Living Upside Down 7 FOUR SESSIONS FOR SMALL GROUPS

Transcription

1 Living Upside Down 7 FOUR SESSIONS FOR SMALL GROUPS Sanctuary RESOURCES REQUIRED: A safe, welcoming space to meet. Refreshments to keep the spirits up. Someone to lead each session and prepare activities (you could take it in turns). A Bible for exploring some stories and references further. A willingness to share openly and honestly.

2 Setting up a small group for the first time? The Methodist Church believes that meeting in small groups is a great way to support each other on our individual journeys of faith. We believe no one should have to travel alone. However, we are aware that forming a small group for the first time can be a bit daunting. To offer you some suggestions we have produced three short films under the title Journeying Together to help you think through the How and Why of Small Groups. You can either send for a free DVD by ing help@meetpraylove.co.uk or download from the MeetPrayLove website ( Journeying Together ). We believe that, with support, anyone can form and lead a small group in an engaging and fruitful way. And we are convinced that what comes out of your discussions will be life changing. We hope you find the following four sessions helpful let us know how they go by providing feedback on the website. On the website you ll find: n More free materials for small group discussion n Opportunities to share your ideas with other groups Members of the Methodist Church in Scotland are exploring the idea of MeetPrayLove as a starting point for small groups. Groups come in all sizes and shapes, from established Bible study groups connected with formal churches to pairs or threesomes who meet in a coffee shop to talk through issues of faith. All are welcome. Sally Robertson help@meetpraylove.co.uk 2

3 Sanctuary for All is a specially created small groups resource that draws substantially on Cities of Sanctuary, a series of reflections by the Revd Inderjit Bhogal. Inderjit, the founder of the City of Sanctuary movement, explains here why the idea of sanctuary is so fundamental to his whole outlook. I was born in Nairobi where I lived till the age of 11 in Kenya had achieved independence and, with my parents and family, I left for Britain via a nine month sojourn in what was then Tanganyika. My first home in this country was in Dudley in the West Midlands. Because I was fluent in English, from my earliest days in the UK people of Asian backgrounds talked with me about their immigration concerns and paper work. So personally, rather than professionally, I have become familiar with immigration matters, policies and procedures, and with the fears, frustrations, and pains of people of all backgrounds around these. I have determined to take simple steps to seek justice, mercy and humility in policy and procedure. In 2005, a Quaker colleague, Craig Barnett, and I set out to launch the City of Sanctuary initiative. In 2007, Sheffield was declared the UK s first City of Sanctuary. The movement is now growing across Britain and Ireland. In the contemporary society around us, there is considerable hostility towards the stranger, be they refugees, asylum seekers or simply those different from us. Often they need a safe space, a sanctuary, where they can be safe, receive basic human nurture and find a sense of community. We can all take action to transform attitudes of hatred and hostility towards people seeking sanctuary among us into attitudes of welcome and hospitality. How we relate to each other, and in particular to people seeking sanctuary and safety will define humanity. How we treat those who are in greatest need for safety will be the measure by which we shall judge personal, national and international morality and spirituality. Revd Inderjit Bhogal OBE Founder and President of City of Sanctuary 3

4 Sanctuary through the ages Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, Say to the Israelites, Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person without intent or by mistake may flee there. (Joshua 20: 1) The concept of sanctuary is thousands of years old. The Hebrews, for example, enshrined sanctuary into the legal codes of their new society when six Cities of Refuge were established according to legislation set out in the Torah. Cities of Refuge were about giving protection to people whose lives were in danger. Their purpose was not the avoidance of law but the prevention of revenge. The cities were permitted to give sanctuary to anyone, including a foreigner, who was accused of manslaughter, to prevent rough justice being dealt out before a trial could be held before the congregation. Roads leading to these cities were to be kept in good repair, with clear finger posts, so that a refugee may be free to escape the hands of the avenger of blood and find safety. In England, as early as 600 AD a general right to give sanctuary belonged to every church in the country. Some cities were granted the status Sanctuary by Royal Charter. In Durham, for example, those who had committed a great offence, such as murder in self defence or breaking out of prison, could rap the Sanctuary Knocker on the cathedral door; they would be admitted and given 37 days of sanctuary, during which they could try to reconcile with their enemies or plan their escape. Likewise, in Scotland in 1066, the Royal Burgh of Tain was granted its first royal charter by King Malcolm III, which included establishing the town as a sanctuary, where people could claim the protection of the church. And in Canongate (now the lower half of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh), in medieval times the girth, or sanctuary, cross stood in the middle of the High Street. Anyone who passed to the east of the cross, entering a sanctuary boundary that ran close by Holyroodhouse, entered into the safekeeping of the abbey. The concept of sanctuary began to re-emerge in the 20th Century, first in El Salvador, as a form of protection from the activities of death squads. People were given sanctuary in churches. From there it was taken up in the USA when churches sheltered people from Guatamala and El Salvador who had been refused room and refuge. 4

5 Nowadays, the concept of sanctuary often sits closely with the idea of hospitality, and of care not just for those who may have broken the law but for all those, young and old, whose lives have become fragile and who require a safe space, basic human nurture, and a community in which they may feel more themselves. Migration: a crucial contemporary issue The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as a citizen among you; you shall love the stranger as yourself. (Leviticus 19: 34) Each year up to one billion people cross a border. The next twenty to thirty years will see huge movements of people as a result of environmental degradation, climate change, famine, war and persecution. It is a sign of our times and requires our most serious attention. Every day, hundreds and thousands of people set out to cross whatever barrier is in the way to find a better life. Britain is often said to be the number one target for people desperately seeking safety. However, less than one per cent of the 51 million uprooted people make their way in to Britain. Over 80 per cent of the world s refugees are in neighbouring countries. The population of Lebanon increased by 40 per cent in 2014 as a result of accommodating refugees from Syria. The UK equivalent of this would increase its population by around 30 million. There are refugees, of course, who take longer and more difficult journeys, risking life and costing huge amounts of money. We know stories of people clinging to the undersides of planes to make their journey; many travel on crowded, unseaworthy vessels; others travel in air tight containers on trucks: many thousands perish on the way and are lost in desert sands or the desolate sea. Others, particularly women and children, get trapped in the scandalous Human Trafficking trade. 5

6 The idea of sanctuary and hospitality is valued in all faiths and cultures. Reconciliation and community cohesion is incomplete without the integration of all people, especially those whose lives are most in danger. People are familiar enough with the idea of providing safety and sanctuary for suffering donkeys, threatened birdlife, and homeless cats and dogs. In this short guide for small groups, we offer some thoughts around the wider concept of sanctuary and how we can create sanctuary for: God Ourselves Strangers Our communities Cities of Sanctuary, Inderjit Bhogal s more extensive look at the concept from a faith perspective, is available for download from How to use the study outlines: 1. Read the comments in the study material and share your immediate reactions with each other. Where there are references to Bible passages or stories, you may wish to look these up and reflect on what they say in their context. 2. Discuss your responses to the questions asked in each study. 3. Each session has one or more activity that you can undertake together or, as individuals, at another time. 4. Share with each other what you are going to do as a result of this study s reflections and pray for one another. Pray together, using the words of this prayer. Things are topsy-turvy in your kingdom, God. The poor bear gifts of great worth, the dead rise, the meek inherit the earth. Teach us how to live in an upside down world where we are called to welcome the outcast, prepare a feast for the ragged, and forgive those who offend us. Amen. 6

7 SESSION ONE: SANCTUARY FOR GOD God is with us and takes sanctuary among us. This may seem a startling statement to make. However, the writing and stories of the Jewish people, and then of the Christian gospels, remind us time and again that God not only desires a dwelling place amongst us but that God also identifies with and travels alongside those who journey to find a home in a strange land. God is usually understood as existing beyond the confines of time and space. Yet, as the Hebrew people wandered in desert places, following their escape from slavery in Egypt, God asked them for sanctuary: Make me a sanctuary, and I shall dwell among the Israelites. (Exodus 25: 8). A portable sanctuary, known as the Tabernacle, was constructed at Sinai and went wherever the Hebrew people went. It was the sacred space in which God was said to dwell. The same idea lies at the heart of the Christmas story told by Christians. At the opening of the Gospel of John, the nativity and the good news disclosed in Jesus is summarised: And the Word became flesh... and dwelt among us. The Greek word translated as dwelt is related to the word meaning tent, a word used also for the Tabernacle constructed by the Hebrew people. The sentence here literally means that God has pitched a tent among us, to live among us. The nativity stories of Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem reveal God taking sanctuary among people with the vulnerability and dependency of a child. The first requirement for the birth of Christ is a safe space to be born; a sanctuary that will challenge the idea that there is no room for God. The mission of God begins with a plea for a little room. Jesus ministry reflects this mission further as he calls people to openness, to be unbound, to open closed doors and hearts, and to keep an open table for all. A migrant God God is revealed not only as one requiring a dwelling but also as a companion, always mobile, accompanying migrant families and peoples in all their journeys, and present with them in all contexts. Most famously, God calls Moses, a reluctant leader, to guide his people out of slavery in Egypt and to embark on what turns out to be a 40 year sojourn: the Exodus. Even before that seminal event, the Hebrew people had found their identity by responding, in the person of Abraham and his family, to the call of God to leave their home for a new land. 7

8 God is always journeying; guiding and supporting. Then this migrant God takes another astonishing journey, to be revealed in human form, incarnate in Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the good news declared in the Bible. God is revealed in Christ, as God who comes to us, and is with us in the journey of life. "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, Jesus once said, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Activity Making a Prayer House Write a short poem on the theme of sanctuary. Why not try writing in a Japanese Haiku style composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables? Copy the poem onto strong tissue or crepe paper then create a prayer house by winding your poem around 3 or 4 robust twigs, using PVA glue. Decorate it. See for more help and options. Questions for discussion or personal reflection 1. Does the language, worship or actions of our faith traditions or culture make God static, immoveable or inflexible? If so, what changes might we wish to make in the ways we speak, worship or act? 2. In all faiths, God knows no borders. For us, borders are recent inventions. Not long ago people of Europe were travelling all over the world without any thought of borders, and settled in America and Australia for example. Nowadays: n we work and collaborate from wall-less workplaces through the internet n Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders provides medical care without being restricted by borders n the world s economy transcends borders What would be required to build a world without borders? Can we strive for worldwide freedom of movement? 8

9 SESSION TWO: SANCTUARY FOR OURSELVES Love your neighbour as yourself Love the stranger as yourself (Leviticus 19: 18, 34) It is difficult to love others and to share yourself with them if you find it hard to love yourself. The injunction to love our neighbours as ourselves is an important one in all the world faiths, but in order to do that well it is helpful, first, to take some time to think about ourselves. In the 1940s musical A Touch of Venus, a comic take on the myth of Pygmalion, the awoken statue of Venus says she is unfamiliar with love, being a stranger here myself. In fact, we can all feel like strangers at different times in our lives to others and even to ourselves. If strangeness is that which works against us, preventing us from feeling whole and able to love ourselves and others fully, then it is worth pausing to ask the question: In what way am I stranger to myself? The young man described by Jesus in the story often known as The prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32) takes his share of the family wealth and goes to a foreign land where he squanders it all and ends up eating the food he is meant to be feeding to pigs. At this point he comes to his senses and wonders what he has done with his life, what kind of person he has become, and how he can possibly make things right once more with his father. Our own experiences of life may or may not contain echoes of the young man s situation. Nevertheless, the questions will be familiar and are useful ones in helping us ask how we can be good to ourselves; less of a stranger to the inner person we most wish to be. So it is useful, occasionally, to take a step back and to consider ourselves from one remove, as it were. (Perhaps, as Robert Burns phrased it, to see oursels as others see us.) What might we look and feel like if we considered ourselves as sanctuaries as safe places where we can feel whole and able to love ourselves and others fully? The following descriptions, prepared by a member of the Belfast City of Sanctuary group for personal reflection and consideration, offer a starting point. 9

10 A SANCTUARY TO YOURSELF SANCTUARY TO OTHERS Allow yourself to BE Allow others to BE Accepting self as is Accept others, help to develop a work in progress independent relationships Compassionate towards self Forgiving towards self Non-judgemental towards self Assumes self has done their best Assumes others have done their best Trusts in own capacity to recover, learn and grow Patient, unhurried, calm Reflective pays attention to and listens to self, and to your own body Puts self at centre of own life (opposite of selflessness) Promotes, and is protective of, own wellbeing Recognises that no-one else is responsible for own happiness Restorative makes time for respite, however briefly, in own sanctuary Motivated by wanting to not by obligation, guilt or avoidance of guilt Compassionate towards others Forgiving towards others Non-judgemental towards others Attaches no blame to self Attaches no blame to others Trusts in others capacity to recover, learn and grow Patient, unhurried, calm Active pays attention to, and listens for, others; supports wellbeing and such listening in others Encourages others to identify and pay attention to own needs Respectful of difference Impartial holds no agenda Restorative invites others to take respite, however briefly, in own sanctuary Motivated by wanting to not by obligation, guilt or avoidance of guilt 10

11 Activities Making personal sanctuary 1. Make a Stress Ball Balloon. Take a strong balloon and fill it with Play-Doh. You may need a helper! Make your own Play- Doh if you want. Draw emotions on the outside of the filled balloon and then sit and play with it, letting your stress ebb away while you do so. See for more help and options. 2. Take photographs of images that represent sanctuary to you. Alternatively, make a drawing or cut out photographs and words from magazines to create a montage that speaks to you of compassion towards yourself. If you have taken a photograph or wish to photograph your own drawing or montage, consider saving a copy as a phone screen saver and/or ing it to for us to put in our thought vault. Questions for discussion or personal reflection 1. Is the idea of loving yourself easier said than done? Is it even something you consider very often? 2. Consider those times when you have found it difficult to love yourself or others fully. What has made you feel out of sorts or a stranger to yourself? Why was this? 11

12 SESSION THREE: SANCTUARY FOR STRANGERS The Bible contains the command to love your neighbour, as yourself. But, as the former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks points out, this commandment is stated only once in the whole of Hebrew Scriptures. Compare that to the 37 times the Hebrew Scriptures challenge people to love the stranger. There is no other command repeated so often. And it s a challenge. A neighbour is a bit like our self; a stranger is someone very different. The Bible suggests that the stranger is the outsider who may defile the insider if they were to eat together. Which is why inviting a stranger to share a meal is seen as such a significant act of hospitality. (Or, in Jesus' case, choosing to dine with those seen as strangers or outcasts, like the tax gatherer Zacchaeus.) Jesus insists in his teaching and example that we are to serve those in the greatest need, at the meal table as well in other social actions. He said that it is in the stranger that his followers will see his face and serve him: In as much as you did it to the least of these you did it to me. Compare Jesus words in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses with this story from the Sikh tradition. The story is told that at a time of Sikh-Muslim conflict, Bhai Gunnaya Ji, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh Ji was on the battle field, serving water to all who needed it, Sikhs and Muslims. Many Sikhs complained to Guru Gobind Singh Ji about this. Your disciple Gunnaya Ji is serving water to the enemies and reviving them, they said. The Guru summoned Bhai Gunnaya Ji and asked him, Why are you giving water to the enemies? Bhai Gunnaya Ji replied, I have not given water to any enemy. Apart from your image I see no one. When you ask me for water, I serve it. The Guru was so impressed with his disciple that he embraced him, patted him on the back, and said, You are blessed, and blessed is your service. Here, take this ointment and bandage. As you serve water, also apply this balm and bandage on those who are injured. The Guru also gave him a Towel, and said, With this Towel, also wipe the face of the wounded...you have honoured me with your Roopa Seva ( Image Service ). 12

13 However, offering care and hospitality to a stranger is not always easy. Hospitality, while undoubtedly a blessing, can also create burdens, writes Kathleen Norris: A story said to originate in a Russian Orthodox monastery has an older monk telling a younger one: I have finally learned to accept people as they are. Whatever they are in the world, a prostitute, a prime minister, it is all the same to me. But sometimes I see a stranger coming up the road and I say, Oh, Jesus Christ, is it you again? Consider, too, the gifts that we receive from strangers. Sanctuary for the stranger is not all about doing things for them. The stranger joining a new community offers new insights, for example what it means to: n re-discover the wisdom of listening, hearing and responding n recognise the wisdom of embracing and including newcomers with new status: the stranger can reveal, as the Orthodox monk observed, the face of Christ n re-learn what it can mean to be excluded and hurt n rise to the challenge of a new ethic of loving hospitality Refugees and those seeking sanctuary among us are messengers and witnesses of God. St Paul wrote about the gift of being no longer strangers but pilgrims together, with hopes and possibilities that transcend human barriers. Strangers may offer, and indeed embody, their dream of a new world, a new covenant, a new way of being. In working with those who are hurting through the violence of war, famine, poverty and persecution, we together bear the weight of sin; we together struggle for justice and seek the freedom of all. Activities Making journeys 1. Bunting. Create decorative bunting by cutting up old maps. While you do so reflect on the journeys we take in our life and the importance of maps. What happens when a map becomes out of date? 13

14 2. Suitcases. Make a small suitcase out of a box. Decorate it and fill it with symbols of things you would take with you if you had to leave your home. See for more help and options. Questions for discussion or personal reflection 1. Who do you think of as strangers? What feelings or thoughts do you have about them? 2. Are there ways in which you might be able to help those in greatest need? E.g. getting out and volunteering; or doing something at home, such as writing letters for Amnesty or sorting out unwanted clothes for sending to refugee collection points. 14

15 SESSION FOUR: SANCTUARY IN OUR COMMUNITIES Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels (Hebrews 13: 2) Making sanctuaries The City of Sanctuary initiative is a contemporary expression of the ancient City of Refuge described in the Introduction (p.4). It expands the idea of sanctuary to include the provision of safety and hospitality to vulnerable people for example asylum seekers who are not criminals, children whose lives are in danger, victims of domestic abuse, and older people who suffer indignity. As in the past, sanctuary is about good manners ; about respect, behaving well towards others with welcome, and being safe to be with. Good manners precede law. It is only when manners fail that we have to create laws to provide protection. The original cities of refuge were set up to encourage good manners while people waited for the processes of law. Across Europe today, there are other excellent initiatives being taken by churches and church groups building welcome, hospitality and sanctuary alongside refugees and those seeking sanctuary. City of Sanctuary today City of Sanctuary is a growing movement in Britain and Ireland, focussed on building cultures of welcome and hospitality, particularly (but not exclusively) for people seeking sanctuary among us. It is a local, grass roots, community-led movement with the aim of creating networks of places and people throughout Britain and Ireland. Such groups do their best to include asylum seekers, refugees and all vulnerable people in the lives of their communities. The movement was founded in 2005 in Sheffield, which was declared a City of Sanctuary in There are now over 50 cities and towns in Britain and Ireland with a City of Sanctuary vision and working group. In Scotland, there are groups developing the vision in Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow. 15

16 A City of Sanctuary is not a place where all is well but a place where many organisations and individuals work within a shared vision of welcome, hospitality and safety for all people, especially those whose lives are in danger a city they can be proud to live in. It is a place where: n the skills and cultures of people seeking sanctuary are valued and actively included in local communities, enabling them to contribute positively to the life of the city n youth and community groups, worship centres, local government, the media, businesses, schools, colleges, universities and health centres all have a shared commitment to offering sanctuary, so that it is seen as part of the city s identity by local people n people seeking sanctuary can easily build relationships with local people as neighbours, friends and colleagues To work towards a City of Sanctuary is to build a shared vision and provide a positive common goal and aspiration for a variety of organisations, groups and individuals. Many people are familiar with the Fair Trade City recognition granted when a number of organisations agree to buy, sell or serve Fair Trade goods. Similarly, City of Sanctuary embodies clear goals and is recognised when a significant number of local organisations sign up to the initiative, agree to provide welcome, hospitality and safety, and make a commitment to broaden support for the idea in order to gradually influence the culture of the city as a whole. By creating such a vision, and work, people can demonstrate the desire to build a more just and humane approach to people seeking sanctuary among us. It is a vision that challenges us all to think about the communities however small in which we live and work. To achieve recognition as a City of Sanctuary is only a marker on an ongoing journey. It is a marker of shared commitment. Activities Making sanctuaries 1. Build a sanctuary. Find a place to build a sanctuary temporary or otherwise. Build it out of wood or hay. Too tricky? Maybe put up an old tent and spend a night camping out in your garden. (At the same time, find out about the Jewish festival of Sukkot, or The Feast of Tabernacles, which marks the years that the Hebrew people spent in the desert and involves building an open air structure in which to live during the holiday.) 16

17 2. Consider working to make your city, town, village, church, school, university, club or place of work a sanctuary committed to building cultures of welcome and hospitality, especially for those in greatest need and danger. For some ideas and guidance, see Building a City of Sanctuary: a practical handbook with inspiring examples by Craig Barnett and Inderjit Bhogal (2010: Plug and Tap, Ripon) Questions for discussion or personal reflection 1. Identify the different communities you live and work in and ask who the strangers are in your communities. What feelings or thoughts do you have about them? 2. How are you, your community and your nation blessed and enriched by the stranger? Find out about people who came to the UK as refugees, and who made outstanding contributions here to enrich us all e.g. see examples on the UNHCR website or look at a book such as Robert Winder s Bloody Foreigners: the story of immigration to Britain. Things we can all consider 1. Greet people with a smile, especially those of a different culture 2. Be welcoming to strangers who seek sanctuary: invite them to appropriate activities 3. Be vigilant and passionate about listening to those who feel most neglected or excluded, and do all we can to build safe and inclusive spaces, in our own home, residential and care homes, congregations, clubs and local communities 4. Seek partners in all faiths, and in people who profess no religious faith but care deeply about safety for all and work with them 5. Volunteer if possible to help in groups or organisations assisting those in need or aim to do so 6. Don t pass a Big Issue seller without greeting them, even if you don t buy a copy 7. Educate ourselves read books like Refugee Boy, Two Caravans or Kite Runner; learn to greet people in their own language; be aware of prejudiced views about those seeking sanctuary in UK; and find the facts on the Refugee Council website 8. Care for yourself too. Scriptural wisdom is serious when it states, Love your neighbour as yourself. 17

18 Some helpful resources Websites: (including the text of the Refugee Convention) Books: Craig Barnett and Inderjit Bhogal Building a City of Sanctuary: a practical handbook with inspiring examples (2010: Plug and Tap, Ripon) Kathleen Norris Dakota: a spiritual geography (1993: Houghton Mifflin Company, New York) Jonathan Sacks The Dignity of Difference: how to avoid the clash of the civilizations (2002: Continuum, London Choan-Seng Song The Compassionate God (1982: SCM, London) Robert Winder Bloody Foreigners: the story of immigration to Britain (2004: Little, Brown, London) Films: Babette s Feast (1987) [story of a refugee s generosity through cooking] Le Havre (2011) [the gift of giving sanctuary, described as a political fairy tale ] Moving to Mars (2009) [follows two refugee families moving from a Thai refugee camp to the British city of Sheffield] Music: Maryam Mursal The Journey (first published on Real World Records) songs retelling the story of her flight from Somalia 18

19 MeetPrayLove is about finding ways to make a difference in our communities and world seeking support on our spiritual journeys from wherever we find it most helpful becoming a network of people committed to social action, justice and peace as we respond to a living God revealed in the life of Jesus We find value in exploring... Meeting: getting together regularly with one another to share our experiences, receive and give support and to enjoy living life to the full together! Praying: finding a connection with God in whatever ways we can find through words or music, art or silence, lighting candles, walking the hills or running a 10k. We will pray purposefully and authentically. Loving: showing care and concern for other people and our world. MeetPrayLove groups come in all sizes and shapes, from established bible study groups connected with formal churches to pairs or threesomes who meet in a coffee shop to talk through issues of faith. MeetPrayLove is about supporting you in being all you can be. Find out more at our website Discipleship & Ministries Learning Network Scotland & Shetland The Methodist Church Registered Charity: / Methodist Church in Scotland : SC Image information. All images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. p.4 The City of Refuge by George Tinworth, Wraysbury Baptist Chapel, Photo by EJ Culley (glazed terracotta frieze); Durham sanctuary knocker, Photo by Peter McLean p.5 Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive on Lesbos island, Greece, from Turkey; Migrants in Hungary near the Serbian border, August 2015, Photo by Gémes Sándor p.7 Israelite tabernacle surrounded by enclosure and tents (coloured etching after W. Dickes) p.9 Auguste Rodin The Prodigal Son (Musée Rodin 8/12) p.12 Jesus tells Zacchaeus he wishes to eat with him p.13 Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem, Photo by Laurence Wareing p.15 City of Sanctuary logo 19

20 The stranger s blessing We saw a stranger yesterday. We put food in the eating place, Drink in the drinking place, Music in the listening place, And with the sacred Name of the triune God, He blessed us and our house, Our cattle and our dear ones, As the Lark says in her song, Often, often, often goes the Christ, In the stranger s guise. (Celtic prayer of hospitality)