Jeremy Bradley’s question in his letter of 29/11/2017 raises an interesting charge against the Australian Christian Churches. Unfortunately, once again Jeremy has the bull by the tail. Here is some factual information about the effort and resources that have been invested by followers of Jesus in the refugee area. We should note for a small portion of his life, Jesus Himself was a refugee.
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Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald Toni Hassan, a research scholar with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACCC), draws attention to Australia's shameful response to the Rohinga crisis. It makes interesting reading. To read click here.
Within Australia there are many Christian agencies that work in the refugee space. They provide services and support for refugees being settled here. And they also lobby and advocate for refugees. To name a few: The Anglican Church of Australia; St Vincent de Paul's Resettlement services; The Australian Council of Churches; The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS Australia); Uniting Justice Australia; Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and even in a small way our own Presbyterian denomination through Jericho Road.
TIME magazine in February 2016 reported "Australian Churches Offer Sanctuary to Refugees Facing Return to Offshore Detention". Balmain Uniting Church, as one example, is proud to be one of the churches across Australia offering sanctuary to asylum-seekers facing immonent transfer to off-shore detention centres. Click here
The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce has been established to promote a shared Christian vision of compassion and hospitality for asylum seekers and refugees. The churches and their agencies work together to advocate for just and humane policies.
On 4/12/2017 leading organisations in the refugee and humanitarian sector have released a joint policy briefing to suggest ways in which the government can enable members of the Australian community to play a greater role in helping Australia respond to the global refugee crisis. The full Policy Briefing can be found here. The agencies are Save the Children; Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce; Amnesty International; Refugee Council of Australia; and Welcome to Australia.
15 of the 41 non-government agencies with full accreditation by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are Christian organisations. The accreditation process aims to provide the Department and the Australian public with confidence that the Australian Government is funding professional, well managed, community based organisations that are capable of delivering quality development outcomes. See here
These are just some of the ways Australian Christianity is responding to this awful, awful situation. We haven’t even started to mention the prayer groups or the international Christian response.
It is bemusing to see Jeremy referring to our government as "Christian" when neither of the three major parties claim to be so.
Let’s ask the question the other way round. How many dollars and resources are the sceptic and atheist societies (let alone The Greens) spending/allocating to the refugee crisis? Keep them coming our friend!
Wauchope Presbyterian Church elders
