Category: Events

Refugee Week Report 2022, 20th-26th June

Asylum Seeker Maimuna Jawo, speaking at the Stories of Welcome event Monday 20th June 2022

Stories of Welcome 20th June, 2022

This Refugee Week (20-26 June 2022), Caritas Westminster alongside the Anglican Dioceses of Westminster and Southwark wanted to share some ‘Stories of Welcome’ from communities across the London and east Surrey. Resources, including five videos, a booklet and an infographic were launched on World Refugee Day. Each account detailed demonstrates how simple a welcome can be, which is in contrast with the transformative power of the encounter that the welcome enables.  

The ecumenical launch event, held at The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, opened with a prayer from the Bishop of Stepney, the Rt Revd Dr Joanne Grenfell Woolway. Those assembled heard key-note speeches from the Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, the Rt Revd Paul McAleenan, Maimuna Jawo and the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun.  

Read Rosa Lewis’ blog of the launch event here – Stories of Infinite Worth and Dignity

Bishop Paul’s Address

Watch the videos:

Revd Dr Sam Well’s Lecture, London Churches Refugee Fund 20th June, 2022

Click here for the link to Reverend Sam Well’s talk on ‘So Many Kinds of Wrong’ concerning the Rwandan refugee crisis (held Monday 20th June at 7.00pm, St Martins-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square.)

Westminster Social Justice and Peace Forum

Save the Date! The next Forum will be addressing contribution made by the Catholic Church to meet the needs of refugees and asylum seekers. All are welcome to join us.

Saturday, 17th September, 10am – 1pm
‘To Accompany Refugees’
St Aloysius Church Hall, 20 Phoenix Road, NW1 1TA

Hosted by Bishop Paul McAleenan and Bishop Nicholas Hudson

Register with Eventbrite

Mass for the Season of Creation – Saturday 3rd September 2022, Farm Street Church

You are invited to join the Southern Dioceses Environment Network for a Mass to celebrate the opening of the Season of Creation.

The Mass will be held at Farm Street Church, W1K 3AH (nearest tube – Green Park) and the celebrant will be Fr Dominic Robinson SJ.

The Southern Dioceses Environment Network was launched in January 2022 and organises monthly online meetings to support Catholics and our friends who share a concern for the care of creation. Anyone can join and participants include CAFOD volunteers to Diocesan staff, clergy, religious, parishioners, Laudato Si’ Animators and Christian Climate Action activists.

We are drawn from the Dioceses of Arundel & Brighton, Brentwood, Clifton, East Anglia, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southwark and Westminster, and also collaborate with the Northern Dioceses Environment Group.

This Mass will be our first in-person event and we warmly invite people who have not been able to attend the meetings, but support our aims, to come along and join us in prayer and networking. Children and families welcome.

There will be refreshments in the Arrupe Hall afterwards, along with displays of work for the environment being carried out around the dioceses.

For more details please contact Colette Joyce on 07593 434905 or email colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk

Southern Dioceses Environment Network

Season of Creation Resources

Join the TUC ‘We Demand Better’ Demo, Saturday 18th June, 10.30am, Central London

Stop the Rwanda plan – All Refugees Welcome

As members of the Together With Refugees coalition, Westminster Justice & Peace and Caritas Westminster invite you to join us at Saturday’s demonstration ‘We Demand Better’ organised by the TUC.

Coalition member, Care for Calais, along with Stand Up To Racism, are leading a refugee bloc in the TUC demo about the Cost-of-Living Crisis in London, on Saturday 18 June 2022.

When there are social problems in the UK refugees and migrants are often blamed. As the Cost of Living Crisis worsens the government is using racism as way to divide and rule people. We say #AllRefugeesWelcome – we won’t let racism divide us. We need unity in the face of the Cost of Living Crisis. The TUC’s demo offers a great opportunity to show solidarity and unity and promote the rights of refugees.  

Let us know if you would like to join us in the ‘Stop the Rwanda plan – All Refugees Welcome’ bloc by emailing Colette Joyce at colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk or call 07593 434905.

Gather at 10.30am, Portland Place, London, W1B 1, United Kingdom

More event details

Refugee Week 20th-26th June 2022 – Theme ‘Healing’

Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. This annual event founded in 1998 is held every year around the UN World Refugee Day on 20th June and is a growing global movement.

It will involve a dynamic programme of arts, culture, sports, educational, media and creative campaigns. Refugee Week aims for UK refugees from different backgrounds to connect and share their experiences, perspectives and creative work. Hopefully this will encourage understanding of why people are displaced and the challenges they face when seeking safety. Refugee Week’s vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to be able to live safely within inclusive and resilient communities, where they can continue to make a valuable contribution.  This reflects our values that everyone has a right to be safe, and treated fairly with respect and kindness.

Refugee Week is an umbrella festival, and anyone can get involved by holding or joining an event or activity. The events will happen in a variety of spaces ranging from arts festivals, exhibitions and film screenings and museum tours to football tournaments, public talks and activities in schools.

Christian events in London include:

20th June, 12.30-1.30pm: Prayer Vigil outside the Home Office with Westminster Justice & Peace and London Catholic Worker to pray for migrants seeking safe passage to the UK. Contact Barbara Kentish (J & P) barbarakentish@talktalk.net 

20th June, 7pm: London Churches Refugee Fund Annual Speaker Meeting. Revd Dr Sam Wells ‘So Many Kinds of Wrong: A Theological Response to the Rwanda Asylum Initiative‘ – St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JH. Further details www.lcrf.org.uk  Email info@lcrf.org.uk

20th June 2022, 6-8pm: Stories of Welcome. Farm Street Church (‘Arrupe Hall’), 114 Mount Street, London, W1K 3AH. Share and celebrate the stories of how our London churches and parishes are welcoming asylum seekers, migrants and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Eritrea, Ukraine, Hong Kong and so many other countries.

Speakers will include:

The Right Revd Paul McAleenan (Diocese of Westminster and Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees)

The Right Revd Joanne Grenfell (Bishop of Stepney, Diocese of London)

The Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun

This event is hosted jointly by the Compassionate Communities Team (Diocese of London), the Diocese of Southwark and Caritas Westminster.

Register with Eventbrite here

Refugee Week Website

Click here for the Vatican Document: The Love of Christ Towards Migrants

Prayer for Refugee Week:

God creator of all,
For people who are displaced,
may they find a safe refuge.

For people who have lost control of their lives,
may they know a sure foundation.

For people who live in fear,
may they be given a strong fortress.

For people who are disillusioned,
may they have hope in a future.

Loving father in times of crisis, sorrow and uncertainty
we ask that you draw near.

Amen

Next Vigil Outside Home Office – Monday 20th June 2022, 12.30-1.30pm, UNHCR World Refugee Day

All are welcome to join us for prayer and reflection at the next monthly Vigil outside the Home Office, Marsham Street, SW1P 4DF, on Monday 20th June 2022,12.30-1.30pm.

This month’s Vigil takes place at the beginning of Refugee Week on UNHCR World Refugee Day.

This year’s theme for World Refugee Day:
Whoever. Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety

We remember:

  • those 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 those who are homeless
  • those who struggle to inject welcome and humanity into our legislation.

For further information contact johanmaertens@hotmail.com or barbarakentish@talktalk.net

Links

Refugee Week, 20-26 June 2022. Theme: Healing

Refugee Week 2022: Stories of Welcome. Monday 20 June, 6.00-8.00pm. Farm Street Church (Arrupe Hall), 114 Mount Street, London, W1K 3AH. Joint event hosted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster and the Anglican Dioceses of London and Southwark. Join us to hear stories of our churches and parishes across London welcoming refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. Free. Book in advance with Eventbrite.

Southern Dioceses Environment Network Meeting – Sustainable Summers, Monday 13th June 12.45-2.00pm

We invite you to the next ‘Southern Dioceses Environment Network’ meeting, on Monday 13th June 12.45-2.00pm where we will explore the theme of ‘sustainable summers’. In preparation it would be helpful if you could have a think about a place, attraction, or venue in your Diocese to encourage families to explore the many things a sustainable holiday in England can offer. We would like to know something great about each Diocese! At the meeting, in Diocesan groups, you will be tasked to give each suggestion a trip advisor type review.

Things to consider could be:

Public Transport
Cost
Facilities
Accessibility
What is on offer
Opening times
Extra information
Web site

Although this is a serious topic, we intend this to be an enjoyable session as we look towards the much-needed holiday season.

Register Here

The next meeting will be on the 11th July exploring the preparation for season of creation and COP-27. See here for further information:

Southern Dioceses Environment Network

Former Irish diplomat to speak on ‘Hope’ at NJPN’s July 2022 Conference

Philip McDonagh

Philip McDonagh

Source: National Justice and Peace Network

The opening address at the 2022 NJPN Annual Swanwick Conference is to be given by Philip McDonagh. In his talk, ‘Towards a Civilisation of Hope,’ he will speak of a hope that requires courage and action for the sake of the future.

Several hundred J&P activists from around the country are expected to attend the 44th annual conference of the National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales on 22-24 July 2022 at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire. The theme is: ‘Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.’

Philip is co-author of the recently published work ‘On the Significance of Religion for Global Diplomacy’ (Routledge 2021). He is Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Director of the Centre for Religion, Human Values, and International Relations at Dublin City University.

As a serving Irish diplomat and Political Counsellor in London, Philip played a part in the Northern Ireland peace process in the build-up to the Good Friday Agreement. He later served as Head of Mission in India, the Holy See, Finland, Russia, and the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

Philip has published poetry and works for the theatre, including ‘The Song the Oriole Sang’ (Dedalus Press, Dublin, 2010) and ‘Gondla’, or ‘The Salvation of the Wolves’ (Arlen House 2016), a translation of Nikolai Gumilev’s Irish-themed play written during World War 1.

Another conference speaker is Fr Patrick Devine SMA of the Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. A missionary priest, he has 25 years of experience helping to mitigate conflict and poverty in Africa. The Conference Chair is Tim Livesey, CEO of Embrace the Middle East, who works with Christian partners in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria and Iraq.

Revd Ruth Gee, a Methodist Minister and one of NJPN’s Patrons, will lead an Ecumenical Service on the Saturday.

Further details and booking form for the NJPN July Conference at: www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/

For more conference details visit: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44571

Westminster Justice and Peace E-Bulletin June 2022

Last week we heard the staggering news that the number of people displaced from their homes owing to violence, conflict or persecution passed 100 million for the first time.

United Nations Report

“It’s a record that should never have been set,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “This must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes”.

This month in the UK we mark Refugee Week from 20-26 June 2022 and the E-Bulletin Diary Dates highlights a number of events, especially from London Churches (of all denominations), as a means of engaging with the needs arising.

At the request of Bishops Paul McAleenan and Nicholas Hudson, our next Westminster Social Justice and Peace Forum will continue to support these efforts with a coming together to explore our Catholic response to migration, alongside all other sectors of society. This will be our first in-person Forum since the pandemic and we warmly invite you to join us at St Aloysius Church Hall, Euston, on Saturday 17th September, 10am-1pm, whether you are already involved in accompanying refugees, have personal experience of migration or are newly concerned and wanting to do more. 

Register for ‘To Accompany Refugees’ – 17th September 2022, 10am-1pm

There are many other events to explore, including a day out at Kew Gardens with CAFOD, Caritas and Justice & Peace during the summer holidays on 9th August and, of course, the NJPN national annual gathering at Swanwick 22nd-24th July.

We wish you all an enjoyable few days over the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.

Westminster Justice and Peace E-Bulletin June 2022Download

The Jubilee Walk of Faith, 3rd June morning

All are welcome to join people from many different faiths for this walk across London to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Walks start from three points – Regent’s Park Central Mosque, Shepherd’s Bush Central Gurdwara & the Battersea Peace Pagoda – and converge at Westminster Abbey for a celebratory lunch.

Registration

Saturday, 11th June, 10am-4pm, JPIT Conference, Oasis Hub, Waterloo

£5 Online – £12 On Site – Free for under 25s and those on a low income

The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) is a partnership between the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church. The purpose of JPIT is to help the Churches to work together for peace and justice through listening, learning, praying, speaking and acting on public policy issues. JPIT will be ecumenical partners this year for the National Justice and Peace Network Annual Conference in Swanwick, Derbyshire, 22-24 July 2022.

As the rising costs of living impacts families across our communities, what does it mean to seek justice?

As war rages and refugees are met with hostile policies, where can we unearth hope powerful enough to bring change?

When politics and international events make us feel angry or powerless, what can we discover by starting locally?

From the Ground Up: Unearthing Hope and Seeking Justice will begin here, with the local. This one-day conference will explore how we can listen to our communities, amplify local voices and connect these together to make local action for change part of the bigger picture of building God’s kingdom.

Keynote speakers include:

Emma Revie (CEO of the Trussell Trust) – How does a network of over 1200 foodbanks help to bring about the eradication of poverty in the UK from the ground up?

Zrinka Bralo (CEO of Migrants Organise) – Where’s the power in organising with lived experience at the centre in order to change the asylum system?

Revd Al Barrett (Hodge Hill Birmingham) – How might the Church be disrupted by what the people on the margins of our communities have to tell us?

Marsha De Cordova MP – As people of faith, how can connecting our call for justice with parliamentary structures and procedures be a route to change?

Bishop Mike Royal (General Secretary of Churches Together in England) – Where is the Church called today to organise and speak up for justice and peace?

Take part in workshops exploring…

Refugees; Racial Justice; Climate; Healthcare; Community Organising; Theology; Tax Justice; Peacebuilding; Housing Justice; Poverty.

With poetry, creative reflection, networking and more…

Together, we hope to be inspired and re-energised to speak, pray and act boldly for peace and justice.

Register by 4th June 2022

JPIT Conference Registration

National Justice and Peace Network Annual Conference