Diocese of York / News & events / News

Heather Black of Together Middlesbrough & Cleveland, writes about the Tees Valley of Sanctuary, launched on 17th June.

I joined the conversation about creating Tees Valley of Sanctuary (TVoS) early in 2014, with a particular interest in how churches and faith communities could be involved and create places of welcome and hospitality for people seeking sanctuary.

Last October we held a conference and were delighted when over 100 people from churches and other faiths groups across Middlesbrough, Stockton and Hartlepool came together to learn more about asylum issues, hear first hand stories and explore how as churches and faith groups we can welcome people, offer support to people seeking sanctuary.

In February we had a follow up meeting when we were joined by Rose McCarthy from Cities of Sanctuary, looking at what a faith stream would look like and how we can work together to raise awareness of asylum issues and create a culture of welcome in our faith communities and places of worship. I’m delighted that since these events different churches and faith groups have taken the issue on board and responding in a variety of ways.

For churches and faith groups our faith teaches us about love of neighbor and the importance of welcoming the stranger, so being part of TVoS is part of us expressing our faith, putting love for God and love for neighbor into practice

But more importantly faith is so important for so many people across the world, we are the odd ones out in the West. seeking asylum. For many people arriving in the Tees Valley their faith is a big part of the lives and their identity.

People who are seeking sanctuary have had to leave so much behind, loved ones, home, family, job, possessions, the things we hold dear in life. When these things are stripped away, we are left with what we hold inside, our faith, our trust in God, our belief in love shared between humanity. When there is nothing else this is what sustains us, and I’ve heard so many stories, of how people have been sustained by their faith through the difficulties that they have faced.

And so our places of worship are very important for people arriving in the Tees Valley. We have two excellent church-based projects in Middlesbrough Open Doors and MAP, providing welcome and support for people seeking asylum, but we want all our places of worship to be places of welcome.

In North Ormesby, where I live the church has a very tall tower and the bells ring every Sunday morning. So there is barely a week goes by without someone new arriving who has been moved into the area. Mainly Christian people but also people of other faiths and none – why? Because they see the church & hope that this is a place where I will be made welcome. We have a Muslim lady who comes each week and sits at the back of church because it is safe and warm and the one place in the community she feels welcome.

This is our vision for the faith stream that there will be places of worship – churches, mosques, gurdwaras, temples across the Tees Valley where everyone is welcome. A few weeks ago in the Christian church we celebrated the feast of Pentecost, the birth of the church in Jerusalem, where there were people gathered from across the known world, speaking many languages. In our church we invited everyone to say or sing something in their mother tongue and we shared food from around the world in a wonderful meal afterwards. The theme for that day was the language of love – that is universal, and that everyone can understand, a language that transcends all nationalities and says to everyone you are welcome in this place.