Looking Outwards

St. Peter’s is a church which looks outwards and links with a number of organisations both locally and internationally.

Each month we learn about and pray for one of a number of international mission agencies.

The Mission theme for January is Homelessness. Routes to Roots seeks to help all homeless in Poole regardless of their faith – click here for Routes to Roots

St Peter’s Parkstone also seeks to home people in Poole, recently Syrian Muslims;

“Housing needed! Can you help? A Syrian family supported by Poole Churches are facing eviction and they need accommodation urgently. …” – St Peter’s church service sheet Sunday 8 July 2018

Syrians who happen to be Christian, on the other hand, receive practically no support. The UK Home Office rejects Syrian Christians. Refugee intake is 100 Percent Muslim.

“The British government has admitted that no Christians were taken among the Syrian refugees flown into Britain recently, with the Home Office rejected the handful of non-Muslims selected for resettlement by the United Nations.
Despite the persecution of Christians at the hands of Islamic extremists in Syria having been declared genocide by the U.S., the European Union (EU) and even British MPs themselves in a 2016 parliamentary vote, the 1,112 Syrians that Britain resettled in the first three months of 2018 consisted only of Muslims.”

Not all Church of England clergy are silent on this matter. According to the former Archbishop of Canterbury the Government is ‘institutionally biased’ against Christian refugees from Syria

“Christian refugees from Syria are being discriminated against by the Government, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has said. Lord Carey claimed that “politically correct” officials were “institutionally biased” against Christian refugees, who are underrepresented in the numbers being moved to the UK.
Lord Carey said:

“In the run-up to Easter British taxpayers will be appalled by this institutional bias against Christians by politically correct officials. In this the British government is not just breaking its manifesto pledge to look after Christian refugees, it also appears to be breaking the law.”

“His view is supported by a legal opinion from a human rights barrister which suggests that Syrian Christians are subject to “indirect discrimination” under European human rights laws.

… figures from Christian charity Barnabas Fund show that the Government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, which resettles refugees from Syria, has accepted a tiny number of Christians since September 2015.

Just 51 of the 2,592 refugees accepted under the scheme between 7 September 2015 and 30 June 2016 were Christian – less than 2 per cent. The proportion dropped to less than 1 per cent for the most recent data obtained by the charity under Freedom of Information laws, which showed that just 13 of the 1,583 refugees accepted between July and September last year were Christian. This is despite Christians making up around 10 per cent of the population before the civil war began in 2011.”

We are of course part of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury and of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Salisbury Diocese is linked with the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and South Sudan and we have a special link with the South Sudanese Diocese of Wau. Click here for the latest newsletter about the Poole/Wau partnership

We are part of Churches Together in Dorset; Churches Together in Poole and Churches Together in East Poole. Click here for the latest newsletter from Churches Together in Dorset. Here you can read about ecumenical activity all over the county

Locally our mission as the Church of Christ leads us to get involved with schools, care homes and social care agencies. We regularly visit Nursing and care homes; we support work at Poole Refuge and Robert Gabriel House which cares for young people; we have a Church Junior school and we regularly work with the other schools in the Parish too; we support work with homeless people in Poole and Refugees from Syria, and we are part of the work of the Poole Passion.

Here are some links to a range of other people and organisations we
like to work with:

…and finally, if you fancy a laugh, try these