I mentioned helping with the report for St Rollox; in addition to the logbook stats, I take photographs for the project. I’ve posted some below. I have over 100 images, most of which won’t be used for the report. Below are a few that wouldn’t work for the purpose of the end-of-year report, but I thought were interesting anyway. Hopefully they’ll give you a feel for what happens during our daily routine (and for our friends from the Athens team, look closely and you might find a familiar face).
Our precious girl is now ONE year old. Hard to believe, the year has flown past. We had a great surprise when the folk at the St Rollox cafe came in with a cake singing ‘Happy Birthday!” to Niamh. There was a large group of new Iranians there who got into the occasion and passed Niamh around like she was a celebrity. She loved being the centre of attention and particularly enjoyed it when everybody clapped for her.
It’s that time of year again at the St Rollox Community Outreach... when we help out with reports that help to secure funding for the next financial year. As we start to feel the bite of cutbacks, it’s a more anxious time than usual.
There was a stark reminder of that earlier today. We just said goodbye to a wonderful group of ladies who run a crèche, the funding for which has been completely pulled. It was a tearful goodbye. The ladies have been involved with the project for years and have the trust of parents and the children. Niamh would get excited going into the crèche and Emma had built strong relationships with the workers. Relational attachments aside, the crèche has allowed crucial programmes to run for young mothers, who normally don’t have access to English and computer classes because of the expense (or unavailability) of childcare. It’s difficult to know what we will do from here... currently praying that God would show us a way forward so we can continue supporting young refugee mothers who are some of the most prone to isolation.
On a more positive note, going through the paperwork and logbook from the previous year is a useful reminder of all the things that St Rollox is doing in the community. Below I’ve copied some of the information that I collated for the year-end report. The data helps us to keep our pulse on what support the community is seeking, how the demographic is changing, and how we should seek to respond strategically.
*****
St Rollox Queries, approx. percentages:
17.8% - Benefits 14.4% - Employment 10.4% - Asylum Status & Residency 08.9% - Citizenship & British Passports 06.4% - Signposting 05.9% - Emergency Support 05.9% - Housing 04.0% - Computer & IT Support 04.0% - Personal Finance 04.0% - Support Letters 04.0% - Travel 02.0% - Drivers Licence & Insurance 02.0% - Health 02.0% - Utilites 01.5% - Education 01.5% - Voucher Exchange 01.0% - Volunteering 04.5% - Other
Observations: Compared to queries logged last year, the number of people asking for help with benefits and employment has nearly tripled. This could be down to a couple of reasons: 1) Asylum seekers who now have residency are seeking more support with coming into the mainstream system and looking for work 2) As the project has changed its title to ‘Community Outreach’ and is being more intentional about reaching out to the white Scottish community in Sighthill, the rise in queries about seeking work and benefits suggests that the project is being successful in reaching out to this section of the community where these are major issues.
Related to first point above, there has been an expected increase in people looking for support with applying for British citizenship. Interestingly, there has also been an increase in people looking for support with the earlier stages of seeking asylum (actually closer to the levels from two years ago). Though some of the Sighthill buildings have been demolished, it is clear that newly dispersed asylum seekers continue to be housed in North Glasgow and are seeking support from the project.
The “Voucher Exchange” programme, such a major feature of the total queries from last year, has nearly disappeared. While we still encounter people on the Azure card who would like access to cash (to purchase necessities like bus fares), many of our long-term contacts previously on Azure are either without any financial support (vouchers or otherwise) or have received residency under the legacy review. ‘Emergency Support’ (in the form of non-perishable foodstuffs and supermarket vouchers) still ranks as the 6th most common query, which can be interpreted as the project's continuing support for people who are left destitute.
A new category “Signposting” was introduced where we refer people onto other organisations. The most common were: Citizens Advice Bureau, Scottish Refugee Council, Victim Support, OISC, Asylum Support Appeals Project, Lifelink, the Ruchill Furniture project, and the North Glasgow Community Food Initiative.
The ‘Other’ category remains as interesting as ever. People came to use to organise a team to help paint and carpet a new flat, piano lessons, finding a plumber, chasing up lost post, and trying to get a place on a football team.
It’s exciting when things come together. Even more exciting when we start to see some fruit from our ministries.
Two years ago, I met an Afghan guy “Toobah” when we first started the football programme. Many of the Afghan guys were a bit stand-offish at first, but I felt that we have built relationships and trust over the two years the ministry has been running. As of last week, he’s now attending to the church plant that we’re involved with.
Toobah called me up a few weeks ago asking me to visit him because of "problems with his asylum case." He then called up a few days later and told me, "I want to change my religion." I assumed the two were linked, so I was admittedly a bit cynical. I went with our new teammate Andrew to visit him; as it turns out, Toobah has no problems with his asylum case and simply wanted to talk about Jesus. He had used "asylum issues" as a cover in case I had been in contact with any other Afghans! We gave him a Dari Bible and Toobah was amazed, he didn’t know such a thing existed. He had taken a Farsi Bible from the church over a year ago, but has difficulty understanding it. He was so excited to have the Bible in his own language, that after reading a few verses his first response was to hug the book to his chest. He is planning to attend church next week as well and plans to bring another friend (who I also initially met through football) who is interested in learning the truth about Jesus.
The progress with the Afghans is very encouraging – as it has taken about a year and a half of building trust and relationship to get to this point! It was also exciting to see how God is using two very different ministries in tandem (football and a contextual church plant) so that people will encounter the gospel.
> Please pray for Toobah as he has many questions and is still fearful about what his friends might think. > Thank God for the encouragement as we start to see how God can use our ministries for the purpose of building His kingdom.
This video has been out nearly two years now, but the issue still exists. Many of the people who come to the St Rollox drop-ins, even some volunteers, have stories similar to the ones you will hear in this short video by Refugee Action:
Emma and our teammates the Cottrells are partnering with local churches and other concerned Christians about how we might respond to this crisis in a distinctly Christlike way. There is an interesting line where the woman says, “I only survive with the church.” In our experience, and to its great credit, the church has been at the forefront of caring for those who are most marginalised. My friend from Rwanda once told me that while he was destitute for years, “If it wasn’t for my friends at the church, I would probably be dead. Really, they helped me to survive.” He was speaking not only of the practical support, but the social and spiritual support, receiving prayer. However, we believe that we could be more strategic and cooperative in our response. We have a vision to have something in place before next winter.
> Pray for those who are left destitute. > Pray for our team as we look into practical ways to offer shelter, safety, and spiritual support for those in greatest need.
On Monday, I went with a group of church leaders and activists (all involved in the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign) to meet with the regional director of the UKBA about improving the conditions for people on voucher support. This meeting was a long time coming. We did a major campaign around the city (“Shop for Justice”) and launched a report (you can see our original blog about it here).
The UKBA director here was very reluctant to meet with us at first. This probably comes down to bad experiences of groups that often campaign about issues of asylum: their way of interacting with UKBA is generally negative, angry, and trying to deal with such a broad range of issues that there is little focus. In my experience of dealing with the UKBA in Glasgow, this hasn’t proven very effective and puts the UKBA in defensive mode where they are unlikely to concede on any iota of the official line. One Church of Scotland minister at the meeting put it as “the mob with pitchforks and torches” approach to dialogue.
We were able to get over this hurdle and met with the regional director of the UKBA in a local church. The tone of the meeting was very different from other meetings I’ve experienced. I felt that we were listened to and the UKBA admitted that all of our points were “sensible and logical” and “there was no reason why we shouldn’t look at making these changes.” We had four suggestions:
1. Increase the range of shops on the Azure card, including charity shops, ethnic markets, and halal butchers. 2. That the UKBA would better monitor and train “problem stores” where there are persistent issues with the Azure card. 3. Having access to transport with Azure (e.g. being allowed to purchase a bus ticket with the card) 4. Allowing people to save on their Azure card, so they can save up for larger purchases, like a winter coat or boots.
The UKBA said that they would look into this and hope to make changes where possible. The proof is in the pudding, but I was surprised that all of our four points were recognised as valid. Four points, four concessions. An encouraging success!
After the meeting, the proverb “A soft answer turns back wrath, but a sharp word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1) came to mind. Though this passage is often applied to interpersonal relationships, Ronald Murphy’s commentary points to a political dimension in the text:
How is one to deal with an angry person? The sages had learned the paradoxical fact that a soft tongue could break a bone (Prov25:15b). Therefore one must handle such people carefully, even gently. This was all the more important in dealing with those of a higher class, such as kings, who had the power to hurt (16:14; 25:15). A tough response will only lead to greater problems (Word Biblical Commentary, Vol 22).
Ancient wisdom for contemporary engagement with power? It’s worth noting that the adjective “gentle” or “soft” modifies the noun “answer”, as opposed to being a characteristic of person speaking. While the Hebrew adjective rōk is used widely and generally for gentle/soft/tender in different contexts, in wisdom literature it is most often applied to the use of speech, and as Hendrik Bosman notes, “The soft/gentle word/answer implies a conciliatory attitude and not appeasement at any cost” (NIDOTTE). Principles worth keeping in mind for Christians, as we seek to engage in public and political spheres.
In the great scheme of things, four improvements to the Azure card seem relatively insignificant. But it will make a big difference for the people on voucher support. This negotiation has also helped us to establish a working relationship with the UKBA. This could form a foundation for critical, yet constructive, engagement on other issues in the future.
Last Thursday was a strange, rushed and emotionally exhausting day.
The usual drop-in at St Rollox didn’t run because a memorial was held for a Sighthill man who used to attend many of the church programmes. He didn’t make many Sunday mornings, but was a regular attendee at the drop-in and took part in the Christianity Explored course. Rab was found dead in his flat by his neighbours, who hadn’t seen him for a week. He had died due to an aneurysm. There was a real sense of sadness about Rab’s death, as there was a great difficultly finding next of kin so nobody knew if and when there would be a funeral. Rab was well known in Sighthill, but it seems that not many people really knew him. It turns out that the last time we saw Rab must've been a couple days before he died. It's very sad, but I know on that day that both Emma and I were there and he saw and held Niamh (who he hadn't met before), telling us that she was "a wee cracker!"
Rab was a tall and tough looking guy, usually seen wearing a Misfits beanie and skull earring. But he had an unexpected childlike quality, always keen to help with physical work that needed done. It was hard to know about Rab personally, but I learned bits and pieces from our conversations at St Rollox. He was a keen Rangers supporter, but had never been to a match. He was big into the punk scene in the 70s and always liked to tell a story about how Joe Strummer made eye contact and bashed Rab’s fist at a Clash gig. He had been in a Townhead gang growing up and had been to many ‘rumbles’ in the Sighthill cemetery, but he was adamant that he had "turned his back on that sort of thing." Rab loved taking books and tracts from the church; he must’ve taken 10 different Bibles since I first met him. He was particularly interested in the end times and liked to be reassured that God was ultimately in control.
We began to grow concerned because weeks after Rab’s death, there was no news of a funeral. It was heartbreaking that Rab’s death might pass by without an organised act of remembrance. Eventually the details were sorted out and a memorial was scheduled at St Rollox. We were delighted to see that the church was full of local people there to pay their respects and remember Rab. Some people didn’t know how important local churches had been to him and were appreciative that St. Rollox had managed to the community together to mourn and remember. It caused many to think about their own ask the big questions about their lives.
That so many people showed up took the edge off the sadness and helped to bring closure. Rab was a real character and will be missed.
Thursday was also the day that we said goodbye to our Rwandan friend ‘George’ who got the job on the dairy farm (which I wrote about in a previous post). It all happened very quickly (or too quickly?). He was told on Wednesday that he could start work on Friday, so Thursday we hectically packed up and travelled around the city to sort out his paperwork with the Jobcentre, housing provider, and purchasing a train ticket.
The reality that George was leaving only really hit me as we waited for his train to Carlisle in central station. It seemed to hit him as well and he was clearly nervous about the big changes in store.
Since then, I’ve spoken to George a couple of times on the phone. The work is hard and the hours are long, but he’s pleased to be working again in a job that he knows. He says the other farmers are friendly and his roommate is also a newbie and city boy from Cardiff (it’s nice that he has another guy from out-of-town with him). In particular, he enjoyed learning to drive the tractor. At football on Friday, George’s absence was palpable. He helped to organise football and brought a lot of laughter to our games. Many of the guys were already talking about how much they missed him.
Pray that George will continue to rely on God through this transition. Also pray for his friends at Bishopbriggs Community Church who would’ve liked more time to say goodbye.
I’m no expert in computers, but I can help out with a few basic problems. I took a computer maintenance course when we first moved to Glasgow, as I was getting so many requests to help with malfunctioning computers. Quite often in Arabic speaking homes, going to help with a computer means that I get generously fed. Actually, I often think the ‘computer problems’ can also be an excuse to get Emma and I over for a bit of hospitality and conversation. Last week, we went to see an Algerian family we've got to know; it was to have a look at their computer, but it wasn't long until food appeared on the table. Niamh enjoyed her first taste of proper Algerian cous cous.
Our daughter was the centre of attention (not as if that’s out of the ordinary) and was so overwhelmed with affection from our Algerian friend’s daughters, that Niamh fell asleep immediately in her car seat.
On Wednesday, I went with a busload of men to watch St Mirren take on Dundee United in Paisley.
St Mirren Football Club were kind enough to give us free tickets to the match and through contacts in a partner church we were able to travel to the game together in a massive bus (many thanks to Brian Cottrell for organising that!). That, in and of itself, made for great fun and banter, which carried on into the match. Guys from local churches as well as refugees and asylum seekers enjoyed a bit of time together cheering for the Saints (well, most of us). In total, 38 men came along. Much more than I expected. It was a diverse group as well, at least 13 different countries represented.
One of my Palestinian friends brought his two sons, their first football match. They had never heard of St Mirren before, but by the end of the match had become the most vocal supporters shouting “Cooooome on St Mirren!” anytime the ball came anywhere near us. The two boys couldn’t keep the name of the opposition, Dundee United, in their minds. So they just called them “the oranges.” Which made for amusing cheers like, “Hey, you defender, smash that orange!”
There was also an interesting discussion that one guy had with an Afghan refugee about why the team is called St Mirren. The team takes its name from a seventh century Irish monk (in Irish, Meadhran) who came to share Christianity in Scotland and established an abbey in Paisley... God can be found in many places, even at a noisy Scottish football match.
It was a decent game with good atmosphere. The other great thing about getting all the guys together like this is that the shared experience helps to cement relationships and adds helps to encourage a group identity. If we are to get a team into a league next year, this kind of cohesion will be vital.
There are Christians involved in St Mirren and it’s possible that our team’s partnership with the club might extend beyond the occasional invitation to a match. Watch this space.
I have a good friend from Rwanda. ‘George’ is one of the hardest working guys I know, can get along with anybody, has a good sense of humour, and is always willing to help others. He had an unbelievably difficult time claiming asylum in the UK. He arrived in Britain in his early 20s and it took nine years for him to receive residency. For four years of that 9 years, George was left without any support (housing or financial), so relied wholly on friends and the church.
The amazing thing is that through all this, he never once stepped outside of the law and always abided by the rules of the country. George didn’t idle his time away either – he got involved in volunteering in North Glasgow and has contributed to the community for years.
Now that George is a resident, he has to seek work like any other British person. He was really excited about this, he could not wait to get working. Unfortunately, the cards seem stacked against him. As he was not allowed to work during the nine years he was seeking asylum, this creates a gap in his CV. Though his prolific volunteering is catalogued on his résumé, employers don’t rank it as highly as actual ‘work experience’ (or simply not recognised as so many job applications are in online forms that do not allow for flexibility).
To complicate issues, George’s trade is farming. Dairy cattle to be specific. However, the Jobcentre has only attempted to put him into cleaning jobs. In the current climate, most of the cleaning jobs are part-time and thus are getting snapped up by more qualified people using it as a stop-gap while they seek other work. George has been to a number of interviews, but never gets the job and it’s starting to get him down. Also, he's not really interested in being a cleaner.
Last week, George came to me with information about a carers’ course, which the Jobcentre were encouraging him to take. I asked him if this was really something that he wanted to do. George said, “No. Not really, but it's work, which is better than no work.” So we sat and brainstormed, trying to help George dream a bit about his 'ideal job'. To get the ball rolling, I asked about the kind of work he did in Rwanda. He started telling me about looking after the family dairy herd in Rwanda, how he milked the cows, understands husbandry... the more he talked about it, the more his passion for dairy farming became clear. I asked George, “What if we could find you a job in the Britain working on a dairy farm?” He was excited the idea, but didn't think it would be possible to find a job in this field. George had told the Jobcentre about his background in farming, but never received support to explore employment options in this area, so figured it was a dead end. This does leave me with some serious questions about the Jobcentre and what seems to be a lack of creativity or thinking outside the box in getting people into suitable employment... but that’s another discussion.
So we made a few phone calls, and as it turns out, despite the difficulties the British dairy industry is facing, there remains a need for skilled workers in this field. There is the possibility that George might get into an entry-level job in Cumbrian farm that would help him to learn the skills necessary for dairy farming in the UK and get his foot in the door of the industry. George has a lot to learn about the farming technology used in the UK, but he does have indispensable knowledge and hands on experience with cattle. He loves working with the animals, it's in his blood.
George is excited about this, but I can tell that he’s trying not getting his hopes up, having been disappointed before about potential jobs. There is also a sense in which it seems too good to be true... working with cattle again is something that he would love to do, it's a dream job. I think there’s a real possibility that he will get the job. Everybody in Glasgow will miss him so much, but Carlisle really isn’t too far away.
Keep George in your prayers: he’s travelling to the farm tomorrow, seeing the conditions, and going for an interview. He is nervous, but also excited about the opportunity.
I just finished reading a brilliant book on leadership. Interestingly, it’s also one of the shortest books that I’ve read on leadership. I would highly recommend Stephen Cottrell’s Hit the Ground Kneeling: Seeing Leadership Differently to anybody who is a leader in some area of their life: work, home, church, sports team…
The book is written from a distinctly Christian perspective, but does not only apply to leadership in churches and Christian organisations. Stephen Cottrell takes worn out leadership clichés and turns them upside-down with reference to wisdom in the book of Proverbs and biblical examples of leadership.
Stephen Cottrell summarises some of his ideas:
The world says, ‘Don’t state the obvious.’ But I reckon that articulating the vision and reminding people of what is fundamental are the first requirements of leadership. The world says, ‘Don’t reinvent the wheel.’ But other people’s wheels don’t always fit. The world says, ‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.’ But we need a big vision to counter the prevalent cynicism that is eating up our culture.
We don’t need to hit the ground running…. when someone hits the ground running, there is all the superficial attraction of movement and progress. But there is no guarantee that they are going in the right direction.
Last week, I went to pick up my Egyptian friend before football.
When he got in the car, he asked how my New Year was, to which I responded, “Fine, it was very quiet.” I asked him if he did anything for the New Year.
M responded, “How can I enjoy myself with the news of what is happening in my country?”
He was speaking about the tragic news from Alexandria at a New Year's Eve service at the al-Qiddissin Church. M was in complete disbelief about the situation. He told me that he knows that there are sometimes tensions between Muslims and Christians in Egypt, but he told me that many of his neighbours and friends were Christians. There was no attempt to justify the events nor the slightest suggestion the Coptic community have brought it upon themselves. He just kept repeating, “This is terrible, both Muslims and Christians are Egyptian.” M is from Alexandria; the news, quite literally, is close to home.
He was trying to find some reason for what had happened, trying to blame foreign fighters or nations... but this didn’t take away from the fact that M was appalled by the bombings.
The Church Times reported, “The other unusual factor of Coptic Christmas this year was the presence of a large number of Muslims who wanted to express their sympathy and support for the Christians of Egypt. Thousands of Muslims across the country offered their services as human shields for worshippers arriving for midnight mass. Others held candlelit vigils outside churches.”
As is probably evident, I haven’t been blogging much. I would like to say this is because things have been so busy upon our return to Glasgow, but the reality is a bit more mundane. Niamh and I came down with a virus that was somewhere between a flu and a cold and hung on for ages. Emma, being well, definitely drew the short straw as she had to look after two grumpy people. Not fun. I probably shouldn’t have gone into St Rollox drop-ins feeling weak and headachey, but just assumed another cup of coffee would do the trick. It turns out that coffee is not always the miracle cure I imagine it to be...
Thankfully, we’re all much better now and settling back into a more regular routine. I haven’t been on the blog much (or at all) since Christmas and there are a backlog of things in my mind that are probably worth posting. They’ll follow.
I’ve also made a few cosmetic changes to the blog layout. Let me know what you think.
Three days till Christmas! No snow forecast until Boxing Day, so we should be able to get out and about. But it’s so cold here in Belfast, that I’m pretty content to relax in the relative warmth inside. The neighbours upstairs have frozen pipes, but we seem to have been spared; for now anyway.
The BBC has an impressive video of the snowfall over Belfast (click on the pic below):
All this time indoors means a chance to read, watch films, and listen to some music.
Speaking of music, because I’m writing this from east Belfast, it seems appropriate here to recommend the new Christmas album by local lad Brian Houston. “Joy to the World” is brilliant. A reworking of classic Christmas hymns in his distinctive folksy-Americana style. It’s upbeat, soulful (backing vocals by the Belfast Community Gospel Choir), and really captures a sense of joy. Highly recommended. You can buy / download the album via these links:
Some other Christmas albums we’re enjoying: So Elated (Ben Thomas) “The Bewildering Light” – this weaves together traditional hymns with imaginative new songs, progressively telling the Christmas story with imaginative insights.
I hope that you’re all looking forward to Christmas... and that the snow (here in the UK at least) hasn’t caused you too much trouble!
We’re off to Belfast tomorrow. Today has been a bit of a haze trying to get everything sorted before we go; travelling with a baby changes everything.
I did have a very encouraging day though, spent the morning with Muslim seekers at a new church plant we’re involved with and capped the day off by gate-crashing a French Cameroonian Bible study. Hope to write more about that later, but I need to get packing!
I’m sure that many of you already got this in your inbox, but for those of you who follow our news via the blog or Facebook, here’s the link to our 2010 Christmas prayer letter:
When someone flees their homeland in search of safety in another country, bringing evidence of the danger they faced is rarely at the forefront of their minds. Even if circumstances do allow the gathering of some documentation, it is often lost along the way; taken by the traffickers they are forced to pay, destroyed when the boat they use to cross from Turkey to Greece sinks. Yet those making decisions on asylum claims here continue to insist on an extremely high evidentiary burden. Some people carry the evidence on their bodies, and still, as the Channel 4 Dispatches programme showed on Monday evening, the Home Office says its not enough to show they face a threat if returned to their own country. Time after time I have seen strong documentary and physical evidence dismissed by the Home Office far too easily. At times, the asylum seekers have put their families and friends back home at risk by getting them to send evidence, only for the Home Office to say they have no way of verifying its authenticity therefore it cannot be relied upon. When we are dealing with torture, deprivation of liberty, disappearance and possible death, shouldn’t it be rather a case of them being required to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the document is inauthentic?. Generally speaking, the UKBA are in a fairly good position to be able to investigate the veracity of claims such as “my father is the governor of a jail, built by UK forces, housing Taliban combatants” and it should be down to them to disprove that fact especially when accompanied by strong prima facie evidence such as a letter from the British ambassador in Kabul. So why are they allowed to continue to just say "we don't trust the evidence you have submitted". There is something very wrong with the unequal burden of proof that has developed in the asylum process and it needs to be addressed.
I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please.
We have just received the following update from the Refugee Council regarding the termination of the contract between Glasgow City Council and the UKBA. Click here
Currently, the City Council is the biggest provider of accommodation and support services for asylum seekers dispersed to Glasgow. There are also two private providers, one of which is a not-for-profit organisation. Should there be no resolution to the dispute between the Council and UKBA, over 1300 people (600 families) face having to once again move at short notice. Try to imagine fleeing your home, finally making it to the UK after a perilous journey, being dispersed to this cold and rainy place, managing to get your children settled into school and beginning to build a new life only to be given 3 days notice that you are to be uprooted again. You have no say in the matter and are powerless to make a choice about your children's best interests.
Needless to say, this could have a huge impact on the ministry here as well. The letters sent to those currently in Council accommodation state that they will be moved to somewhere else in Scotland. No other cities have been identified and we are not aware of any other areas in the country making preparations to receive asylum seekers. If this goes ahead, the UKBA are likely to face the same problems with unprepared host communities as they did in Glasgow 10 years ago including misunderstanding, the stretching of public services (already facing budget cuts) and even violence directed at the newcomers.
The Refugee Council are absolutely right in calling for any negotiations to place the welfare of the people affected in the centre of the debate. Who knows what is currently really going on behind closed doors. There may be some strategy at play on both sides but the people who suffer are our friends. They are being told very little and silence proves a fertile breeding ground for rumour which leads to even more fear.
We had a great time with our refugee friends from Palestine last week. They have a baby about the same age as Niamh; we were delighted to see the little one so healthy and strong. The doctors had told the family that there were going to be complications and it was likely that the baby was going to have severe disabilities. They never considered an abortion, the mother even told Emma once that she felt that ‘God had given her peace’ about the situation.
It’s clear that God is doing something in their lives and we pray that they will come to believe the good news about Jesus. Their asylum situation is still ongoing, so if you could pray for that as well.
Here’s a few pictures of Niamh, her wee pals, and a very cool headdress:
…the day traditionally put aside to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. On this day people across the nation pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by our brave Service men and women.
The Royal British Legion have released a charity single like no other into the charts: a track of two minutes complete silence as an act of remembrance. The single may not make it to #1, but it’s an impressive and refreshingly counter-cultural initiative to halt the incessant noise for space to remember.
It’s only £1 to download the track (click the pickture below), and goes to a very worthy cause.
Emma and I met up with an Iranian couple who are very dear to us last week. Niamh also came along, the undeniable star of the show. It’s amazing how children immediately break down barriers and cut the ice.
Niamh also had a proper Persian cultural experience when M tried to help her sleep by rocking her on his legs. Niamh didn’t fall asleep, but seemed to find the whole thing quite funny!
To be honest, I was looking forward to the bad weather -- as far as football is concerned. Friday nights have become so popular that it was becoming difficult to squeeze 28 guys on one 7-a-side pitch. Now that the nights are darker and the bone-ache inducing Glasgow rain and wind has come in full force, it might mean lower numbers. Generally, only the guys who are really committed brave the elements. Last winter it was a core group of about 10. It made organising things much easier. At the moment, the first 16 guys get to play where as the guys who are late have to wait until there are enough guys for a third team. The system works ok, but it's less disruptive if a third team isn't needed (trying to get 7 guys with 4 languages between them onto one team does take a bit of time).
Last week, I honestly thought that nobody would show up. It had been raining (hard!) all day and the roads were flooded. I thought I’d be lucky to have five. To my surprise, 18 guys showed up, some of them newbies. It rained and even hailed for the entire hour and once our hour was up, some of the guys were asking the staff at Petershill “Please, five more minutes?” Really, it was so wet it felt closer to water polo than footie. The staff at the centre thought we were mad. Maybe they're right?
Joking aside, it’s been really encouraging to know that it something the guys really value and has become part of their routine. Now that it’s been running for over a year, I’m feeling like we’re getting to a point where relationships are deepening and trust is being built. Or it could be that the guys are also getting more used to life in Scotland? One Iranian guy told me, "Seriously, if I only tried to play football when it's not raining, I may only get one game a year in Glasgow!"
Some of the guys have been asking for something a bit more involved, so we’re looking at getting a team entered into the Glasgow Churches Football League. John (a brilliant new volunteer) has a SFA coaching badge will do some training with the guys to get them working as a proper team. If we can find some sponsorship, it will be an exciting development for next year.
Emma and I recently had two of the Iranian guys back at our flat for dinner, got to know them and their situations a bit better. They were quite comfortable at our place and we had a good time sharing stories; it seemed to confirm that genuine relationships are being built though football.
Here are some pictures of football from last month, when things were a bit brighter!
We had a great trip in Chicago, some pictures should appear in Flickr soon (see the sidebar on the right). We’ve been back nearly two weeks now and well recovered from jetlag. Emma recently had a wisdom tooth removed, so that is causing considerable pain. The dentist has given Emma a course of antibiotics, so hopefully that means things will improve quickly.
Things in Glasgow have been as busy as expected, but I’d say that were well into the swing of things now, back into a working pattern. It’s been a good two weeks. Here are a couple of exciting things that have happened:
Now that Niamh is much more settled, we’ve been able to open up our home again for hospitality. Two Iranian friends from football were at the flat for dinner last night. I’ve known the guys for a number of months, but never really had a chance to get to know them. We had a great time and are looking forward to opening our house more regularly.
A good Iranian friend of mine told me that “so many Christians have been so helpful to me in Scotland, helping me when they didn’t have to, being my friend. From what I’ve seen, what you say about Jesus must be true.” He wants to meet weekly to learn about the Bible and Christianity.
Niamh all packed and ready for her first long-haul flight.
Apologies in advance for the lack of updates over the next 12 days. We’re on holiday, spending time with my parents in Chicago. My sister is en route and should be with us tomorrow. It’s quite rare that all of us would be in the same place at the same time!
Niamh did ok on her first trans-Atlantic flight, but I’ll need to readjust my traveling expectations. Flying with a seven month old baby means that catching the in-flight film and finishing that book on psychology for Christian ministry was probably not a realistic goal! Emma and I are coping with the jetlag relatively well; Niamh, on the other hand, isn’t chuffed with her altered schedule and is too tired to nap. I’m sure she’ll fall back into a routine eventually though.
Our main reason to be in Chicago is to spend time with family, but we will try to see a number of other friends and supporters in the area. But as always, 12 days is never as long as it seems. So apologies if we didn’t get to see you, but we will be back! Furlough isn’t too far off...
A blast from the past. I received an e-mail the other day saying that there was a comment on our blog. Not this one, but our previous website. Interestingly, there were over 100 hits from the south of India with ‘comments’ posted on articles that read like this:
“It is an interesting comment with which to agree, one perhaps many. Furthermore, if to be is the argument true, please consider Prada handbag. Or handbag of luxury quality is cheap for legal purchasing on my website. Thank you for the consideration my wonderful friendly. Our discussion is fully delightful.”
Really, who do these people think they are fooling? For those of you still reading our old blog, Apologies if you were duped and your new Gucci handbag is actually a Primark cast-off coming apart at the seams. To the spammer: if you’re going to con anybody, some work on your English might be necessary. The Nigerian who told everybody on my behalf that I was lost in Lagos and needed money sent to me via Western Union was more convincing (which isn’t saying much).
It was amusing at first, but when I had to individually delete over 60 of these spam comments it became a bit tedious.
A good thing to come out of this unsolicited advertising on our old blog was that it led me down memory lane – read posts penned four years ago. Four years. Has it really been that long? Rereading some of these stories has again confirmed how important our time in Athens was in preparing us for leading the ministry in Glasgow. There is also a sense of sadness, as the ministry in Greece is still very close to our hearts. It also highlighted the importance of context; while similarities exist between most of ITeams refugee ministry, the situation and culture of the ‘host’ country has a huge bearing on the shape of ministry. Emma’s blog about the difficulties a clothing giveaway in Athens seems totally foreign in the Glasgow context.
The old blog is worth a look if you want to reminisce with me. It’s also a testament to how God has led us to where we are now.
I had the pleasure of speaking at a recent Fellowship of Faith for Muslims (FFM) meeting in Glasgow. I updated them on what was happening in our own ministry as well as our experience and the current situation in Athens. The meeting itself was quite traditional, most of the members from the older generation. It was one of the most powerful prayer meetings that I’ve been to of late – a matter of substance over style (a great lesson to many of us younger folk who have grown up in an image obsessed culture). Many of the people there came from mission backgrounds, showed great empathy for the situations we work in, and prayed powerfully for us and the ministry.
I’ll close this post with a prayer said at the meeting that I found quite interesting: “Lord, bless these people who have come to our country, who have so much to teach to us. May their openness to the Gospel be an example to many of the hard hearted Scots.”
A couple days ago, I received a call from an organisation that was helping our Iranian friends with their case... only about a week after submitting ‘fresh evidence’ the Home Office has given the couple refugee status! Their legal representatives were prepared for a long fight, considering how long the case had already been drawn out. This is one of the quickest positive decisions I’ve ever seen.
St Rollox has undergone a makeover of sorts. The name of the project at the church has changed names – from the not-so-catchy “St Rollox Asylum Seekers Support Project” to “St Rollox Community Outreach”.
The reason for the name change is not that the project is moving away from supporting asylum seekers; in reality, they will probably remain the primary service users. However, the new name is more reflective of our vision and what we’re hoping to do in the community. Our services are open to everybody in Sighthill, not only one section of the community. The name “Asylum Seekers Support” limited how we were perceived.
It also reflects how things change. Some asylum seekers receive a favourable decision on their case, they become residents... after which they start to struggle with issues that are more similar to what indigenous Scottish residents face, rather than new arrivals. While the Community Outreach will continue to support asylum seekers in crisis stages, we also want to maintain support and presence in people’s lives for the long haul.
Another issue with St Rollox is that the circa 1970s architecture is durable, but not particularly welcoming. In other words, they knew Sighthill was a rough area when the church was built, so the number of windows were left to the bare minimum. A lot of people walk by the church, unaware that it’s open. I was asked to help the church design some new banners that will let people know what is happening in the church, how we can serve the community, as well as getting their attention. A photo of one of the new banners is below. Already, we’ve seen them have an impact – a number new people have walked in asking about what the church is doing (one guy saying "I walk by this place everyday, but never realised it was open!").
All of this seems to coincide with St Rollox moving into a transitional phase and we’re excited about how God is leading us.
‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' (Matt 25:37-40)
Marilyn Lacey’s book about working with refugees around the world is, at its core, a reflection on the passage above: what it means to encounter God in the stranger. This Flowing Toward Me is quite different from many other books I’ve read about refugee issues. While many books focus on the refugee experience itself (Dave Egger’s What is the What allowing us to see things from a refugee’s point of view), this is a reflection on working with refugees, and what they have to teach us.
While Lacey claims that she is not a theologian, she addresses difficult theological questions that arise from working with the displaced. It’s a refreshing perspective that stems from inter-personal contact -- whether hospitality can be limited or not is addressed from this angle. The literal centrepiece of the book is Lacey’s interview with one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, a brief and poignant reminder of what people loved by God experience on their journeys. In working with refugees everyday, I there is the temptation to become hardened to these stories. This book serves as a reminder to meet refugees as individual people with their own unique stories, allowing them to impact our own.
Lacey writes in a very personal way. Her first encounter with refugees seemed accidental, though actually a providential meeting that would lead her to refugee camps from Africa to Asia. Here she learned, in her own words, “a new way of loving.” Her writing is accessible and unencumbered by jargon (spiritual or political) and disarmingly personal. This is not to say that the book is flawless: I found some of her stories about odd foreign foods and insects a bit tedious in places, but that’s a minor criticism in an otherwise thought provoking, amusing, heartfelt, and challenging book.
In reflecting about God arriving in the guise of the stranger and applying this to Rev. 3:20, Lacey comments:
…the passage took on a literal, street-level meaning. Looking at the problem of the stranger, both in Thailand and back in the United States, I began to see that if I were to continue to work with refugees, it could not be merely a ministering to them, as it had been initially, but a welcoming of the God who comes to meet me in them. Through these strangers, sometimes distressing, sometimes achingly beautiful, sometimes scary, God was knocking at the door. Whether it was a Hmong refugee or an urban homeless man, no matter. God was knocking.
As many of you know, Muslims are currently observing Ramadan, a month of fasting to commemorate the reception of the first verses of the Qur’an to Mohammed.
How our Muslim friends observe Ramadan is quite interesting; responses are diverse and often very personal.
I could use football as an example. As the programme takes place during daytime, I was unsure how the Muslim holiday would affect numbers. Can you imagine playing sport after not eating all day and then not being able to have a drink while playing? I figured that numbers would be low, due to the “R factor” (over the summer, low attendance could be blamed on the “World Cup factor”). A Palestinian friend phoned me to let me know that he would return to football after Ramadan was finished he told me “I’m so tired and hungry, I would probably collapse on the pitch.” Fair enough. In contrast to this sensible and personally devout response to Ramamdan, an Egyptian man has continued to attend footie, for the purpose of making public statement about his piety as he can barely stagger off the pitch at the end. He chides the other Muslim guys for taking a drink of water; unfortunately, he is barely beyond reproach as was seen smoking on the way to the pitch (also forbidden during the fast, which the Afghans point out when his back is turned). The Afghan boys are clearly not fasting, and don’t seem to care that the Egyptian guy disapproves (part of me thinks they drink in front of him just to wind him up). Some of the Iranian say they are fasting, but stress that you need to be sensible and if you need to drink a bit of water to keep you going that's ok, it’s not out of the spirit of the fast (saying, "God doesn't want to do you harm.")
During Ramadan, there are many opportunities to talk about our faith. “Do Christians fast?” is a question I often receive that leads to other chances to speak about Christ. Many of our Muslim friends are very quiet about their observance of Ramadan. This is very different to our experience in Greece, where we would often be invited over to “break the fast” with our friends. Is this merely the British reserve rubbing off on them, or is it something else? I sometimes get the impression that our Muslim friends here feel that a public expression of their faith is unwelcome in Glasgow, or they think that their holiday might offend us as Christians. The irony being that many of the folk we work with are happy to wish us a “happy Easter” or “Merry Christmas”. I’ve tried to make a point of saying “Ramadan karim!” to our friends here. The response is usually surprise, but soon leads to an opportunity to relate over our respective religious holidays and why we observe them. If we’ve started to break down barriers these past two years, I wonder what opportunities God has in store for us next year? The paranoia over public religious holidays stems from secularism, not religious minorities. If anything, most of our Muslim friends are puzzled why a major Christian holiday is not celebrated with more aplomb (in contrast to the overlty religious celebrations of Christ’s death and resurrection on the streets in Greece).
I’m aware that I’m a bit late with this, but the “30 Days of Prayer” website has some great resources as we pray for our Muslim friends during Ramadan. It also has great information for understanding Muslim beliefs.
We’re still on holiday until Monday, but I thought this news was definitely worth sharing. As you probably know, the Cottrell family are coming to join our team. Brian is a British citizen, but he was having difficulty getting visas for Christine and the children. We got this e-mail through from Brian earlier today:
Hi Everyone,
Just an update on our visas. WE HAVE TODAY RECEIVED OUR VISAS, PRAISE GOD. We emailed last time to let you know they had been denied due to, what seemed to us, a clerical error... or two! Since that time we have been waiting on a review of the decision. After 2 agonising weeks of waiting and many phone calls that took us in circles and ended at brick walls, we finally made progress yesterday. We were advised that the only course of action left open to us was to write a letter to the British Ambassador in Athens and mark it urgent. We decided that would take too long, so Brian rang the Ambassador's secretary to make an appointment to see him urgently. We didn't get an appointment (no surprise there!) but his secretary requested that we forward our correspondence to her and she would look at it and take it to the Ambassador. That was yesterday (Thursday) morning. This morning as we hadn't heard anything else we decided to phone the secretary again to find out what had eventuated. She informed us there was a meeting yesterday and several people from the Embassy in Athens and in Cyprus (where the applications are processed) had been involved and we needed to wait until someone phoned us. In about half an hour we received a call from Cyprus and within another half hour the rejection had been overturned, apologies made to us for the mistake and the inconvenience to us etc and every effort made to get the visas to us asap. We were granted the special privildege of receiving emergency hand written visas in Athens (instead of waiting for our passports to be taken to Cyprus and returned) that have now been placed into our passports. Phone calls have been made by the Embassy here to the Airline we're travelling with and to the airport we will arrive at in London to make sure there are no problems either end for us. We have also been given the official to contact if there is still a problem at either end. So every effort has now been made to make things happen quickly and smooth the way for us. Praise God.
We are flying to London tomorrow night (Sat 7th) and will take the girls to their camp on Monday morning after which Brian, Harry & I will continue on to Glasgow. We need to achieve a lot in the one week left to us before school starts. We have appointments on Tuesday to view a few rental properties and an appointment at a school. Pray that we can sign a lease on a house, have the kids enrolled in school and everything ready for them to start school, in their uniforms, on Monday morning 16th August. It's going to be a busy week!!
Thanks for supporting us with prayer during this very difficult time. We praise God for this outcome and the speed at which things have transpired today.
Emma and I are on holiday for two weeks, so apologies for the lack of updates!
We’re spending a week with Emma’s brother and family in Perthshire, then heading over to Belfast to spend time with Emma’s parents. It’s a much needed break.
I sat in on a difficult meeting yesterday. An Iranian couple I know fled Iran because of threats connected to their conversion to Christianity. Their case has not been accepted by the Home Office, who say that our friends are not genuine Christians. The only way they can reopen their case is through submitting new evidence.
The struggle for this couple is to find some proof, outside their own testimony, that the came to faith in Iran. This means that they would need to make some sort of contact with the underground church they were a part of, or other contacts who shared Christianity, or family, and get a statement that can be used in court.
This seems like a simple thing, but not in reality. Any evidence they can gather from Iran will mean putting other Christians in their country at risk.
My Iranian friend asked, “If we get this evidence, does it mean that we will be granted asylum?” The legal representatives answered, “No, there is never any guarantee, but it would help your case.” He responded, “Even if we were certain that we would receive asylum with this evidence, I would not want to be responsible for putting any other Christians at risk, how could I do that?”
The couple is between a rock and a hard place. Getting the evidence they need could put people they know in Iran in grave danger. But without this evidence, it is unlikely Home Office will accept their case and possibly deport them. Ironically, this concern for others confirms to me that they take their faith seriously, echoing Paul’s instruction to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:3-5). They would sacrifice their own future to ensure their friends' safety. When applied to this context, Apostle Paul's instruction seems to have more weight than it is often given.
“Hello Paul! Guess what? I’m your neighbour now! My asylum claim has been recognised and now I live near your house, want to come over and see my new place?”
I was elated when I heard this. I had lost contact with my Afgan friend ‘Dehqan’ when he had been moved to the east of Glasgow last year. I learned two pieces of good news in that phone call: he was granted asylum and can now move on with his life, and that he’s living nearby. The building where Dehqan is now living is newly built and the neighbourhood is a vast improvement on his previous place. Dehqan says it’s a stroke of luck, but I believe it might be something more providential.
Dehqan is great example to others in his situation. While on asylum support, he worked extremely hard on his English, even learning Glasgow slang in his spare time; he is not far from fluency. Immediately after he received ‘leave to remain’, he found a job at a restaurant; unsociable hours, but he sees it as a temporary solution to help him raise some money for driving lessons – his ‘dream job’ is to be a Glasgow bus driver (he called up FirstBus and found out that they have a training scheme after he gets his licence). It may seem like a modest dream, but he has a plan and is working hard at it.
The other thing worth mentioning about Dehqan is that he is “a seeker” – his own words. He came to a couple of the Bible studies at our flat and was asking when they would start up again.
I spent the evening catching up with him, drinking tea, and eating Afghan chicken curry; it was a bit like a celebration.
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All of this seems to coincide with St Rollox moving into a transitional phase and we’re excited about how God is leading us.
