Sanctuary Sunday

17-23 June is Refugee Week, and churches are encouraged to mark Sanctuary Sunday on 23 June.

The idea of Church of Sanctuary, and Sanctuary Sunday, has flowed from the City of Sanctuary movement which Rev Inderjit Bhogal founded when he was a minister in Sheffield. It is rooted in the ancient Hebrew concept of Cities of Refuge (which can be seen in Numbers 35; Joshua 20; Deuteronomy 4).

The annual Sanctuary Sunday is the Sunday at the end of Refugee Week, which this year is 23 June 2019.

Sanctuary Sunday is to celebrate the contribution of refugees and those seeking sanctuary. It provides an opportunity for congregations to remember and bring the theme of refugees and their contributions into worship and prayer. A congregation may use Sanctuary Sunday to commit themselves to becoming a Church of Sanctuary, and as an annual opportunity to review and renew this commitment.

In a Church of Sanctuary, the whole congregation is committed to embedding a culture of welcome, hospitality and protection and safety of the most vulnerable, especially refugees and those seeking sanctuary, among them; learning about those who need protection and safety; and sharing their sanctuary work with others with pride.

For more details go to the JPI web site