In what is set to be one of the largest ever Christian expressions in the public square, thousands are to attend simultaneous services celebrating the place of migrants before moving to Trafalgar Square to call for citizenship for large numbers of those who have overstayed their visas or been refused asylum.
The Strangers into Citizens ‘Day of Action and Celebration’ on Bank Holiday Monday (4th May) will begin with a series of simultaneous religious services at Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall in which leaders of the Catholic, Anglican, and Free Churches will celebrate the place of the immigrant in modern Britain.
It is thought to be the first time that Catholic, Anglican and Free Church services have been held simultaneously in Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall for such a cause.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler and the New Testament Church of God leader, Bishop Eric Brown, will be among those leading the services.
The London Citizens community alliance of more than 120 civic institutions – mostly churches, but also including union branches, charities and schools - is behind the rally, which first took place in 2007 with strong backing from leaders of the Catholic and Anglican churches and politicians from all parties. The Archbishop-designate of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, told the campaign in March 2007: “I give my support to this call for regularisation procedures which will give proper legal recognition to those who steadily contribute to our economy. This is what we owe them.”
Since then, the Citizen Organising Foundation’s Strangers into Citizens campaign has persuaded the Liberal-Democrat party and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to back its call for a “pathway into citizenship” for some 450,000 out of the total of 750,000 estimated total in the UK.
The Strangers into Citizens Day of Action and Celebration will also bring together Muslims, Chinese, Latin-Americans and people of no faith in an exuberant day of diversity, with live acts including Asian Dub Foundation and The Petebox. Igbo dancers, Brazilian drummers, and Chinese dragons will entertain the crowds.
Some 3,000 are expected to attend the Mass for Migrant Workers st Westminster Cathedral, which will be concelebrated that morning by the three Catholic bishops of London - Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster, Archbishop Kevin McDonald of Southwark, and Bishop Michael McMahon of Brentwood.
Another 2,300 will pack the Strangers into Citizens Gospel Service at Methodist Central Hall, hosted by Bishop Eric Brown (NTCG) and Rev. Ermal Kirby (London Methodist).
Meanwhile, 700 people, many of them Zimbabweans, will attend the Strangers into Citizens Service of Prayer and Praise at St Margaret’s in Westminster Abbey, where the Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler, will be the preacher. There will also be services in Soho (Chinese Outreach Church) and for Latin-American evangelicals in the Fusion Centre at Elephant & Castle. Muslims meeting at central-London mosques will then gather in Trafalgar Square.
The different groups flowing out of the churches will merge with thousands waving Union Flags arriving for the Strangers into Citizens rally at midday in Trafalgar Square, at which 20,000 are expected.
Strangers Into Citizens, which began in 2006 following a call by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor at the first Mass for Migrant Workers, has been calling for the Government to implement a one-off regularisation measure that would allow refused asylum seekers and visa overstayers who have put down roots in Britain to become legal.
Campaigners argue that strict conditions including residence of at least four years followed by a two-year “pathway” period, a clean criminal record, good English, and character references, should be applied. The London School of Economics estimates that some 450,000 people would be eligible under these conditions.
The Home Office admits the impossibility of forcibly removing an estimated 750,000 visa overstayers and refused asylum seekers. Current deportations run at 30,000 a year.
Critics say that an “earned amnesty” would only encourage more illegal immigrants. But campaigners point to Spain, where levels of illegal immigration have dropped sharply since a one-off regularisation of 700,000 in 2005 was combined with border-tightening measures. continues here
The Strangers into Citizens ‘Day of Action and Celebration’ on Bank Holiday Monday (4th May) will begin with a series of simultaneous religious services at Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall in which leaders of the Catholic, Anglican, and Free Churches will celebrate the place of the immigrant in modern Britain.
It is thought to be the first time that Catholic, Anglican and Free Church services have been held simultaneously in Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and Methodist Central Hall for such a cause.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Anglican Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler and the New Testament Church of God leader, Bishop Eric Brown, will be among those leading the services.
The London Citizens community alliance of more than 120 civic institutions – mostly churches, but also including union branches, charities and schools - is behind the rally, which first took place in 2007 with strong backing from leaders of the Catholic and Anglican churches and politicians from all parties. The Archbishop-designate of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, told the campaign in March 2007: “I give my support to this call for regularisation procedures which will give proper legal recognition to those who steadily contribute to our economy. This is what we owe them.”
Since then, the Citizen Organising Foundation’s Strangers into Citizens campaign has persuaded the Liberal-Democrat party and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to back its call for a “pathway into citizenship” for some 450,000 out of the total of 750,000 estimated total in the UK.
The Strangers into Citizens Day of Action and Celebration will also bring together Muslims, Chinese, Latin-Americans and people of no faith in an exuberant day of diversity, with live acts including Asian Dub Foundation and The Petebox. Igbo dancers, Brazilian drummers, and Chinese dragons will entertain the crowds.
Some 3,000 are expected to attend the Mass for Migrant Workers st Westminster Cathedral, which will be concelebrated that morning by the three Catholic bishops of London - Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminster, Archbishop Kevin McDonald of Southwark, and Bishop Michael McMahon of Brentwood.
Another 2,300 will pack the Strangers into Citizens Gospel Service at Methodist Central Hall, hosted by Bishop Eric Brown (NTCG) and Rev. Ermal Kirby (London Methodist).
Meanwhile, 700 people, many of them Zimbabweans, will attend the Strangers into Citizens Service of Prayer and Praise at St Margaret’s in Westminster Abbey, where the Bishop of Southwark, Tom Butler, will be the preacher. There will also be services in Soho (Chinese Outreach Church) and for Latin-American evangelicals in the Fusion Centre at Elephant & Castle. Muslims meeting at central-London mosques will then gather in Trafalgar Square.
The different groups flowing out of the churches will merge with thousands waving Union Flags arriving for the Strangers into Citizens rally at midday in Trafalgar Square, at which 20,000 are expected.
Strangers Into Citizens, which began in 2006 following a call by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor at the first Mass for Migrant Workers, has been calling for the Government to implement a one-off regularisation measure that would allow refused asylum seekers and visa overstayers who have put down roots in Britain to become legal.
Campaigners argue that strict conditions including residence of at least four years followed by a two-year “pathway” period, a clean criminal record, good English, and character references, should be applied. The London School of Economics estimates that some 450,000 people would be eligible under these conditions.
The Home Office admits the impossibility of forcibly removing an estimated 750,000 visa overstayers and refused asylum seekers. Current deportations run at 30,000 a year.
Critics say that an “earned amnesty” would only encourage more illegal immigrants. But campaigners point to Spain, where levels of illegal immigration have dropped sharply since a one-off regularisation of 700,000 in 2005 was combined with border-tightening measures. continues here
![Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War](http://patbuchananbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/bk-pjb-chuw165.jpg "Churchill_Hitler_the_Unnecessary_War\")
Post a comment on AAWR
0 Responses to "Churches to gather in mass demonstration of support for migrant amnesty"Post a Comment
We welcome contributions from all sides of the debate, at AAWR comment is free, AAWR may edit and/or delete your comments if abusive, threatening, illegal or libellous according to our understanding of, no emails will be published. Your comments may be published on other nationalist media sites worldwide.