Sanctuary: The Hospitality of Host, Guest and Stranger
Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal and Dr Jayme R Reaves have produced a resource to support individual Christians, Church communities and ecumenical groups in reflecting on the significance of sanctuary for our times. Titled Sanctuary: The Hospitality of Host, Guest and Stranger, it offers reflections, prayers and ideas for action.
Sanctuary: The Hospitality of Host, Guest and Stranger (PDF)
Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal has also written a collect for Refugee Week and Sanctuary Sunday, as well as a prayer responding to the Mediterranean tragedy on 14 June 2023:
Collect for Sanctuary Sunday (Docx)
Sanctuary Prayer Upon Mediterranean Tragedy June 2023 (Docx)
This resource pack provides information about becoming a Church of Sanctuary and creating cultures of welcome, hospitality and safety:
Church of Sanctuary resource kit (PDF)
Resources from Scottish Faith Action for Refugees
A new resource has been produced for Sanctuary Sunday for 2025 by Scottish Faith Action for Refugees. To mark its 10-year anniversary it is resharing ten powerful stories that it has heard and collated over the years. You can download Sanctuary Stories from the Scottish Faith Action for Refugees website.
Previous resources from Scottish Faith Action for Refugees to mark Sanctuary Sunday are also still available:
- Stand up for Sanctuary – 2024 (PDF)
- The God who sees me – 2023 (PDF)
- The God who sees me (web version)
These videos can be used during worship gatherings, mid-week meetings, or as a basis for discussion groups:
A video and discussion series to celebrate the stories of people seeking safety and faith communities, and the role faith has played in their journeys of seeking, finding and offering sanctuary.
Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT)
The Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) has previously produced a Sanctuary Sunday prayer and has a link to a list of suggested hymns and songs you could use on Sanctuary Sunday, from the Methodist Church’s Singing the Faith Plus. See the JPIT website for the prayer and link to hymns.
HOSPITALITY AND SANCTUARY FOR ALL
A revised version of the resource Hospitality and Sanctuary for All is available via the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland website. A donation of £5 is suggested to cover the production costs and P&P.
The Order of Service provided can be used at an Act of Worship (midweek or on a Sunday eg Sanctuary Sunday or Racial Justice Sunday).
The previous version of Hospitality and Sanctuary for All is still available to download:
Hospitality and Sanctuary for All 2019 – final (PDF)
Hospitality and Sanctuary for All 2019 – final (.Docx)
Hospitality and Sanctuary for All 2019 – accessible text-only (.Docx)
Hospitality and Sanctuary for All 2015 – Welsh text only (.Docx)
City of Sanctuary song
Inspired by the City of Sanctuary concept, two musicians have composed a City of Sanctuary song. Words and music are by Roger Courtney with the arrangement by Norman Richardson:
City of Sanctuary song sheet music (PDF)
Download the City of Sanctuary song (MP3)
(In most browsers, left click to view in a new tab, then right click and choose “Save Audio As…”)
Speak up for Sanctuary handbook and training
City of Sanctuary UK has introduced a programme “designed to support people who may have little or no previous campaigning experience to recognise their power in making change, to speak up for refugee rights and to supercharge efforts to build welcoming and compassionate communities”. The programme consists of a 1.5 hour webinar and a handbook with information, resources and exercises. It is designed to help you learn how to:
- Counter hostile rhetoric
- Engage with MPs and candidates
- Mobilise your friends, family and the wider community
- Safely challenge misinformation
Find out more on the City of Sanctuary website
Workshop for Life Beyond Borders, November 2022
Sanctuary justice and refugees – Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal (PDF)
Sermon for Sanctuary Sunday 2021
Sanctuary Sunday Sermon – Inderjit Bhogal 2021 (PDF)
Sermon from Sanctuary Sunday service, Dublin, June 2019
Sanctuary Sunday sermon, Christ Church Cathedral Dublin 2019 (PDF)
Safeguarding the Stranger: An Abrahamic Theology and Ethic of Protective Hospitality
In Safeguarding the Stranger, Jayme R. Reaves argues that protective hospitality and its faith-based foundations, as seen in the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, merit greater theological attention. She suggests that the practice of protective hospitality in Christianity can be enhanced by a better understanding of Jewish and Muslim practices of hospitality, as well as of their codes and etiquettes related to honour. Safeguarding the Stranger draws on a contextual and political theological approach, informed by liberation and feminist theologies, through the lens of a co-operative and complementary theological view, informed by inter-religious, Abrahamic, and hospitable approaches to dialogue, which forecasts the positive role that religions can play in meeting social need.
Find out more on jaymereaves.com.