Welcoming the stranger

PREVIEW

MASIC member Bethany Gibson asks Captain Callum McKenna about a webinar taking place during Refugee Week and the issue of migration

TO mark Refugee Week (14–20 June) the Moral and Social Issues Council (MASIC) is organising a webinar at 7.30pm on 16 June exploring migration, refugee settlement and asylum seeking.

MASIC includes officers and soldiers from around the territory appointed by the chief secretary. Its role is to provide an ethical perspective and advice to territorial leadership, and to help Salvationists engage in moral and social issues in their communities.

I asked Captain Callum McKenna (Hythe), a fellow MASIC member, about the complexities of migration.

HOW DID SUPPORTING REFUGEES COME TO BE PART OF YOUR MINISTRY AT HYTHE?

Many Salvationist readers will remember the dramatic newspaper front pages on 3 September 2015. They displayed the photo of Alan Kurdi, the lifeless toddler who had drowned in the Mediterranean as his family joined swathes of people fleeing the Syrian civil war and seeking safety in Europe. This was a key moment for us in Hythe. Living on the shores of the English Channel felt like being on the frontier of the UK’s borders. Calais, and its infamous Jungle migrant camp, was just a stone’s throw away.

Alan’s body was a catalyst for action as all kinds of people felt stirred to respond. An ecumenical prayer vigil began. Our phone kept ringing with people offering clothes and blankets, some of which we were able to direct to northern France. We even took our band and songsters for a weekend of ministry in Calais and Dunkirk and held an open-air meeting in the Grande-Synthe migrant camp. All this, while making some difference, felt futile.

We wanted to make a lasting impact, at least for one family. As such, in 2017, our corps led a project to welcome a Syrian refugee family to Hythe under the Home Office’s community sponsorship scheme.

It was a mammoth task. We had to acquire, decorate and furnish a house, raise quite a substantial amount of money and then put together the support team to help the family with various aspects of rebuilding their lives in the UK. The family arrived in 2019 and have done incredibly well. The investment of time, energy and money was definitely worth it.

IS IT AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS LOVING GOD AND LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOUR?

I’m not so sure that it is straightforward anymore! On the one hand, seeing the photo of Alan was enough for me to know that I wanted to do something. In one sense, that’s simple. At the same time, issues of migration and asylum can be quite emotive too.

We got some criticism and comments about us taking housing away from local families who were struggling and in desperate need as well. It’s complex. I don’t think that it’s an either/or response; we can do both, but we need to be thoughtful too.

Part of MASIC’s role is to encourage Salvationists to think thoughtfully and theologically about the ethical issues of our day, and we’ve seen in recent years that the subject of migration is a complex one with which Salvationists are wrestling in their communities. Migration has caused division and, when I think about my own corps family, I know that there is a wide range of sincerely held beliefs about how Christians should faithfully respond.

HOW DO WE WORK THROUGH THE COMPLEXITIES OF MIGRATION AS INDIVIDUALS, CORPS AND A TERRITORY?

Dialogue. Some people may be a bit frustrated by that answer, but it is a key starting point. Dialogue is more than just talking about an issue or a topic. It’s about being open to encountering the issue, hearing from others and then thinking and acting about it in different ways.

WHAT IS THE WEBINAR ON 16 JUNE?

It is an online event organised by MASIC for Refugee Week called Welcoming the Stranger: The Ethics of Migration. It will be a brilliant opportunity to listen in on a conversation between a panel of incredible guests who will explore the nuances and complexities of migration. Our hope for the evening is that, wherever you sit on the spectrum of responses, you will come away feeling challenged and inspired.

BETHANY IS ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER, THQ

SAVE THE DATE

WHEN: 16 June, 7.30pm

WHERE: Online webinar

REGISTER: salvationarmy.org.uk/welcomingthestranger