world map take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

Our biggest wish for people arriving on our shores is that they too can say: ‘God sees me, knows my pain, is providing for my needs, and is offering me a place of sanctuary'.Īs we mark Sanctuary Sunday, we want to consider the scriptures and ask how we can be the hands and feet of God and offer sanctuary to refugees and asylum seekers in our midst. Disowned, dehumanised, forced away, scared, searching and hoping. Hagar's story will be familiar to many people fleeing their homes and seeking sanctuary in Scotland today. This is a God who knows her pain deeply and doesn't leave her alone in it. In response, Hagar calls God 'El Roi' – 'the God who sees me'. But there is one who sees her one who provides safety, protection and care – sanctuary, in the hardest of places. Her time in the wilderness is marked by despair, sorrow and fear of death. Hagar is a foreigner from Egypt, mistreated by Sarah and Abraham, fleeing into the wilderness, returning only to be driven away again by her masters. In Genesis (16 21:8-21) we read the story of Hagar, Sarah's slave. The theme for this year's Sanctuary Sunday is 'El Roi' – 'the God who sees me'. Please use it as a menu to pick and choose from and adapt it to your own context. In it, you will find a variety of contributions that can help you shape different elements of your service, including the sermon, children's talk, prayers and mid-week Bible studies.

We have produced this resource to help you mark the day in your own churches and communities.

Sanctuary Sunday is an opportunity to be reminded of the need to welcome the stranger, the alien and the sojourner and to see in all people our common humanity, that we are all created in the image of God, and we are all deserving of dignity and worth. There are more displaced people in the world today than at any other point in history and the Bible is clear in its expression of God's loving concern for the stranger and refugee. IntroductionĬhurches across the UK and the world are encouraged to celebrate Sanctuary Sunday (also called Refugee Sunday) on the Sunday following World Refugee Day on 20 June. Inspiration and resources for worship on Sanctuary Sunday.

World map take me deeper than my feet could ever wander