISIS.
My students were Palestinian refugees either descendants of those who fled in 1948 or they had fled across the river to Jordan following the Six Day War of 1967.
Welcoming Refugees
I have been passionate about the plight of refugees over a number of years, volunteering as a welcomer to help integration of several Syrian and Afghan refugee families in the local area.
Over the years I’ve been involved in quite a range of aspects of church and community life: While we lived in Birmingham I was involved in homeless ministries through Birmingham City Mission and The Big Issue, and Mike and I ran a Christian support group and food bank for refugees and asylum seekers.
I then became Diocesan President for six years, continuing work with all three of our prisons, Domestic Abuse organisations, refuges, victims of modern slavery and refugees, as well as our Away From It All Holiday (AFIA) scheme.
Migrants, refugees, Muslims, LGBT+ people, women and other minorities are too often subjected to hatred, suspicion and political scapegoating.
Refugees and asylum seekers A friendship in sixth form opened my eyes to the injustices of the UK’s Month service at Pip and asylum system.
I later volunteered at Gloucestershire Action for Jim's, which is part of the Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS), where it was incredibly Inclusive Church network humbling to work with people from a huge range of backgrounds who
I knit hats for our International Group, a community of people including refugees and asylum seekers.
Volunteering in different contexts outside the Church has enabled me to come alongside others, including working with refugees both in the UK and abroad, adults with additional learning needs, and the bereaved and dying in a hospice.
Jesus’ teaching that ‘what you do for the least of these, you do for me’ guides my response to issues such as the cost-of-living crisis or our welcome of refugees.
I eventually became a mathematics tutor and have supported about 100 GCSE and A-level students, including Iranian refugees and people from the Lakenham Council estate.
I feel the church should speak into issues such as the cost of living, human dignity, peace rather than war, interfaith understanding and welcome for refugees and migrants.
I enjoyed placements in two city churches in North London, one of which had a large international ministry, particularly with Iranian refugees.
Our response to the climate crisis must affect how we think about refugees and asylum seekers, about global conflicts and about politics, both national and international.
We are all God’s children Inter-faith and inter- denominational efforts towards world peace should be redoubled, with urgent efforts made by churches to provide for the needs of refugees from wars, persecution and natural disasters.
National Ministry Opportunities: Founding member UK Forum for Freedom of Religion and Belief – stemming from ‘The ‘Truro’ report Working with the UK Home Office and UN High Commissioner for Refugees on resettling 30, 000 Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan – specifically the 5000 medically qualified ones who could fill 10% vacancies in the NHS.
Isaiah’s words speak strongly to me: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me… he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted…” I am happiest when supporting others: being a voice for the unheard, feeding hungry families, supporting the homeless, walking alongside the bereaved, visiting the sick and welcoming refugees.
• Supporting migrants and refugees within our congregations, communities
For nearly 10 years, I have shared the joys and sorrows of some of the refugees and asylum seekers that arrive in our city and become part of our church family.
Taught ESOL, supporting refugees and asylum seekers with language skills for integration.
Our parish is multicultural, inclusive, and home to many asylum seekers and refugees.