Sunday June 12 - Strangers & Sojourners

This week we reflected together on the plight of refugees and asylum seekers. Our Gospel Reading Matthew 2: 13 - 23 reminded us that the holy family were refugees in Egypt, and the story of "Y" an Eritrean asylum seeker reminded us of the hardships faced still in our own time by many vulnerable people when they arrive in the UK seeking safety.

We also had the opportunity to hear the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, tell us what he understands by the word "refuge" - somewhere people can get on with their ordinary human lives. Just like a home so too with a country he suggests - a home is never really a home unless it has some guests ... You can watch this clip (again) above.

There are no easy answers to the questions raised by our reflections but we can make a start, and I thought this from the Refugee Week website offered a way in which we could all make a start:

When a butterfly flaps its wings, it makes a tiny change in the atmosphere, which in turn can change the path of a tornado or a big wave. This is the so-called Chaos Theory, which describes how small events can influence big events.

Now, if we apply this theory to human beings it works like this:

You say a prayer for refugees. In prayer you use your imagination to put yourself in their place. This experience creates a tiny change in you, which in turn creates changes in those close to you, which in turn sets off a wave of change coming from within your community and affecting the way others perceive refugees.

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/twentytwo-acts/Say-a-prayer.htm

If you did not have an opportunity to take away a copy of the booklet "Strangers & Sojourners" it can be downloaded from here. If you would like to (re)read the sketch "Jesus Was Once a Refugee" it can be accessed here.

Other sites which may be of interest:
Brighton Voices in Exile
Refugee Council

Peter King