In helping to build a welcoming community it is important not just to provide a welcome for newcomers but also to help existing populations to adjust to change. Cultural shock is acute for people who are made to feel out of place, but an influx of people who are different can also cause a range of emotions from unease to fear and hostility in local people. It is part of Christian leadership to acknowledge all these emotions and needs, and to find ways of creating mutual understanding and fellowship.

Church responses to issues of immigration, asylum and racism

The main Churches in Ireland have responded in different ways.

The Catholic Church has a big commitment to refugees through the Refugee Project in Maynooth and Sr Joan Roddy refproject@iecon.ie who co-ordinates of the Churches Asylum Network in the Irish Republic. The work of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People was published in 2004 as Erga Migrantes caritas Christi [pdf] (The love of Christ towards migrants). It examines the challenge of human mobility and the pastoral implications. Each diocese in Ireland now has a person in charge of the pastoral care of immigrants and they report to the Bishops’ Conference. In June 2006 the Bishops issued a statement calling for legislation which protects the innocent parties in people trafficking and strengthens criminal sanctions against the traffckers.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has adopted a document, Policy on Asylum Seekers and Refugees; a Report by the Race Relations Committee to the 2003 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Full Text [pdf]. It is more comprehensive than the title suggests, as it also explores issues of immigration, racism and welcome. The Race Relations Committee has recently become the Race Relations Panel (rkerr@presbyterianireland.org) which continues to take responsibility for this area.The PCI Peacemaking Programme has a module on Relating to our Neighbours in its new Gospel in Conflict: Loving our Neighbour course.

The Methodist Church in Ireland has adopted the Presbyterian policy document and addresses the issues through their Council on Social Responsibility. Scott Boldt, Reconciliation Development Officer at Edgehill Theological College is also continuing his work with the All-Ireland Churches Consultative Meeting on Racism (AICCMR).

The Church of Ireland is in the middle of a 3 year Hard Gospel programme which aims to improve the ways in which the church deals with difference at all levels. This includes the challenge of ethnic difference and consultations on immigration and racism are being run currently in every diocese. A six-part course on Loving our Neighbours has been distributed to all rectors and it includes a session on Welcoming the Stranger. One southern diocese, Dublin and Glendalough, has a working group on combating racism which has published a useful booklet: Welcoming Angels. Much of this publication (including the material on welcome) is equally applicable in the north, and although aimed at Church of Ireland parishes, other denominations should find ideas which resonate with them.

Welcoming Angels is available from the Diocesan Office, Diocese of Dubin and Glendalough, Church of Ireland House, Church Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin 6. The price is 5.00 euro.

The Religious Society of Friends are raising awareness among their own members through workshops, seminars and regular exchange of information.They also work closely with other churches and faiths. 

Other Christian groups such as the Evangelical Alliance have worked to raise consciousness around the issues and the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland (CCCI) (formerly ECONI) have been involved in hosting conferences and building awareness. For example, see ECONI’s Lion & Lamb, Racism and Religious Liberty, No 37 Autumn 2004 and Noel Fallows,, ‘Multi-cultural church life’ in Lion & Lamb, Racism and Religious Liberty, No 36 Spring/Summer 2004, pp 10–17. Directory

The Corrymeela Community continues to provide an annual holiday break for refugees and people seeking asylum. Its website includes some useful resources www.corrymeela.org

This year has seen a marked increase in the number of individuals, groups and congregations who are acting imaginatively at local level to make this a more welcoming community.

Organisations and resources:
Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland (CCCI) www.contemporarychristianity.org
Corrymeela Community www.corrymeela.org
Evangelical Alliance: www.eauk.org/northern-ireland

The Refugee Project at Maynooth, publishes Sanctuary, on the Refugee situation in the Irish Republic and the involvement of the Churches. www.catholiccommunications.ie/sanctuary
Hard Gospel Project: www.hardgospel.net
Methodist Church in Ireland www,irishmethodist.org
Presbyterian Church in Ireland www.presbyterianireland.org 

Inter-church structures

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is the umbrella body for Christian Churches. It liaises with ecumenical bodies in Great Britain and Ireland as well as ecumenical organisations at European and world levels. It provides a forum for joint decision-making, and enables the Churches to take action together. See www.ctbi.org.uk.

The Churches’ Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ) www.ctbi.org.uk/ccrj is a Commission of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and includes representatives from the Churches and related organisations. It monitors trends and developments in the field of racial justice in Britain, Ireland and Europe and seeks to co-ordinate the Churches’ response on key issues.

In Ireland, the Irish Council of Churches (ICC) www.irishchurches.org includes the mainstream Protestant churches.

The Irish Inter-Church Meeting includes the Catholic Church and the ICC members. That umbrella grouping has combined with the CCRJ, as the All-Ireland Churches Consultative Meeting on Racism (AICCMR) and this has enabled 2 major initiatives to take place.
The late Fee Ching Leong undertook research for AICCMR that was published in November 2005 as The experiences, expectations and aspirations of black and minority ethnic people in relation to the churches’ role in tackling racism [pdf]. The interviews undertaken for this research reveal the shortcomings within the Churches in responding to the needs of minority ethnic people and this was discussed at a major conference in November 2005, Challenged by Difference: Threat or Enrichment. 
Its purpose -
1 To listen and learn from the experiences of minority ethnic groups and people who have responded to the challenge of difference.
2 To encourage all Christian churches to acknowledge racism as a fundamental issue in society that the churches have a significant role in addressing.
3 To describe and to present anti-racist initiatives that various churches have undertaken, developed or supported.
4 To create the time and space for people to interact, share ideas and concerns, focus on issues and make a commitment to anti-racist work.
Leaders and representatives from the churches, minority ethnic communities and from various agencies came together for this event. Follow-up sessions have been held to assist networking.

Conference papers

• Affirming Identity to Create Community [pdf]
• Racism in Belfast: Up-front and Ugly [pdf]
• Challenged by difference: Threat or Enrichment [pdf]
• Challenged by Ignorance [pdf]
• Being, Identity and Belief [pdf]

AICCMR has issued advice for welcoming new residents and responding to a racist incident [pdf].
In May 2007 AICCMR hosted Taste and See, a series of workshops and worship reflecting the variety of new Christian worship expressions on the island of Ireland. For further information on AICCMR contact: Dr Scott Boldt, Edgehill Reconciliation Project, Edgehill Theological College, 9 Lennoxvale, Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 5BY Tel: 028 9068 6933

BUILDING WELCOMING CONGREGATIONS

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. (Ephesians 2: 19)

‘The authentic Christian community must always be asking “Who is being excluded?”‘
Archbishop Rowan Williams quoted in Inter-Cultural Insights

Richard Kerr of the Presbyterian Race Relations Panel and EMBRACE has the following suggestions:

• ‘Use Initiative in exploring options. Find out what is appropriate in your situation and for those you meet. What works elsewhere may be a good pointer, but may well need adaptation for your situation and your gifts and resources.
• Perseverance is an important attribute; if at first you don’t succeed try and try again. Some things may work, others (perhaps inexplicably) won’t.
• It is important to network with other churches, statutory organisations and non-government organisations (NICEM, MCRC, Law Centre and EMBRACE for example).
• Commitment is required to make things happen and to build relationships. Within your congregation there will be need to inform and persuade members and leaders of the importance of reaching out. This will inevitably demand patience.
• Being involved may well involve risk; it will not necessarily be easy. Yet, the challenges and opportunities are there to be met, and provide us with an opportunity to share and show the love of Christ.’

The authors of Welcoming Angels, published by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin’s Working Group on Combating Racism outlines 3 stages of Christian welcome:
1 ‘Genuinely outward-looking’: a social welcome
The welcome beginning in the wider society
2 ‘Truly welcoming’: a welcoming church event
How people are made welcome when they chose to attend a service
3 ‘Seriously inclusive’: a structural welcome
Celebrating diversity and encouraging participation
Welcoming Angels, Dublin 2005, pp37–51.

Some ideas on congregational welcome, including some from Welcoming Angels:

• Ensure that the building is welcoming from the outside, with clear welcoming signs
• As well as having individuals responsible for welcoming at services, involve the whole congregation in learning about the importance of welcome
• Welcome should never be overwhelming, people need to take their time before they decide to make a congregation their home
• Language is very important, and it is helpful if people can be greeted with a phrase or two in their own language
• Encourage newcomers to participate, for example, in reading a lesson or taking up the collection/ offertory – small, visible signs of acceptance
• Include some aspect of the worship tradition from the country of origin, such as a song or a prayer
• Invite members of minority ethnic churches to take part in special services.
• Hold special services for example, in Refugee Week, Anti-Racism Sunday, or Holocaust Memorial Day, and invite members of minority groups to speak or attend.
• Expect blessings, such as enthusiasm and sense of fellowship, not just problems

What churches can do together 

• Work together to let residents know about church services and activities
• It is helpful if local church leaders have an agreed policy so they can respond jointly and immediately if a racist incident occurs.

PASTORAL CONSIDERATIONS
Many people who come here will adjust easily. However, we need to bear in mind that some people find a change of country very difficult. In addition, people who have been forced to flee here, destitute migrant workers, or undocumented people all have special difficulties. It is not always easy to understand people’s feelings of insecurity, bewilderment, loneliness, suspicion, fears, hopes and needs, when their stories are so different from ours. We need an attitude of openness, respect and sensitivity.

• You may need to research where to access expertise – legal, social, and medical.
• You may be pressed to find a lot of time for people whose multiple problems leave them very emotionally dependent.
• You will need to be aware of special sensitivities, for example, regarding confidentiality. Someone left a church permanently because he felt shamed at being introduced as an asylum seeker by someone who probably only wanted him to be made especially welcome.
• In responding to a racist incident the natural instinct to make public your sense of outrage should always be overridden if the victim of the attack needs privacy.
• In some cultural backgrounds women should never be visited by a single man so it is helpful to make at least initial pastoral visits in pairs.
• Be aware that immigrants and minority ethnic groups are not homogeneous; there is great diversity, and sometimes animosity, within and between ethnic groups.
• It is important to listen empathetically. It can be a challenge to hear what someone is feeling and not just the words they are saying. Different cultures invariably express things in different ways, even similar words can be understood in different ways, and body language can be significant.
• You may never know if what people tell you is completely true, and it is hard to measure up a story when the normal parameters do not apply. You have to take a certain amount on trust, and you may find cultural signals confusing. A failure to make eye contact may appear a sign of untrustworthiness or trauma, when in reality it may only be what is regarded as respectful in the country of origin.
• We all make cultural mistakes, whether in your assumptions, language or behaviour, such as simply forgetting to remove your shoes in an Asian house.
• You may be confronted by new unpleasant issues such as child prostitution and people trafficking
• You may find yourself acting at or beyond the edge of the law and uncertain where the moral and legal boundaries lie.
• Above all you will not be human if you do not experience frustration and anger, pain and guilt, as there is often little which can be done to assist in immigration cases which are governed by procedures which seem beyond influence.

HELPING TO BUILD MORE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES
Christians are not just called to be welcoming within their congregations but also within their private lives and in how they act as part of the wider community.

‘The command to love your neighbour extends to everybody who lives near you and everybody you meet in the six days between attending church. … We should avoid thinking of ‘church’ as simply a ‘church’ building and instead think of ourselves as the active, committed people of God.’
Welcoming Angels, Dublin 2005, p. 40.

‘People deprived of familiar rootedness in family, culture, tradition and geography deserve the next best thing, which is welcome, hospitality and compassionate concern in their new environment.’
Paul Surlis, ‘Exile’ The Furrow, April 2000 (Reproduced in Inter-Cultural Insights).

Extracts from some suggestions by Rt Rev. Dr Ken Newell, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on the subject of racism:
Full Text [pdf]

• Refocus on the life God calls you to live in your community: ‘live a life of love’.
• Assess your emotional involvement with the issue: ‘Before Hlaleleni from Zimbabwe described the hell of racist abuse she had been put through in an estate in East Belfast, I felt emotionally detached from the problem of racism. After hearing her story of windows smashed, doors kicked in and dog’s dirt shovelled in piles on her doorstep, I changed.’
• Change your lifestyle: ‘Become more socially inclusive. If you rarely have people from a different ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds to your home for a meal, why not adopt a different approach? Open your heart and your home. … There is nothing more powerful than your neighbours seeing you enjoy the friendship of people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds.’
• Open up the issue in your church: ‘Compile a dossier of racial attacks in your area. Share this material with your friends in church. Present it to your minister and church leaders. Ask them to discuss it and initiate a positive response in your area. … Would Jesus be passive if he lived in your neighbourhood? He does!’

These ideas were also expressed in Lion&Lamb:racism and religious liberty,‘Live a Life of Love’ Autumn 2004

How we can learn about each other

• Encourage racial awareness and anti-racism training.
• Hold celebration meals such as harvest suppers where you might invite people from a minority ethnic group to share their cooking traditions with you.
• Celebrate festivals such as Chinese New Year.
• Visit cultural centres together. For example, people from a rural background, anywhere in the world, will find something in common at somewhere like the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
• Visit the cultural centres of ethnic communities – such as the Indian Community Centre in Belfast, to learn, and affirm their presence as part of a shared society.
• Learn about other people’s religious beliefs and practices by hosting an exhibition, (such as In Good Faith, which can be borrowed from the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure www.dcalni.gov.uk) visiting religious centres, or inviting members of other faiths to explain their religious beliefs.
• Encourage young people to study the languages, cultures and religions of people from minority ethnic populations.
• Find ways of celebrating and honouring the achievement of individuals and groups from minority ethnic populations in your community.
• Use any forum, inter-church groups, Community Safety Groups, District Policing Partnerships, to make sure that even minor acts of racism are taken seriously.

The use of church premises and other resources

Churches form part of the social capital of a community and many already make their buildings, facilities and the skills of their members available to other groups. These are some suggestions as to how our churches can, and are being used:

• A community audit of local needs
• Working with others on a welcome pack for new residents
• Drop-in centres giving people the chance to integrate
• Mother and toddler groups for refugees or the families of migrant workers
• After-school clubs, helping incoming children to adjust to the differences in our educational system.
• Language classes
• Advice centres for newcomers
• Recreational facilities for minority ethnic groups