10am to 4pm on Saturday 8 June at The Church at Carrs Lane, Birmingham B4 7SX.
This free conference and networking event, organised by the Church of Sanctuary, Churches’ Refugee Network and City of Sanctuary, will explore how churches are responding to the call to offer sanctuary to those fleeing persecution and seeking asylum.
The keynote speakers will be Professor Robert Beckford, Dr Jayme R. Reaves, Vanessa Baker (St Dunstan’s Primary School) and Armin Zamanian (Birmingham Cathedral).
CTE General Secretary Bishop Mike Royal, who is co-chairing the event said “Churches have a rich history in providing sanctuary for the vulnerable and the persecuted. The creation of a hostile environment for refugees and asylum seekers demands that the church reflects on its ongoing commitment in this regard. Join us for a day of learning and journeying as churches together”
Others taking part include Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal (City of Sanctuary), Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin (Bishop of Dover) and Dr Nicola Brady (General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland)
Robert Mountford from Birmingham Churches Together said: “Alongside its ecumenical work, Birmingham Churches Together also runs the ‘Restore’ asylum-seeker-befriending project, which reaches out to scores of refugees and asylum-seekers in the city. We are, therefore, delighted to support the Church of Sanctuary conference taking place in Birmingham on 8 June.”
Download a flyer for the event (pdf)
Image acknowledgement: We are very grateful for the use of the main image, which was produced for this event by
St Dunstan’s Catholic Primary School, Kings Heath, Birmingham.