Co-sponsored by Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, London Catholic Worker and
London Churches Refugee Fund
Next Home Office Vigil: Monday 21st August 2023, 12.30-1.30pm
Category: Migrants and Refugees
Record Numbers Join Home Office Prayer Vigil for Refugee Week
Source: ICN
Bishop Paul McAleenan, students from Newman College, Brent, and electro-pop band Ooberfuse, were among those joining the regular monthly prayer vigil outside the Home Office in Marsham Street on Monday for an extended service to mark Refugee Week (19-25 June 2023)
The event was given added poignancy following the tragic sinking of the Andriana off the coast of Greece on 13 June. The boat was believed to be carrying as many as 750 migrants, of whom only around 100 were rescued.
A harrowing list of names of those who have died in the last month trying to reach Europe in small boats was read out during the vigil. They included some of the hundreds of people who perished in the Andriana disaster last week, an unknown man who died of hunger and thirst after 13 days adrift at sea off the coast of Spain, and a child electrocuted on a railway line in France.
While Home Office staff came and went, more than a hundred people took part in the moving vigil of prayer, hymns and reflections. Among them was Brother Johannes Maertens from the London Catholic Worker, Robina Rafferty former head of Housing Justice, Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Chair of the Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, and a group of students from Newman Catholic High School in Harlesden.
Electro-pop band Ooberfuse, together with Kurdish refugee folk singer Newroz Oremari opened the vigil with their latest song: ‘Show Me Love’ . Singer-songwriter Alistair Murray led some of the hymns.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees in the Bishops Conference gave the following reflection:
“The reality of the life of a refugee, the hardships and hazards they endure opens this Refugee Week as we listen to the accounts of the latest tragedy off the coast of Greece.
No doubt there will investigations and enquiries into the tragedy, into the events of the preceding hours before the boat sank so that the truth can be uncovered. Those enquiries are important.
Our concern is not simply the events and decisions which took place immediately before that tragedy but the decisions and the policies which have been in place for many, many years which make such tragedies almost inevitable. The term safe and legal routes come to mind again.
We see again the consequences of policies which do not include compassion, the theme of this year’s Refugee Week. We see again the need for international cooperation.
When law and policies increase suffering, compounds trauma, and put lives in danger justice is not served. To advocate on behalf of migrants, refugees, displaced persons, asylum seekers is not simply kindness but it is a plea for justice for the most vulnerable, it is to do what the law should do.
Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers have had to abandon those things from which one has the right to expect stability and security, homeland, family, familiar customs. Our solidarity with them comes from this basic belief, that we have a duty, an obligation towards those who have lost everything.
When they encounter rejection not surprisingly there will be consequences which impact upon their mental and physical well-being. There will also be consequences which impact upon the whole human family. So I repeat that to support migrants and refugees is not almsgiving but an attempt to build fraternity and unity by encouraging the sharing of resources.
In Isaiah a verse describing the manner of the Redeemer in his pursuit of justice says of him, ‘He does not break the crushed reed nor quench the wavering flame’.
If someone has fled their homeland, crossed a desert and a sea and survives and is then detained, denied the right to work, threatened with deportation is it likely that the flame of hope which they managed to keep alive is going to strengthened or extinguished.
That is why we oppose Immigration systems which threaten to destroy hope, which divide people into categories giving different rights to each category.
Whether a person is a citizen, a migrant or a refugee they have a dignity, that innate dignity is our starting point and one which what ever else we must keep in mind.
To say we respect someone’s dignity is one thing, though I don’t think the word ‘respect’ captures the fullness of our obligation. The dignity of a person is so sacrosanct it needs to be protected and promoted, it involves relationship.
To meet a refugee and listen to their experience is very enlightening, informative and moving. We may not have met a refugee in the flesh, nevertheless we can stand with them and for them. That is what we are doing now, making a statement, declaring they are our brothers and sisters.
So I thank you for all you do, for your presence here today at the beginning of Refugee Week. May our prayers and our work bear fruit for the good of all especially those who have nothing.”
The Christian Prayer Vigil is organised each month by Westminster Justice & Peace and London Catholic Worker.
The next vigil is on Monday, 17 July 2023, 12.30-1.30pm.
Watch Show Me Love here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro-J06pc0cQ
Prayers and Home Office Vigil for Refugee Week 2023 19-25 June, 12noon
Prayers of Intercession for Refugee Week
- We pray for Pope Francis and our church leaders that they continue to speak out forcefully against the injustices that force people to flee their homelands to seek sanctuary far away – Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
- We pray for the people and the lands from which refugees flee – whether it is due to political oppression, climate change, or conflict. May there be peace and reconciliation between people and nations. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
- We pray that refugees and those seeking asylum may find a welcome among us, and we pray for all those who make our laws and administer justice – may the God of justice be our guide. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
- We pray for those who minister to refugees that they may show God’s welcoming love; and we pray for ourselves to have the courage to reach out to victims of injustice and poverty. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Vigil Outside the Home Office, Monday 19th June 2023, 12.00-1.30pm
The next monthly vigil organised by Westminster Justice & Peace together with London Catholic Worker, will be a special onefor Refugee Week (19-25 June 2023)
Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees in the Bishops Conference will give a reflection and electro-pop band, Ooberfuse, together with Kurdish refugee folk singer Newroz Oremari, will be performing their new song: ‘Show Me Love’ during the Prayer Vigil outside the Home Office on Monday, 19 June from 12.00-1.30pm.
Newroz Oremari has a mesmerising voice and recently made recorded with Ooberfuse in the iconic Abbey Road studios – an incredible change of fortunes for a dissident artist who had faced the death penalty in Iraq for his music which was critical of Saddam Hussein regime.
Email Barbara Kentish barbarakentish11@gmail.com or Br Johannes Maertens johanmaertens@hotmail.com to receive the prayer sheets, and join in solidarity with our prayers.
Watch the video Show Me Love
Ooberfuse Refugee Week Concert in Dover, Saturday 24 June, 7pm
Saturday 24 June 2023
Doors open 7.00 pm
St Mary’s Church, Cannon Street, CT16 1BY
Admission Free
Ooberfuse, is a London-based band that is a critically acclaimed favourite on the Indie music scene. It was started by songwriter-vocalist Cherrie Anderson and multi-instrumentalist-producer Hal St John, who have now brought together a number of talented and innovative refugee musicians for this event to celebrate diverse contributions to the Artistic scene in Britain. Individual performers originate from countries such as Syria, Ukraine and Iraq, including the Kurdish exile, Newroz Oremari.
The band has played at many venues worldwide, both large – such as Wembley – and small. Their music has been described as ethereal, East-meets-West electronic pop with heartfelt vocals, often inspired by observations of injustice in today’s world.
Their latest release is ‘Show Me Love’, inspired by the teachings of Pope Francis on welcoming the stranger. Scenes in the accompanying video were filmed in Dover. The singers have therefore decided to return to Dover which features so strongly in many of today’s refugee tales, to perform this concert for Refugee Week (19-25 June 2023)
You can view ‘Show Me Love’ on YouTube:
Love the Stranger: Refugee Support Event at Farm Street, 24 May, 7pm
Rooting our response to refugees and migrants in the innate worth of each human person.
Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales joins Bishop John Perumbalath, Anglican Bishop of Liverpooland Chair of Churches Refugee Network, for an evening with the London Churches Refugee Fund
Frontline workers from the projects supported by the fund will also be giving testimonies at the event.
‘Love the Stranger’ , Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, W1K 3AH, Wednesday, 24 May 2023, at 7pm.
The Citizens of the World Choir will also be performing.
Followed by refreshments, meeting and greetings in the Arrupe Hall.
For further details email info@lcrf.org.uk or visit: www.lcrf.org.uk/
Next Prayer Vigil outside the Home Office for Migrants and Refugees – 15th May, 12.30-1.30pm
Prayer Vigil for Migrants and Refugees
Date: May 15th 2023
Time: 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Opposite HOME OFFICE, Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF
Join us to pray for
- those who have died trying to reach the UK
- the many victims of current wars
- asylum seekers in detention centres, and those who are homeless
- those who struggle to inject welcome and humanity into our legislation
We invite you to join us every third Monday of the month, remembering those who have died, and praying for those who are struggling for safety. Just come along on the day or contact us for the prayer resources in advice: Barbara Kentish – barbarakentish11@gmail.com or Br Johannes Maertens – johanmaertens@amys251
Organised by
The London Catholic Worker
Westminster Justice & Peace
London Churches Refugee Fund
Invitation to the Mass for Migrants, mon 1 May 2023 12 noon at St Anthony of Padua Church
Monday 1 May 2023 12pm – Mass for Migrants
The Dioceses and Ethnic Chaplaincies of Brentwood, Southwark and Westminster invite you to a celebration of the annual Mass for Migrants at St Antony of Padua Church, Forest Gate, E7 9QB.
The Migrants Mass takes place on the Feast of St Joseph the Worker and celebrates the contribution made by migrant workers to London and the surrounding counties.
Banner bearers to gather at St Bonaventure’s Secondary School at 11:15am for refreshments and preparations ready for the banner procession at 12 noon.
The Mass this year is hosted by the Diocese of Brentwood and the celebrant is Bishop Alan Williams.
Reflection: Showing love for refugees
By Barbara Kentish
On Monday 20 March, more than 20 people attended the monthly ecumenical Home Office Prayer Vigil in London to commemorate refugees who have died trying to find a place of safety. The group has gathered every month over 18 months. Organisations represented included the London Catholic Worker, Westminster Justice and Peace, the London Churches Refugee Fund, the Community of the Word of God and Columban missionaries. Barbara Kentish gave the reflection.
Reflection
So here we are, in the Fourth Week of Lent, in the middle of a worsening political situation. How can we continue to pray and have faith that God is with those coming to our shores looking for safety?
I think that it is this very sense of powerlessness that aligns us with refugees and migrants. We are unable, as things stand, to do anything significant to change the policies and hardline mentality of our government. Exiles on the move are powerless even to death, as we realise every month. We campaign, hold placards, try to communicate with our fellow human beings. We take comfort that all of us here feel the same outrage and sometimes despair that anything can be different. I have taken this reflection from a book on shared spirituality with refugees compiled by the International Jesuit Refugee Service.
‘It is in that weakness that we can take refuge. Weakness links us profoundly with God, because it provides a privileged area in which his grace can be seen, in which his sustaining presence can reveal itself, in which even his power can become manifest. This is why weakness stands as almost the opposite of sin. Weakness is a chosen context for the epiphany of the Lord, it is the night in which he appears – not always felt as assurance, but rather as a power to move on faithfully, even when we do not feel the strength, even when fidelity means simply putting one step in front of the other.”
The writer, a Jesuit Refugee Service director, points out an important corollary of our weakness, which might make us stop and think:
“The experience of weakness deepens both our sensitivity to human need and our experience of prayer. There is an important consequence for all of us in the refugee support network: we must support one another in weakness, forgiving one another our daily faults and carrying one another’s burdens. It would be absurd to maintain weakness as essentially part of our vocation and then to belittle those who are deficient, to resent those who are insensitive, unsophisticated or clumsy, to allow disagreements to become hostilities, or to continue battles and angers because of personal histories.”
There is a great tendency for us to become embittered and cynical about those whom we oppose. We have a clear duty to show love, however that is to be manifested, to those we see as enemies to the good of refugees. I don’t know quite what that looks like. But standing here in this public place, I pray that it will be revealed to us!
Let us pray: Jesus, who told us to love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us, bless our weakness, and give us the heart and the wisdom to follow your teaching. Amen
Link
Love the Stranger – Document from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, March 2023
Prayer Vigil outside the Home Office for Migrants on Monday 20th March 2023
You are invited to our monthly Prayer Vigil which will be held outside the Home Office, 12.30-1.30pm, Marsham Street, SWQP 4DF.
It is normally held on the third Monday of the month and is a space for us to remember migrants who have died trying to reach the UK, the many victims of the war in Ukraine, those who work with asylum seekers in detention centres, and the homeless.
We believe that God will prevail, however great the disaster,
however great the horror, however great the inhumanity.
For further information contact johanmaertens@hotmail.com or barbarakentish@talktalk.net
Bishop McAleenan comments on Illegal Migration Bill
Source: CBCEW
Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Catholic Bishop for Migrants and Refugees made the following comments on the government’s Illegal Migration Bill yesterday:
“Everyone who makes a dangerous journey across the Channel to build a better life here has a name, a face, and a story. People are driven from their homes by poverty, conflict, persecution, natural disasters, or other factors that prevent their flourishing. Many have links to the UK or family members already living here. Yet, far too often, there are no safe routes open to them.
“While we all wish to end dangerous Channel crossings, this new legislation treats migrants and refugees as a problem to be solved rather than brothers and sisters towards whom we have responsibilities. Establishing more safe routes, and genuinely understanding people’s individual circumstances are essential to meeting these.
“As Christians we call for the human person, made in the image and likeness of God, to be put at the heart of public policy.”
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 