Peace and Justice
A brief update from Gaza
Bahzad and 32 more students have reached Amman after a horrendous journey. They are all having medicals and some rest. Bahzad is the only one who has been to Amman before so he’s reinvented himself as a tour guide.
Amal and family have managed to reach Nuseirat; and finally, Rana and her husband and 3 little ones made it yesterday to Deir al Balah. Thank you for your continuing prayers.
Alhamdulillah and thanks to God.
Please pray for lasting peace, healing and the restoration of communities in Gaza and Israel.
Sheffield City of Sanctuary statement
Our church has signed up in support of this statement:
At City of Sanctuary Sheffield we believe in a country where people are safe, welcomed, and treated with dignity. The Government’s new immigration proposals, and the rhetoric accompanying them, take us further away from this vision.
Let’s be clear: yes, there is deep inequality in our society. But it is not caused by people seeking sanctuary. It is the result of political decisions: to underinvest in our public services, to allow a housing crisis to deepen, and to prioritise the super-rich over working people. Scapegoating migrants is a dangerous distraction; one that divides communities, fuels xenophobia, and hides the real roots of inequality.
It’s been less than a year since towns across the UK, including Sheffield, faced far-right violence that targeted people seeking sanctuary and communities of colour. We have seen first-hand the harm caused when government rhetoric and policies encourage hostility.
These are not the actions of a country committed to building stronger communities. They are the actions of one trying to blame the most marginalised instead of addressing systemic failures. These policies isolate, exclude and punish people who are ready to contribute. People who deserve protection and a fair chance, not hostility.
There is a better way.
In Sheffield, we see every day how people seeking sanctuary enrich our city: as carers,students, volunteers, neighbours, colleagues, and friends. We know that when people are welcomed, they contribute creatively and help build thriving communities. When people are properly supported and included - to study, to work, to live in a stable home - they thrive. Safety turns into belonging.
We call on politicians, the media and our communities to reject scapegoating and to join us in building a future rooted in welcome, justice and solidarity.
Who to contact for asylum seekers/ refugees
Asylum seekers accommodated in Sheffield will normally be in touch with City of Sanctuary. Melinda (see below) may help in an emergency. The Wednesday ‘drop in’ ( around 150 people) has clothing, conversation, and advice on law, health, accommodation, finance etc.
For people granted refugee status, for a newly granted case please call 0114 221 1845.
SPRING is the Sheffield Project for refugee integration and growth. For urgent SPRING referral (newly granted refugees in Sheffield only) please email to adminspringcoss@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org
for newly granted refugee referral please use the link https://sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org/our-work/the-sheffield-project-for-refugee-integration-and-growth/
If you have an urgent request for City of Sanctuary, please contact one of the following people:
Governance/ CoSS - Tom Martin ( Director) (tom@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)
The Sanctuary &The Drop In – Anna Aitken (anna.aitken@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)
Volunteering : emma.milne@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org
System Change and Advocacy – Melinda Mo Martinez (melinda.momartinez@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)
Communications and Media work – Annie Feetham (annie.feetham@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)
Finance – Angela Argenzio (angela.argenzio@sheffield.cityofsanctuary.org)
There is a copy of this information sheet on the board in the narthex
Anne Hollows
Warm Clothes Appeal Manuch, the Co-chair of the South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Group has asked if we can help with the problem facing women asylum seekers sent to Sheffield by the Home Office. Many women come to Sheffield with nothing but the clothes that they stand up in. They often arrive with no warm clothes. The congregations at Saint Mark’s and Saint John’s Ranmoor have helped but there are still not enough clothes.
Please help if you can - Manuch can collect from St Andrew’s Psalter Lane.
Thank you. Judith Loveman
Friends of The Holy Land Our Christian brothers and sisters in the holy land are really suffering. They desperately need our prayers and support. To read the launch edition of their new magazine Giving Hope, please see here.
This is a new-look update with lots of information about what is happening in the UK and in the Holy Land.
The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope
Many of you will be aware of the writing and speaking of Rev Munther Isaac from Bethlehem. His new book was published on Sunday 16th June and is available in paperback and Kindle.
Christians have lived in Palestine since the earliest days of the Jesus movement. The Palestinian church predates Islam. Yet Palestinian Christians find themselves marginalized and ostracized. In the heated tensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the voices of Palestinian Christians are often unheard and ignored.
This book provides an opportunity to hear the realities of life on the ground from a leading Palestinian pastor and theologian. Munther Isaac gives the perspective of Palestinian Christians on the other side of the separation wall surrounding most Palestinian West Bank cities today.
Isaac laments the injustices suffered by the Palestinian people but holds out hope for a just peace and ways to befriend and love his Jewish and Muslim neighbours. In contrast to the dominant religious and nationalistic ideologies and agendas for the region, he offers a theology of the land and a vision for a shared land that belongs to God, where there are no second-class citizens of any kind.
'This book is my invitation to you,' Isaac writes, 'to step into the other side of the wall and
listen to our stories and perspective. It is my humble request to you to allow me to share how Palestinians experience God, read the Bible, and have been touched and liberated by Jesus - a fellow Bethlehemite who has challenged us to see others as neighbors and love them as ourselves. . . . This book paints a picture of our story of faith, lament, and hope. And I invite you to join and listen, on our side of the wall.'
Anne Hollows
Fighting the Anti-Refugee Laws in our communities
In July 2023, the passing into law of the Illegal Migration Act created a near-total ban on seeking safety in the UK. But against huge odds and in the face of the UK Government’s determination to push through these cruel and divisive measures, communities across the country have united to fight this anti-refugee bill and defend the right to seek safety. As we face the implementation of this Act and the continued fight against the #AntiRefugeeLaws, it’s important to look back and recognise how our communities and local leaders have mobilised, and recognise our growing collective strength and power as we move forward to repeal this appalling Act.
Go to https://asylummatters.org/2023/07/26/fighting-the-anti-refugee-laws-in-our-communities/ to see what has been done already, and information on how to take further action.
The recent event 'How to talk about asylum' was recorded and is now available on YouTube. More events are being planned, so watch this space!
City of Sanctuary is looking for passionate and dedicated individuals to join their Board of Trustees, and also for the Treasurer position. As a trustee, you will play a key role in guiding and supporting the organization as they work towards creating a city that is safe and welcoming for people seeking sanctuary. All details of these posts can be found on the Sheffield City of Sanctuary website.
Church Leaders have signed a joint statement expressing opposition to the government’s new ‘Illegal Migration Bill’. To see what they said, see here.
Maintaining hope and solidarity in the face of hostile rhetoric - please read the City of Sanctuary Sheffield article here.
Safeguarding people who are LGBT+ within the Methodist Church
This webinar, held on 24th January 2023, is now available to watch here.
You can read the the answers to the questions or comments posed in the Q&A function during the webinar, along with links to some helpful organisations, here.
From the Methodist Church website
On the Situation of the Palestinians
The situation of Palestinians in the Israeli-governed Holy Land is significantly worse today than it was a decade ago, according to an international delegation of Methodist leaders who just completed a five-day visit marking the 10th anniversary of the Jerusalem-based Methodist Liaison Office (MLO).
The group represented the three organizations that sponsor the Office, which provides information on conditions in Palestine/Israel to Methodists visiting the area and to constituents around the world. The partners are the World Methodist Council, the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, and the Methodist Church in Britain.
The delegation members talked to Palestinian Christians, Israeli human rights groups and Jewish representatives. They visited groups and projects supported by the MLO and heard first-hand how Palestinians are affected day to day by the Israeli occupation. They also heard from six non-governmental organizations (NGOS) that have been shut down by the Israeli government on charges of links to terrorist organizations.
Their joint statement said:
“During our visit we have been shocked by the violence we have witnessed, the growth in the number of illegal settlements, and the number of young Palestinians who are being forced to leave their homes. We are distressed to hear the number of our sisters and brothers in the area has significantly decreased which is devastating for a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
“We are bewildered by the apparent lack of desire by the Israeli Government to find a way to ensure that all communities live peacefully alongside each other, and by the disproportionate responses shown by the security services. We watched as tear gas rained down on a small group of teenagers in a refugee camp who had been throwing rocks.
“During our tenth anniversary service in Jerusalem we were sad that many of our Palestinian partners were unable to join us because they were not issued with the travel permits required by the Israeli Government for a worship service just six miles away.
“We visited the Tent of Nations, recipient of the World Methodist Peace Prize Award in 2018 and heard of their 32-year struggle to stay on the land they have farmed for 100 years. They have suffered violent attacks to the land they own and on family but continue faithfully to only adopt non-violent resistance.
"Every person we met urged us to return to our homes and tell everyone what we had seen, and in honoring this we call on Methodists worldwide to work for peace in the Middle East, whether that is by lobbying politicians or supporting groups who work for peace. We urge all governments to support measures that respect international law and to resist actions that attempt to normalize the illegal occupation.
“We also call on all Methodists who are visiting the region to not only visit the Holy sites, but to meet Palestinians and Christians who are most affected by the occupation while they are there so they can hear and see first-hand what their lives are like. The MLO is keen to arrange such encounters. We ask all Methodists and Christians worldwide to continue to hold everyone affected by the situation in their prayers.”
Talk of invasion is grossly exaggerated The graph below shows the numbers of asylum seekers received per capita of population across Europe. As you can see, the U.K. figure puts us at the bottom of the league. We’re the graph to include countries in Africa, or adjacent to conflict areas such as Turkey or Jordan, the position of Europe as a whole would be much lower. Please share this widely and tell your friends. These emotive terms such as invasion or swarm are designed to create a moral panic.
Can You Help Those Most Affected By The Cost Of Living Crisis? This will be a bleak winter for many low income families.. The South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF) has set up a Cost of Living Fund, which gives grants to community groups that help to reduce food and fuel poverty eg food banks. The Diocese of Sheffield’s Board of Faith and Justice urges people who can afford to do so to donate to this Fund (or a comparable charity).
People, could you donate all or part of the following Government provisions:
*All households are receiving £400 energy bill discount in 6 instalments this winter.
* Households in bands (A) to (D) should already have received £150 Council Tax rebate.
* Pensioners will receive a £300 Cost of Living Payment alongside their Winter Fuel
Payment.
If you would like to donate to the SYCF Cost of Living Fund, please look up
https://www.sycf.org.uk/southyorkshirecostoflivingfund/
Churches respond to risk to benefit levels The Methodist Church in Britain, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist Union of Great Britain respond to the proposal to limit the uprating of benefits, risking a real terms cut to benefit levels:
The social security system should prevent families from being pushed into hardship, yet foodbanks are facing rapidly rising demand and almost half of claimants receiving Universal Credit report skipping meals to make ends meet. The value of benefits has declined for the last decade and already an average family of four relying on Universal Credit will be £1,400 worse off this winter than last – despite the interventions already put in place. Against this background it would be outrageous to erode benefits further.
For months we have called on government to provide targeted support to the lowest income households, who are at the sharp end of rising costs. Without that additional help huge numbers of families – particularly families with children – will face impossible choices to make ends meet. The proposal to link benefits to wages rather than prices would mean the largest real terms cut in benefits ever at a time when low-income families are already facing increased hardship. Such a decision would lack both compassion and morality.
At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus declared “I have come to bring good news to the poor”. We cannot stay quiet when vital support to the communities we are part of is threatened. We call on the Government to reaffirm its commitment to uprate benefits in line with prices and to provide targeted support to those families who are at the sharpest end of the cost of living crisis.
Signed by
Revd Fiona Bennett, Moderator of General Assembly, United Reformed Church
Revd Graham Thompson, President of the Methodist Conference, The Methodist Church in Britain
Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary, Baptist Union of Great Britain
Missing people in Ukraine Some of you will remember the Nexus article by Bel Trew about the rebuilding of a church in Beirut. Bel has spent much of the last 8 months in Ukraine and the first item in this broadcast is about her work on missing people in Ukraine.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001d57b?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Anne Hollows