So it was pretty surprising when I ended up in Calais last summer. Even more so when I ended up there again last month and when I almost broke down in tears when I found out the judge had ordered the demolition of almost half the refugee camp. By August last year, I’d gone through all my normal reactions to a world event; consisting of anger at politicians and frustration at government responses. I was ready to move on. Fortunately, I’m surrounded by people who don’t let me get away with stuff that easily. If it was so important to me, why didn’t I do something about it?
So we did. We went across for the day, took some stuff and tried to do what we could. Jamie ‘slacktivist’ Cutteridge felt pretty pleased with himself and was happy to leave it there. Except, well, you guys are better than that. And after reading about what we’d seen, I got countless requests from youth workers asking how their youth groups could respond.
We launched the #LoveCalais appeal in the Autumn and you guys, you utterly marvellous bunch of youth workers and never-ceasing-toamaze- us young people raised over £41,000: enough to house over one-fifth of the camp in temporary winter shelters. Read that last sentence again. Write it out and pass it around your church. Give it to the person in charge of your church finances next time they try to cut your budget. Read it whenever you feel like getting angry and doing nothing about it. That’s the young people in the UK. That’s the missing generation of the UK church that we’re consistently told doesn’t really exist making a massive difference to those desperately in need of it (and even though some, not all, of the shelters have been destroyed, they still provided hugely valuable shelter in unforgiving winter conditions).
The thing is, #LoveCalais was only the start. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the refugee crisis, and while we can’t do everything, we’ve got the potential to do something amazing. Over the next year or so, more and more young refugees are going to enter the UK, many of them without families to look after them. We’re ideally positioned to do something about it, to make a difference, to seize the opportunity. The Refugee’s Support Network in London has already started to mentor young refugees and our hope is that in partnership with them and some other agencies, we can begin to offer training to would-be mentors all over the country in the coming months. This is a huge moment for youth ministry in the UK – can we be the ones to step up and do something?
This month, we’re delighted to include an incredible project from Marksteen Adamson. His ‘Stations’ project poignantly captures the refugee crisis. We realise that the cover image is stark and difficult, but no more so than the reality of the refugee crisis, and Jesus’ suffering on the cross. We’ve provided some Stations of the Cross reflections to go with these images. Our prayer is that they impact your Easter reflections powerfully.
It’s time for youth ministry to step up and take our place in wider society. We have the giftings, the passions and the resources. The opportunities are waiting, it’s up to us to grab them.
