Refugee Week Wrap Up

Thank you for journeying with us this Refugee Week; sharing the stories of refugees, people seeking asylum and the communities welcoming new arrivals, as we explored the Refugee Week theme “A Year of Welcome”. 

If you missed the Daily Disruptions during Refugee Week, or want to revisit them, you can find the reflections here. We were truly blessed to have such a broad range of outstanding contributors to lead us through a week of reflection, prayer and action.

As we emerge from a week focused on celebrating refugees, how will we continue to live out the values of a welcoming community?

How can we continue to build a movement for a more welcoming and inclusive future?

During Refugee Week, we shared stories of people in communities across these lands now called Australia, and we acknowledged together that a more welcoming country doesn’t start with politicians, it starts with us. In our daily activities.

One way we can contribute to a more welcoming future is to use our voices to cry out for justice. We’re co-hosting an online rally this week, bringing together thousands of people who care about justice for refugees and people seeking asylum. Whilst lock-down restrictions following the Coronavirus pandemic are easing for many of us, for over 1,400 people their future is still uncertain and they remain in detention, some even in hotels in cramped conditions in Melbourne and Brisbane. 

We invite you to join us (which you can do from home!) to:

• hear directly from people inside these detention facilities, and who have experienced detention;
• provide a tangible and visual demonstration to people in detention that we see them, value their lives, and stand with them in demanding their freedom;
• learn what we can do to help secure their freedom

RSVP here to join thousands at the online rally, calling for freedom from detention

We are inviting new members to the Common Grace People Seeking Asylum and Refugee justice team. We are specifically inviting people from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds. Do you have lived experience seeking asylum or as a refugee? Would you like to be part of the team that shapes Common Grace's work for justice for people seeking asylum and refugees? Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to be involved and tell us a bit about yourself and how you would like to see Common Grace continue its work for justice for people seeking asylum and refugees.