Worship resources on the theme of refugees, migration and sanctuary.
View the sections online or download the whole resource intended for people from many different Christian traditions.
- Definitions
- Bible Studies
- Prayers and Liturgies
- Hymns and Songs
- School, Youth Groups and Discussion Ideas
- Preparing a service on the theme of migration and refugees
- More ideas and further reading
- Stories and poems
Download
You can also download the whole resource as a PDF:
God With Us (PDF, 17.3MB)
Introduction
The image titled, The Exiles, by Edinburgh-based artist Lou Davis was chosen for the cover of this resource for a number of reasons. It is simple, yet eye-catching and with a clearly religious theme that evokes the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt.
With the title God With Us, in this resource we hope to also express something of the migration made by God in the incarnation, where he became fully human in Jesus Christ.
The picture of the person attempting to cross water to reach safety has become imprinted on the general consciousness in Europe over the past five years. The safety colour of life jackets is often the only brightness in otherwise bleak and forbidding stories. Yet there is a risk with this image, which is that it confirms a stereotype that all refugees crossed water, all are always in danger, all are victims. Of course, people forced to flee their homes deserve sympathy and support – but the experience of the Church throughout the world is that migration enriches our common life, both secular and sacred. Refugees must never be defined by victimhood, but should be recognised as human beings, created in God’s image and with as much chance to flourish and thrive as anybody.
And so we ask you, if you belong to a receiving community or if you are an asylum seeker, refugee or migrant yourself, not just to pray for others but to pray with others. We have worked ecumenically to create this resource and we hope it will be used by people from many different Christian traditions.
