Migration and Asylum Guidance

Migration and Asylum Guidance

Our diocese is working as a partner with the charity Citizens UK, who work with community groups across the UK to welcome and resettle a refugee family to their local neighbourhood through community sponsorship. Register your interest in hosting refugees or providing other kinds of support by emailing our Refugee Coordinator (joint with the Diocese of Portsmouth): maricar.jagger@portsmouth.anglican.org

If you are interested in hosting refugees or offering other support, below are some more details about the process:

  • The Refugee Coordinator will be in touch to let you know about DBS checks, home checks, training and other support that we can offer to you;
  • All hosts are well supported through a Lunch and Learn programme and other networking events;
  • Those who we are welcoming will have experienced loss and trauma. Potential hosts don’t have to experts in these areas, but should recognise these challenges before offering accommodation;
  • This has to be a commitment to house an individual or family in a spare room or a separate house for six months (not sleeping on floors or sofas);
  • We’re particularly interested in homes/rooms in areas with greater local infrastructure, to help refugees access support services that already exist. But we wouldn’t turn away offers from more remote parishes;
  • We’d like those who host refugees to be part of a team at your local church(es) who could offer befriending and other support. A host family cannot do this alone. 

Further Resources

The national Church of England has created resources around migration and asylum, encouraging us to reflect theologically and pray with our worshipping communities, learn and share the realities of migration, welcome and support people locally, as well as advocate and campaign for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. Download the resources here.

Global migration remains one of the most significant challenges facing our world today, and it is essential for churches to respond with both empathy and thoughtful guidance. The Asylum Guidance for Clergy offers valuable perspectives and practical support for ministering to asylum seekers and refugees, highlighting the need to treat every person with dignity, fairness and compassion — especially those who have been forcibly displaced.

Rooted in biblical principles, the guidance reaffirms the Church’s responsibility to extend a warm, respectful welcome to asylum seekers, regardless of their background or beliefs. It calls clergy to exercise careful discernment and patience — just as they would with anyone seeking baptism — particularly when navigating matters of conversion or providing supporting statements.

By engaging with this guidance, churches can strengthen their ability to respond to the complexities of welcoming asylum seekers and refugees, ensuring their ministry remains both compassionate and effective for those in need.

Prayer Resources

Christians across the globe continue to pray for an end to conflict, asking God for peace amongst nations. Although certain days have been put aside as specific Days of Prayer, you can of course include prayers in any church services, or pray at home, using some of the resources available.

  • You can find some Church of England liturgical resources to use when praying for peace here, as well as prayers for refugees here
  • Christian Aid are running a Pray for a Just Peace campaign, which includes prayers to use in church services and prayer vigils
  • You can also ask churchgoers to light candles to pray for peace and for those bereaved, injured, displaced and frightened; organise a vigil or act of witness
  • Prayer 24:7 have shared Prayer Guide PDFs to help you pray for peace, an end to war and for peaceful solutions to violent conflict

Resources: