Introduction and Observation

I am the Reconciliation Officer for the Methodist Church in Ireland and am based in Northern Ireland. Over the past ten years, both jurisdictions (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) have been receiving increasing numbers of migrants and some people seeking asylum; this contrasts with Ireland traditionally being a place of emigration. Although many people continue to leave from here in relatively large numbers, the island of Ireland has become fairly diverse. This fact is attributable to the expanding and strong economies, direct flights from a larger number of international destinations and, in particular, the accession of ten countries into the European Union in May 2004, which provided eight of them (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) with the right of free movement throughout Europe as other EU nationals (people from Cyprus and Malta, the two other accession States, already had this right).
 

Before addressing the topic, I want to digress and make a few observations about the title of this theological reflection – “Finding Sanctuary: migration, community and the churches”. Sanctuary is widely and generally understood to be a place of refuge for someone accused of a crime. In one sense, to connect sanctuary with migration could be seen as insulting. The title could be implied to suggest that the legal status of people migrating is questionable or that churches need to hide people away from the authorities. It is true that many people are forced into migration (escaping from conflict, seeking asylum/refuge, human trafficking); however, a great many move to a new place looking to contribute or serve there.

Furthermore, having migration linked to ‘finding sanctuary’ may suggest that there is something wrong or unsettled in the place from which migrants have come. Many people do not come to a new place looking for safety and shelter or out of necessity; instead, many come to contribute their skills and experience because they are attracted to a new location. Notwithstanding these observations, the fact remains that many people do seek sanctuary after being forced to leave their homes. They will come to a place looking for community and connection, and Churches are or should be central to bringing this about through welcome, hospitality and friendship.

Focus of the Reflection

I am delighted that the World Council of Churches has selected migration in its series of theological reflections. I think this selection reflects not only the pressing issues that surround migration, but also I believe it engages with the heart of Christianity and catalyses the Churches to work together and discover unity within and amongst themselves.

It is my view that with many things in life, the less we strive directly for something, the more likely we are to experience or achieve it. If I want to be happy, for instance, I am more likely to experience it when I am aiming and working towards other things, such as healthy relationships or work well done. Happiness comes along when we are doing the other things, and I think this is often true for ecumenical work. I want to suggest that responding with the compassion of Jesus to people who are migrating is a very good way to develop, enhance and increase ecumenical relationships, even if that is not our goal. I base this view on the experience in Ireland over the last ten years.

In this theological reflection, I want particularly to draw out the implications of migration for Church growth and inter-Church relationships. It may not be too grand a claim to suggest that how Christian Churches respond to migration in Ireland will largely determine whether they continue to exist and be relevant. The face of contemporary Ireland has changed and this island will never be the same again. This is a healthy, culturally enhancing, economically supporting, desirable state of affairs. These are times dripping with opportunity for evangelism, ecumenism and the revival of Christian charism.

I have such hope and views aware that there is also great potential for racism, exploitation and reactionary inwardness. Nevertheless, I am convinced that as and when Churches take a lead and respond to migration with compassion and openness, then they will receive a great richness of blessings, new understanding and relationships and, in most cases, a new way to ‘be’ and ‘do’ Church.

Hospitality

I want to consider some examples from Methodist Churches. One such Church was moving towards closure when they determined through prayer simply that they shall remain open. They had no other mission or plan except to continue to exist. Shortly thereafter, new faces began to show themselves in the Church. The response of the congregation was one of warm welcome. Crucially, in my view, the minister modelled this hospitality by having new people to his home for dinner each Sunday. Church on a Sunday may be a place for welcome, but the home and a dinner table are the places for community and relationship.

Being invited to dinner in someone’s home is a special gift. You are brought not just into the home but into their life and into their family. You can see things that they value, how they relate to their children and who the person is outside of the role in which you have first encountered them.

Sharing a meal with the minister communicates acceptance. Moreover, the minister gets to know the guests - their stories, their gifts, their needs. Connections are formed so that subsequent meetings build on the relationship. Such a gesture encourages other people in the church to extend the same kind of hospitality. These actions build community, make people feel welcome and open up the Church.

When you enter this Church today, you would be struck by its diversity, but this is not all. If you observe who greets you at the door, who is making the announcements or doing a reading and who is serving on the leadership team, it is clear that people are no longer guests but a real part of the Church.

From Welcome to Acceptance

There is an important point in a host-guest relationship when the guest takes up residence. We do not have to welcome them anymore (we can swap the china cup and saucer for a mug) and, indeed, they probably are welcoming new people at this stage. They are no longer a stranger or visitor, but a familiar face and friend. In fact, they are not ‘they’ but ‘us’ – if we let them. The struggle is whether we allow them to be involved meaningfully in our Church and community.

Do we see it as our Church or as God’s Church? Is the Church our building or the people who are here today? Since the host holds the power, it is a choice. To say ‘yes’ will entail levels of uncertainty, change and ambiguity. To say ‘no’ is to dismiss Jesus. If the response is a ‘yes’, it is at this point that all kinds of things can open up and be revealed.

People will often begin to see that most of what happens in a church on a Sunday is cultural – the way people dress, the time we start, how we greet one another, the style of worship, how a collection is taken up, how long the service lasts, how or if people respond verbally to a sermon, what people do when it is finished.

Newcomers often ask the ‘stupid question’ – Why do you do that? Since culture is mostly our underlying values and ‘the way we do things around here’, most of our practices are habitual (traditional/customary), and we do them because that is what we do. It is only if these basic assumptions are questioned that we ourselves might engage with the question and wonder why we have to do ‘it’ that way.

Sometimes there are good reasons for doing it that way, sometimes there were good reasons, but they no longer apply, and sometimes there is no good reason at all (and maybe we ought to stop doing that and escort the elephant out of the Church). More often than not nothing will be noticed, questioned, challenged or changed unless fresh eyes observe and raise the issue – How will we respond?

In another Methodist Church, a decision was made to start taking up the collection in a new way. Instead of sending baskets back and forth down the pews, the congregation was asked to bring their offering up to the front. This change was made simply because a number of new people who had been coming to the Church were accustomed to doing it that way. Both ways are equally valid activities for taking up a collection. The change was a way to honour and validate the ‘new crowd’ and to do something in a way that was customary to them.

Was changing the way the collection was taken an easy thing to do in the church? Why should we have to change when we have been doing it this way for years? What is wrong with using the baskets? How come they do not have to adapt to the way we do things? Why do I have to get up and walk to the front?

The main answer to these questions, I suppose, was that it does not matter how we take up the collection and we certainly can continue to do it the way we have here; however, if we change, it will affirm those who have become part of us and may make them feel more a part of the community. It may also help us to see that what is much more important than any of our habits, cultural values or particular identity is our shared Christian identity and values – we are, all of us, children of God called to love and serve.

Reaching Out in Unity

The last point, that we are all children of God called to love and serve, gets to the heart of Christianity. In my view, this is most often the place of unity. It is remarkable in Ireland how responses to migration have led to ecumenism. In welcoming new residents, Christian Churches in Waterford, Limerick, Dundalk, Galway, Killarney, Cork, Belfast and so on have come together, were drawn together through their compassion.

A Catholic nun, for instance, would be teaching English in a Church of Ireland hall to people who were seeking asylum or a Presbyterian, Methodist and Quaker would be organising a Friendship Club and providing advice to new residents. The point is that none of the cases I have encountered were individuals or Churches trying to be ecumenical; rather, they simply united as they sought to address needs and were inspired by the Spirit to love and serve.

There is something about a ‘common cause’ or a ‘shared interest’ that brings people together. I believe that the more Churches on the island of Ireland take up the call to welcome, the more unity we will see. I also observe that this in not only restricted to local church networks, but also it is reflected in inter-Church relationships at higher leadership levels.

It is surprising (or maybe it is not) that the Churches that have reached out and embraced newcomers have been re-vitalised, grown in numbers and been blessed. Churches who have learned to share their space, to face the challenges of inter-culturalism and to accept people warmly into their community are reaping the rewards of their love. They are also being challenged to confront serious social issues (e.g. racism and human trafficking) and to look at their way of doing things (e.g. welcome and worship)

Responding to these challenges brings life and hope. I think that it also leads people to question how welcoming, open and helpful they are to those who have not migrated (those who do not go to church and those who go to other Churches) as well as to people of other faiths. Migration is a powerful catalyst.