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Introduction

As I shared last Sunday, I have had a number of significant meetings with the leaders of an organisation called Refugee Assist. You might remember me inviting them to use space at St Saviour Church when they were no longer able to use previous facilities in Neston. They have been so grateful for this base and have
been able to help hundreds of refugees and those seeking asylum, pending the adjudication of their claim. Whilst displaced persons are given accommodation, they are invariably unable to work, living in multiple occupancy properties, subsist on £40 a week, and can feel a deep sense of isolation, compounded by the difficulties of English as a second (or third) language.

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Refugee Assist approached me to see if there was anything further the parish could do for them as they grow and their operation becomes more substantial and needing greater space to store and distribute.

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I am grateful to the Diocese of Shrewsbury in having no objection to moving forward, and so I will need now to make good the space for Refugee Assist and to invite parishioners to volunteer to help sort donations, ready for Refugee Assist to distribute. If anyone is willing to consider volunteering as we launch our fourth social project, please speak to me or leave a message via the Parish Office: parishoffice@rcchep.co.uk 0151 355 5877. This new project will be a significant one and be another concrete expression of our Catholic faith in action: we cannot forget that the Holy Family were themselves refugees in Egypt. Thank you in anticipation of your help and support. Please consider being involved.

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What is Refugee Assist?

Refugee Assist is a group that works across the Wirral and into West Cheshire that seeks support, assist, and befriend those seeking sanctuary, those in the process of claiming asylum, and displaced persons relocated and living in our community.

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How does Refugee Assist operate?

Refugee Assist responds to request for help from the Local Authority and also on the ground by having distribution stations in various venues across the local area.

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How can I be involved?

A huge help is invariably in unpacking, evaluating, sorting, and storing donations that come in. These are organised in a time period that allow people to come and go, to give an hour of their time, or to give more, depending on your own circumstances on the days that are identified as sorting days.

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What can I contribute, if I can’t volunteer?

You can help by donating good second hand clothes; you can help by giving a financial donation; you can help by praying for the work of Refugee Assist. You could also help on an ad hoc basis - not committing to a specific time or date, but being kept in touch so that if a gap opens in your diary or week, you might volunteer  as a one-off, or once or twice a year, for example.

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Forty Hours Devotion

Last year, I wanted to entrust the 3 Social Projects to the Lord’s Providence. This year, I wish to especially entrust the children and families of our parish to Him and our fourth social project: Refugee Assist. Please,

above all, pray that our solidarity with those most in need, and our care of the vulnerable, will be a concrete way of demonstrating our love of God and our love of neighbour.

 

Support of refugees and asylum seekers is not simply an act of charity, it is a moral choice and a moral decision. With all the controversies in the media and the news about displaced persons, it is important to never dehumanise those seeking sanctuary or asylum, rather to see in them the ones we are called by Christ to love.