Hope while waiting: How Christians are responding to people who have been forced to flee their homes
BY : Charlotte Mayhew Christian Today
Every Thursday night, in the heart of East London, members of a small church plant gather to host a café for people who are displaced and recently arrived in the UK. Once they’re all set up, they walk down the road to a hotel where people who fled conflict and persecution are now here in London. More than the games, activities and food on offer, the church aims to be a welcoming, compassionate, and friendly support to every single attendee.
At the café, Google Translate is well-used as people of different ages and places interact in a cacophony of conversation, connecting over food and games, as well as deeply personal challenges and stories.
I spoke to one LCM Mission Associate who has been working with this church for the last six months. She told me about the hotels that the families and individuals are living in right now. “People are grateful but even good hotel rooms have their limits. They are made for temporary stays,” she said.
In Newham, tucked away from the main road, people are waiting in a queue outside a modest church hall. Inside, volunteers from a local church have been setting up food and beverages for their bi-weekly food bank for over an hour.
One volunteer said, “It’s doing church. Part of living out the gospel means being there for people in their good times and their bad times.”
These are people that have made the sometimes dangerous move to this country and found themselves searching for stability, love, and community. They have gone through things I cannot imagine, and yet God met them on their journeys.
In Christ, each of us has a home, both now and into eternity – as we’re welcomed into God’s family receiving a community, offered healing, and love. It is a home so many people new to the UK are searching for without even realising it.
As Christians, we are also called to care for our neighbours, each becoming a reflection of God’s heart for the lost, the displaced, and the waiting. The parable of the good Samaritan breaks through all political, cultural, religious, and racial barriers. Not everyone is our brother or sister in Christ, but everyone is our neighbour. “Go and do likewise,” Jesus said. It was a command to us Christians to cross cultures and care for those in need.
Can we each trust God to lead us towards these opportunities? The gospel message changes lives – will we be bold enough to share it and to fellowship with the people around us that need hope while they wait for a new home?
Even in the waiting periods there are opportunities for encounter – to encounter God, to encounter the fellowship of faith-filled people and to be encouraged.
We’ve put together a free guide to help your church engage with those who have been displaced who may be living unseen in our communities. Download it here: lcm.org.uk/displaced
Charlotte Mayhew Charlotte Mayhew is Field Director for North London and Diaspora Ministry at London City Mission. Moving from Postdoctoral research in Cancer Therapeutics, Charlotte joined LCM in 2014 feeling called to reach the nations in London. Charlotte worked for a number of years alongside Muslim communities in London, particularly the Somali and South Asian diaspora communities and now coordinates LCM’s Diaspora strategy.
Photo: Getty/iStock
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