"More people from our church have seen in these people not just a statistic but very human people seeking, like all of us, to live life in all its fullness."
At All Saints Church, Maidenhead, the Revd Jeremy Harris, leads the church in supporting local asylum seekers. Jeremy shares the story of their journey of welcoming refugees into their church community.
During our Easter 2022 service we heard voices from all around the world. Some of the voices were from Iran speaking Farsi. As a community, we discovered quickly that the people were living in a local hotel in Maidenhead and were seeking asylum.
As a church, we began to understand the need to welcome asylum seekers. The early tasks included seeking donations of clothes and trainers, seeking social integration through our services and coffee and light meals. We quickly understood the value of the work of Care4Calais and Sue Wright joined the organisation to help both the church’s response and also to play a part in the direct ministry of this excellent charity.
Within the church, with Sue’s focus, we started to try to get mobile phones and arrange the occasional meal. I contacted an Iranian friend of mine who lives in our town and came to the Birinus Room to help with communication with the people from Iran. The first aim was to provide English classes and through the Iranian friend, his sister, and some other friends, as well as a few of our own congregation, we provided conversational English. One or two of the people made good use of their mobile phone to watch ‘Friends’ and other programs to help with their English.
The next stepping stone was an early letter to Theresa May requesting her to discover the process that we might expect for the asylum seekers in those early days via the Home Office. I quoted Pope Francis' Book The Church of Mercy in which the Pope asks for a church of compassion to a people who may have been abused, suffered violence, were a long distance from their families, had possibly suffered traumatic events in their lives and were facing an uncertain future. Pope Francis wrote that the key hope for these people might be the opportunity to learn the host language to seek education for their children and eventually to access employment.
The next phase of the support was to respond to the desire, that came from the Iranian people to learn more about the Christian faith. I explained to the group that the Christian faith was to be followed freely. They began a baptism course and following a discussion with the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, we baptised 13 of the Iranians in May 2022.
The group stayed together and shared bible studies using the book Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey. This study generated wonderful conversations which led to people following a confirmation course. In a fantastic service in November 2022, 17 Iranians and 32 from our community in total were confirmed by Bishop Olivia.
One of the key areas of need for the asylum seekers was access to education for their children. In partnership with Care4Calais, and almost single-handedly through the amazing work of Sue Wright, over 100 children have been able to access schools in the town. One 17-year-old from our church was interviewed at Altwood Church of England School last summer, and having impressed the Deputy Head, was given Maths and English papers to try during the summer break. Her work was exceptional, and that young woman has just completed her A levels with the school expecting good results.
Another highlight was a young lady in her early 20s who agreed to speak to clergy and laity at All Saints last Autumn on the subject of how parishes use the Bible. She gave a brilliant talk based on four Bible stories from the Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes book that focussed on Jesus’ support of women. She used these stories to show how as a young Iranian woman she had found a sense of value and dignity so that she might live life in all its fullness.
Of course, to many of us, the Iranian community have become our friends and brought a vitality to the church that new people have noticed and commented upon. We have seen new shafts of light with church growth and one lady from South Sudan and one from Lebanon joined our PCC. Our overseas mission has, with perhaps no co-incidence been revitalised, to Kenya, Guatemala, and the Ripple Effect charity.
A few months ago, a small number of us enjoyed dancing and sharing food at a wonderful celebration of Iran’s New Year. The friends have shared with us regular worship, supporting our Christ Child market and monthly BBQ’s they have joined us in trips to the South Downs to discover the Bloomsbury artists and more recently 30 joined us to visit Christchurch Cathedral, Oxford, to enjoy a tour, a cream tea, and experience choral evensong.
Recently, some of our friends have been receiving questionnaires to fill in for the Home Office. I have been writing references for them in support of their applications. I believe that they have much to offer society in this country. One recent arrival is a journalist and has written in a Refugees journal, Exodus, about the people striving for gender equality and rights and dignity. He argues that leadership in Iran is stifling people, so that people do not speak, they never blossom, never create or express feelings. These women seek to live life in all its fullness, using the gifts and talents they possess to flourish.
More people from our church have seen in these people not just a statistic but very human people seeking, like all of us, to live life in all its fullness.