Our latest project since January 2022 ….
In March 2023 all 5 Methodist Churches in Brighton and Hove achieved Church of Sanctuary status. We are the first Circuit of Sanctuary in the United Kingdom. Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal preached at our Circuit Service to celebrate the awards, read the full story here: Brighton and Hove, first Methodist churches to become Churches of Sanctuary
We live out God’s purpose and mission and offer hospitality, kindness, love and sanctuary to all. Through this project we are sharing our commitment to support and advocate for people fleeing war and persecution and their families. We are working collaboratively with individuals and local groups. Our churches have signed the City of Sanctuary Organisation Pledge to affirm our commitment to support people seeking Sanctuary. We have put the ‘Refugees and Asylum Seekers welcome here’ City of Sanctuary poster on our church doors. Our Church of Sanctuary awards are on display. Our Circuit Refugee Project has inspired members of our community to produce tapestry and art works on the theme of sanctuary, which are displayed in our churches.
Current Focus
Our circuit is still at the start of our Church of Sanctuary journey. Our current focus is on:
- learning and sharing about the issues involved by attending and running awareness raising events, including workshops, webinars, community events, vigils and relevant arts & crafts exhibitions.
- supporting local Sanctuary charities. There are 6 local Sanctuary Charities which are the main focus of our support, via fund-raising events and activities and by donating goods – food, toiletries and new, or as new, clothes. During the festive season we give gifts for children seeking sanctuary. We fund-raise via sponsored events, donation jars at our community events and services & by producing and selling goods (knitted goods, tote bags & cards featuring prints of original artwork from the Network of International Women’s Art Class and also from our wonderful local artist, Shirley Veater, who also created our Circuit of Sanctuary logo). From funds raised we are also able to consider and regularly respond to specific calls for support we hear about via the Brighton & Hove Refugee & Migrant Forum. Our Circuit Refugee Project Co-leads are members of this Forum.
- Where available, we offer our church spaces or free tables at our fairs & events, for use by local sanctuary charities and social enterprises. In this way, we enjoy amazing international events where our guests become hosts and we regularly have the chance to buy wonderful handmade goods and international food. (See contact details for our church spaces at the bottom of this web page).
Here’s more detail about the 6 Brighton & Hove charities we are fundraising for.
We encourage you to visit the 6 charity websites to see their range of activities and support, such as:
Care4Calais Brighton: Generally younger volunteers, including university students, who raise awareness about Sanctuary and have strong links to Sanctuary seekers housed in local hotels. We regularly donate clothes and toiletries via Care4Calais Brighton.
Jollof Cafe (Sussex Refugee & Migrant Self Support Group): A weekly Brighton community cafe run by Sanctuary seekers. Everyone is welcome for international food created with love. Occasional Friday evening events at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church in 2023 & 2024 have been a sell-out. Find Jollof Cafe on Facebook, rather than a website.
The Network of International Women, Brighton & Hove (NiW): Any woman who considers themselves to be international can join. They offer so much support we don’t know how they fit it in each week! They run Art, craft & sewing groups, outdoor ecotherapy & city walks, food of the world cooking groups & catering, as well as doing outreach and casework. NiW offer Friday Sanctuary afternoons for sanctuary seekers living in local hotels and a Saturday meeting for our Ukrainian community, in an Anglican Church in Hove. At Friday Sanctuary afternoons, our local council / health care providers regularly offer specialist sessions to support Brighton & Hove’s sanctuary seeking community. Our Church circuit regularly drop clothes and toiletries to Friday Sanctuary.
Sanctuary on Sea: The Brighton & Hove branch of the national City of Sanctuary movement, which was founded by a Methodist Minister Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal, OBE. City of Sanctuary and it’s local branches advocate for & run awareness raising events about Sanctuary. It very effectively links up local grass roots organisations, charities, schools, libraries, Arts organisations, faith groups and local Councils, all looking to support Sanctuary Seekers & raise awareness, both locally and nationally.
Thousand 4 £1000 (T4K): A Brighton charity for refugees, offering specialist support and advice about housing.
Voices in Exile: Offer specialist advice work to Sanctuary seekers. They also run weekly support groups. Voices in Exile have a Food bank too, which Patcham and Dorset Gardens Methodist Churches regularly donate to.
With very stretched resources, these 6 specialist organisations offer hospitality and support for our local sanctuary seekers, both refugees and asylum seekers. Mutuality and reciprocity are key values of these organisations. The charities include some trustees &/or volunteers/refugee employees with lived experience of seeking Sanctuary, who are offering, sharing and building their skills while contributing to our local community. Each charity also runs or attends special events for Refugee Week each year.
The above are just 6 of our local sanctuary charities and community organisations who liaise with each other on a day to day basis via the Brighton & Hove Refugee & Migrant Forum’s email list. Our Circuit Project Co-Leads are on the Forum mailing list too. Bi-weekly online meetings for the Forum are chaired by Sanctuary on Sea and regularly include representatives from Brighton & Hove City Council and our local NHS trust. Minutes & action points are shared for everyone in the Forum.
Other Key Activities
- We embed the Circuit Refugee project in the everyday life of our church communities. For example, Refugee Week is an integral part of our church calendar. We have Refugee Week events, services, collections, donations & a Refugee Week themed Messy Church for young families. We include all our community in the Circuit Project, the very young, our Community Hubs, peoples with busy working lives and our older members.
- We share what we are doing within our local community and beyond. For example, via this web page, our church News notes, our Circuit quarterly magazine & nationally via The Methodist Recorder. A recent article on the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland website (originally published in The Methodist Recorder) outlines things our Circuit Refugee Project has been doing and how our Sanctuary journey has been progressing. https://ctbi.org.uk/church-of-sanctuary-in-action/ Nationally, one of our Co-Leads is in the Supporting Group for the UK Methodist Church’s Priority Collaboration Group on seeking justice for Refugees.
- We publicise and attend local Sanctuary events. For example, in Spring 2023, several of us joined hundreds of locals to welcome Little Amal, a Syrian Puppet to Brighton Seafront. Little Amal had walked all the way from the Turkish border with Syria to Brighton. If you want to read more, click here (link to Little Amal Document)
- We encourage and support others to consider joining the City of Sanctuary movement.
- Some members of our congregations have offered accommodation & hospitality to Ukrainian families.
- We invite sanctuary charities and people with lived experience into our churches and church services to share their story.
- There are two foodbank donation points in our Circuit, with links to a local Sanctuary charity
- We hold the Circuit Project, Sanctuary Seekers and Sanctuary charities and organisations in our thoughts and prayers.
- We open our hearts and buildings to become a place of welcome, hospitality and inclusion for everyone.
Events we have held
People with lived experience of seeking sanctuary spoke at both our ‘Myth-busting’ Community Breakfast launch event, Spring 2022 and our re-launch Community Breakfast event in Spring 2024.
On the 29th March 2022 Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal OBE, founder of the City of Sanctuary movement, spoke to us about his experience of working with refugees and answered questions. View poster We have been regularly referring to Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal’s book ‘Hospitality and Sanctuary for All’ to guide our conversations and our work with those seeking sanctuary. In March 2023, Rev Dr Inderjit Bhogal returned to our circuit to preach at our Church of Sanctuary Awards service in Dorset Gardens Methodist Church.
Brighton & Hove Interfaith Contact Group have held annual Vigils for Ukraine at Hove Methodist Church since Spring 2022.
In October 2023, we gave a talk, along with Angie Lynne from Sanctuary on Sea, about our Sanctuary Journey. This was an event organised by the Brighton and Hove Faith in Action group, for other local faith groups interested in becoming part of the City of Sanctuary movement.
In January 2024, we ran a workshop on how to ‘Speak Up For Sanctuary’, using a webinar from the City of Sanctuary website to lead the discussion.
In April 2024, at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, we ran a study morning about Sanctuary for the South East Branch of the Soroptimists. We did this in collaboration with the Network of International Women, Brighton & Hove. The NiW Sewing Collective, a social enterprise, did brisk sales at this event.
Fairs and markets: We take our fundraising stall of generously donated hand-crocheted hats, scarves and shawls as well as our bags, cards and other such items, to fairs at our churches and at Carlton Hill school which is a School of Sanctuary. As well as funds, this helps raise awareness and build relationships.
May 18th – June 23rd 2024 Our Circuit Sponsored Journey for Sanctuary between all 5 churches, raised £2,182 which we rounded up to £400 each donated to 6 local charities who support asylum seekers and refugees in Brighton and Hove: Voices in Exile, The Network of International Women Brighton & Hove, Thousand 4 £1000, Care4Calais Brighton & Hove, Jollof Café (Sussex Refugee & Migrant Self Support Group) and Sanctuary on Sea. Some of the Sanctuary charities joined us on the launch day, Saturday 18 May, when all our churches were open to welcome and provide refreshments for those journeying. To make it inclusive, people journeyed as far as they wished. Some people walked, others used the bus or electric bikes. Some people staggered their journey over the month, others visited all 5 churches in one day. Our church communities also completed laps around a church sanctuary (Captain Sir Tom style). 23 people journeyed between our 5 churches and everyone recorded their mileage, giving our communal mileage total of 216 miles.
The success of our Journey for Sanctuary and everything that these charities and local sanctuary seekers are contributing to our community was celebrated in all our churches’ Refugee Sunday services, June 23rd 2024.
On 20th July 2024 a concert by the Brighton Male Voice Choir at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church raised £182 for the project.
We would like to thank everyone who donates, participates or helps at these events in any way for all their support for our Circuit Refugee Project.
Contacts for our Circuit Refugee Project
Our Refugee Project Steering Group is made up of representatives from the Circuit and its churches. They are people who have a keen interest and desire to support people seeking Sanctuary and their families in the Brighton and Hove area, through this project.
The group has overview of the vision of the project and each member plays a vital role in contributing ideas and recommendations, implementing actions, making decisions and ensuring the project is progressing effectively. The group works collaboratively. We endeavour to meet once every quarter but are in touch with each other regularly via emails and in person.
The steering group is:
Sue Harrington and Ruth Samur, Circuit Project Co-Leads
Kay Harwood, Lead, Patcham Methodist Church
Ann Collins, Lead, Stanford Avenue Methodist Church
Terry Hammond, Lead, Woodingdean Methodist Church
Sue Harrington, Lead, Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
Ruth Samur, Lead, Hove Methodist Church
Rev. Cynthia Park, Supernumerary Minister, Brighton and Hove Methodist Circuit
If you are interested in volunteering, donating, or would like to learn more about our Sanctuary journey or current activities, please get in touch with Sue at studentcircuit@gmail.com 07943 401608.
If you are a Sanctuary charity or organisation interested in use of our church spaces, contact Sue to put you in touch with our church administrative offices, or you can contact our church offices direct. Churches – Brighton and Hove Methodist Circuit (brightonhovemethodistcircuit.org.uk) Click on each church to find location and contact details.