In the sermon I preached on the Sunday before last month’s General Election, I spoke of my disillusionment with the election campaign. It seemed to me more about slogans than substance, more of a beauty contest than a genuine political debate. But the following day I was shaken out of this depression by a meeting to which I was invited at Westminster Central Hall. Citizens UK is a national network of community organisations which works to increase the power of congregations, trade unions, schools and community groups to participate in public life. They follow the strategy of “community organising”, a method of mobilising citizens that was pioneered in the United States and with which Barack Obama was keenly involved before becoming President. In addition to meeting the needs of their communities at the local level, Citizens UK aim to hold elected officials to account through Citizens Assemblies such as the one on 3 May to which David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown were all invited and asked to address Citizens UK’s six point manifesto. Included in this was the extension of one of Citizens UK’s most successful campaigns to date, the creation of a London living wage.
But I was invited because of my previous involvement with asylum detainees at Oakington Detention Centre, an issue that has been at the heart of the Citizens UK agenda through the work of their subsidiary group Citizens for Sanctuary. This campaign contributed two points to the manifesto: first, calling for an end to child detention for immigration reasons and; second, calling for a one-off amnesty to grant a pathway to citizenship for long term undocumented migrants (Strangers into Citizens). These policies have been well researched. In 2006, the Citizens group in South London asked twelve impartial Commissioners (including Canon Nick Sagovsky from Westminster Abbey) to conduct an independent, nationwide review of the UK’s asylum system. The Independent Asylum Commission spent two years gathering testimony from asylum seekers and the public, taking evidence from experts, and engaging in dialogue with the authorities. The Commission produced over 180 recommendations to safeguard people who seek sanctuary here, while restoring public confidence in the UK’s role as a place of sanctuary for those fleeing persecution. Citizens for Sanctuary is the campaign to make those recommendations a reality. They have already had some success, with the recent announcement by the new Coalition Government to bring an end to child detention and they are working hard to achieve their longer term goal of renewing Britain’s proud tradition of providing sanctuary for those fleeing persecution and tyranny.
Following on from our highly successful fundraising concert for the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture in Lent, we’re going to be reflecting on further ways in which we can play our part in this important issue on 13 June, the first Sunday of Refugee Week. We are delighted to have a visiting speaker at our Parish Eucharist, Jonathan Cox, who is the lead organiser and director of Citizens for Sanctuary. Jonathan previously coordinated the Independent Asylum Commission and worked as a Parliamentary Officer for the Refugee Council. Last year Dr Susie Snyder gave us much to think about in relation to what the Bible has to say about offering hospitality to the vulnerable. So please make a point of coming to hear Jonathan speak about the practical outworking of this central component of the Gospel. You can read more about the work of Citizens for Sanctuary on their website: www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk.