The Wesley Church has been officially appointed as a Church of Sanctuary, recognising their work supporting asylum seekers and refugees, and promoting awareness in the local community.

A ceremony marking the accreditation took place last week, with guests including the co founder of the City of Sanctuary scheme in attendance.

Mike Johnson, a Chester pioneer with City of Sanctuary spoke about the growth of the movement in the local area. The Sanctuary Movement is a national charity with over 100 local groups, seeking to promote a culture of welcome for refugees and asylum seekers. In Chester, the group evolved following discussions with Syrian refugees, leading to the formation of a group called Jacob’s Ladder. This then evolved into City of Sanctuary in 2018 with a Theatre in the Quarter musical production featuring local school children played outside the Cathedral.

In recent years the Wesley Church has been heavily involved in welcoming and supporting refugees from Ukraine. A Ukrainian woman spoke about her experiences which led to her arrival in Chester in May 2022 with her mother and young daughter. |She described the chaos at the outbreak of war, with panic buying , car crashes and petrol shortages, as well as the uncertainty about seeing the rest of her family again. Her sponsor family told her about the Wesley Church where she met with other Ukrainians and found common ground and understanding. Althoigh the future remains uncertain, she said ,“because of this place, we are safe.”

Visitor to Cheser Pastor Akoi Bazzie praised the Church for its successful application saying “I saw great people coming together in this application. Sanctuary is my entire life. ” He fled from his home in Liberia when he was just 14 years old to escape the bloody Civil War. He lived in a refugee camp for 12 years and after settling in Sheffield went on to work with the Refugee Council at European level, working for nearly two decades supporting sanctuary seekers.

Finally Inderjit Bhogal, Methodist minister and co-founder of the Sanctuary movement spoke of the need for compassion in increasingly challenging times. “Stories like what we have heard is where the real inspiration and passion is… This is a remarkable application, thank you to everyone for your good work” concluding “Always challenge hatred and hostility, when you do that you build hope”.

The Church will be involved in the forthcoming Refugee week this summer.

https://www.wesleychester.co.uk/chester-city-of-sanctuary.php