Emma and I were recently involved with a campaign event called “Shop for Justice” organised with Citizens for Sanctuary (Emma has written a good summary in the previous post AZURE).

We think that the campaign was a success and that is raised a lot of potential issues with the new Azure card. Phil Taylor, of the UK Border Agency, was quoted in The Herald stating that “the cards provide a less stigmatised and more fraud resistant method of administering support”(08/12/2009). We would love to see a system that achieves this, but after the action on Monday, it seems that the Azure card is no better (though potentially worse) than the previous system.

The campaign did garner some media attention: Emma was interviewed on Good Morning Scotland, one of the most popular news programmes in Scotland. Two days later, the “Shop for Justice” campaign was a major part of Rev. Ian Galloway’s reflection for “Thought For the Day”. Both are excellent. I’ve posted the links below – Good Morning Scotland is quite a long programme, so just fast-forward to the time that I’ve put after the link.

07/12/2009 (1:43)
Emma and “Francois” discuss the new Azure card on Good Morning Scotland.

09/12/2009 (1:20)
Ian Galloway reflects on the “Shop for Justice” campaign in the light of the Advent Season.

On Monday of next week, we will be participating in a Monitoring Event to see how the new “Azure” card is working. This card replaces the supermarket and “luncheon” vouchers that around half the asylum seekers in this city are solely supported on. They have no access to cash. That means, they have no way to pay for a bus, no way to fax or visit their lawyer, no way to phone loved ones at home, no way to pay for a haircut, and no way to pay their train or bus ticket if they wish to submit new evidence on their case (this must be done in person in Liverpool). They cannot buy in local ethnic shops or charity shops where a little would go a much longer way.

Azure is already causing problems. The cards were activated yesterday but the participating stores are at a loss as to how they work. Information has been very unforthcoming from the Home Office, and in the information void grows rumour and misinformation. Not as many shops have agreed to take part as the Home Office originally promised.

One thing is all too clear. The cards are very visible. They are like a flashing light above peoples’ heads. For many, they feel ashamed that they have been branded with these cards through no fault of their own, and this appears to be the intention of the government; marking people out as somehow different from the rest of us... The Home Office says they are “failed asylum seekers” who are shortly to return to their home countries. In actual fact, some of them come from countries that it is not safe to return them to (Somalia, for example). Others are in the process of submitting further evidence to support their case. Right now, one of them is sitting next door in our living room. He is an Iranian Christian and tonight he has brought 4 other Iranians to our home to hear more about Christianity. Until last summer, an 80 year old man that we know, along with his 62 year old wife, was reliant on this type of support. They were finally given permission to stay in the UK and since then, the care needs arising from his ill health and frailty have been assessed as being sufficient to warrant Attendance Allowance on top of his pension credit because he needs “prolonged and frequent attention throughout the day and night in connection with his bodily functions”. He fled from a Middle Eastern country after his only son was brutally murdered in front of him because of his Christianity.

Please pray for this event: that God would be honoured by our involvement with a number of secular agencies and that our contribution would distinctively reflect Kingdom values. Pray for those living on this type of support as it is a hard, ongoing strain for them.

Our Thursday mornings are usually spent in one of the local churches where a little cafe is set up in the church hall. It's a good chance to chat with people, which we can't always do when the drop-ins are on, and there is the added advantage of lovely home-baked scones and shortbread!

For a few weeks after we re-opened in late August, the cafe was really quiet and we were beginning to wonder if we should rethink how that part of the week was spent. Reluctant to make any hasty decisions because it was an important part of the week for those who were coming, the small team involved began to explore other options and to ask God for confirmation as to what the way forward should be.

In the past few weeks, we have been quite busy again. We have around 8 regular clients and around a dozen others who come and go. It has provided a good, regular meeting point for me with one of the Kurdish ladies who had moved house, started college and was not as often free to meet up. Quite a number of people from the local estate (refugees, immigrants and local Scots) have also dropped in after seeing the signs around the church; people we have not had other contact with.

Today, around half an hour before closing time, a man wandered in and began chatting to the church pastoral assistant and another volunteer. Soon, Paul and I detected a familiar accent and not the Glasgow one we had been anticipating. Bobby, from Portadown in Northern Ireland had been driving past on his way from the ferry that had brought him across the Irish Sea. He saw the church was open and decided this was the place where he might begin to fulfil the reason for his trip, which was to find an Iranian guy that he had met in Tralee in the Republic of Ireland through another mission agency. (We're presuming that his friend was transferred back to the UK under European law which means asylum seekers must have their claim examined in the first EU country that they enter.) He had the address where his friend had been moved to but didn't have any church contacts in North Glasgow and felt strongly that he should come over and make the effort to find some Christians in the area who would be able to connect with his friend. He was delighted to discover an evangelical church close by, and even more thankful when he discovered that the church had a specific interest in refugees. It certainly seemed that it was no coindence.

We now have the contact details for his friend and hope to be able to meet up with them both next week, learn more about the situation and begin to work out in what way God is calling us to be involved.

It was also pretty funny to hear Bobby trying to talk to one of the Iraqi ladies who struggles enough with a Glasgow accent which is now familiar to her. "Alrighthurwhataboutye?" didn't seem to mean much to her.

The local by-election resulted in a fairly predictable retention of the seat by Labour.

From our point of view, the best news was the loss of the desposit by the British National Party, and the way in which many white people in this area came out very vocally against the hatred and racism the party espouses.

Click here to see an excellent illustration of this. Out-shouting a megaphone, pretty impressive.

I finally got around to taking some photos of our new flat. We’ve been really happy with the place, for the most part. The building is much friendlier, our neighbours downstairs are well known in the community—though this makes for some funny situations. I was opening the balcony door earlier today and some woman I’ve never seen before shouts at me from the street below, “congratulations! I hear you’re going to be a dad soon!” How quickly word spreads...

Red Road, just down the road.

A local factory at sunset, also from our window.

“Sometimes I stay up all night praying and reading Al Qur’an. It’s more important for me to do that than to sleep. I pray for my family.”

Her capacity to care, to look beyond herself, to forgive and to remain strong and dignified despite the hurt that she has been put through in recent months astound me. Unlike others that I’ve met in similar positions, her prayers are not that God will punish the one who has made her feel like she is “bleeding inside” but that he would realise his fault and be restored.
Grace.

She speaks to me of dreams that she has had since she was a teenager. Some of them she feels warned her of the pain ahead. Almost every time we talk her eyes well up with tears; memories of the father and sisters she had to leave behind in her home country, the sadness she feels for a daughter who has cut herself off from the other girls at school because she realised their bad influence, her worries about a young son who is turning away from his father.

I listen and I pray.

It’s not a time to tell her that reading Al Qur’an will not help, any more than it is a time to tell her that she needs to repent of her sins and invite Jesus into her heart. Somehow God is sustaining her, and is hearing her prayers. How else can I explain a character that I can only describe as “Christ-like” even though she does not know the one that she resembles?

The residents of the Jungle, the makeshift camp in Calais demolished last month by French authorities, did not just conveniently disappear when their temporary shelter was flattened as this report from the Independent shows.

Click here.

I seem to use my debit card more and more these days. I rarely have much cash on me, but were I to be without cash totally, how would I cope? I could not get a bus or train. I could not use our corner shop for the carton of milk that I forgot or buy from local second hand charity shops (particularly good for books). In fact to be without any cash and any means of accessing cash would be pretty crippling.

That's the position that over 1000 asylum seekers in Glasgow (out of approximately 4000) are in. Not allowed to seek employment and given a bare minimum weekly support, not in cash, but in vouchers redeemable usually only in one supermarket. This includes families with young children, whose vouchers are redeemable only against goods in Asda. The nearest Asda is two bus rides away (remember, no cash for the bus). Walking would take around 45 minutes(for an adult) and it's not somewhere I would walk through at night.

Those affected come from countries to which return is not possible at the moment; Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq...they include people with severe physical and mental health problems, families with young children and people in their 70s. They also include people who are in the process of submitting new evidence to support their need to be given sanctuary in the UK, i.e. people who will go on to be recognised as needing the protection of our country from what they have suffered in their home country. They include Iranians persecuted for their Christian faith, Congolese believers who despite what they have been through and continue to suffer still boldly proclaim their belief in God's faithfulness, Muslims who are meeting Christians for the first time...

For several months now we have been running a scheme which allows some of those affected to exchange their supermarket vouchers for some cash. We pass the vouchers onto Christian families who would spend a lot more than that each week in the supermarket, and they give the equivalent amount in cash that our refugee friends can use to catch a bus, buy food from local ethnic shops, pay for a fax to their lawyer or buy a phone card to call their anxious family in their home country. It's legal, it addresses an injustice and it's a very meaningful way that we can show that the church cares. It has made a big difference in the lives of those involved. Now that it is known that the scheme is in operation, we have more enquiries than we can handle at present.
We're not sure whether the new card which the government will shortly be issuing will be similarly exchangeable and ultimately, we believe our friends should be given access to cash. So, we are working with a network of other faith and secular organisations to try to have this type of support replaced. If you are in the UK, think about the recent expenses scandals in light of the denial of cash to some of our refugee friends here.

Please pray for us as we are involved in this campaign against cashlessness:

• Pray for those who are without cash, who are unsure of their futures and have already been through a lot.
• Pray for our relationships with those affected, with the other orgnisations involved in the campaign and with the authorities; that God might be glorified in all of these relationships.

This is a thought-provoking article for any of you willing to read through 7 pages of an evangelical missions journal.

Click here.

The... conviction was that my primary pastoral work had to do with Scripture and prayer. I was neither capable nor competent to form Christ in another person, to shape a life of discipleship in man, woman, or child. That is supernatural work, and I am not supernatural. Mine was the more modest work of Scripture and prayer—helping people listen to God speak to them from the Scriptures and then joining them in answering God as personally and honestly as we could in lives of prayer. This turned out to be slow work. From time to time, impatient with the slowness, I would try out ways of going about my work that promised quicker results. But after a while it always seemed to be more like meddling in these people’s lives than helping them attend to God.

So reflects Eugene Peterson in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (the book was originally written in 1980, but the subtitle seems even more relevant now, nearly 30 years later!). I have just finished this book and found much of it very useful in regard looking at the discipleship of new believers in our ministry.

There is wisdom in Peterson’s comment that as ‘pastors’, we cannot force somebody to become christlike. I must trust that the Holy Spirit will work. This, however, does not mean that I do not have an important role in discipleship. I am not the one who makes change, but a catalyst to that change; a subtle but important distinction.
I also appreciate that Peterson emphasises the importance of patience... a spiritual discipline I often neglect (“wait for the Lord” is a common command in the Psalms, obviously so important that it’s repeated twice in the closing verse of Psalm 27!). Our culture places I high value quantifiable results, not necessarily the journey, or the act of being with. This is not to say that courses or goals are irrelevant in discipleship; they can be very useful. But if I only focus on results, I think that something of great value is lost. Being with people on the journey of discipleship is immensely important. ITeams Refugee Ministry captures this in the term presence: it’s one of the core ways in which we minister to refugees.

One small way I’m trying to do this is through starting a fortnightly Bible study and fellowship evening at our flat. We’re going to share a meal, pray for each other, then we will share from the Bible and open that to discussion. Many of the guys have been through various courses and I think that it is important that they share in fellowship with other new believers and those who have more maturity and experience in their faith.

This group is an offshoot of other aspects of the growing men’s ministry (e.g. the weekly football club). I’m also planning a retreat later in autumn for believers and seekers. I’m hoping it will be a time for the guys to get away from some of the stresses in Glasgow and find space where they can hear more clearly from God.

An exciting development in the men’s ministry!

Please pray as I start to organise the retreat and begin this new meeting on Tuesdays for fellowship and discipleship. Also, thank God for all the great volunteers from local churches who have come along to help – I couldn’t do all of this on my own.

Please pray for our friend “R”, an African volunteer at St. Rollox and a brother in Christ. He has recently received the news that he is suffering from leukaemia; he is still awaiting some test results to gauge the severity of the condition. R has struggled with many heath issues in the past, but this recent news is understandably distressing (even though he has taken the news bravely). He told me that he would appreciate prayer.

Also pray for R’s young son, who also bears the weight of his father’s stresses and has some difficulty socially as a result.

The after school club at Tron St. Mary’s has started running again, after a few setbacks. Standing water had ruined the floor, so the club was shut for a number of weeks. After it was repaired, we reopened, ready for the mayhem... the first few weeks were pretty laid back actually. Word of mouth is a powerful thing though and yesterday we had more than 80 children attending the club (this number does not include the parents who often stay for a cup of tea).

Emma, now unable to be involved physically the same way as she was before, runs the registration desk. She’s become quite a hit with the pre-teen girls and has received some wonderful drawings (posted here for your enjoyment).

Tron St. Mary’s is also looking to expand their work with families in Red Road and is about to start an adult English course where their children can attend and get help with their homework. I’m looking forward to seeing how that develops, as the after-school club is too loud and busy for something like this, though I know that a lot of young people would appreciate the help.

In the past few years, it has become quite trendy to organise treks across wild and remote places like the Sahara. Often this is done for charity, the participants being sponsored to take the trip which promises a "win-win" scenario; they get the trip of a lifetime and money goes to a good cause. I've always been somewhat uncomfortable with this format of fundraising for a number of reasons.

This BBC news article about the desperate journey of African immigrants across the Sahara in search of peace, security or just a better way of life stands in sharp contrast to the well-organised and insured-to-the-hilt charity journeys. It's where the journey of some of those we meet in the UK, and those our colleagues meet in Greece and Italy will have begun.

If you are in the UK, you can watch the tv programme Panorama: Europe or Die Trying, BBC One, Monday, 14 September at 2030BST. Alternatively, there are a couple of short clips linked to the news article.

Emma and I recently visited a woman “R” who had been detained in Dungavel prior to her removal to Pakistan. R was coping okay with her predicament until her children were able to join her in the visitors’ area. The youngest child was clearly confused, asking “please, let’s just get the bus and go back home.” At this point, the atmosphere became very emotional and the stressed mother had difficulty holding back her tears.

The detention of children is a particularly controversial Home Office policy. In the first half of 2009, 470 children were put into detention. While detention is portrayed as an inevitable “last resort”, the UKPA reports that “out of 225 children released from detention in the second quarter of 2009, only 100 were removed from the UK - suggesting they had been locked up unnecessarily.” This has raised many questions about current procedures.

As always, it is easy to remain pragmatic about the issue until one actually encounters detained children and sees the effect that it has. There is a danger that those of us who work with asylum seekers will find ourselves constantly at loggerheads with the Home Office, being at the relational end of the issue. I am somewhat heartened that this report about the detention of children came from Home Office itself – and I’m sure they were aware of the negative response it would garner. It’s too easy to criticise the Home Office, without offering anything constructive. I recognise that have the freedom to meet people where they are at, show Christ’s love to people regardless of their good or bad decisions (e.g. Eph 5:2, Mt 25:40, Jn 8:7), and the Home Office does not operate on these principles. This is not an excuse for child detention, but recognition that the issue is multifaceted.

This issue, in particular, has reconfirmed my desire for form a more constructive relationship with the Home Office. We believe in ministry that is relational, and that relational distinctive should include all of those that we come into contact with. What would happen if I offered the Home Office my assistance, rather than criticism alone? Could I ever view the Home Office as a partner, rather than an adversary? This is easier said than done and would require much wisdom, though I believe that greater cooperation would lead to a more accountable process for all involved. For example, it would mean facing the uncomfortable reality that the end of the asylum process might be removal, but working to make this process as just and nontraumatic as possible. Bringing the “human element” into the asylum debate requires more than argument, but relationship (clearly, the last year of criticism has not produced any tangible improvements regarding the detention of children). Cooperation means that we can act as a witness to Christ not only to the marginalised, but those in power.

Pray for the children in detention.
Pray for the people in the Home Office who make difficult decisions.
Pray that everybody involved can work together for more just solutions.
Pray that the Christians involved can bring reconciliation, integrity, and love into a polarised situation.

Are you really a Christian? I’m going to test the validity of your faith with the following questions (checking Google for answers is forbidden):

1) Name Jesus’ twelve disciples.
2) Recite the Apostles’ Creed.
3) How do you cook a turkey?
4) What were the names of the two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus?
5) What will happen around the world at the time of the second coming of Christ?
6) What type of fruit was the forbidden fruit?

How did you fare?

I’m sure that many of you could answer some of these, maybe you had difficulty with others, or just confused how some of these questions could possibly help anybody decide whether or not your faith is genuine.

The questions might seem ridiculous, but they are all examples of real questions asked to asylum seekers here who have become Christians and fear for their safety if returned to a hostile country. While it does happen that some falsely claim Christianity, this does not mean that there are not many genuine believers who live in fear of being returned. Most pastoral workers can ascertain whether somebody is genuine over a period of time, though this relational testimony does not seem to be highly regarded by the authorities (in some cases, conveniently ignored). The other issue arises when a particular judge is unfamiliar with aspects of an evangelical faith.

Thankfully , this issue has been flagged by the UK Evangelical Alliance and has received some press. This article from The Times “How the government tests for faith” sums up the issue well. Unfortunately, this article went to press over two years ago and not much seems to have changed.

This is an issue that affects some of the people we’re working with, so please keep it in your prayers: that a just and responsible solution will be found to assess the claims of believers seeking asylum in the UK.