Ben Lewis-Smith
An enjoyable programme of Mendelssohn, Couperin, Haydn and Bach from Ben Lewis-Smith at St Michael Turnham Green. Good chat to Jonathan Dods, Bored quiding at the cathedral / Fr Stephen Haylett came to hear confessions - he is fat! Holy Week practice went well rather a lot to do! Ben is a real asset and Rebecca as well so we had 6. Home at 9 but picked up Liz - 30 minute wait. Decline and Fall not as good as last week. Saturday cleaned garden windows and got water features going. Lovely day again. Clare came. Wrote letter about refugees.
This week I attended two similar events. Bishop Paul McAleenan gave the last Lent lecture at St Joseph's hospice Hackney and Lord Alf Dubbs spoke at St Mary at Hill on bringing unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the U.K. Bishop Paul is the bishop dealing with migration and he said that only 3 church organisations in the diocese of Westminster had responded to Pope Francis's call to take in migrants. This is a very disappointing figure. Salford diocese was mentioned but would it not be good to know how many people we as a church have helped? Why are we so reluctant to publicise this in the face of so much from the media which is anti-migrant?
This week I attended two similar events. Bishop Paul McAleenan gave the last Lent lecture at St Joseph's hospice Hackney and Lord Alf Dubbs spoke at St Mary at Hill on bringing unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the U.K. Bishop Paul is the bishop dealing with migration and he said that only 3 church organisations in the diocese of Westminster had responded to Pope Francis's call to take in migrants. This is a very disappointing figure. Salford diocese was mentioned but would it not be good to know how many people we as a church have helped? Why are we so reluctant to publicise this in the face of so much from the media which is anti-migrant?
I recently went to Streatham liberal synagogue where a project called Abraham's Tent has been launched. A flat is to be modernised to take a Syrian family and funds are needed. On that occasion Baroness Rabbi Julia Neuberger urged us to write to the Prime Minister, the Home secretary and our MPs about the appalling decision to cut the number of unaccompanied refugee children to be allowed to come to the U.K. to 300. The replies I had were pathetic in the face of the number who want to come. Teresa May was part of the Sancta Marta group dealing with human trafficking. How she can claim that bringing the children here helps trafficking is incredible! As Lord Dubs said leavng the children defenceless makes them far more likely to be trafficked.
My point is that we as a church need to do more and we need to be seen to be doing it!
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