Huge thanks to all our speakers and participants at the recent ‘Dialogue of Friendship: Listening Well to Build Communities’ event! The event took place at Dundrum Methodist Church on 17 May. You can read a summary of the event here.
Attendees at the 2025 Dialogue of Friendship event, held at the Dundrum Methodist Church in Dublin
This was the third year of collaborating with the Church of Ireland Interfaith Working Group to plan and deliver the event.
Words fail me many times to describe what I wish to say – however this event really uplifted me, to hear all that is going on in love in pockets around Ireland. Many are passionate about a better world where we can live together in peace, where we can learn from each other, where racism can become less and less – the work of Sanctuary Ambassadors is so vital in schools, where young people meet – I would wish to stay motivated, to speak out just to be a light in some small way.
Comment from participant at the 2025 event
Previous Events
You can read a summary of 2024 event, ‘Dialogue of Friendship: Countering Voices of Enmity’, here.
You can read a summary of the 2023 inaugural ‘Dialogue of Friendship’ here.
About the Sanctuary in Faith Stream
The concepts of Sanctuary and Hospitality are prominent in many different religions and expressions of faith. When a faith community receives the Place of Sanctuary designation, it is an affirmation that the community is one in which hospitality and sanctuary are woven into their life and explicitly stated, so that those looking for a welcome will know that they will find one there. Four new Churches of Sanctuary were recognised during the season of Advent 2022–read all about it here!
Bishop Denis Nulty, along with parish priest Fr Paul O’Boyle, Dr Veronica Crosbie and also present were friends from Syria and Ukraine who have made their home in the parish.
Adding to the Refugee Week 2021 ‘We cannot walk alone’ chalk footprint mural at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin
Becoming a Faith Community of Sanctuary
Many places of worship are already practising this. Others may wish to embark on the process. The hope is to build a network of places of worship where those in need of sanctuary will know they will find a home that is committed to provide a safe, inclusive, welcoming space. The Faiths Stream steering group are happy to provide guidance and encouragement for faith groups ready to embark on the Sanctuary Journey and work towards the Places of Sanctuary designation. This is a process that includes the following:
Learn: become familiar with the legal terms and processes around seeking sanctuary, and other issues related to asylum and migration; explore and discuss as a community how hospitality and sanctuary towards those seeking refuge may be expressed in your context;
Embed: ensure that this awareness becomes a dynamic part of the life of the faith community; look for ways to extend welcome, friendship and practical support; make this awareness part of the community’s decision-making processes; find ways to include the voices of those seeking sanctuary;
Share: document and share your experiences on your website and social media, via your newsletter, or other media; encourage other communities within your network/denomination to join in the Sanctuary journey as well. We particularly encourage faith communities to mark Refugee Week each year in some way.
This process is intended to lead faith communities to engage in practical acts of friendship and solidarity.
If your church, mosque, synagogue, meeting or group is ready to embark on its Sanctuary journey please do get in contact Kevin Mascarenhas [email protected] or Abigail Sines [email protected]
Churches and other faith groups located in Northern Ireland should connect with the City of Sanctuary UK Faiths Stream when seeking a Sanctuary designation:
While the designation pathway is different between the two jurisdictions, the PoSI Faiths Stream is keen to develop connections and collaborations between faith communities across the island of Ireland.
Places of Worship that have received the Sanctuary designation:
Parish of Clane and Rathcoffey, Co Kildare (December 2022)
Carrigaline Union of Parishes, Co Cork (December 2022)
Tullamore Presbyterian, Co Offaly (December 2022)
Methodist Centenary, Dublin (December 2022)
Dublin Central Mission, Abbey St Methodist (October 2021)
Archbishop Michael Jackson, with Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council (centre), along with staff, volunteers, friends, and beneficiaries of the IRC transitional housing programme, following a service of thanksgiving in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin to mark the conclusion of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough’s ‘A Place to Call Home’ fundraising appeal. (February 2020)
Fiona Finn of NASC gives the address on World Refugee Day in Carrigaline Union of parishes, County Cork (June 2021)
Click here to read about Refugee Week and Sanctuary Sunday 2021 activities which took place around the island.
Click here to read the Collection of Reflections from the recent Trauma Care Seminar. This whole piece was recently included in the Church of Ireland Gazette (monthly magazine) too.
Archbishop Michael Jackson, with Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council (centre), along with staff, volunteers, friends, and beneficiaries of the IRC transitional housing programme, following a service of thanksgiving in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin to mark the conclusion of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough’s ‘A Place to Call Home’ fundraising appeal. (February 2020)
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