It was encouraging to meet with two local vicars, whose churches (St John’s Southall Green & St John’s Ealing) are making a distinctly Christian witness while taking up roles as peacemakers in the community. The distrust between different Sikh groups divided by caste is already deep, then add to that Hindu groups and Islamic denominations... The Christian leaders that I met had earned the respect of many of these religious communities, exemplifying what it means to be a hospitable neighbour. It takes courage for a church to keep a missional outlook when demographic statistics alone would cause many to adopt a siege mentality.

Kathy is doing some great work “equipping and empowering” – as she would put it – through ministries of the local churches. English teaching (many of the women who attend the classes have never had the opportunity to go to school beofer), youth leadership development, coordinating volunteers, and authentic relationships with refugees. In some ways, the ministry in London is quite similar to the Glasgow team in that it’s based in local churches and projects, not operating out of one particular ministry centre. In the British context, this seems to be a fruitful and sustainable way to do ministry with refugees. It was also exciting to meet with Kathy’s first potential teammate.

From our point of view, it is strategic to build up stronger connections between ourselves and the emerging London team. Most of our contacts will go to London at some stage, or even move there when they receive their leave to remain. The building of this network also means that it is something that could be a resource to churches working with refugees and asylum seekers all over the UK.

Pray for our co-worker Kathy in London as she lays the foundations for a new team. I’m excited about what God is already doing in London and expectant about what He is going to do.

Some pictures from London:

Another Southall mosque... on the way.