Photo: Joopercoopers at English Wikipedia
By Rev Dr Jane Brooke, former Canon Missioner and Vice Dean, Chester Cathedral.
I was appointed as Canon Chancellor and Canon Librarian at Chester Cathedral with a responsibility for education in 2010 and then from 2019 as Canon Missioner and Vice Dean with a responsibility for outreach in the community. I consider hospitality and ‘welcoming the stranger’ in all its forms to be a basis for Christian living, and cathedrals historically have been places of sanctuary.
I was keen, along with others, to encourage everyone to be welcomed into the cathedral and so a group of faithful volunteers established a ‘Place of Welcome’ where there were games and activities available with coffee and tea at no charge, to be a place where people could come to the cathedral, feel safe, feel welcomed and could chat with others. The cathedral doors can be daunting and a challenge for some to enter, so we needed to think of other ways of engaging the communities. After some years, we thought we had worked sufficiently in the city to apply to become a Cathedral of Sanctuary.
The journey
The Performance Artist & Theologian in Residence, Claire Henderson Davies, arranged public workshops in 2017 and 2018 in the evenings in the cathedral. They provided general information and discussion: the first was attended by Syrian families, which was a big step for them to enter a cathedral, and the second was a series of presentations from those who supported sanctuary seekers. From these workshops the Jacob’s Ladder group was formed which then developed later into the Chester City of Sanctuary Group.
I was concerned that there were many groups in Chester working exceptionally well on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers but that there was no collaboration or unity. In 2019, I contacted Councillor Richard Beacham with regards to action being taken to unite all the groups concerned with refugees and asylum seekers in Cheshire West and Chester. Consequently, a Cheshire West & Chester strategic group for refugees and asylum seekers was set up. Fifteen organisations that support sanctuary seekers are members and there were quarterly meetings held and chaired by myself.
Through this, a comprehensive leaflet has been written giving contacts of all local groups and a synopsis of how they support sanctuary seekers. And, I had the privilege of speaking with the Chair of the City of Sanctuary at the Chester Council meeting to support the borough becoming a Borough of Sanctuary: it was passed unanimously.
The cathedral community
Chester Cathedral is clearly not a parish church but there are regular attenders who have a desire to reach out into the community and to support refugees and asylum seekers. Whenever there was an opportunity, I wrote in the newsletter and advertised it to the congregation.
As a result, some members volunteered at the local Unity Centre with one commenting, ‘I had regular contact with the Unity Centre, particularly the English for speakers of other languages classes, and developed a considerable respect for the role of the centre and breadth of expertise available through its activities.’
Further, in collaboration with Chester City of Sanctuary, clothes for 0-3 year olds, sewing machines and bicycles were donated to refugees by members of the congregation. Congregation members volunteered to help with reading at a school where over 20 refugee children were attending.
A series of study group sessions on the biblical understanding of refugees took place online using a resource by Inderjit Bhogal titled Hospitality and Sanctuary for all (2021): it was attended by 20 people from local churches as well as the cathedral congregation.
Chester Cathedral activities
Chester Cathedral linked with the Unity Centre to welcome five families for a tour, and tea, and gave a book as a gift. As expected, we all gained far more by the conversations we had than we gave. The cathedral hosted an event, ‘Unlocking Education for Women’, where Afghanistani girls from a local school read poetry about their memories and personal hopes and aspirations in the cathedral. A beautiful scarf mosaic created by refugees, asylum seekers and artists in Glasgow stunned visitors with its colour and expertise.
Learning about faiths
With the support of Chester Council Diversity Fund a series of talks and visits were arranged to learn more about and from faith communities. The events included twenty five people visiting Blacon Mosque to observe prayers and ask questions of the Imam. During Interfaith Week, in partnership with the Lord Mayor, a discussion event with several speakers took place in the Town Hall. Two Rabbis spoke informatively about their own faith perspective. At a meeting held in the Town Hall, a Muslim speaker talked of her faith as a mother. A Rabbi introduced Passover to local communities and explained the significance. An open discussion was held for the diocese with a Bishop, Imam and Rabbi. The cathedral also holds an annual event for Holocaust Memorial Day for year 8 students.
Annual exhibitions for national Refugee Week
The cathedral is well placed to offer space for events and we were very pleased to offer both the inside and the outside for national Refugee Week in different years.
For example, exhibitions created by the City of Sanctuary included art produced by sanctuary seekers and an Iranian music event. Films were shown to learn more about the experiences of refugees. Nadine Daniels, the Church of England’s National Refugee Coordinator, preached at the cathedral main service. The exhibition was visited by 600 people in the six days. A unique art installation of ‘Flags of Welcome’ made a path in the cathedral grounds, created by 1200 visitors including Inderjit Bhogal, the Founder and President of City of Sanctuary, who preached at the service at the end of the week (2021). Material flags with sewn statements were hung from trees, inviting people to consider the situation of refugees.
The cathedral chapter appointed a verger committed to supporting refugees and asylum seekers as a Cathedral Champion. The cathedral chapter has defined a Refugee Statement of Intention, and this is published on the website.
Given the above activity, the cathedral chapter decided it could apply for the status of Cathedral of Sanctuary because there had been good engagement with the guidelines and criteria of learning, embedding and sharing. We were excited to share our activity with the assessors who offered advice and ideas for developing the cathedral further.
The award is far from the end, it is only part of the journey, but it gave a moment of success and raised public awareness in Chester concerning refugees and asylum seekers.
Sanctuary Sunday
Sanctuary Sunday is marked at the end of Refugee Week and aims to promote the Church of Sanctuary programme, building cultures of welcome, hospitality and safety in our churches.
This year Sanctuary Sunday is on 23 June 2024.
For more details and resources, see the Church of Sanctuary website.
This article was first published in the Methodist Recorder.
Photo: Joopercoopers at English Wikipedia
