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A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Richard Reddie from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Good morning!

In just under a week’s time, we will be marking Refugee Week, which is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Britain has a rich history of offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution that goes back millennia. As early as 600 CE, during the reign of King Ethelbert, churches in England had the right to give sanctuary to those in peril. Churches that offered sanctuary usually had a knocker on their doors, and a person seeking sanctuary would hold and then rattle this to gain entrance. The wonderful Durham Cathedral still has a Sanctuary Knocker on its door. Other places of worship in Beverley, Ripon and Hexham had Frith Stools, which were stone seats found beside the altar in which a person could take sanctuary.

Churches undoubtedly get their inspiration from the Bible, which is replete with verses that call upon God’s people to offer sanctuary to the foreigner, the alien and the vulnerable. Indeed, In the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament the challenge to ‘love the stranger’ is mentioned on 37 occasions, which is many more times than the better-known command to ‘love your neighbour’.

Refugee organisations point to the humungous numbers of people displaced around the world, and the increasing antagonism they face when seeking safety. It can be argued that if we want to be faithful to biblical teachings, we should opt for hospitality over hostility, and help those in need.

Lord, I thank you for being a refuge and shelter, and for knowing all journeys taken – as well as all hopes and concerns. I pray that you strengthen our resolve to be people of sanctuary, who can build cultures of welcome and hospitality, so we can act with protective care for all who are in need.

Amen.