Domenica Pecoraro and Canon Gareth Jones have been appointed as the Church's first National Representatives for Community Sponsorship.They will work with a steering group chaired by the Bishop of Bradwell, Dr John Perumbalath, who also chairs the inter-denominational Churches' Refugee Network, and supported by staff from Church of England’s national Mission and Public Affairs team.This initiative will build on the positive work since the 2015 General Synod which agreed a motion urging “parishes and dioceses to work closely with local authorities and other community partners, to provide practical and sustainable resources and structures for the resettlement of vulnerable refugees and to pray for all those seeking to address the causes as well as the symptoms of this crisis”. Since then dozens of parishes have taken part in community sponsorship and welcoming families from Syria with at least 20 serving as lead sponsor.Canon Gareth Jones (pictured left) said: "I’m looking forward to taking up this role working alongside colleagues across the Church of England as we seek to make a difference in the lives of some of the worlds most vulnerable people. "Christ taught us to love neighbour as self. In putting this into practice through refugee resettlement, we find the stranger among us is in fact our sister and brother and that our lives are intrinsically bound with theirs."Domenica Pecoraro (pictured right) said: "With Community Sponsorship, I have witnessed first-hand the transformative beauty of welcoming."My hope is to help as many people as possible find safety in the UK through Community Sponsorship, and at the same time, help our parishes, our agents of Love and Grace, to experience and be renewed by these encounters." Bishop John said: “The recent events in Afghanistan have challenged the churches to increase their support for refugees.“This follows from our commitment rooted in the belief of the dignity of all human beings who are created equal in the image of God. “Churches need to build on the work they are already doing, especially in the area of community sponsorship. “Our National Representatives will be available to our dioceses and parishes across the nation for advice and guidance on community sponsorship.”The new national representatives and steering group are tasked with working collectively to support churches working with refugees, to expand on the work achieved since 2015 and to work collaboratively with partners across the Church and society.
‘Thank you for the music’ sing Abba. Numerous people have told me how much they missed congregational singing during the pandemic. St Augustine was spot on when he wrote, ‘he who sings, prays twice’. Advent is my favourite season for praying twice. Its hauntingly beautiful melodies generate within me anticipation, expectation, hope, longing, stillness. The carol O Come, O Come Emmanuel is the best advent calendar ever. Each verse opens a window into a different perspective of the coming Messiah, from the prophesies of Isaiah, Zechariah and Haggai. They form the medieval ‘O antiphons’ which we celebrate on the days leading up to Christmas: O Wisdom (17th December); O Adonai (18th); O Root of Jesse (19th); O Key of David (20th); O Dayspring (21st); O King of the Nations (22nd); O Emmanuel (23rd). ‘Thank you for the music’. Indeed. I was ordained by a bishop who claimed to be tone deaf. One of my jobs as a curate was to stand at his side and intone bits of the service for him. How I’ve gone up in the world. My current boss is, I think, the first bishop to have written a musical setting for the mass since the Reformation. It was a gift to be in Guildford Cathedral for the premiere on the Sunday before Advent - in a year when bishop and cathedral share a significant birthday. The gift is given (free of charge) to any churches in our diocese that would appreciate scores (just email Judy at Willow Grange). No spoilers – but I particularly loved the Sanctus which gave me a picture of the holiness of God as the refiner’s fire and the hosannas shooting out like embers into a cold and dark sky – an appropriate vision for Advent. From Morning Prayer today: ‘the Lord will save me, and we will sing to stringed instruments [I’m sure brass, woodwind, electronic and others are allowed too!] all the days of our lives’. (Isaiah 38:20). Allow the gift of Advent music to prepare your hearts to sing this Christmas, for the Lord will come to save us.Archdeacon Paul
Families and individuals who have settled in Leeds attended St Barnabas Church in Alwoodley, Leeds, despite freezing temperatures and high winds.This was the first welcome event for people from Hong Kong held in the Diocese of Leeds since the announcement of the British National Overseas passport scheme to allow Hong Kong citizens to come and reside in the UK.Chinese and English food was shared together, there were games for families, and the opportunity for newcomers to meet parishioners. Guest speakers also gave advice, including representatives from schools and GP surgeries.The event was organised by Revd Dave Young, vicar of St Barnabas, (pictured), the only member of the clergy of Chinese-heritage in the diocese.“The number of people who came exceeded our expectations – which was great,” he said.“My father came to the UK from Hong Kong in the 1970s, so for me, it is wonderful to help welcome a new generation of Hong Kong migrants to the UK.“Welcome and hospitality is such an important part of our faith and I hope that the Church can play an important role in helping new arrivals to settle down well in the UK.”He said the Government estimates that this influx people from Hong Kong may be the biggest planned migration from outside the EU since the arrival of the Windrush generation from the Caribbean in the 1950s.“It is important that we as a Church learn the lessons of Windrush and actively welcome new arrivals in our country, no matter where they come from,” he added.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned against trying to “legislate ourselves to good behaviour”, insisting Government regulation alone cannot be the answer to protecting freedom of speech.The Most Rev Justin Welby told peers that “fear of reprisal”, “distortion of truth” and the “dehumanisation” of people others disagree with are three “major threats” to freedom of speech, adding he was in favour of a “maximalist and communitarian” approach.He recalled a columnist suggesting they hoped he would be “mugged at knife point by a gang of refugees”, adding: “I did not feel threatened or for that matter offended.“Not only because I doubt many refugees are avid readers of his column, but because, like my predecessors, I stand here in a position of privilege – which though it makes me noticed, also confers security.”Mr Welby, leading a House of Lords debate on challenges to freedom of speech, highlighted the struggles faced without such privileges before telling peers: “Our understanding of the importance of freedom of speech and the threat to it needs to keep pace with the threat to its existence. Government regulation alone cannot be the answer.“I welcome the Government’s moves to tackle online harms, but while we can protect those most at risk, we cannot – and should not – be trying to legislate ourselves to good behaviour.“Dr Martin Luther King said that we cannot restrain hatred, but we can restrain haters. That is the limit of law.“Fittingly robust and vehement debate should characterise our national life.“Online harms bills or cancel culture being itself cancelled cannot make us obey the command to engage with opponents as people, to face them and to destroy our enemies not with forms of suppression or law but by making them our friends – that is another quote from Dr King.”The archbishop had to pause at various points as he delivered his speech due to a cough, but he earlier insisted he had caught his granddaughter’s cold and reassured peers he had been “tested to the limits of testing”.
