This series of photographs by John Boaz captures the work of churches as they integrate refugees into their local communities, accompanying our latest report ‘From Strangers to Neighbours’.

“Within the church, most church members have no notion of someone else’s immigration status: asylum seeker? refugee? economic migrant? Who cares. Everyone is just a brother or a sister to everyone else.”

All too often our conversation on migration is numbers focused. Our headlines are saturated with talk of reducing the number of arrivals and small boats.

But these numbers, though significant, only tell part of the story. 

This series of photographs by John Boaz speak to the humanity of those seeking refuge in the UK. They capture the relentless yet often overlooked work of churches that welcome refugees and asylum seekers into local communities across Britain. 

A Christian welcome goes beyond meeting material needs, but is rooted in friendship. The Christian ethical framework resists objectifying immigrants as unwanted aliens or economic commodities but wholeheartedly welcomes the stranger.  

Taken to accompany report by George Lapshynov, From Strangers to Neighbours, these photographs bring the impact of these friendships to light. 

The Way of the Cross 

St Luke’s Methodist Church Hoylake has been set up for the Maundy Thursday service, with chairs arranged on either side of the Way of the Cross. St Luke’s opened its doors to asylum seekers in 2020 when an asylum hotel opened in the small town. 

Giving back 

A refugee prepares food for the Maundy Thursday meal at St Luke’s Methodist Church Hoylake. Refugees who were once welcomed by St Luke’s travelled to spend the afternoon catching up and cooking a variety of dishes from their home countries for the local community. 

Restoring beauty 

A refugee holds a beautiful hair pin she was given by the community at Trinity Methodist Church in Ellesmere Port. Asylum seekers need all sorts of crisis support provided by churches and charities – food banks, clothing banks, drop–in sessions. These are all useful things, but they also crave beautiful things. 

Dignity 

A refugee sports a hair pin she was given by the community at Trinity Methodist Church in Ellesmere Port. She wears the church’s volunteer uniform – a red t–shirt – as she helps the church run its weekly asylum support drop–in. The church helped her find community, and she now gives back by helping newly arrived asylum seekers.

New dawn 

Man draws the curtains in his new home. After spending four years in the asylum system, first waiting for a decision on their claim and then challenging it in court, he and his family have finally been granted leave to remain. They now have their own kitchen and can sleep in separate bedrooms. 

Cake 

Iain first met Man, a Vietnamese refugee, at an English language class in South East London. Man and his family were staying in an asylum hotel nearby and Iain worked for a church in the area. The two struck up a close friendship. In this scene, Iain visits Man and his family in their new home. Iain has brought cake, and his hosts are cooking him a hearty Vietnamese phở. 

Consider the lilies 

A refugee prepares a clothes rack ahead of the asylum drop–in at Trinity Methodist Church in Ellesmere Port. The clothes are hung up in a corner of the church hall, allowing asylum seekers to help themselves to any items they need without fear of stigmatisation. 

The face of integration 

Ali is a refugee. He was welcomed and found community in church when he arrived in the UK. When an asylum hotel opened in his town he saw an opportunity – as a fluent Farsi speaker – to welcome other Iranian asylum seekers in the same way he had been welcomed, and offered his services to St Luke’s Methodist Church Hoylake as an interpreter. 

Nowruz 

A Haft Seen table at St Luke’s Methodist Church Hoylake, a traditional custom for Persian New Year. St Luke’s has welcomed many Iranian asylum seekers over the years, and encourages them to celebrate their mother culture and language. By making sure they feel they belong, St Luke’s is contributing to their integration into the local community.

The food of friendship 

Refugees and members of St Luke’s prepare the Maundy Thursday meal together. When churches welcome asylum seekers and refugees, food often ends up being at the centre of things: food for sustenance, food to cure homesickness, food to share cultures, and food to forge friendships. 

Resting 

After a busy morning drop–in session, a refugee takes a moment to rest. She and her husband both volunteer and work for the local church. When they first arrived in the UK, they were welcomed by a church, and now they dedicate themselves to ensuring that newly arrived asylum seekers in the community also receive all the support they need. 

Resilience 

An asylum seeker attends a local church’s drop–in centre. There, he can get a free drink and snack, receive a free item of clothing, meet friendly people, and speak to council staff and charity workers who specialise in helping asylum seekers. Aside from his hotel room and the church hall, he has nowhere else to go but the streets. 

A servant is not greater than his master 

At the Maundy Thursday service at St Luke’s Methodist Church in Hoylake, locals and refugees wash each other’s hands. On this day, Christians remember the moment when Jesus Christ humbled himself by washing his disciples’ feet shortly before his arrest and crucifixion. This ceremony reminds Christians that God lowered himself to wash their feet and that they should not be too proud to do the same for their neighbour. 

Green grass of home 

Han sought asylum with her parents and siblings. After spending several years living in hotels within the asylum system, she and her family finally have a house with a garden that they can call home. They received support from churches in each of the four places they ended up and rely today on the many British friends they made through church. 

No city too big 

Hieu stands in the doorway of his new home. He has spent nearly all of his young life in the UK asylum system, living in hotels. He was malnourished for several years, but today his parents can finally cook for him. In September, he will go to school in England for the first time. 

Flourishing 

Churches offer more than just charity; they provide refugees with the opportunity to live in the UK with dignity and offer them lifelong communities. Having formed a close friendship at their London church, Man and Iain now live far apart. Man hopes to obtain a driving licence so that he can drive down to London and visit Iain more often. 

With grateful thanks to the Susanna Wesley Foundation 

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